National's Matt King has conceded defeat and will no longer ask for a judicial recount after losing the Northland seat in the recent general election.
He won the seat on election night but was overturned on Friday by Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime after the official count, including special votes gave her a 163 vote majority, the smallest in the country.
King said he had decided to not ask for a recount after sleeping on the result and consulting friends and colleagues.
"The reality of a recount swinging Northland back in my favour is beyond a tall order when looking at how recounts have gone in the past," he said on Facebook.
"I have called Willow-Jean Prime and congratulated her on being elected as the MP for Northland.
"It has been the honour of my life to represent the place I am so proud to call home ... Thank you Northland, it's been a blast."
Nurses to rally
New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Primary Health Care nurses and staff members will be holding rallies today in support of their 24-hour strike, including in Northland.
NZNO has issued to employers a second 24-hour strike notice for November 23 in the event no progress is made before then on their pay claims.
Members and supporters will be holding signs with key messages on them and handing out leaflets detailing their dispute.
There will be a rally at the Canopy Bridge, at Whangārei Town Basin, today from 12pm-1pm.
Quiet weekend for fire crews
Northland fire crews were treated to a quiet weekend, with no fireworks-related incidents to respond to at all. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman for the North region said there were no fires related to Guy Fawkes from Thursday through to Sunday and only four callouts in the entire region which covers the top half of the North Island. FENZ Whangārei Kaipara area manager Brad Mosby said the weather had a lot to do with it. "We had three days of unsettled weather in Northland. Those that bought them let them off, but the weather we had has reduced the risk of vegetation fires." It wasn't just a quiet Guy Fawkes in Northland - firefighters responded to just 15 fireworks-related incidents around the country compared to 250 fireworks-related incidents on the week of Guy Fawkes last year.
Regional council by-election
Nominations for those wishing to contest the Whangārei Urban seat left vacant with the recent resignation of former regional councillor John Bain will begin on November 24.
Independent contractor Election Services, which is handling the by-election, said the relatively lengthy, legally-prescribed process means it will probably be March next year before the eventual winner is officially sworn in.
However, the by-election process effectively begins in earnest with the formal nomination period, which will run December 22.
To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must be: enrolled as a Parliamentary elector in New Zealand); a New Zealand citizen; and nominated by two electors of the Whangārei Urban constituency. For more information see www.nrc.govt.nz/by-election.
Covid cases
There were six new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand on Sunday.
Five are recent arrivals detected in managed isolation and one is a close contact of the Auckland quarantine worker first reported by the Ministry on Friday.
New Zealand's total number of active cases is 48, while the country's total number of confirmed cases is now 1626.
