Far North District Council will use $5 million from its commercial arm Far North Holdings, to help keep rates down for the 2026/2027 financial year.
Mayor Moko Tepania announced the move during his second State of the Far North address in Kerikeri on February 26.
Around 200 people from across Northland attended the presidential‑style event at the Turner Centre, delivered on a stage dressed with a real car to match the theme, ‘Shifting gears, the road ahead’.
Far North Holdings, a council-controlled trading organisation, is required to operate at a profit. The council used $5m of its dividends last year to limit the 2025/2026 rates rise to 4.5%, one of the lowest increases in the country.
Tepania said the council’s long‑term plan currently forecasts a 6.7% rates increase for 2026/2027. However, the actual figure for next year’s Annual Plan has not been set.
“There are still steps to work through,” Tepania said.
Councillors will workshop options before deciding where the rate increase ultimately lands.
Consultation may or may not be required, depending on how different the final number is from the 6.7% forecast.
Tepania said given the current local and national climate, he believed councillors would likely seek public feedback on a lower-than-forecast increase, although that would come with “trade-offs” in what the council could deliver.
“We’ll have to wait and see after we workshop,” he told the audience. Decisions on next year’s rates will be made at the council’s April meeting.
Dog control on the big issues
Rates were just one focus of Tepania’s wide‑ranging speech, which also covered roads, infrastructure, drinking water and wastewater, climate adaptation and the long‑awaited return of development contributions.
He devoted time to dog management, saying the Government needed to better support councils in addressing serious attacks.
Tepania said FNDC was working hard on dog issues but needed stronger tools, including an updated Dog Control Act 1996.
The Far North is home to around 30,000 dogs.
Tepania said that while most owners were responsible, “a small percentage” were not.
New Zealand’s first manslaughter conviction for a fatal Far North dog attack followed the death of Neville Thomson in Panguru, where he was mauled by 23 aggressive dogs belonging to Abel Wira, who was jailed for three and a half years.
At the foot of Ninety Mile Beach, Ahipara residents have begun carrying sticks for protection after roaming dogs attacked other dogs, sparking fears for children walking to school.
And on the Te Araroa Trail, roaming feral packs near Cape Reinga in 2021 forced track closures and current Department of Conservation DOC warnings not to walk alone.
Hundreds of sheep are killed every year by wild dogs in the area. In late 2025, DOC hired sharpshooters to cull the packs ahead of the summer tramping season.
Tepania said the mid‑February death of Mihiata Te Rore in Kaipara’s Kaihu showed the problem extended beyond district boundaries.
Meanwhile, in Whangārei district Ruakākā resident Lidia Sandoval this week called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to “do more than make empathetic comments” after her small dog Dolly was attacked by what she described as a pit bull that ran from the sea and clamped onto her pet’s neck.
Tepania said FNDC had “one of the lowest dog registration charges” in the country, and support was available for owners in high‑risk areas.
Enforcement was increasing, and the council had partnered with the SPCA to offer desexing vouchers.
“There’s no such thing as bad dogs, only bad owners,” he said.
The council would soon be reviewing its dog control bylaw.
It was also starting dog‑safety education with a new schools programme launching soon.
Climate adaptation
A new Te Hōtaia Urutau Hapori community adaptation programme was starting across three harbour communities - Herekino, Hokianga and Whangape along with Waipoua.
This would help protect communities into the future, Tepania said.
Community response
Among attendees was Lisa McNabb from Te Paatu (Pamapuria) near Kaitāia, who also attended the first State of the Far North event in 2024. She said it was encouraging to see progress on commitments the council made last year.
McNabb said strengthened links with Māori were among the positive developments.
“It’s been good to come back here tonight and hear about the things that are being achieved,” McNabb said.
The address helped her better understand what her rates funded—something that made her more accepting of the possibility of a 6.7% rates lift for 2026/2027.
First-time attendee Paihia’s John Briers said it had been great to see the breadth of the council’s work presented in one place.
Another first-timer, Kerikeri’s Don Rushworth said the address highlighted FNDC was doing its best, with a lot of outstanding issues, including roading.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
