EVERYONE understands that we are an exporting nation. There aren't enough of us to consume everything we produce, and if there were we'd go broke. But we need to import stuff too, stuff that we can't make for ourselves.

Awanui man Valley Taylor flew to Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday, to say his own farewell to the man widely regarded as the greatest boxer, perhaps the greatest athlete, of all time.

Charlie Petera, the last surviving member of A Company of the 28th Maori Battalion, died at his home at Ngataki on Friday night, surrounded by his whanau. He was 91.

A customary permit was no defence for 39-year-old Ahipara sickness beneficiary Michael Jake Pene in the Kaitaia District Court last week.

INTERACTIVE: Explore map of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies to see how your neighbourhood compares with the rest of the country.

Murray Child and Dice did the local sheep dog trial scene proud by winning the New Zealand long head title in the deep south on Saturday.

It was one of the smaller gatherings he had addressed as Mayor, but John Carter was clearly delighted to be part of Sunday's official opening of Kaitaia's Menzshed.

Open the Curtains community initiatives manager Jason Reti almost did himself an injury last week to show the Far North District Council what Kaitaia can do on its own behalf.

In my letter published in this column several years ago, written to express concern for our safety and quality of life when both were being compromised by the behaviour of some drivers and riders here on the streets and beaches of Ahipara...

Sir Graham Latimer, who died yesterday, was remembered for helping raise status of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Jason Gardiner is obviously a traditional sort of bloke, so when it came time to propose to Gia-Dene Laing he did it properly, on bended - and in unparalleled style.

Sir Graham Latimer helped make the Treaty of Waitangi a cornerstone of modern New Zealand society. Prime Minister John Key has led tributes.

Muriwhenua's Te Puhi Rudolph and Penetaui Jones featured for the New Zealand Maori Residential side which overwhelmed an Auckland representative XIII in Taranaki over Queen's Birthday Weekend.

MANY of our reserves are beautifully-preserved time capsules that have remained largely unchanged over the decades, which contain some wonderful heritage values and history.

I wake most mornings and my first thoughts inevitably are, "Isn't it great to be alive?" I'm so privileged to live in the greatest country in the world, and IMHO (in my humble opinion) Northland is the best part of this great country.

WE ARE all familiar with the fact that New Zealand is home to haves and have nots. And that the gap seems to have become a chasm.

The 51-year-old Kaitaia man accused of murdering 29-year-old Joseph Rowland Keogh on April 11 last year has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Pareaute (Polly) Nathan has received the Queen's Service Medal for services to Maori and education in the Far North over half a century.

Te Hiku Hauora in Kaitaia is celebrating the recognition of two of its nurses at last month's ACE award presentations in Kaikohe.

Angela Herbert-Graves (May 17) has learnt a lot about long-dead concepts of sovereignty, even quoting a 1569 Frenchman who called it perpetual power over citizens ... to which after immortal God we owe all things."

The Far North featured prominently at Friday night's Te Hiringa Tai Tokerau Maori Business Awards in Whangarei, although the Maori Business of the Year title went to Whangarei's Waipapa Pine (formerly Kerikeri Timber Products Ltd).

A change in the Far North District Council's approach to rating land in multiple Maori ownership is encouraging owners to resolve rates debts and bring neglected land into production.

Gun thieves may be cold-calling collectors in a bid to find out whether they are at home.

The Muriwhenua reps running out victorious on home turf at Waipapakauri on Saturday to make it all square in the inaugural Iwi Origin series and set up the much anticipated deciding showdown in the third and final leg later this year.

Every morning a group of Kaitaia College students are up early, making sure their fellow pupils have a decent meal before they start the school day. And recording their efforts has won them a national award.

I recently had occasion to purchase hamburgers from one of the international franchises operating in Kaitaia.

DIFFICULT problems would be easier to solve without the chorus of 'You can't do that!' breaking out every time someone has an idea.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who recognises the shirt left behind by a burglar as he fled from an address in Kaitaia in the early hours of Saturday morning.

A retired American tourist who admitted causing the deaths of two Northland women in a crash on SH10 at Puketona on April 30 was guilty of driving offences at the lower end of the scale, despite the "huge tragedy" it caused.

Paihia's Bay Bush Action Trust won the supreme 2016 Trustpower Far North District Community Award in Kerikeri on Thursday night.