The search for missing Whangārei man Veon Smith has entered its third day.

Smith was last seen at his Whangārei home on Sunday.

His car was found parked at Mair Park on Sunday afternoon.

Police said Smith was last seen wearing track pants and a checked shirt. He is described as tall, with short brown hair, and of a slim build.

Anyone who has seen Smith or has information that could help police should contact 111, or 105, or get in touch anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting file 230604/1348.

A decision on proposed new speed limits for Poutō Peninsula and West Coast areas has been deferred to next month’s Kaipara District Council meeting.

The hearing panel, comprised of councillors Gordon Lambeth, Rachael Williams and Eryn Wilson-Collins, will now work with staff to further refine the Interim Speed Management Plan based on feedback from elected members at last month’s council meeting.

The council consulted on the proposed speed limit changes late last year, resulting in 148 submissions from the community. Five community submissions were presented at a formal hearing on February 28.

The proposed speed changes are part of the Kaipara District Council speed limits review as required under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 and the Road to Zero National Strategy.

Whangārei District Council is giving away pohutukawa plants that may help residents replace trees damaged or destroyed by the bad weather the wet and stormy summer delivered.

Council parks technical officer Spencer Jellyman said whether people lived in a rural area, or in the city, this was a good chance to play their part in creating a more diverse natural environment across the district.

The council is giving away 4280 plants this year. Contacts for the council’s distributors will be available on www.wdc.govt.nz at 7am this Saturday.

The Pōhutukawa Coast programme has distributed 90,880 trees since it was set up more than 30 years ago to help re-establish young pōhutukawa trees along Whangārei’s coastline.

A man charged with accessory after the fact to the murder of Shayden Perkinson will have a further hearing for continued name suppression.

The 25-year-old is in custody and will also apply for bail in the Whangārei High Court on June 9 2023.

Two other men are in custody awaiting trial on murder charges related to the Gull service station homicide earlier this year.

Police are investigating reports of a person making threats at the Gas service station in Tikipunga about 9.55am yesterday. A police spokesperson said initial inquiries did not reveal any injuries or anything taken. The service station has been targeted on a number of occasions in the past.