Northland news in brief: Property values up
Northland Road Safety Trust and its child restraint technician are offering free car seat checks, installs, tips and advice this week as part of Road Safety Week 2025. The aim is to ensure all car seats are installed correctly and safely, as 80% of child restraints are installed or used incorrectly. They will be at Otangarei Marae from 3pm until 6pm on Thursday, May 15. On Friday, May 16, a Road Safety Hero relay around the Hatea Loop will start at 1pm at the Canopy Bridge. Dress up in your most creative hero costume, pick up some road safety tips on the way, and be in to win one of many giveaways.
DoC hut booking
The Department of Conservation has opened bookings for its huts for the 2025/26 season, starting with backcountry huts, cabins, lodges and cottages. Bookings are open for popular shared huts like the Coromandel's Pinnacles Hut, Bushline in Nelson Lakes and Aspiring Hut. Fully bookable options include Te Whare Mata Uraura on Matiu/Somes Island, The Camphouse in Taranaki and Mimiwhangata Beach House in Northland. There are seven DoC huts in Northland. To make a booking, go to: https://www.doc.govt.nz.
Safe-drinking drive
The Far North District Council has called on people across the district to share their thoughts on the selling and consumption of alcohol as the council aims to support safe, responsible drinking and reduce alcohol-related harm in communities. Insights will advise the council on how alcohol-free areas apply and develop a Local Alcohol Policy. The survey is open until May 30 and can be found on the council's website.
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DOC defends parking charges at Punakaiki Pancake Rocks
The Conservation Department is defending its plan to charge for parking at Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks and other tourist hotspots in National Parks. DOC is about to trial paid parking in its carpark next to the new Punangairi Visitor Centre in Punakaiki, and at Franz Josef and Aoraki Mt Cook. Punakaiki café owner Grant Parrett has objected, telling the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board this month that DOC would be effectively charging people to visit a National Park. But DOC's senior project manager John Dore said the parking charges would not contravene the National Parks Act. "The Conservation Act 1987 allows for charging fair and reasonable fees for the use of facilities within conservation areas, which includes DOC car parks, backcountry huts, and campsites." ADVERTISEMENT Charging for carparks was common practice in National Parks around the world, Dore said. "It's considered a practical way for visitors to contribute to the facilities and nature they enjoy… it can also help manage demand and improve safety.' Parrett said Dolomite Point, the location of the Pancake Rocks and the visitor centre, was a special case. The carpark can get busy in the summer months. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) "It's on State Highway 6, the Coast Road, and people like to stop off there on a long drive and stretch their legs. But, if you force them to use the DOC carpark, you're effectively charging them an entry fee to the National Park." Until a couple of months ago, there were 12 free car park spaces on the side of the highway heading north, but they had since been removed, Parrett said. NZTA Waka Kotahi has confirmed the removal of the parks last month was initiated by DOC, as a part of the Dolomite Point redevelopment. ADVERTISEMENT "DOC completed a traffic safety assessment in 2020 which, in conjunction with the development of parking facilities off the state highway, recommended the removal of the on-road state highway parking to improve safety. "NZTA endorsed the recommendations of this assessment in 2022," a spokesperson told LDR. NZTA had assessed the 12 roadside parks in the context of the new visitor centre development, and concluded that removing them would improve safety for all road users, especially pedestrians, a spokesperson said. It meant fewer people would be crossing the road to get to their cars, giving drivers better visibility of people on the pedestrian crossing between the visitor centre and the Pancake Rocks track, NZTA said. But Parrett said the speed limit through the area was 40km/h and the roadside parks had not been considered a safety risk in the past. "Fair enough, remove them if you're going to offer free parking on the other side but they're not. It's pretty poor because those free parks allowed 12 West Coast locals or other New Zealanders to pull up and just go for a walk around the rocks. "You're not going to go to the visitor centre every time you pass through." ADVERTISEMENT Parrett said the issue was fairness rather than safety. Punakaiki café owner Grant Parrett says DOC is effectively charging people to visit a National Park. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) People would not be able to visit the famous Pancake Rocks and blowholes without paying, he said. "That makes it a quasi-entry fee to a National Park. Sure, if you can manage a 20-minute walk you could find a free park down the road. But you shouldn't have to. DOC should not have a monopoly on parking," Parrett said. NZTA Waka Kotahi said the paid parking trial did "alter the parking environment" in Punakaiki, but the recommendations of the traffic safety assessment did not change because of that. "If the paid parking trial does contribute to unsafe operating conditions on the state highway, we would expect DOC to address this," the NZTA spokesperson said. By Lois Williams, LDR Reporter ADVERTISEMENT Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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Be A Road Safety Hero This Road Safety Week
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NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Northland news in brief: Property values up
Free car seat checks Northland Road Safety Trust and its child restraint technician are offering free car seat checks, installs, tips and advice this week as part of Road Safety Week 2025. The aim is to ensure all car seats are installed correctly and safely, as 80% of child restraints are installed or used incorrectly. They will be at Otangarei Marae from 3pm until 6pm on Thursday, May 15. On Friday, May 16, a Road Safety Hero relay around the Hatea Loop will start at 1pm at the Canopy Bridge. Dress up in your most creative hero costume, pick up some road safety tips on the way, and be in to win one of many giveaways. DoC hut booking The Department of Conservation has opened bookings for its huts for the 2025/26 season, starting with backcountry huts, cabins, lodges and cottages. Bookings are open for popular shared huts like the Coromandel's Pinnacles Hut, Bushline in Nelson Lakes and Aspiring Hut. Fully bookable options include Te Whare Mata Uraura on Matiu/Somes Island, The Camphouse in Taranaki and Mimiwhangata Beach House in Northland. There are seven DoC huts in Northland. To make a booking, go to: Safe-drinking drive The Far North District Council has called on people across the district to share their thoughts on the selling and consumption of alcohol as the council aims to support safe, responsible drinking and reduce alcohol-related harm in communities. Insights will advise the council on how alcohol-free areas apply and develop a Local Alcohol Policy. The survey is open until May 30 and can be found on the council's website.
