The Provincial Growth Fund will pay for preliminary work around the establishment of a Ngawha innovation and enterprise park on State Highway 12 east of Kaikohe. The $890,000 funding will help develop a business case study, site assessment, preparation of applications for a private plan change and resource consents, and initiating discussions with potential occupants, tenants […]

The Department of Conservation has approved a $411,000 plan by a leading Hawke’s Bay conservation trust to release up to 200 kiwi in the 11,400ha Pohokura Forest between 2019 and 2024. The move is an important third step in an ambitious kiwi conservation plan to control predators and establish self-sustaining populations of North Island Brown […]

Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (NZX:MMH) announces that it has recorded a Net Surplus of $4.444 million (2017 – $5.297 million) for the interim six-month reporting period to 31 December 2018, a reduction on last year, primarily as a result of lower bulk cargo through Northport. Overall cargo throughput at Northport Ltd was down 11.0% to […]

Representatives from the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) and four Mid North retirement living and aged-care providers have expressed concern to the Far North District Council (FNDC) that the Far North District Plan currently under consideration does not adequately take into account the needs and impact of the growing number of elderly here. The five organisations […]

Northport Ltd is delighted that the geotechnical tests for the Marsden Point spur line have taken place and we look forward to the results. Efficient transport links are vital for the entire region to realise its full economic potential and we will support wholeheartedly any development that seeks to achieve this. We continue to work […]

Kerikeri Retirement Village, Mitre 10 Kerikeri and ChargeNet have joined forces to open a new electric vehicle (EV) charge facility in the car-park outside Mitre 10 in the Waipapa shopping centre.  Funding for the EV charging station came through the EECA Low Emission Vehicles Fund.  Through the fund the Village now operates a fleet of […]

Family politics, a 120-year-old love story and modern-day research to see if native wood can be harvested sustainably for commercial use have converged in an historic church in Northland’s Matauri Bay. The iconic Samuel Marsden Māori Anglican Church building is dedicated to the memory of Reverend Samuel Marsden, whose early missionary success can in part […]

Leading farm nutrient supplier Ballance Agri-Nutrients will be investing in its Northland presence over the next four years to improve services to Northland farmers and growers. The four-stage upgrade includes the demolition of its Port Road plant in Whangarei, along with the sale of another property and the opening of two new centres, one in […]

Maintenance dredging will take place at Northport next week for the first time in 17 years. Work to remove sediment build-up in the ship turning basin near Snake Bank, along Northport’s linear berth and at Refining NZ’s Jetty 1 berth pocket will start on 7 January and continue for most of the month. Northport stressed […]

Russell Wharf infrastructure Far North Holdings has appointed Bellingham Marine to undertake the infrastructure upgrades planned for Russell Wharf. Work on the $1.25 million project, paid for with a grant from the Provincial Growth Fund, is expected to start in March next year to fit in with the contractor’s work programme and avoid interfering with […]

Drought, fires and difficult days for stock may be at hand if traditional Māori botanical indicators are to be believed. Ti kauka, or cabbage trees, in the Maungataniwha Native Forest in inland Hawke’s Bay are among several species to be flowering unusually prolifically or early this year, an event understood to forecast a long, hot, […]

SailGP sea trials will take place from mid-October in Northland. The competitive sailing series’ new-class wingsailed F50 catamarans will be tested here and the region will become the central technical and development hub for the production and delivery of some of the most advanced boats in the world. Designed and constructed by New Zealand’s Core Builders […]

A donated goods processing centre and retail outlet being built by Hospice Mid-Northland on its Kerikeri Road site is largely complete and set to open within the next few months. The innovative insulated panel building is one of only three in the District and will help the organisation potentially to earn an extra $100,000 a […]

A leading conservation trust has committed $250,000 to reintroducing kiwi to the 11,400ha Pohokura Forest in the central North Island. The Department of Conservation has approved a $411,000 plan by the Trust to release up to 200 kiwi in the a tranche of private land between 2019 and 2024. Reintroduction will be accompanied by extensive predator control work. The […]

Three out of every four viable kiwi eggs lifted from a Hawke’s Bay forest during the 2017/2018 season of Operation Nest Egg have resulted in juvenile birds that will be returned either to the forest or to a captive breeding programme this summer (2018/2019). Of 59 eggs that were taken for incubation from the Forest […]

Significant restructuring of the Maritime car-park in Paihia will cause disruption there between 20 August and 23 September. Council’s commercial trading and asset management firm Far North Holdings is changing the layout of the area to improve commercial vehicle flow, boost traffic safety and enhance pedestrian access to the wharf. The traffic island in the […]

Most submissions to a public consultation process on a building to replace the existing, non-compliant kiosk on Russell Wharf have favoured redevelopment, with design-option A emerging as the preferred choice. Far North Holdings received 139 submissions as part of its voluntary consultation process involving the Russell community. Of these, 85 (61 percent) indicated that they […]

Minister of Regional Economic Development Shane Jones drove a digger bucket through the old Bay of Islands Airport building today to mark the start of construction of a larger and more fit-for-purpose terminal. His demolition effort was watched by members of the construction team, Kipa Munro of Ngāti Rēhia, deputy mayor Tania McInnes, and representatives of […]

Far North Holdings has filed a resource consent application with the Far North District Council for the ability to develop and sub-divide 17 sites located along Franklin, Baffin and Kellet streets in Opua. An application to Northland Regional Council for earthworks consent has also been filed. The company says no decisions have yet been taken […]

Far North Holdings (FNHL) has been commissioned by the Ministry of Education to build a new area office in Kaitaia, on the site of the car-park the company owns at the corner of Redan Road and Commerce Street. The Ministry plans to move into the new building in December this year. Aspects of the building’s […]

The first containers to be used on a new direct shipping service between Whangarei, Brisbane and Singapore were delivered to Northport today aboard a vessel named, appropriately, Northern Diplomat. The seasonal fortnightly shipping link is being offered to Northland businesses by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a global leader in sea cargo transportation and logistics, and will improve […]

Well-known Hawke’s Bay conservation specialist Tamsin Ward-Smith has joined Hawke’s Bay-based Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust to assist with expanding the Trust’s kiwi conservation work. Her brief includes overseeing the development of chicks that hatch from eggs collected at the Trust’s property in the Maungataniwha Native Forest, working with the predator-proof sanctuaries where they are raised […]

Four more Far North economic development projects championed by the District Council’s commercial trading and asset management arm, Far North Holdings, are to receive $6.724 million of government funding from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) launched by the Minister of Regional Economic Development, Shane Jones, last month. They are: a new terminal at Bay of […]

Far North District Council is consulting with ratepayers across the district about whether to transfer ownership of Russell Wharf from Council to Far North Holdings Ltd (the Council-owned ‘delivery vehicle’ for Council’s commercial activities). The proposed transfer forms part of the Long-Term Plan (2018-2028) on which Council is currently consulting with ratepayers. The question about […]

Two Far North economic development projects championed by the District Council’s commercial trading and asset management arm, Far North Holdings, are to receive almost $7 million of government funding, primarily from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) launched by the Minister of Regional Economic Development, Shane Jones, in Gisborne today. They are: a new interpretive gallery […]

The last pine trees have been felled in a major Hawke’s Bay forest regeneration project that aims to convert a 4,000-hectare pine plantation back to native vegetation. Over 3,500 hectares of the Maungataniwha Pine Forest have now been logged since 2006 and are now in the process of being re-converted back to native forest by land […]

Bay of Islands Airport owner and operator Far North Holdings says it hopes to start work at the end of April on expansion of the terminal building there. Work to modernise the facility is expected to be complete by May 2019. Passenger numbers have grown by a third since Air New Zealand started flying larger […]

A bumper harvest of kiwi eggs has marked the first half of this year’s kiwi conservation work in the Maungataniwha Native Forest in inland Hawke’s Bay. Conservationists working for the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust have lifted 32 eggs so far, compared to 46 for the entire season last year, and are reporting viability rates of […]

Northport Ltd is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Cargo volumes at Marsden Point have more than doubled since the port opened in 2002 to a record 3.64 million tonnes last financial year. Ship calls have increased from 93 a year to 250 a year over that period, with berth occupancy now at a record 66.4 percent, […]

Kiwi conservation data suggests kiwi are not great travellers Specially-trained kiwi conservation dogs used to sniff out kiwi in the Maungataniwha Native Forest, just south of Te Urewera, are finding a large proportion of unidentified adults, indicating that that intensive and ongoing predator control efforts there are proving effective. 38 adult birds have been found […]

A dawn unveiling ceremony at Bay of Islands Marina in Opua today conferred the blessing of tangata whenua on 149 new marina berths and work which will start soon on the next phase of the marina’s expansion project. Four pou were unveiled, along with a commemorative anchor stone and a touchstone representing local hapū Ngāti […]

A kiwi population survey conducted in the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust’s sanctuary in the Maungataniwha Native Forest has yielded an adjusted male call rate of 2.53 an hour. This is high by Hawke’s Bay standards and compares favourably with rates of 0.5 an hour just across the Waiau River in unmanaged parts of Te Urewera […]

Far North Holdings is warning that a temporary parking area will replace parking next to the Opua launch ramp between August and mid October 2017, while the main area is resurfaced and marked out. The gravelled surface of the car park will be replaced with a full tar seal as part of the Bay of […]

New forest resident secures kiwi conservation for next three decades A very ordinary brown kiwi with an unremarkable name signalled a truly outstanding feat of endangered species conservation last week. Kevin the kiwi became the 200th young adult bird to be released into the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust’s Maungataniwha Native Forest property in inland Hawke’s Bay, […]

Far North Holdings has entered into a commercial agreement with the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Hokianga to redevelop and expand its accommodation. The Far North District Council’s commercial arm is to build 10 high-end units on adjacent land which it will own and lease back to the hotel. Construction is taking place in two phases. […]

Construction of the proposed new terminal building at Bay of Islands Airport near Kerikeri has been pushed back a year to April 2018 to future-proof the airport against the potential introduction of new security requirements for domestic airports in New Zealand. In light of the possible new requirements, airport owner Far North Holdings has had […]

Refining NZ has started the next round of public consultation about its proposal to bring bigger cargoes of crude to Marsden Point. The most visible part of the consultation – The Deeper Story pop-up container – outlining the rationale, and scope of the proposal will be located in and around Whangarei from March 25 with […]

Northport Ltd welcomes and supports the announcement last week by Minister of Transport Simon Bridges about State Highway 1 upgrades. More than twenty kilometres south of Whangarei are to be widened in the largest roading project yet undertaken in Northland. The State Highway 1 upgrades announcement sends a positive message regarding central government’s support for […]

The Department of Conservation has boosted predator control efforts in the Maungataniwha Native Forest in inland Hawke’s Bay with an $18,000 grant to the Forest Lifeforce Restoration (FLR) Trust. The Trust runs an extensive predator control operation, described by DOC as “ambitious”, in two sanctuary areas comprising 1,000 hectares of native forest. The sanctuaries have […]

Opua-based Bay of Islands Marine Painters has been recognised by a leading supplier of anti-foul paint for “unheard of” growth in the use of its product, an indicator of significant growth in the region’s marine services sector. Propspeed, which supplies an anti-foul paint for boat propellers and running gear, says Bay of Islands Marine Painters […]

Filming has taken place in the Maungataniwha Native Forest in inland Hawke’s Bay for a television documentary called Modern Dinosaurs that looks set to take New Zealand into the homes and hearts of people all around the world. Modern Dinosaurs is a six-part series to be broadcast on The Discovery Channel in 2018 and later […]

A Hawke’s Bay kiwi conservation project has received a massive shot in the arm through a doubling in funding for one of the region’s most prolific and successful conservation initiatives. The Maungataniwha Kiwi Project, run by the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust, has been given $20,000 by Kiwis for kiwi to help boost operations still further. The […]

Whangarei Harbour Radio will change its radio frequency this weekend (from midnight on Friday 23 September) to VHF channel 11. A listening watch will be maintained on the existing channel 19 for a week but this will be switched over to Coastguard New Zealand on Saturday 1 October. Northport, which manages the harbour’s shipping operations […]

Conservation experts are nervous about what heavy snow in North Island conservation areas will mean for the start of this season’s kiwi egg collection and incubation programme. This year the annual kiwi conservation milestone was met with significant snowfalls in the central North Island, hampering collection efforts and making foraging difficult for younger birds. Staff […]

Hawke’s Bay-based conservation group Forest Lifeforce Restoration (FLR) Trust has welcomed the Predator Free by 2050 initiative announced by the government earlier this week. It says the target is achievable but that success will rely on collaboration and information-sharing on a scale not yet seen in New Zealand conservation circles and that few have dared […]

Work starts next week on a three year project to restore jetty gantries at Refining NZ’s Marsden Point refinery to pristine condition. Last refurbished in 2000 the two gantries which are used for unloading crude ships and uploading fuel product ships bound for New Zealand ports, have been subject to ‘fair wear and tear’ and […]

Northport Limited has welcomed the Auckland Development Committee’s decision to refer to the incoming Auckland Council the conclusions and recommendations of its Port Future Study, released earlier this week. It is calling for further discussions in the interim to look at alternative solutions to growth issues faced by Ports of Auckland. The company believes the […]

Western Australian banking icon Bankwest today signed off on a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan developed for them by Due North PR managing director Peter Heath. The plan is integrated with Bankwest’s community engagement and corporate responsibility programmes. It is also part of a fully-measurable external communication strategy developed by Heath to help Bankwest meet the […]

International out of school care franchise business Sherpa Kids has appointed New Zealand public relations firm Due North to support the firm’s growth plans in Australia. Sherpa Kids is an international company which has its roots in New Zealand. It was set up 20 years ago when two Auckland mothers recognised the need for structured […]

Expansion of Top Energy’s geothermal power generation at Ngawha has been given the go-ahead following the withdrawal of challenges to the Environment Court. Top Energy chief executive Russell Shaw said concerns raised by Parahirahi C1 Trust, the kaitiaki of the geothermal field and pools at Ngawha, have been addressed and a joint Consent Order was […]

New Zealand Beverage Council members are broadly supportive of a wide-ranging plan unveiled by the Ministry of Health today to reduce childhood obesity levels in New Zealand. “The Ministry has clearly recognised that there is no single solution that will fix the obesity issue plaguing societies across the globe,” said NZBC President Olly Munro. The […]

Barrier Air has advised Far North Holdings and the Far North District Council that it intends to withdraw its daily flight between Kaitaia and Auckland at the end of January unless it can boost the number of people using the service. The airline has introduced a raft of new flexible fares from $99 each way […]

I cringe when I hear people describe power outages as “part of life in the Far North”. Because it’s one of the aspects of life up here that we at Top Energy have been working solidly to change since we put into place our TE2020 network investment programme back in 2009. Last week’s three-hour, region-wide […]

Far North power generator and electricity network operator Top Energy has confirmed that it has identified the most likely cause of the fault on its power system last Friday. Damaged insulators within the Kaikohe substation have been identified, tested and replaced today. But the company’s team of electrical engineers and specialist contractors have been unable […]

Top Energy electrical engineers think they have found the fault that caused the power outage that impacted homes and businesses across Northland on Friday. They suspect that there may be a broken insulator in the electricity substation in Kaikohe and are co-ordinating with Transpower to de-energise the assets and start repairs as early as this […]

Senior electrical engineering staff from Top Energy worked over the weekend to identify the cause of Friday’s power outage but do not have any answers yet. Together with engineers from Transpower they have analysed the sequence of protection mechanisms which operated on Friday. This has narrowed down the location of the cause to within 1,000 […]

A specialist report about the asbestos discovered at Ngawha Spa near Kaikohe has confirmed that material containing the substance was used in all but one of the seven buildings on the spa site and that some soil around the buildings has been contaminated with asbestos fibres. Technical professional and construction services provider Jacobs New Zealand […]

Non-alcoholic beverages sold at retail level in New Zealand will carry new Health Star ratings (HSR) on their labels as soon as practicable following a decision by members of the New Zealand Beverage Council (NZBC). Adding the HSR system to new labels has already started and it will be applied to all relevant products as […]

The Bay of Islands Marina expansion project at Opua was blessed today in a formal ceremony conducted by Reverends Hirini Parata of Moerewa and Glenys Davis of Kawakawa. Construction started today and is expected to take 15 months to complete. Far North Holdings chief executive officer Andy Nock expects to achieve an occupancy level of […]

Contractors employed to assess the degree of work involved to renovate the Top Energy Ngawha Spa have found significant amounts of asbestos on the site. New owner Top Energy was notified on Wednesday last week (16 September) and has since taken steps to secure the site, including closing the camping ground and the spa. Far […]

Contractors have hand-cleared more than 1.5 million wilding pines from 750 hectares of regenerating native bush in inland Hawke’s Bay. The work took place between August 2014 and July this year as part of New Zealand’s largest single indigenous re-forestation initiative. Hawke’s Bay-based Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust (FLRT) is taking control of parts of the […]

The contract to build the second stage of the Bay of Islands Marina has been awarded to Total Marine Services, a New Zealand company with a branch in Opua. The $10 million project includes the land-based civil works associated with the expanded marina. Work will start in early September and is expected to take 18 […]

Bay of Islands custom boat-builder Bluefix Boatworks is to merge with Ashby’s Boatyard in Opua and move its operation from Kerikeri to new, state-of-the art boat-building and paint shop facilities to be erected on Ashby’s premises. The company will shift its 10 employees to Opua, take on the five boat-builders who currently work there and […]

Top Energy and the Top Energy Consumer Trust have called for the Electricity Authority (EA) to go back to the drawing board over proposals that could see Far North communities facing electricity transmission increases of $266 a year, or 172 percent of current charges. These would result in power bills increasing by 10 percent overall.  […]

The issue of young children with rotten teeth raised in New Zealand media today by Dr Rob Beaglehole is one of poor parenting. No more and no less. Parents are, or should be, in complete control of what children of that age eat and drink. It’s a complete evasion of parental responsibility to shift the […]

Kiwi icon Rachel Hunter has welcomed the government’s decision to allocate more than $11 million for kiwi conservation efforts in this year’s budget. Ms Hunter, who is Patron of Hawke’s Bay-based Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust (FLRT), said the funding was likely to bolster the successes already being delivered by a wide variety of kiwi conservation […]

Navilluso Medical Ltd (NML) of Kaitaia is the recipient of the first $30,000 grant of 2015 from the Top Energy Business Development Fund. The money will help the company to develop a remote diagnosis and treatment facility for rural communities across Northland and beyond.  NML employs 21 doctors, nurses, health promoters and community health workers, […]

Far North lines network operator and electricity generator Top Energy has acquired the Ngawha Ginn Spa baths and farm as part of a land acquisition deal. The company intends to keep operating the facility and has closed it temporarily while it undertakes extensive renovations.  The sale was completed two weeks ago. Details remain confidential.  Top […]

A successful Hawke’s Bay whio, or blue duck, conservation project has received a $10,000 maintenance grant from Whio Forever, a species recovery programme launched jointly by Genesis Energy and the Department of Conservation (DOC).   The grant will enable the Forest Lifeforce Restoration (FLR) Trust to maintain the extensive network of predator traps funded by […]

A high resolution, continuous sounding of Whangarei Harbour’s deep-water navigation channel has been conducted for the first time. It gives harbour pilots, ships’ masters and others using the harbour entrance a picture of the channel bed that is far more detailed than the sounding sheets that have been used to date.  A multibeam channel profile […]

The Electricity Authority (EA) is consulting on changes to the way electricity transmission is charged by Transpower. These changes could mean significant increases to the electricity bills of people in the Far North.   The proposed increases are from $4.76m/yr currently, to $12.95m/yr, $12.85m/yr or $12.77m/yr depending on the option. The EA says this will increase […]

The Rotary Club of Kerikeri has won an award for a website and social media communication programme developed for the organisation by local public relations consultancy Due North with website developer Greenweb. The New Zealand club was presented with an award for the most effective website and social media presence by Rotary District 9910 at […]

Kaitaia residents have been urged to use their new air service to Auckland or risk losing it either partially or completely. The stark warning was issued today by Far North mayor John Carter at a ceremony at Kaitaia airport to mark the final Air New Zealand departure to Auckland. Great Barrier Airlines is picking up […]

Process units at Refining NZ will begin shutting down for three weeks of planned maintenance starting Saturday 2 May. The shutdown for regeneration of catalyst on the Platformer unit and other essential maintenance has required detailed planning and extra resources, including an additional 250 people on site, the majority from local contracting companies working at […]

Refining NZ has confirmed that the Te Mahi Hou project which was due to ‘go live’ in late December 2015 has made excellent progress in recent months, and is now expected to complete early to mid-November. The $365 million project which began in April 2012 replaces the aging petrol manufacturing unit with a modern CCR […]

Teeth from a nasty marine predator with a bad attitude from around 80 million years ago are the latest find to come from the fossil-rich Maungataniwha Native Forest in inland Hawkes Bay. Scientists from Wellington-based GNS Science have identified the beast as a mosasaur but the exact species has yet to be determined. Mosasaurs were […]

Public feedback on Refining NZ’s proposal to bring bigger crude oil cargoes to Marsden Point has set the stage for a series of expert studies of the harbour and any potential impacts of the proposal. The refinery is proposing that around half of all crude oil be transported on ships capable of carrying around a […]

Refining NZ is holding public information sessions next week about the Company’s proposal to bring bigger cargoes of crude oil to Marsden Point. The proposal could see up to half of all crude oil (around 20 million barrels a year) transported on ships carrying around a million barrels at a time, a move that could […]

Oil that had spilled into Whangarei Harbour yesterday afternoon from the crude oil tanker HS Alcina has been confirmed as coming from her bunker (fuel) tanks. The spill was discovered at approximately 4pm yesterday and triggered a full incident response. An oil spill response team comprising refinery and regional council staff used sorbent booms to […]

Boaties and boat-watchers on and around Whangarei Harbour will notice a new and unusual addition to regular marine traffic. Northport has a new work-boat, an 8.5m aluminium catamaran called Manaia, built to the port’s specifications by Whangarei aluminium pontoon boat builder Blackdog Cat Boats. She was launched on 31 July at Marsden Cove Marina where […]

Northland Port Corporation (NZ) Ltd (NZX:NTH) has today advised of the Board of Directors’ decision to change the  company’s registered  name to Marsden Maritime Holdings Limited with effect from 4 August 2014. The company’s three-letter New Zealand Stock Exchange ticker will be MMH.  The change will reduce ongoing confusion between the operations and interests of […]

The Waitangi National Trust will lock the gates in a 930 metre perimeter fence around the historic Treaty Grounds on Friday (12 July). But Bay of Islands residents who want to continue using the coastal path through the site can apply for a key to the gates on the track. The Trust’s Board has recently […]

Northport, the only deep-water port in the North Island and a key part of New Zealand’s transport and commercial infrastructure, has adopted a crisis communication plan to help its small operations team liaise effectively with the local community and other important groups in the event of a major incident there.  The plan has been developed […]

A community relations project undertaken by Due North for Far North power company and lines network operator Top Energy was judged the best corporate PR programme at this year’s Annual PRINZ (Public Relations Institute of New Zealand) Awards. The project, called ‘Good Guys or the Grinch?’, revolved around communicating a change to the way Top Energy […]

12-month PR programme seeks to find partners, create opportunities The Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust, a conservation and forest rehabilitation group headed by Auckland businessman Simon Hall, is looking for new relationships and opportunities with public and private-sector organisations involved in New Zealand wildlife management. It has appointed PR consultancy Due North to develop and run a […]

AIM-listed global security company red24 has appointed a multinational crisis communication team, represented in New Zealand by PR consultancy Due North. London-based red24 helps international companies manage crisis situations ranging from product recalls and adverse weather conditions, through to rescuing staff involved in hostage and terrorist attacks.

Far North Search and Rescue (FN SAR) has appointed Due North for public relations consultancy and support. The pro bono brief involves building community appreciation for what the organisation does, boosting membership, enhancing relationships with existing sponsors and engaging with potential supporters. Due North will also produce the organisation’s monthly newsletter. FN SAR’s 25 skilled volunteers provide […]

Dow Wolff Cellulosics (DWC), a leading supplier of manufacturing and formulation solutions to global health and nutrition businesses, has retained Due North for public relations consultancy and editorial support. The brief involves assisting DWC in its transition from a single-offering business servicing a plethora of industries, to a multi-product business focusing predominantly on food, pharmaceutical […]