Northland news in brief: Bus service resumes to Far North; and naked man rescued

InterCity will resume its bus service to Kaitaia from July 1.

Bus service to resume
National bus network InterCity will resume its services to the Far North additional services to Northland from July 1.
The services will travel between Kaitaia and Whangarei, with connections through to Auckland on existing routes. Services to the Far North were suspended following the nationwide lockdown under Alert Level 4, and services to Kerikeri and Whangarei resumed on May 28.
CEO John Thorburn said the company is excited to resume services to the Far North and reconnect communities.
The services will operate on a reduced schedule, four days per week. InterCity expects to announce the restart of more suspended services in the coming weeks.
Bookings can be made at intercity.co.nz

Rescued naked man critical

A naked man who had to be rescued after getting stuck in a stream in Kerikeri on Friday has been admitted to Whangārei Hospital in a critical condition.
A Kerikeri resident was driving home about 1pm when he saw the man emerge from Darwin Rd without clothing and run along Inlet Rd.
The motorist called police and followed the man as he ran towards town and tried to wade across Wairoa Stream near the Cobham Rd bridge.
However, the bank was slippery after heavy rain and he was unable to get out of the stream.
Two police officers were also unable to get him out so the Kerikeri Fire Brigade was called. The volunteers brought blankets and a stretcher to haul him up the bank.
The man was initially taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa by St John Ambulance, then flown to Whangārei Hospital in a critical condition by the Northland Rescue Helicopter. Police believe the man had been taking drugs.

Shellfish ban extended

The taking of shellfish has been banned from Marsden Bank and Mair Bank, in Whangārei Harbour, for another two years. The Ministry for Primary Industries closed Mair Bank and Marsden Bank to all recreational and commercial shellfish take in 2014 to give stocks a chance to replenish. The closure came after data showed a substantial decline in pipi abundance at Mair Bank, and no halt to the decline or sign of recovery in the pipi population at the adjacent Marsden Bank, despite a temporary closure in place since 2011. MPI, at the request of local hapu Patuharakeke, has extended the closure to June 28, 2022.

Northland gets new officers

Northland has two new officers from the latest graduation from the Police College, with one already serving the public as a Coastguard volunteer. Constable Gareth Williams, a father and grandfather, has been a Coastguard volunteer and it was during this time that he started to think about joining the police. "The seed of community service was planted, but it was when my eldest daughter – an authorised officer who wants to become a police officer – took me along to a recruitment evening that becoming a police officer seemed to be the perfect fit. I have a desire to serve and give back to the community, and wanted a change from my career of over 30 years working for IT and communications companies." The 38 new officers graduated on Wednesday.

Forestry Trust intake

The Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust has welcomed its second intake of trainees into the Ngā Māhuri o Ngāti Hine programme at Te Rito Marae, Moerewa. Following the success of the 2019 intake having 18 of the 20 trainees complete the programme and move into fulltime employment, trust chairman Pita Tipene said: "Ngā Māhuri are the saplings and Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust is the vehicle to support these trainees to reach their full potential." Funded by Te Uru Rākau, a key feature of the programme is earn while you learn, which supports trainees to undertake Level 2 training while maintaining a meaningful income for their whānau, trust CEO Huhana Lyndon said. The trainees will this year plant more than 200ha of Ngāti Hine land, and complete Level 2 forestry training through Recruitment Me.