Roading clean-up
A bucket of paint was at the centre of a major clean-up operation on a Whangarei street yesterday. The spillage on a roundabout on Lower Dent St happened about 11am.
The offending 8 litre white paint bucket fell off a trailer as the vehicle negotiated the roundabout.
A clean-up operation including a waterblaster was quickly launched and police at the scene prevented traffic going through the paint and spreading the mess further. Traffic management was also put in place while the last of the paint was cleared away.
Possible meth lab
A specialist clandestine laboratory team and scientists were taking samples from a suspected methamphetamine lab found in the Hokianga.
The local policeman in the area had gone to the property in Omapere about 10.30am yesterday on an unrelated matter and instead came across some suspicious smelling chemicals bubbling away.
An Auckland-based team were to arrive at the rural property to collect samples yesterday. The officer who made the discovery managed to locate the 37-year-old person he was looking for and arrested him, in relation to an assault. The officer did not need decontaminating after walking into the house with the chemicals.
Candidates meeting
The future of rail in Northland and Auckland, trade agreements, housing and water will be under the spotlight at a meet the candidates event in Whangarei on Monday.
Organised by Grow Northland Rail the event, at Forum North from 6.30pm, will have three separate debates.
The first debate will be a meet the Whangarei electorate candidates - Ash Holwell, Greens; Shane Jones, NZ First; Chris Leitch, Democrats for Social Credit; Shane Reti, National and Tony Savage, Labour.
The second debate will have the main political parties National, Labour, NZ First and Greens debate the key issues in the election. The third debate will focus entirely on rail and, again, includes the main political parties National, Labour, NZ First and Greens.
Vote in advance
Voting in the general election kicks off in earnest on Monday when advance voting places open, and will go through until election day on September 23. The first EasyVote packs started arriving in voters' letter boxes yesterday, with 3.16 million to be delivered over the next week.
There are 485 advance voting places around the country, up from 295 in 2014. Opening hours vary between voting places to suit local needs. A full list of advance voting places is available at https://www.elections.org.nz/events/2017-general-election/information-voters-who-when-and-where.
Voters can also phone 0800 36 76 56 to find their closest voting place.
Firefighters due home
Two Whangarei brothers who left for firefighting duties in Canada are due back home next week. Kieran and Nathan Sullivan left on May 10 for Sioux Lookout, a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, after a request for help from Canadian authorities.
Recently, both were working up to 16 hours a day in 30C-plus temperatures and sleeping remotely in tents. They are due back in Whangarei on Wednesday.