Proctor said it cost taxpayers about $2,600 to replace or repair the larger signs and about $750 for each speed limit sign.

The vandalism endangered other road users and did not change the legal requirement to obey road rules.

“If you have such a strong opinion on the issue, tell us what you think during the consultations. We ask each affected community for their opinion before making decisions. “We’re doing one right now for our review of the Russell-Kororāreka speed limits,” he said.

New speed limits had been implemented in stages across the far north, with roads around kaeo, WaipapaWaimate North and Ōkaihau were the first to receive the treatment in 2019.

This was followed by roads around Kaitāia-Awaroa and Broadwood-Kohukohu in 2021, and more recently around the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa area.

Proctor said the speed limits were changed only after extensive public consultation with affected communities.

The acts of vandalism almost always occurred on rural roads at night, which made it difficult to identify those responsible.

The cost of the latest wave of traffic signal damage is not yet known, but will likely run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

In 2020-21, it cost taxpayers just under $40,000 to repair signs attacked by vandals in the Bay of Islands, while in 2022-23 Sign Repair Bill along the Kaitāia-Awaroa-Ahipara-Mangamuka route was more than $20,000.

In September, the Coalition Government passed legislation which it said would reverse all “blanket” reductions in speed limits imposed across the country since 2019, with the new limits coming into force on July 1 next year.

However, it is still unclear which of the hundreds of speed limit changes in the Far North since 2019 will need to be reversed.

What was certain was that any permanent reduction in the speed limit around schools would have to be replaced by variable speed limits that would apply only when children go to and from school.

While Far North District Council is pressing ahead with consultation on speed limits in the Russell area, council staff have previously said they would not proceed with setting new limits until the legal position was clear.