The Police Eagle helicopter has been called in to help search for a pig hunter who failed to walk out of bush in Northland yesterday.
The alarm was raised after a hunter reported about 1pm yesterday he had last seen his hunting mate about 12 hours earlier at 1.30am. A police spokesman said the hunters had gone in together but had become separated. The police helicopter from Auckland was scheduled to arrive in Northland just after 3.30pm. A Search and Rescue police team from Whangārei, were setting up a base on Kaiikanui Rd, near Mimiwhangata Rd, a rural area of steep bush land.Ticket demand
The NgaiTakoto 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza organisers were surprised by the huge demand for tickets for this year's competition, but next year's look like selling out even faster. Last year's competitors had first dibs on 2021 tickets, and accounted for more than 650 of them. The remaining 300-odd went on general sale at 9am yesterday. Some intending competitors said they would be late to work because they wanted to be at their computers at 9am so they wouldn't miss out.
"The demand has been phenomenal," organiser John Stewart said, adding that he expected the last ticket to sell by the end of the month.
Speed limit review
Whangārei District Council is reviewing speed limits in Waipū, Ruakākā, One Tree Pt and Vinegar Hill. Submissions were sought late last year and 107 submissions were received. Hearings were held in March, just before the Covid-19 lockdown. Site visits to assess the information received in the submissions have been completed and a report of final recommendations is under way. Once it has been reviewed it will go to council for approval. Road safety and traffic team lead, Nick Marshall said any new speed limits arising from the review will be introduced in stages. "This will include mapping the locations and developing the signs, then changing the Speed Limits Bylaw so that the new speed limits can be enforced." The next areas to be reviewed will include the Whangārei Heads area, Parua Bay, Cove Rd between Waipū and Mangawhai and some beaches. The process for these areas will be publicly notified. Family harm surge
Police in Kaitaia had their work cut out keeping up with a surge in family harm last weekend. "We had 14 reported incidents in 72 hours," Senior Sergeant Russell Richards said, "and while some of them were relatively minor, they all involved a considerable amount of time."
