News briefs from Northland: forestry project launched and Lemons Hill open

A project to get more Northland youth to work in the forestry sector has launched this week.

Youth project for forestry sector

A project to get more Northland youth work in the forestry sector will be launched in Whangarei on Friday. The Tupu Ake Project launch will be held at Te Puna o Te Matauranga Marae, NorthTec Raumanga Campus, Whangārei, on Friday at 1.30pm.

Tupu Ake is a project led by Forest Protection Services supported by Te Matarau Education Trust, NorthTec and partners to provide supported employment and training to Whangārei youth aged 15-24. Funded by MBIE through He Poutama Rangatahi, the project provides paid employment and training to youth in the forestry industry and builds a new generation of forestry professionals.

Kauri Dieback roadshow

The Kauri Dieback roadshow is in Northland for a short round of consultation about dealing with the deadly disease. Three public meetings were scheduled for the area which has the country's most kauri and biggest trees. They were at Mangamuka yesterday, Barge Park, Whangārei, last night and at Northtec's Te Puna o Te Matauranga Marae, Whangārei, 10am-3pm today. The meetings are for the multi-agency Kauri Dieback Programme Governance Group to share knowledge and get on side with communities and hapu where kauri are already dying or vulnerable.

Highway 11 fully reopens

State Highway 11 at Lemons Hill in the Bay of Islands has reopened to two lane traffic.
SH11 has been open most days since the end of April to one lane traffic under stop/go management as work continued to clear the February 13 slip that closed the route between Kawakawa and Opua.

"The weather has been a challenge and caused us a few setbacks but we're very pleased to reach the point of being able to fully reopen the road for residents and visitors. We appreciate the patience and understanding that people have shown as we've worked to make the hillside safe and stable," NZ Transport Agency's Northland System Manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said. "We are not quite finished. We'll have to go back to one lane traffic for a short time in mid-July to allow the installation of the final curb, channelling and safety barriers."

Take care on roads

Police are encouraging people to pay attention when they mingle with traffic after a man was struck by a vehicle in Kaitaia's main street last week. The man, who was wearing headphones, suffered an injury to his right leg when he was knocked down, a spokesman said.

Man trespassed from hospital

Kaitaia police last week trespassed a local man from Kaitaia Hospital. He had made himself unwelcome by "throwing stuff" at staff, a police spokesman said, adding that this was not the first time he had been trespassed from a property.