Attack on the first permanently installed radar parachute in the far north

The first permanently installed radar parachute in the far north is out of service less than a week after it was put into operation.
Photo: Delivered / NZTA Waka Kotahi

This story has been corrected after originally saying the camera was turned on a week ago. It was supposed to be turned on Tuesday.

The first permanently installed radar parachute in the far north was damaged just days before its scheduled commissioning.

The camera was installed alongside State Highway 1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa at the request of residents of the nearby settlement of Taumatamākuku following a series of fatal accidents.

After a longer test phase, the camera should be fully activated tomorrow.

But Taumatamākuku Community Representatives Committee chair Roddy said he was informed by Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) that the camera had stopped working at 12.30am on Saturday. He checked the camera and found it had been damaged with a pickaxe or similar object.

Pihema said the damage was disappointing as the camera was installed at the behest of the community and only affected people exceeding the 80km/h speed limit in Taumatamākuku.

“The whole point of the installation is to protect our community in Taumatamākuku. People might not understand that because it’s down the road from us, but it’s already had a real impact on speeds.”

The towns on either side of the settlement, Kawakawa and Moerewa, were not affected because the motorway through these areas had a 50 km/h speed limit within towns.

“Our community is in between. We are in an 80 km/h zone, reduced from 100 km/h, and that’s why the camera is important to us.”

There have been claims the camera was installed to generate revenue for the NZTA or government, but Pihema said that was not the case.

At the request of residents, all other functions – such as automatic license plate recognition – were removed from the camera so that only speeding offenders were affected.

He said people had also complained that the camera was a waste of money and now money had to be spent on repairing it.

He attributed the vandalism to a “payback” last week and to the belief by some motorists that they had the right to drive through the settlement at high speed.

NZTA regional relations director Steve Mutton said the agency was still assessing the damage but at this stage he expected the camera to be operational again in a few weeks.

“What really worries us is that someone thinks it’s OK to damage public property,” he said.

“We are working to get the camera back up and running as soon as possible and will report this incident to the police for investigation.”

Mutton said the investigation would also consider additional measures to protect the camera from further damage.

Over the past two years, the Taumatamākuku Community Council has succeeded in reducing the speed limit on the highway and within the settlement, and installing speed bumps and footpaths so that children, kaukatua and kuia no longer have to walk on the road.

The camera was the first fixed speed camera in the Far North and the first to be installed by Waka Kotahi in Northland.

Elsewhere in Northland, police operate two fixed speed cameras – at Te Kamo in Whangārei and Kaiwaka in the Kaipara district.