Latest news with #Northlanders
Scoop
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
CityLink, BusLink Fares To Increase From August
Prices will increase across Northland's public transport network from Friday 01 August with authorities saying they have been left with little choice in the matter. Northland Regional Council member Joe Carr, who chairs the Northland Regional Transport Committee, says fares on Whangārei's CityLink service will revert to their 2018 level of $3 for adults and $2 for children, an increase of $1 per journey on the present fares. Fares on the rural BusLink services will rise by 50 cents per journey from Friday 01 August. Infants up to four years of age will continue to travel free of charge. Concessions for Community Service Card and Gold Card holders remain in place for CityLink and BusLink routes. From 01 August these concessions will also apply for the first time to BusLink's Bream Bay Link and Hikurangi Link, which had not previously been able to offer these discounts. "Council recognises that cost of living pressures are impacting on Northlanders and has for many years made every effort to keep bus fares as low as possible," Chair Carr says. However, he says the council - which administers the services - had been left with very little option, but to review fares. "Regional councils nationwide are having to find additional forms of funding to cover bus operational, infrastructure and administration costs in keeping with the Government Policy on Land Transport 2024.". During Covid and to assist with the cost-of-living crisis, the government had funded several fare reduction schemes across the country, but this funding had ceased in 2023. Chair Carr says even with the increased fares, Northland's charges are still largely in line with other parts of New Zealand. He says over the past two years CityLink has also made several improvements to the service, including the introduction of the SchoolLink service and extension to Route 3, an online bus tracking system, and the Rose Street bus hub redevelopment currently underway with Whangarei District Council. The council will run an awareness campaign shortly to inform passengers of the intended increases.
Scoop
4 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Follow Burning Rules, NRC Urges
Northlanders are being asked to follow the rules - and be courteous - or risk fines and other penalties as the pre-Winter burning season comes to an end. Group Manager - Regulatory Services, Colin Dall, says in a typical year roughly a quarter of all calls to the Northland Regional Council's 24/7 incident hotline (0800 504 639) involve complaints about burning and/or associated smoke nuisance. He says while for a long time the council had typically preferred to educate rather than take enforcement action, its approach had toughened in recent years as backyard burning continued to generate large numbers of complaints. The harder line also applies to those caught breaching the rules at industrial and trade premises. "Open burning at industrial or trade premises is not permitted under our Proposed Regional Plan and businesses breaching this rule are now more likely to receive a $1000 instant fine, rather than the warning they may have got previously." Mr Dall says burning on trade and industrial premises must be done in an "incineration device", which the Plan defines as: A device made from non-combustible materials designed to burn waste that: contains all embers and sparks has a grate and lid or spark arrestor, and is not used to generate energy. He says an open 44-gallon (170 litre) drum is not deemed to be an incineration device. "Those breaching the rules are liable for enforcement action which can range from instant fines of up to $1000, abatement notices and prosecution - the latter with the risk of much stiffer penalties - through the courts. Mr Dall says last year the council had issued 38 infringement notices ranging from $300 to $1000, 56 abatement notices and there had been two court-ordered enforcement orders for burning-related incidents. He says the council's Proposed Regional Plan effectively bans backyard burning in the more densely populated Whangārei urban area. "People living within the Whangārei city airshed - which is roughly bordered by Maunu, Onerahi, Tikipunga, Springs Flat and Hurupaki - can only burn some waste materials during the period from 01 September to 31 May the following year if the size of their property exceeds one hectare or they have a resource consent to burn." "Only waste that is paper, untreated wood, cardboard or vegetation can be burnt." Mr Dall says Northlanders outside the Whangārei urban area can still have outside fires, providing; they don't cause offensive or objectionable smoke or odour to neighbours if the fire is going to last for more than 24 hours and is within 100 metres of a smoke sensitive area, the person lighting it needs to notify all neighbours within 100 metres of the fire they don't obscure vision along a public road fires only contain waste that is paper, untreated wood, cardboard and vegetation (or animal remains where the burning is on agricultural land). (This ability to have fires obviously does not apply when restricted fire season or fire bans are in place.) Mr Dall says in general the regional council is keen to encourage alternatives to backyard burning (regardless of location) wherever possible. "Waste vegetation can be composted or mulched, larger branches can be used as firewood and paper and other materials can usually be recycled." If waste vegetation is being burnt, a lot of problems can be easily avoided just by ensuring it has been given plenty of time to dry out, rather than burning it green. However, Mr Dall says even if some burning is allowed, council rules and national regulations specifically ban the burning of some materials on health and environmental grounds. These include rubber tyres, coated metal wires, treated timber, plastic containers, motor vehicle parts and waste oil. Mr Dall says general information on the rules around backyard burning - including a more detailed map of the existing Whangārei airshed - is also available at:
NZ Herald
29-05-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
NZTA clarifies winter road closure warning after Northland concerns
A warning that some state highways could be 'proactively' closed this winter before bad weather hits sparked a flurry of concern from Northlanders. However, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi [NZTA] has since clarified that the message mainly applied to the South Island. NZTA posted a warning on its Northland
NZ Herald
27-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Nearly one million pests trapped in 12 years, Northland kiwi population thrives
Northlanders are trapping about 2300 pests a week, allowing native wildlife, including kiwi, to thrive. Trap catch data collated by Kiwi Coast showed that, in 2024, 120,520 pests were trapped, averaging 2300 a week. The data is collated annually from Kiwi Coast's network of landowners, community groups and hapū-led
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Weather alert for Northland: Risk of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms
Heavy rain in April caused slips that twice closed SH1 over Mangamuka Gorge, south of Kaitāia. Now Northlanders are being urged to prepare for heavy rain again. Stormy weather is on the way tonight for Te Tai Tokerau, with Civil Defence Northland urging people to drive with extra care and stay up-to-date with forecasts. MetService NZ has issued two alerts for Northland – a Heavy Rain Watch and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch – from 5pm on Monday to around 6am Tuesday. The severe weather is part of a front expected to bring rain and thunderstorms to western parts of the North Island, from Taranaki northwards. The Heavy Rain Watch for Northland warns of periods of heavy rain with possible downpours. There is a moderate chance of this upgrading to an orange Heavy Rain Warning. The Severe Thunderstorm Watch warns of possible localised downpours, with rainfall rates of 25mm/h to 40mm/h.
