Far North news in brief: Combatting Caulerpa, nurses accept historic settlement, chess champs

A free Saturday workshop will teach about the fast-growing and hard-to-remove seaweed spreading through the Bay of Islands. Photo / Susan Botting

Combatting Caulerpa roadshow

A free roadshow about how to identify and prevent the spread of invasive seaweed Caulerpa will make a stop at Waitangi this weekend at the Tahuaroa Function Centre on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds from Saturday, August 5 from 9am to 4pm. If you suspect you’ve found Caulerpa, take a photo, record the location and report it to biosecurity at the Ministry for Primary Industries on 0800 80 99 66.

Nurses accept pay equity offer

Far North nurses and healthcare assistants employed by Te Whatu Ora have voted to accept an historic pay equity settlement that will net some up to $28,000 in lump sums and back-pay. However, it does not mean the threat of strike action by nurses next month is averted, as they have yet to vote on the separate collective agreement offer from Te Whatu Ora. The pay equity claim lodged by the unions in 2017 under the Equal Pay Act is meant to fix long-standing sex-based discrimination and bring wages into line with male-dominated professions. The amended rates will be back-paid to March 7, 2022.

Consultation closing soon

Far North District Council is one of eight local authorities that could temporarily reduce statutory 10-year planning commitments to three. According to the proposal by the Department of Internal Affairs, planning for just three years would reduce the burden on councils still assessing and dealing with the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and other major weather events, and offer communities more useful direction in the short term. Similar measures were taken following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes. Public consultation on the proposed changes closes on Friday, August 4. Learn more about the proposal at: dia.govt.nz/Local-Government-Cyclone-Response. Feedback can be emailed to: LGCycloneRecovery@dia.govt.nz.

Chess champs

Registration for the Northland Chess Championship — by the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board and Foundation North — is under way. The championship will be held on Saturday, October 28 at Kerikeri’s Turner Centre. Organisers have received 63 registrations in about the last month; a strong response compared to last year, when it took more than 65 days to achieve the same. This year’s registrations are made up of 24 seniors, 10 youths and 29 juniors. To enter, visit: sites.google.com/view/kerikerichessclub.

Paedophile back before court

A convicted paedophile has appeared on new charges for historical offending on another child. Clyde Rymer, 74, has entered not guilty pleas in the Kaikohe District Court to 12 charges of indecent assault on a boy and one charge of unlawful sexual connection on a boy for events alleged to have occurred in Russell between 1975 and 1978. Rymer was convicted and sentenced in 2022 to nine and a half years’ imprisonment for 21 historical charges that occurred between 2002 and 2006 on two young boys. Rymer is in custody and will reappear in the Kaikohe District Court at a later date.