A woman was taken to Whangārei Hospital with moderate injuries after her vehicle rolled down a bank in Ngunguru on Monday. Her car left Kaiatea Rd shortly before 11am, and required the help of the Northland Rescue Helicopter and Ngunguru Volunteer Fire Brigade to retrieve her from the wreckage.
Regatta cancelled
The Coastal Classic yachting regatta, which was to have been held in Auckland on Labour Weekend, has been cancelled. The Wander Women Adventure Race, which was to have been held on the Russell Peninsula on November 13, has been postponed until March 12, 2022.
Consumer spend drops
The immediate impact of the latest Covid-19 lockdown on Northland's economy show weekly consumer spending fell by 24 per cent compared with 2019 levels during the three weeks since August 18. It has since rebounded to be 13 per cent above 2019 levels, the strongest increase among the 16 regions. Any impact on jobs is still to be seen. An additional 438 Northlanders received Jobseeker Support in mid-September, compared with mid-August, a rise of 3.9 per cent.
Vote for birds and bats
Voting opened yesterday in Forest & Bird's 16th annual Bird of the Year/Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau competition. This year's competition will see 75 birds and one bat vie to be the nation's favourite native species.
There are many categories and a few new candidates on the list for 2021. As in previous years, voters can rank their top five favourite species in an STV-style voting system.
Voting ends on October 31 at 5pm. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 1. More information can be found at birdoftheyear.org.nz
Eat more veg
One in five Kiwis struggles to put good food on the table each week.
This National Gardening Week (October 18-25 ) everyone is being encouraged to grow an extra row to share with neighbours, community pantries, food banks and other local food donation agencies.
Candice Luke, lead kaitiaki at Pātaka Kai, a national community pantry movement that encourages the co-sharing of food, welcomed the initiative. There are 158 Pātaka Kai locations around the country. Vulnerable community members who are ineligible for assistance through other avenues are able to quickly access food through their local Pātaka Kai.
