Far North news in brief: Lotto luck; Māori ward debate; and robbery arrest

The Lotto balls fell kindly for the holder of a ticket sold in Mangōnui, that won $10,377 with Lotto second division on Saturday.

Lotto luck

A ticket sold in Mangōnui was among 32 nationally that each won more than $10,000 with Lotto second division on Saturday.

The ticket, sold at Gloss, in Mangōnui, won its holder $10,377. It’s the second bit of Lotto luck at the store this year, after another ticket sold there was one of two that split the first division prize, earning its holder $500,000 in March.

A second division-winning ticket was also sold on Saturday at Kamo Lotto. Powerball will be worth $15 million on Wednesday.

Māori ward meeting

Far North District Council will meet on Thursday to discuss whether to retain its Māori ward and seek a referendum at the next local election.

Councillors will be at an extraordinary full council meeting in Kaikohe from 1pm to discuss the contentious issue.

The recommendation from staff for the meeting is to reaffirm the council decision to retain its Māori ward “Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward” and conduct a poll with the 2025 triennial elections on whether Māori ward(s) will be in place for the 2028 and 2031 triennial elections.

Firearm discharged

One person is in custody following a report of a person allegedly discharging a firearm from a vehicle in the Far North. Police were called to Horeke Road, west of Ōkaihau at about 1.10pm on Sunday. A firearm was located and seized. There were no reports of injuries and police are making further inquiries.

Robbery arrest

A 34-year-old man is due to reappear in Kaitāia District Court today on robbery charges after he allegedly seized cash while being served at Mangōnui Four Square. Police say the offender queued to pay for an item and when the till opened grabbed a handful of cash and ran from the store. Police made several inquiries into CCTV footage and a vehicle of interest, and on Friday executed a search warrant at a Kaikohe address.

Top real estate award

A Far North real estate agent has won one of the major accolades at her company’s annual national awards ceremony.

This year’s Ray White CEO Cup was awarded to Laura Knox-Whyte from Ray White Kerikeri. The judges said Knox-Whyte represents Ray White’s values at the highest level. Ray White chief executive Daniel Coulson said she and her family had made a multi-generational commitment to Ray White.

“They have supported their members and community for many years - this year, however, the circumstances arose for Ray White to unlock an opportunity, which meant the onboarding of members from three offices of a direct competitor in their wider market,” Coulson said.

“Laura’s response was simple. She offered to do whatever was in the best interest of the group and in turn helped us to unlock the entire area. Without her support, it would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible to achieve.”

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