Northland news in brief: Marlon Williams playing at Leigh; and Diwali festival on Saturday

Kiwi singer/songwriter Marlon Williams won't be playing in Northland on next year's national tour, but will get as close as Leigh.

Marlon Williams to play Leigh gig

Kiwi singer/songwriter Marlon Williams - who won the Silver Scroll in 2018 for his poignant ballad Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore - isn't quite going to make it to Northland on his 26-date national tour next year, but he will come pretty close for any fans wanting to see him.
Williams - who won the Silver Scroll in 2018 for his poignant ballad Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore - starts his national tour in Christchurch on February 25.
The closest the tour gets to Northland is at Leigh Sawmill on March 21.

Format change for Diwali

Uncertainty around Covid-19 has forced organisers of this year's Diwali celebration in Whangārei to change tack a bit but the food and entertainment galore won't be missing.
The Festival of Lights is scheduled for Saturday at Forum North and a full vegetarian buffet is on offer, together with dance and music from Auckland-based Monisha Kumar Dance Company.
Northland Indian Association board chairman Ralph Correa said instead of the usual theatre-style seating, this year there would be tables of eight and tickets were available only through Eventfinda. There will be seating for 300 people rather than 500 normally at the festival. Correa said because of the limited number of tickets, those who decided to buy them at the door may be disappointed.

Relief for Whangārei ED

A temporary Acute Assessment Unit, touted as the saviour to Whangārei Hospital's capacity problems, should be operational before Christmas. In the monthly Quality and Safety summary report prepared for yesterday's Northland District Health Board meeting, it stated the hospital had been "at or above capacity" for much of the last three weeks. The report recognised the risk this posed to patients and the wellbeing of staff. An Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), also referred to as a Medical Assessment Unit, is a facility inside a hospital where patients were seen in a more intensive and efficient fashion than on the wards. "We are taking urgent measures to open a temporary [AAU] before Christmas so that during the holiday period it is less likely that the Emergency Department will be overwhelmed," the report said.

New co-chairs for Labour Māori caucus

Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime and MP for Te Tai Tonga, Rino Tirikatene, have been unanimously elected as new co-chairs of the Labour Māori caucus.
The Labour MPs, who replace outgoing co-chairs Willie Jackson and Meka Whaitiri, say they are focused on continuing the caucus' work across government to deliver for Māori.
"Thanks to the support of our communities, the Labour Māori caucus now has a record 15 members, each a committed representative of their people," Prime said.
"The opportunity for Rino and I to lead this caucus in further improving the health of our whānau, the environment, and creating opportunities in the Māori economy is humbling and exciting. We are getting on with the job. Labour has a clear mandate from Māori to deliver on the policies of our Māori and wider Labour manifestos in order to get our whānau through these challenging times.''