Waikato Regional Council

WAIKATO — The multi-agency Rail Working Group looking at the feasibility of a new Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service yesterday asked for further investigations into three options for advancing the inter-regional service.

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WAIKATO — A potentially toxic blue-green algal bloom has been detected in Lake Ohakuri, the largest lake in the Waikato River hydro system.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato’s navigation safety team is reminding skippers to follow the region’s navigation safety bylaw after a collision between two boats put two children in hospital at the weekend.

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WAIKATO — Bar crossings are the highest risk activity boaties in the Waikato will come across.

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WAIKATO — Recent rain in the Waikato has been an “early Christmas present” for farmers but the region-wide drought was far from over, a meeting of the multi-agency regional drought committee heard today.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is adding the South American lace bug to its armoury of pest plant control methods as it seeks to eliminate woolly nightshade in the region.

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WAIKATO — An Environment Waikato spraying programme targeting yellow flag iris along the Waikato River around Huntly and downstream is due to get underway in February next year.

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WAIKATO — A kayak and paddle found floating in the middle of the notorious Raglan bar last Sunday morning resulted in an unnecessary and costly search effort.

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WAIKATO — As pressure on livestock farms, crops and orchards mounts due to the drought conditions in the region, Environment Waikato is reminding water users about the rules governing takes from waterways and groundwater.

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WAIKATO — The Government’s official declaration of a drought in the Waikato has been welcomed by the regional drought committee.

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WAIKATO — People using areas near the coasts of the Waikato region this summer are being asked to be careful not to damage salt marsh.

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WAIKATO — Significant infrastructure issues remain to be overcome before a Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service can become a reality, says the chair of a multi-agency working group looking at the issue.

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WAIKATO — New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) consent applications related to the building of the Ngaruawahia section of the Waikato Expressway have been granted in a decision by independent hearing commissioners appointed by Environment Waikato and Waikato District Council.

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HAMILTON — In a further sign that the Hamilton Halo project is proving successful, tui fledglings have reportedly been sighted in two Hamilton locations in recent weeks.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato’s council has approved $20,000 from the environmental initiatives fund (EIF) for Raglan Area School’s coastal restoration and education projects.

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WAIKATO — Coastguard and surf life saving groups are to receive $50,000 this financial year from Environment Waikato for the assistance they provide to the council’s various water safety functions.

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WAIKATO — The Government is being asked to make a fresh drought declaration covering the Waikato and nearby areas following the very dry conditions affecting farmers in the region.

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WAIKATO — The political leadership of Civil Defence in the Waikato has approved a new budget proposal for 2011-12 that will help the region be better prepared for handling emergencies.

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WAIKATO — The Kaimai Catchments Project - aimed at protecting the catchments which flow into Waikato’s Waihou River and Tauranga Harbour, and delivering wider environmental benefits - is holding a stakeholder forum and a farmer workshop next month.

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WAIKATO — The value of Environment Waikato’s externally managed investment fund has grown by 4.8 per cent or $2.8 million between the end of last financial year and 31 October, according to figures presented to yesterday’s finance and audit committee.

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WAIKATO — Thirteen very successful possum control operations and continued excellence in cutting rat numbers under the Hamilton Halo project are features of the annual report for 2009-10 of the Regional Pest Management Strategy.

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WHITIANGA — Over 120 coastal planners, scientists, engineers and others gathered for a three-day conference in Whitianga this past week (17-19 November) to discuss all things coastal.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says helicopter monitoring of compliance with effluent management rules is resuming again after being suspended because of an extended period of wet weather over winter.

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WAIKATO — A trial of a koi carp trap at Lake Waikare has proved successful with more than 1500 kilograms of fish caught.

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HAMILTON — There is strong community support for a Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service but a more qualified willingness to pay increased rates to help fund it, according to the results of a survey commissioned by Environment Waikato.

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WAIKATO — The hunt is on in Hauraki for the “national interest pest” plant Manchurian wild rice.

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WAIKATO — A project involving Environment Waikato, Hamilton City Council, Matamata Piako District Council, Landcare Research, Lakeland Steel and Inghams Enterprises, is being granted nearly $160,000 over two years to explore turning organic waste into useful nutrients, thereby benefiting the regional economy and the environment.

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WAIKATO — Job and business opportunities, financial and economic matters, and environmental concerns have topped a new list of issues Waikato people are concerned about, says a report prepared for Environment Waikato and local councils.

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WAIKATO — The post-winter period is the time for cultivating paddocks so they are at their best to provide fresh pasture or crops.

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WAIKATO — As the weather warms up and summer approaches, boat owners in the Waikato are being reminded that all vessels must display a name or contact details.

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WAIKATO — A proposed Regional Policy Statement (RPS) being released tomorrow for consultation contains new policies for a new era of economic and environmental management, says Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato councillors today returned Peter Buckley as chairman of the regional council.

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MANGAKINO — The Mangakino community is to receive $30,000 towards community projects from Taupo District Council (TDC) as part of a restorative justice ruling handed down last week by the Tokoroa District Court over illegal sewage dumping.

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WAIKATO — Drivers and cyclists are advised to steer clear of the Tui Road from next Tuesday (26 October) to avoid heavy traffic associated with the start of work to clean up the contaminated Tui Mine on Mount Te Aroha.

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WAIKATO — The dairy industry and Environment Waikato are implementing a range of actions aimed at helping improve compliance with effluent management rules, says the latest edition of Environment Waikato’s Farmcare publication.

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RAGLAN — Coastguard Raglan, with support from Environment Waikato, is again offering to help boaties with information on how to cross the notorious Raglan bar and to be generally safer at sea.

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WAIKATO — An Environment Waikato hearings committee has granted a range of consents for activities associated with the construction and operation of a milk powder processing plant at Arapuni.

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WAIKATO — The first stage of underground works to clean up the contaminated Tui Mine site on the slopes of Mt Te Aroha is due to get underway following formal blessing by local iwi at Tui Pa marae and the mine site next Monday (18/10/10).

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A survey to gauge public demand for a Hamilton to Auckland passenger rail service will get underway next week.

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TE AWAMUTU — Te Awamutu dairy farmer Graham Smith says he got heaps out of a farm advisory visit he won as part of the AgResearch and Environment Waikato-sponsored Ultimate Six Pack prize at the national Fieldays this year.

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WAIKATO — A complaint that Environment Waikato failed to properly assess a possum control contract bid from Oparau farmer Robbie Graham has not been upheld by the chief ombudsman Beverley Wakem.

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HAMILTON — Waikato Civil Defence's preparedness for a tsunami will again be tested on 20 October during a national civil defence emergency management exercise.

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WAIKATO — More than $4.7 billion worth of central and local government transport spending is expected in the Waikato over the next 10 years, representing a 60 per cent jump in average annual funding, according to figures before the multi-agency Regional Transport Committee today.

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WAIKATO — Following on from the success of last year’s trial “Carbon $ave” programme for business, Environment Waikato is reminding local firms that its Sustainabiz programme is continuing to offer advice on how to integrate sustainable practices into business operations.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says the region’s rivers appear to be coping reasonably well with moderate to heavy overnight rain.

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WAIKATO — In one of the final decisions of its term, Environment Waikato’s outgoing council has guaranteed the regional council’s share of funding for the trust set up to protect Lake Taupo’s water quality.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato has awarded $7,000 from its Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF) towards an education initiative aimed at protecting native fish, and a coastal community planting program.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato will grant a total of $9,500 for two projects involving Waikato schools.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says it is continuing to monitor rainfall and river levels in the region closely.

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WAIKATO — Cost savings and greater efficiencies in the 2009/10 financial year have helped Environment Waikato achieve a favourable year-end result.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is introducing changes to Hamilton bus services to help make the network more efficient and cost effective.

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HAMILTON — Long-tailed bats who live around Hamilton’s Hammond Park will have a new home to trial this summer.

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WAIKATO — By Bala Tikkisetty There are about 90,000 hectares of land covered by peat soils in the Waikato and about 80 per cent of this has been developed, mostly for farming.

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WAIKATO — As the Waikato and Waipa rivers continue to cope with high flows, Environment Waikato is reminding river users to be particularly careful.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says it endorses a Land and Water Forum recommendation for a national framework in which regional councils and others would manage local water issues.

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HAMILTON — Environment Waikato hearing commissioners have decided against granting a consent for the proposed expansion of a poultry broiler farm at Eureka, near Hamilton.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says the levels of the Waikato and Waipa rivers could stay elevated for an extended period due to recent conditions.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is looking at promoting forestry and carbon farming opportunities that will help grow a new green economy while delivering positive flow-on effects for the environment.

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WAIKATO — Crafar family appeals against conviction and sentence in a Hamilton dairy effluent prosecution have been dismissed by the High Court in Hamilton.

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CANTERBURY — Waikato councils today pledged $173,000 to the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal, the relief fund set up to support those affected by last Saturday’s earthquake.

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HAMILTON — Hamilton City Council (HCC) has been granted new 15-year consents to operate the Hamilton Organic Centre in Wickham Street, subject to new conditions designed to control odour.

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CANTERBURY — Waikato Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) group is on standby to provide help to authorities in Canterbury in the wake of Saturday’s earthquake.

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WAIKATO — The Department of Conservation (DoC) has been granted a range of consents as part of plans to clean up the contaminated Tui Mine site on the slopes of Mt Te Aroha.

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WAIKATO — The adoption of a new policy framework for managing the region’s natural and physical resources is a key step toward securing government funding for the Waikato Expressway and other infrastructure development, says chief executive Bob Laing.

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WAIKATO — Nominations for the 2010 local authority elections closed at noon today with 26 candidates to contest the 12 seats around the Environment Waikato council table.

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WAIKATO — The Waikato Regional Transport Committee is urging Cabinet to reconsider the Government’s decision not to lower blood alcohol limits for adult drivers.

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WAIKATO — Meridian Energy Limited’s Te Uku wind farm project has won Environment Waikato’s inaugural earthworks site of the year award.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says it is very encouraged by the fact that compliance with earthworks rules is rising and that enforcement actions against people doing earthworks improperly have dropped significantly.

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WAIKATO — Farmers must be very cautious when applying nitrogen fertilisers to pasture during winter, says Environment Waikato sustainable agriculture coordinator Bala Tikkisetty.

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WAIKATO — Fines totaling $42,000 have been handed down to two Hauraki-based dairy farm owners and a sharemilker in the latest sentencing for dairy effluent offences.

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WAIKATO — It’s been a very busy year for Ruben the road safety bear, Environment Waikato’s popular road safety mascot.

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WAIKATO — By Bala Tikkisetty The generally wet soil conditions of mid-winter mean it’s the season for planting trees for shelter.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says it will be taking a more intensive approach to monitoring of dairy farms during the 2010-11 season.

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TAUPO — Environment Waikato has established a new internet-based trading noticeboard for farmers wishing to buy, sell or lease nitrogen under the new Variation 5 policy to protect Lake Taupo.

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WAIKATO — All local roads not being equal, the introduction of a new safety ‘star’ rating for New Zealand’s roads generally will help improve safety on the Waikato’s high-risk rural roads.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato continues to make good progress through its policy development to do more to protect water quality in the region, says policy committee chair Paula Southgate.

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WAIKATO — A co-owner of the McIntyre piggery near Morrinsville has been fined $45,000 for odour-related offences which forced local schoolchildren to pinch their noses to block intense smells in class.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato will grant a total of $5,869 for environmental projects at two Waikato schools.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato has awarded a total of $37,500 from its Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF) towards conservation and education initiatives aimed at enhancing the environment and providing environmental education opportunities.

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TAUPO — Environment Waikato is appealing for public help in identifying the source of oil-like slicks that have been appearing in the Waikato River underneath the Taupo Bungy site located on Spa Road, Taupo.

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WAIKATO — Boat owners in the Waikato are being reminded that from 1 July 2010 all vessels must display identification details.

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RAGLAN — Environment Waikato is urging the Raglan community to get on top of wild ginger and woolly nightshade.

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HAMILTON — Organisers of the project to re-establish bellbirds In Hamilton are appealing for the public to continue keeping an eye out for the birds and to report any sightings promptly.

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COROMANDEL — Pupils from Coromandel Area School pitched in with Environment Waikato and Department of Conservation staff to plant about 300 trees earlier this month as part of a major restoration project on a DoC reserve beside Hauraki Rd in Coromandel Town.

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COROMANDEL — Environment Waikato is conducting an oil spill exercise in Te Kouma, Coromandel Harbour on Friday this week designed to fine tune its response to real environmental emergencies.

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WAIKATO — That message will be screaming at motorists from billboards, radios and newspapers across the Waikato region as the road safety campaign ‘Reduce the Risk’ enters its winter phase in mid June.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is committed to taking a strong partnership approach with farmers and local councils when it comes to developing new ways of protecting the environment and farming profits, says chairman Peter Buckley.

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WAIKATO — A North Waikato dairying operation and its manager have been fined a total of almost $50,000 after admitting unlawful spilling of effluent from a holding pond on to land.

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WAIKATO — Environmental Waikato’s regional pest management committee has today agreed on holding negotiations with two King Country landowners over the question of proposed extra costs involved in treating their properties using ground-based pest control rather than aerially applied 1080.

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WAIKATO — A new book due for launching next month on the Waikato River from Taupo to Port Waikato will be an important resource for decision makers considering future management of the river.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is warning people they face stiff fines if they illegally burn tyres.

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WAIKATO — Waikato By Products of Tuakau has been fined $17,500 after pleading guilty to the company’s latest offences involving discharging objectionable odour from its plant.

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WAIKATO — A total of five Environment Waikato councillors ended up voting for increased fares to cover the full cost of introducing two new buses to help ease congestion on the crowded Orbiter route from the start of the 2011 school year.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato councillors today debated the merits of continuing with a rates money-go-round to fund early payment discounts.

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WAIKATO — Environment Waikato has confirmed two new buses will be used to help ease congestion on the crowded Orbiter route from the start of the 2011 school year.

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HAMILTON — Farmers are being reminded of a great opportunity to learn about how to better protect the environment from the impacts of agriculture.

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WAIKATO — Despite recent rain, the Waikato officially remains a drought zone and there is ongoing concern for cash-strapped farming families, says the Waikato Regional Drought Committee.

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HAMILTON — Less than two weeks after the release of 50 bellbirds into Hamilton Gardens, the sightings of unbanded bellbirds and behaviour of their released banded counterparts has been a welcome surprise for trackers.

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WAIKATO — A long-tailed breed of little Hamilton natives, who navigate by sonar, is threatened with extinction by hungry rats and loss of suitable trees.

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COROMANDEL — The discovery of the kauri-killing fungus PTA just 500 metres from Tane Mahuta in Northland has prompted a renewed warning for Coromandel and Thames residents to be particularly vigilant about stopping the spread of the kauri dieback disease.

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