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Poor knights occupation

In the early hours of 30 October 2025, six members of the Ngatiwai tribe landed on the Poor Knights Islands, erected a flagpole, and cemented in a carved wooden post. Ngatiwai Chairman Aperahama Kepeti-Edwards described it as “a deliberate assertion of our rangatiratanga and enduring ancestral connection” and “a direct challenge to Crown sovereignty.”

Documents obtained by LETTERBOX under the Official Information Act detail the events leading up to the landing, the action taken by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff to reduce biosecurity risks, and the reason why the occupiers were not prosecuted, despite one report stating there were “many offences committed by persons affiliated with Ngatiwai.”

Election date announced

Photo credit: Elections.org.nz

The general election will be held on Saturday, the 7^th of November. While the election is a competition between parties, voters are more likely to see it as a choice between coalitions. Votes will go into the election with two questions in mind: Who do we want to run the country: Labour/Greens/Maori Party or National/ACT/NZ First?  The second question will be to ask which of the three coalition partners they want to have the most influence? 

Transpower litigation

Photo credit: STUFF

A class action has been filed against Transpower and its maintenance contractor Omexom over a major power outage in June last year that left much of Northland without electricity for several days. The claim seeks compensation for losses suffered by affected Northland businesses.

The outage occurred after a transmission tower north of Auckland collapsed during routine maintenance when contractors removed the nuts from at least two tower legs at the same time, a practice outside standard procedures.

Kaipara CEO resigns

Kaipara District Council Chief Executive Jason Marris has resigned, stepping down mid-term after serving since February 2023 (following an interim role from October 2022). The reason for his early departure, which ends on 10 April was not stated. The council has yet to publicly disclose whether Mr Marris will receive a severance package. Mayor Jonathan Larsen thanked Marris for his contribution.

Paniora escapes conviction

Former Kaipara District councillor and lawyer, Pera Paniora, has been discharged without conviction for assaulting two women in a central Whangarei gift shop.

She earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of common assault under the Summary Offences Act, for which maximum penalties are six months imprisonment and/or a $4,000 fine.

Paniora argued a conviction would have disproportionate consequences, including damage to her career and political prospects.

When discharging Paniora, Judge Greg Davis is reported to have said she “had effectively been judged both in court and the court of public opinion, and there was no purpose to be served by entering convictions…Is the world a better place by convicting her?”

NRC Zero rate increase

The newly elected Northland Regional Council (NRC) has confirmed it is working towards a nil increase in its total rates take for the 2026/27 financial year.

This is a significant turnaround from the double-digit rate increases in recent years, which have produced annual cash operating surpluses in recent years of between $7 million and $8 million

Reshaping local government

The Northland Regional Council are to be scrapped under proposals currently before Parliament.

Under the plan, all 11 regional councils across New Zealand would be abolished, with their responsibilities handed to new Combined Territories Boards (CTBs) made up of city and district mayors, and commissioners appointed by central government.

The CTBs will have two years to come up with a “regional reorganisation plan”. Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, said that the plan could include “shared services, council-owned companies, reallocating functions or merging territorial authorities to form new unitary councils”.

The reorganisation plans are subject to the approval of the Minister of Local Government.

RMA overhaul - have your say

Photo credit: NZ Herald

Planning laws are about to undergo their biggest shake-up since the Resource Management Act (RMA) was introduced in 1991.

The RMA is now so broken that it is being consigned to the rubbish bin and replaced with two new pieces of legislation: the Planning Act and the Natural Environment Act. These Bills are currently working their way through Parliament and are before a select committee that will hear public submissions.

The Natural Environment Act sets out the environmental rules and consenting framework. It defines how consents will be assessed, what standards must be met, and how councils make decisions. The legislation is intended to be simpler, faster, and more predictable than the RMA.

Northpower election results

 

And the winners are:

Whangarei District Council area (5 vacancies)

1. Phil Heatley: 9915

2. Irene Durham: 8688

3. Tim Wilson: 7238

4. Paul Yovich: 7058

5. Sheryl Mai: 6612

Couper outspends all others

Four mayoral candidates collectively spent just over $107,000 pursuing the top job. Mayor Ken Couper (who defeated the incumbent Vince Cocurullo by 435 votes) was the campaign’s big spender at $43,447, followed by Brad Flower $35,018, Vince Cocurullo $19,151, and  Marie Olsen $9,917.

On a per-vote basis, Flower’s votes cost $5.93 each, Couper $3.50, Cocurullo $1.60, and Olsen $1.19.