http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz en-us Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:18:38 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168501/kaiwaka-wastewater-treatment-plant-upgrade/ Photo: Lance Wiggs explains the SCUV system... Sun, 09 Aug 2026 10:05:04 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168501 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168265/dargaville-water-main-upgrade/ Last week I attended the commencement of works for a major upgrade to Dargaville's drinking water mains.Approximately 4.3 kilometres of water mains will be replaced between the water treatment plant and Logan Street, via Station Road, Edward Street, Day Street, Beach Road and the Kaihu River bridge on State Highway 12.This is part of council's ongoing focus on delivering the essential services communities rely on every day, and providing safe and reliable drinking water is one of our core respon... Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168265 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168502/kaiwaka-primary-school--opening-of-new-library-and-general-purpose-room/ Photo: L to R Mina Paikea, Principal Sharlene McCormick, Cathy Henderson, Kaumatua Ben Hita, former teacher (and my mother) Judith Cain, Chairman of the Board Phillip Wattam, MP for Northland Grant McCallum, Mayor Jonathan Larsen... Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168502 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168507/local-government-reform/ Here is my column on central government's amalgamation proposal -https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/kaipara-wants-evidence-based-approach-to-local-council-reform-jonathan-larsen/KWJDLQ3STVFZDJGLLO4BMTRRAE/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTlqltwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6pkdsXpfw0n8-chvAR_r2Y5lrESC5kwV66uRe6fhekrH88M5Z8QMX3fey8HA_aem_YGaM9WYr3bhPNT5PfQ_s9Q... Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168507 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168508/insley-street--black-swamp-road-revetment/ Photo: L to R Councillor Rachael Williams, Councillor Craig Jepson, KDC Roading Manager Varunesh Sinha, Mayor Jonathan Larsen... Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168508 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168510/citizenship-ceremony/ Dargaville turned on a beautiful morning yesterday to welcome our newest Kaipara New Zealand citizens with a special citizenship ceremony overlooking the river at the Northern Wairoa Boating Club in Dargaville. New citizens hailing from 13 countries took the oath or affirmation of citizenship, marking the final step in their journey to becoming fully-fledged New Zealanders. Supporting the welcome in person were Deputy Mayor Gordon Lambeth, and Councillors Rachael Williams, Snow Tane, Joesephine ... Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168510 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168509/dargaville-wastewater-treatment-plant-upgrades/ Photo: In front of the new solids screenL to R Deputy Mayor Gordon Lambeth, Johan Guy KDC Manager, Operations (Water, waste and land drainage), Mayor Jonathan Larsen, Councillor Snow Tane... Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168509 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/168511/taharoa-domains-new-wastewater-treatment-plant/ I attended the completion event for the new Taharoa Domain wastewater treatment plant on a cold and rainy Thursday morning.The state of the art new system will allow for greater capacity and future proof the system in this sensitive environment for both the Taharoa Domain campground and the recently completed Pine Beach day visitor toilets.With a budget of just over $1 million the project was completed by Innoflow in collaboration with TrineKel, GWE engineering, Huband Contractors, and Laser Ele... Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post168511 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/156151/new-kaipara-council-is-official/ I had the great pleasure of attending the new Council's inaugural meeting and swearing in ceremony today at Matakohe War Memorial Hall.The ceremony was opened by Pastor Tawhiri Littlejohn accompanied by his mother Mina Paikea. The Dargaville High School kapa haka group performed before the official swearing in and first items of Council business were transacted followed by the singing of the national anthem and afternoon tea.Thank you to everyone who came and joined us to make it such a special ... Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post156151 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/post/156150/aranga-beach-toilet-opening/ It was a beautiful sunny morning on Monday for the official opening of the new Aranga toilets.The project was built by Huband Contractors with project management by Hoskin Civil, with a final cost of $230,000 funded by depreciation reserves.The old toilets had failed and it was important to get new toilets in place.The opening was supported with a blessing from Te Roroa members, and attended by Aranga School staff and students. The students were involved in the painting of the mural which was le... Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.jonathanlarsen.co.nz/blog/#post156150