Monthly Archives: March 2022

Hawke’s Bay Airport announces partnership with Trustpower for solar farm development

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Hawke’s Bay Airport today announced that it has entered into a partnership with Trustpower Ltd as part of the proposed commercial solar farm development to be built on land adjacent to the runway. The partnership will allow the development to move to the next phase, which will involve community consultation and seeking resource consent for the construction and operation of the farm.

Upon completion of the sale of its multi-utility retail business, Trustpower will be rebranded Manawa Energy, and will be New Zealand’s largest independent electricity generator and renewables developer, representing around 5% of New Zealand’s existing generation capacity. The airport development will be Trustpower’s first solar energy project, and is an example of the partnership approach Manawa Energy will take to funding and developing renewables projects in New Zealand.

Chief Executive David Prentice says the partnership with Hawke’s Bay Airport shows the company is making good on its commitment to increasing New Zealand’s renewable generation capacity.

“We are excited to be part of this important development in Hawke’s Bay, and look forward to working with our partners to deliver locally sourced renewable energy to the region” says Prentice.

The airport development will be Trustpower’s second renewables project in the region, after it commissioned the 4-megawatt Esk River Hydro-electric Power Scheme in northern Hawke’s Bay, which has been generating since 2013.

Hawke’s Bay Airport Board Chair Wendie Harvey was thrilled with news of the partnership. “It’s fantastic the solar farm project is going forward with Manawa Energy; a company that understands and is aligned to Hawke’s Bay Airport’s commitment to safeguarding the future and creating the long-term resilience and sustainability of airport land.”

“We can now move ahead with next steps of the project, which will ultimately help us achieve our vision of carbon neutrality by 2030.”

Under the current plans, when complete the solar farm will have 52,000 solar panels capable of generating 24 megawatts of electricity, or 36,000 megawatt hours. The output would be enough to power 5000-6000 households per year.

Making Security awareness a habit

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Looking forward to 2022, we can expect another period of dealing with the invisible and deadly COVID-19 virus. Three years in, it has changed how we live, work and interact with others nationally and globally. We have trained ourselves to keep to our one-metre distance in public places, wash our hands thoroughly, and use sanitisers.

We wear masks and use technology to track our activity in case of possible exposure and communicate sites of interest, more recently, as a vaccine pass. It’s true to say that these measures have worked, and it is also true that we will have these methods at the ready once we get past this season of the disease and see another pandemic coming our way. But, as much as it has disrupted our personal lives, it has also affected our businesses. It has upset inbound and outbound global supply chains, put burdens on hospitality, increased remote working from home (turning our homes and lives on end), and meant meeting online at all hours of the day and night, not to mention reading and responding to more emails than we would like to.

And that has also seen us come across an increase in other invisible, deadly killers to business- forms of malware, delivered primarily via email phishing to unsuspecting individuals or vulnerabilities to weak and underperforming technologies. So for every notable reported attack (the NZX in 2020 and the Waikato DHB in 2021, for example), there are an untold number of those that go unrecognized and unreported.

All of the cybersecurity predictions for 2022 and beyond are pretty much alike- expect more, expect worse, and expect harsher damages from attacks. We will see an increase in ransomware and attacks against mobile and IoT devices, a rise in frequency, and sophisticated methods of avoiding detection.

What can you do?

An Information Security Management System (ISMS) is not just an assortment of technology; it is the collective series of methods that a company employs to achieve their cybersecurity goals. Most companies have some form of implementation (or parts thereof) but different requirements and ways to achieve them, typically letting them down. Here are four common suggestions and steps for every business in 2022:

  1. Conduct a Cybersecurity Assessment

I hear a lot of, “We don’t know what we don’t know,” and that is precisely what hackers exploit. An audit performed by an independent cybersecurity professional outside of your organisation or service provider will ensure an evidence-based, impartial review, define gaps, and make appropriate recommendations and is well worth the cost. You wouldn’t let your accounting department do your financial audit, and you should look outside for your cybersecurity review.

  1. Understand and incorporate good governance

The NZ Privacy Commissioner revised the Privacy Act of 2020. It has new rules and penalties around digital information and for failure to recognise and protect the privacy of your stakeholders.

They have a free short 30-minute e-Learning course that will help you and your employees get to know the regulation. Combined with appropriate policies and procedures, they set the tone that management takes the security of the business seriously, thereby protecting the needs of all employees, suppliers, and customers.

  1. Apply 3 pillars for protection

There are three foundational pillars to cyber protection that every business and individual should take to defend themselves against harmful threats; training (securing people), email filtering (securing communications), and deploying next-generation Antivirus (securing technology). These three methods are similar to the preventive measures we apply to COVID-19. Individually, they won’t prevent an attack, but together, they help reduce the risk and damage from one.

  1. Stay aware.

CERTNZ, SecurityBrief NZ, and other security bulletin websites can provide knowledgeable, timely information about what is happening in New Zealand. Just ten minutes a day is all it takes to stay ahead of the game.

Unlike COVID, threats from cybersecurity attacks will never go away, and like COVID, everyone is a target. So vigilance and resilience are our number one defence, and the approach to taking it seriously now and every day is the only way to guarantee your cybersecurity looking forward.

The Employee Experience – Now is the time

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A tight labour market, closed borders and now The Great Resignation (a term used to describe an unexpected side effect of the pandemic, where people are rethinking how to live their lives and what type of meaning and purpose they want out of work and life), the task of finding and keeping talent needed to operate in business right now is an overwhelming challenge.

Many employers either don’t know how to tackle the situation or have been distracted by other challenges the pandemic has posed, but now more than ever, employers have a unique opportunity to think more strategically about their people and attract and retain the talent they need to create a thriving postpandemic organisation.

Leadership with a Difference

To lead well during these times is not easy and requires some real thought to get it right. It requires re-imagining how you – the employer, lead and develop others, how you create strong teams, how you communicate and how you develop a positive workplace culture.

Employees are tired and they are looking for a revised sense of meaning and purpose and this requires great leadership. Be conscious about setting in place a vision of what you are trying to achieve and align everyday work to the vision and purpose. All work can be meaningful. Reframe tasks to connect to the larger purpose (remember the NASA janitor who, when asked, “what do you do?” answered “helping put a man on the moon”). Does it mean your people need a ‘calling’? No. But you can establish meaning by setting the vision, telling your story, and making the connection for them. Know what you stand for as an organisation (your values) and double down on culture.

What’s your EVP? Know your Employee Value Proposition.

Genuinely ask the question “Why would I work for your company instead of elsewhere?”. Understand what your employees are running from and what they gravitate to. Gain information from them – ask them – and utilise information sources such as exit interviews (best done by an independent party). There can be a lot of things at play here – remuneration yes, but also meaning, impact, job content, development opportunities, culture, team and life balance.

Employee Experience

Take time to consider the key touchpoints in your employees’ ‘lifecycle’ – these are the human aspects of work that can make a big difference and includes people processes such as:

  • Hiring
  • Onboarding
  • Development
  • Reward and recognition
  • Exit

Look at the social and interpersonal connections both spontaneous and formal to develop a sense of community. Review communication effectiveness and set in place meaningful interactions, not just transactions. Meetings are a classic connection point – when done correctly they pose an opportunity; know their purpose and do them well. Take a conscious look at how you engage your people, how can you enhance wellbeing and build a sense of team and create a strong organisational culture?

Time and again, engagement surveys show that staff development is a priority, so put in place development plans and mentoring programmes.

A Flexible Working Model

From an attraction and retention perspective, flexibility is a key selling point. Redesigning your work model is better than watching your investment walk out the door. Employees are looking for greater flexibility. A willingness to accept employees’ commitments and ensure they feel supported in doing what is important in their lives, will help employees feel strongly about their commitment to the organisation. A hybrid work model should be a serious consideration. However, do not underestimate the amount of structure needed for this to work well.

For those who’ve tried this without the right structures in place, it has been a disaster. It needs careful planning and design, an understanding of people’s personal situations and a balance of care that is offset with communicating personal responsibility and productivity along with a focus on outcomes rather than actions. It may also need a re-education of more traditional managers – a remote employee is not automatically less engaged or less communicative – don’t mistake physical presence for loyalty. It also needs the right digital communication platform to act as a main channel where information and conversation is captured for both remote and onsite workers.

My overarching point here is to keep your eye on the ball. Take some time and be strategic and about how things are done and change it up. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

Understand legislation changes to land before acting

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A hot topic for many years has been the house market. Specifically, how the Government has attempted to create affordable housing for those priced out of the market. The most recent of these is the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 and the proposed repeal and replacement of the Resource Management Act. Hastings and Napier District Councils will be required to review their existing District Plans to determine where and how they can support future housing growth within their regions. Potential changes may provide you with various options for the development of your land which may have been unavailable to you previously. But before rushing out to take advantage of the current market, there are a few matters for you to consider first.

Tax – that old chestnut

There are several possible tax implications when it comes to developing property. The most important consideration is the intent at the time of purchase. Any profits gained from the sale of land that was purchased with the intention to develop and sell will be taxable. Inland Revenue has wide ranging powers to determine the original intent and purpose.

Where a property is bought and sold within 10 years, the development will be subject to tax when the work undertaken is considered ‘more than minor’. Various factors including the time, effort and expense that has occurred in undertaking the development will be considered.

Where property is owned for more than 10 years and then developed, any development will be taxed where there have been significant costs incurred for earthworks, drainage and connection of utilities like power, water and telecommunications.

There is also provision applying to the sale of property within 10 years where the property has been rezoned pursuant to the Resource Management Act. Then there is the overriding bright-line test. This provides for any residential or lifestyle property sold within 10 years to be taxed upon sale, regardless of the original intention when purchased. For properties purchased prior to 27 March 2021, the timeframe is five years.

Land Covenants and how they affect your plans

Land Covenants are agreements that outline resections on how land can be used or developed, the objective being to maintain the quality of a subdivision and the value of the properties within it. Land Covenants are recorded on the Record of Title and pass onto all future landowners. Examples include restrictions on the design of the house, materials that may be used and ongoing maintenance requirements.

One covenant that needs careful review is any clause that may prevent further subdivision. No further subdivision clauses can come in two types – there is the express ‘no further subdivision’ clause and then there are limitations on the number of buildings that may be erected within a defined area.

Land Covenants are private agreements which, provided they do not contravene any local council bylaws, will trump any Council zone definitions for minimum lot size. Councils are

not required to consider any existing private Land Covenants noted on a Record of Title when reviewing any subdivision applications. There have been instances where Councils have issued a Resource Consent allowing a subdivision to proceed, but the owner of the land has been unable to legally subdivide the property due to a no further subdivision clause contained in existing Land Covenants.

Removal of redundant easements

During the planning stage, the removal of redundant easements can have a significant effect in lessening costs and reducing timeframes.

An easement is a right from one landowner to another to use a specified area of land in a specified way. These are generally in the form of rights of way, rights to convey water, electricity, telecommunications, and rights to drain water or sewage.

When a new title is issued, all existing interests on the old title ‘drop down’ onto all new titles. The effect that this sometimes has is that easements are registered over land that has no direct access to the easement area or the right to use the same. This can create issues when it comes to selling the new titles. The most cost and time efficient solution is to ensure all easements are only brought down or registered over the relevant land to be affected. This may require some easements to be fully or partially surrendered as part of the subdivision process.

In other cases, your existing title may already have redundant easements from an earlier subdivision that should really be removed to ‘tidy up’ the title first. Some of the points outlined above may appear complicated and confusing. We are here to help you with all of this and reduce any concerns you may have to ensure you get the most out of your investments and development. Give me a call and I’ll be happy to discuss.