Policy set to protect productive land

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In April 2018, MfE and Stats NZ published the Our land 2018 report, which is a comprehensive assessment of how human activity is affecting the state of New Zealand’s land to date. The report identified two main pressures facing highly productive land on the edge of towns and cities:

  • expansion of urban areas, and the accompanying loss of productive land; and
  • change of land-use on the fringes of urban areas, in particular the increase in lifestyle blocks.In response, the Government has proposed the National Policy Statement – Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) to prevent the loss of productive land and promote its sustainable management.

    The overall purpose of the proposed NPS-HPL is to improve the way highly- productive land is managed under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to:

  • recognise the full range of values and benefits associated with its use for primary production
  • maintain its availability for primary production for future generations

• protect it from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development.

Alongside this, the Action for Healthy Waterways Summary document, which is an ‘at a glance’ summary of the discussion document informing amendments to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM), reports urgent action is required to improve water quality. In summary the amendments to the NPS- FM are seeking:

• better management of stormwater and wastewater

• no further loss of wetlands and streams

• tighter controls to prevent sediment loss from earthworks and urban development

• farmers and growers understanding and managing environmental risks and following good practice

• new standards and limits on some farming activities in some regions or catchments.

The Government is also continuing work in other areas of freshwater, including allocation of allowances to discharge nutrients, institutional/ oversight arrangements for the freshwater management system, and addressing Māori rights and interests in freshwater.

It is a busy time for both the rural and urban environments. On one hand the NPS-HPL is all about preserving production potential, but on the other hand primary producers feel that the combined effect of increased restriction and considerable changes to operating procedures arising from freshwater reforms, exacerbated by short timeframes, is limiting the potential and certainty of the primary sector.

Issues associated with urban environments are ALSO facing similar ironies. On one hand, communities want to see rapid improvements in water quality, but are apprehensive around changes to stormwater discharge requirements and increased rates to invest in improved infrastructure.

Here in Hawke’s Bay we’re in the thick of it, we’ve got all the issues at our back door about to be played out during the next term of Council.

There will be debates around competing interests, timeframes and what should be invested in, and our Councillors and Councils will need to grapple with changes at both the local and national level and how national policies and local outcomes can be aligned to achieve the sought of place we want to live, work and play in.

A national direction and framework is important in managing complex issues, however the question will be how much we can plan for our own communities and how free we will be to develop our own methods and approaches taking into account the very realistic needs and constraints of the different sectors of our community.

The first test will come with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council TANK Plan Change, which will introduce new management regimes and requirements affecting landuse, the use off freshwater and discharge activities in the Tutaekuri, Ahuriri Ngaruroro and Karamu catchments. This has been 7 years in the making already, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how things play out in what is arguably a far more sensitive and demanding environment now.

Powering up Arataki

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Thanks to an abundance of Hawke’s Bay sunlight, Arataki will halve its annual power bill through a new solar power installation at its production plant in Havelock North.

Managers Pam and Rhys Flack say the move to solar energy is another important step in Arataki’s commitment towards improving its environmental footprint.

“We’re also making processing changes to favour daytime power usage, rather than at night, to maximise the benefits of the installation. We’re aiming to halve our $50,000 annual power bill with around seven years’ payback on the capital cost,” they say.

Given the seasonal nature of Arataki’s production, it dovetails into the peak solar generation months. During winter, it expects to need a small power top-up but in spring and summer, excess power will be fed into the national grid.

Arataki hopes that its solar power investment will also pave the way for more businesses to follow, from seeing the environmental benefits and energy cost savings.

“We can all play a part in working towards a goal of national carbon neutrality. The more industries and businesses that take advantage of the benefits of solar power, the less demand on national power generation,” they say.

The solar panels have a new bifacial feature to increase the energy produced – they produce power from both (not just one) sides of the panel. The first 88 solar panels are on the north-facing 600 square metre beekeeping and storage facility and a further 169 panels cover the production and packing plant.

The project, undertaken by Hawke’s Bay business Ecoefficient Solutions NZ, took just to install and fully commission in time for the busy spring pollination and honey seasons.

Ecoefficient Solutions managing director Laura Kerr says she’s seen a big change in mindset from business owners compared to three years ago when solar was basically “not even on the radar”.

“Hawke’s Bay and our abundance of sunlight hours makes solar power one of the best ways we can help towards reducing our carbon footprint as a region.

“Arataki is leading by example and the project is a fantastic opportunity to help showcase the benefits and proven cost savings, so we can encourage more and more businesses to invest in solar,” she says.

The investment in solar power at the Havelock North site complements the Arataki Honey Rotorua operation, where all its processing energy has been geothermal since the early 1960s.

Arataki Honey is also investing in more sustainable packaging options and recently introduced a cardboard one-kilogram pot for its most popular Clover Blend Honey.

Arataki is always looking at ways it can contribute to environmental sustainability. “The solar power project and the cardboard pack are two significant steps in our journey,” says Rhys.

Arataki Honey’s Education Centre welcomes over 60,000 international and local visitors to its Havelock North site every year. “As part of raising environmental awareness, the centre will now including a Real Time Power Dashboard to show visitors exactly how the solar panels perform.”

Arataki Honey – 75 years young

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From a single swarm to over 24,000 hives, the story of Arataki Honey started when 17-year-old Percy Berry was asked by a neighbour to remove a swarm of bees.

Percy then began to split and build hives in Nireaha. In 1942 he gave up farming sheep and cattle and moved with his wife and five children to Hawke’s Bay with the dream of becoming a full-time bee keeper.

With Ian, his eldest son, they turned their small family bee keeping business into a commercial venture and began a journey that resulted in the Arataki – New Zealand’s favourite spread!

“Dad gave me a hive when I was 10, along with my brother Alan who was only 7. I bought Alan’s hive as I realised you needed hive numbers to make money and this enabled me to double my hive numbers,” Ian recalls.

Ian was also the one who, as a school boy, developed the iconic Arataki logo in 1944, along with its highly recognisable sunshine yellow and black writing – which has stood the test of time.

Alongside Ian, wife Pat has been the “human resource” over the generations caring for their children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren, enabling their parents to keep working and devote the time necessary to grow the business.

The Berry family are still the heart and soul of the Arataki, after 75 years of leading the way in the business of honey in New Zealand. Along with the Havelock North operation, there are two other divisions run by Ian’s brother Russell in Rotorua and Gore.

Ian’s daughter Pam has been in the business ‘forever’ starting at the age of five “always paid and always into a bank account”.

Number four in a family of six children, Pam has so many fond memories of working with her siblings, neighbours, cousins and school friends (including her husband Rhys) on weekends and school holidays.

“Everyone of us grew up with an incredibly strong work ethic. I developed my sales, marketing and accounting skills very early on.

“When I wanted to play intermediate netball on Saturday mornings, it was up to me to find someone to cover my shift in the honey shop – work and responsibility came first.

“We worked in comb honey production and packing and helped Mum balance the till each night. I didn’t work on payroll until I left school but some of our weekend team from Karamu High got paid in cash and at 13 I would hand out their pay at school.

“I learned so much working with Granddad and Dad but what I really love is working with younger people. By providing seasonal work we have helped fund many, many university degrees including my children and their cousins.

“Our permanent team welcome the skills and enthusiasm of the students and share their own skills and work ethics with them.”

Pam enjoys how young people challenge her to look at alternate ways to achieve goals. “I love it when I teach them a job and they end up doing it faster and better than I can,” she says.

As with all businesses, there have been challenging times and lessons learned in what has become a very aggressive market.

But we’ve had so many more highs than lows and I still get such a buzz when people tell us how much they love our honey and brand.”
Arataki Honey is an honest, reliable, New Zealand family business. Rhys recently became a company director joining Pam and aunt Barbara Bixley, who led Arataki’s marketing and sales for over 16 years.

Today, it’s the next generation of Berry’s who inspire Pam the most with their passion and commitment for growing a sustainable and successful business that will continue to enhance the environment and care for Arataki’s honey bees. “We have an amazing group of young people working with us. The family pool now includes 19 fourth generation and nearly 21 fifth generation so there are many options for the future.”

Working fulltime in the business are nieces Caroline Burnett in accounts, Nat Berry in retail, Nat’s partner Ben Morgan, and nephew Rob Berry in beekeeping.

Nat has been responsible for managing the recent changes in the Visitor Centre. The upgrade is amazing, if you check it out in the holidays you will also see niece Bridget Berry in the visitors centre.

“We don’t start them working quite as young now, but you can spot the cousins in past publicity shots,” Pam says.

ANZ Insight – Change Brings Challenges & Opportunities

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Without doubt, a rapid period of change is coming – creating both opportunities and challenges.  Where a business goes in the future, will depend on mindset, says ANZ’s Agri Economist Susan Kilsby.

“It’s happening across the world. Everything the primary sector is feeling burdened over, can be turn to your advantage in the future by thinking about what the world wants.”

Consumers are caring more about where food is coming from and how it is being produced.  “In a wider-world sense to, looking at businesses in general, it’s not only about making a profit, but how we are making a profit, so everything needs to be done in a more sustainable way.

Increasingly businesses are including ESG (environmental, social, governance) reporting because they are thinking about these critical factors in a longer term.

“It’s also happening at a farm and orchard level, where once it was about the quality of produce that came out the gate, it’s now about treating the environment, animals kindly and your staff well, which can be the difference in a competing market.”

Adding value will be in connecting this with consumers’ needs.  Susan sees this as two-fold. Firstly in having the data and information to prove what’s happening, but, what she believes is going to make the biggest difference around price, are then the stories that come with it and how these resound with people’s emotions.

“Technology will play a significant part in story-telling and connecting to the global audience. While we’ve seen marketing at a country-wide and large corporate level, it’s going to start getting right back to individual farms and were sharing their own stories really well results in being rewarded top dollar.

“It might become as simple as making an online post once a week about what’s happening on the farm, that captures interest and creates a whole group of social media followers who then go out and buy that farm’s own brand of produce,” she says.

ANZ Regional Manager Marcus Bousfield highlighted a recent example of a young and very popular social media influencer in Holland who was looking for carbon neutrality in purchasing food.

“While not every market is looking for that yet, eventually there will be an expectation that it comes with the territory.

“So it’s important to know what’s relevant if you are exporting to a particular part of the world – is it premium taste, coming from a clean and trusted source, or do they have a carbon neutral food sources,” he says.

Where Susan sees huge potential is in the crossover between the primary sector and tourism industries. “In a region like Hawke’s Bay we could get real traction is in these two areas working more closely together.

“We’re are not yet making the most of these real synergies of opportunity around farming and how we’re improving water quality and highlighting these as attractive places to visit and experience.”

“Hawke’s Bay is in good shape with a lot of diversity across the primary sector.  While, the region’s  GDP, per capita, traditionally tracks lower than the national average, in last few years the rate has been as strong as the national growth – and the region’s closing that gap.

“But the reality is there is still a lot of environmental areas to improve on and these challenges are happening all over the world.

“The real messages we’re hearing are coming from the market, not Government, and if we don’t move quickly, unfortunately we’re going to be left behind.”

Marcus says succeeding generations are coming through and driving business with a lot of positivity and they’re looking for ways of being proactive.

As a bank, he says, the ANZ relationship team is out in the field asking those important questions around risk assessment, environmental and sustainable planning  so individual business are set up in the right way.

“We understand it’s heading in this direction so we’re helping get farms and businesses “future ready” to be as resilient as they can to meet the ever-changing needs of the consumer, the environment and financial world”.

FIngermark – Making a mark on the global fast food scene

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Luke Irving has big aspirations to leave an indelible mark on the global technology scene from Havelock North, as well as creating a Silicon Valley styled technology scene nurturing Hawke’s Bay talent.

Luke, the founder of a global tech company Fingermark which is leading the development of applied computer vision and deep learning computer machine technology, uplifted his

team of 18 staff from Auckland and moved them into a warehouse in Havelock North three years ago.

The easiest way to explain what Fingermark does is that it designs, builds and manufactures leading edge technology solutions to help businesses streamline operations and enhance customer experience.

Fingermark leads the way in artificial intelligence (AI) software with real time and predictive business analytics, through to next generation customer kiosks and digital menu boards, which is fit for purpose and with a clear vision to “revolutionise customer speed of service” in sectors such as Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and the health sector.

Luke established Fingermark in 2005, seeing a gap in the touch screen market and how it could be adopted in the hospitality and food service industry. He had had dabbled in the technology as a bar owner in Wellington, when he installed a touch screen point of sale system which he simply turned the screen around to the customer to place their food order.

“Self-service was starting to come of age and technology was at price point that it could be adopted into most markets quite easily but there was no one building technology in that space in NZ.

“I took a bit of a punt and set Fingermark up as a digital kiosk company, where we started to build hardware and software.

Early adopters included the Briscoes Group including Rebel Sport as well as Westfield Group and Sky City.”

Luke’s big break came when he developed the first self-ordering and payment kiosk for Subway, heralding a serious foray into the QSR sector.

This opened up the global opportunity to secure a contract with Yum Brands, the parent company of Restaurant Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC globally.

Luke says fast food businesses were making good money during the Global Financial Crisis and they decided to invest in digital technology such as outdoor and indoor ordering kiosks and digital signage.

“There’s a well-known story of me taking 63 flights across the Tasman to win the Yum brands contract.

“They saw us as one-stop technology shop and that started our growth and global opportunities, so at the point in time I reinvested heavily back into the business in software development and we set up a software development business in Brazil.”

Four years ago, Fingermark hit a “sweet spot” and started to win additional contracts in the QSR sector for developing AI and Machine learning for suggestive selling and predictive modelling of a customer’s ordering patterns. The next generation technology is capable of identifying the customer and its buying habits so that it can offer more than ‘would you like fries with that?’.

Fingermark has gone on to smash its “big hairy audacious” client base target set for end of 2020 goal of 100,000 QSR including securing a global contact with McDonalds.

Fingermark now employs over 60 staff, many spread across two offices spaces in Havelock North, as well as team members based in Brazil, Dubai and Colarado, United States.

Luke’s ambitions are not to just develop a large technology business in Hawke’s Bay but to develop local talent that goes on to work in other local technology businesses such as Re-leased, Ask Your Team or Fingermark’s sister business Florence, which is based in Napier.

To do so, he is championing a talent laboratory campus and is scouting for a greenfields site. He has also had early discussions with EIT Hawke’s Bay to be the education partner with the aim of delivering highly skilled technology graduates with a higher earning capacity to Hawke’s Bay businesses.

“We’ve got five EIT technology graduates at Fingermark and we can see the potential to create a lab style education hub that will ensure the long term sustainability of businesses like ours in Hawke’s Bay. We don’t want to move, but we need the talent and there’s two options — you grow it locally or you import it.

Hastings HIVE has businesses buzzing with excitement over a new co-working space!

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A new-age approach to renting office space that provides corporate-level facilities for small companies has got the business community buzzing in Hawke’s Bay.

From high-end offices, super-fast Internet connectivity, hi-tech meeting and board rooms, a café with great coffee, a chilled water station with still and sparkling water and relaxing lounge area, to luxury bathrooms with showers and changing lockers, small businesses can now enjoy the trappings of a swish corporate office.

Rob and Jenny Gill bought the former Hastings Farmers store in 2018. The large building on the corner of Queen Street and Market Street was completely redeveloped and earthquake strengthened in 2014, becoming the National Operations Centre for Kiwibank.

Part of the building remained undeveloped until the Gills identified an opportunity in Hastings for high-quality, shared workspaces. Rob says the complex, called Hastings HIVE, is based on the shared workplace concept pioneered in international trading centres like London, New York and Toronto.

He says this movement, which they’ve branded ‘i-space’, has been spreading globally, fuelled by a need for adaptable workspaces and a desire for better quality but shared resources, supporting modern agile work practices with intelligent design and the latest information technologies.

Rob illustrates why adaptable spaces are important: “Previously, we owned an IT business that was locked into a 10-year lease, ratcheting up 3 percent a year. This at a time when rents around us fell by up to 30 percent after the 2008 global financial crisis. We had to lay off staff as this lack of flexibility with one of our biggest fixed costs was really hurting us. It was a very stressful time to own a small business.

“So we were determined our customers would have some of the best working conditions and professional support available anywhere in New Zealand, so they can concentrate on their core business and leave the contextual stuff to us and our professional partners.”

Being an i-space, the first partner on board was local ICT company Glenn Cook Technologies, whose job it was to ensure customers have the best and most resilient networking and Internet experience possible. The ultra-secure Aruba system that powers the new network is normally found only in large corporate sites. Better still, like most services at Hastings HIVE, networking is included in the monthly rental plan.

“We have certainly gone to the next level with office fit-out,” says interior designer Amy Henderson, who recently returned to New Zealand from working in London. “The design brief was to create a sophisticated workplace that provides small businesses the opportunity to work in an environment that usually only large corporates can afford. Fundamentally, people work better when they love where they work.

“What sets this i-space apart from co-working spaces I have seen here and overseas is the quality of the fit-out, the high-end products we specified and the craftsmanship on display. MCL Construction (based in Hastings) have done a world-class job.”

Local architects Fat Parrot have designed a highly functional space that customers can adapt as needed but know that almost everything they might require is provided for, from fixtures and fittings to the café and lounge setting, meeting spaces and five-star hotel-like bathrooms.

This i-space, the first of many the Gill’s say, offers a range of flexible workspaces to suit most uses and budgets, starting from a one-person i-desk up to larger i-offices sized from 26 m2 to 78 m2 and suitable for six to twenty people. All this, amazingly, with a 30 to 40 percent lower total occupancy cost than leasing your own office, with no long fixed-term leases or guarantees required.

“Success for us will be seeing our first i-desk customer move to an i-office,” says Rob. “And that’s the incubator opportunity that we hope will boost the local economy – it’s about supporting people, growing business and creating jobs.”

Interested in leasing an i-space? Visit www.hastingshive.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colin Shanley packs away the tripod after 63 years

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In 2020 Colin will pack away his theodolite for the last time, drawing an end to a career that has spanned 63 years as a land surveyor. Over this time, he’s seen the emergence of Flaxmere as Hastings’ new suburb, the huge population growth of

Havelock North, and the subdivision of lifestyle blocks and rural properties into more smaller parcels of land.

Every work day morning for many of these years, Colin has got into his trusty white Nissan ute and driven into his office in Avenue Road,

Hastings. The firm has had just three licenced partners in nearly 90 years – Harry Davies who founded the firm Davies Newcombe in 1931, Norman Hewkin and Colin.

Colin attributes his work ethic, professional skills as well as his longstanding involvement in the community to Harry and Norman.

“I joined the firm straight out of school as a cadet and learned the trade. H.C. Davies was a wonderful man and a guy I respected and learned a lot from – not only in surveying but in all aspects of being a surveyor as well as being involved in the community.”

Colin’s work ethic has been exhaustive for his entire career, both in business and as a community leader. He was a three-term Havelock North Borough councillor and after amalgamation with Hastings, he spent two terms on the Hastings District Council.

He has also been a loyal and hard-working member of the Havelock North Rugby Club and the local squash club, spending hundreds of hours on build projects such as rugby and squash club rooms, fundraising for the Village Pool, Havelock North Library and Community Centre, and the restoring of the Village Domain pavilion.

As a land surveyor Colin says his approach has been to ensure that a residential or lifestyle development enhances the surrounding environment both for residents and the broader public.

“Our role is to always ensure that the quality of the environment is enhanced.”

Over his career Colin has seen Havelock North grow from 3,500 residents to over 15,000 and Hastings from just over 30,000 to over 70,000, as well as the emergence of Flaxmere in the late 1960s.

Shanley & Co was heavily involved in the development of sections in Flaxmere through to the early 1990s and at one stage was surveying 300 sections a year. He says that if it wasn’t for residential planning changes and an over-zealous social welfare system, Flaxmere could have looked considerably different today.

Initially Flaxmere had a grand entrance with sections larger than 700m2 along Flaxmere Avenue, which backed onto an extensive park (Flaxmere Park), but over time and as you go further into the suburb development, the housing standard deteriorated.

“A good form of development not only caters for the people who go into that environment but also the surrounding community. We’ve always looked to enhancement but there can be areas that become detrimental to residential growth and worthwhile development.”

At the opposite end of town, in Havelock North, the sleepy village has become a bustling residential and commercial hotspot that could have been shaped more differently had the Havelock North Borough not merged with Hastings.

Colin says that prior to the merger there was an opportunity, thanks to some good planners, to create a masterplan for the village. This included new residential development in Arataki, to the north, which is now only just being realised.

The Arataki extension was a proposed growth area that would provide Havelock for a population of 14,000.

However, Colin says all that has happened isn’t a criticism of amalgamation, more a reflection. He says with further residential development proposed over the next five years with Brookvale and Iona set to accommodate over 700 houses, along with a retirement village to be built in Te Aute Road, it’s time to look at a new masterplan that will relieve congestion in the CBD, around schools

and connectivity to Hastings.

“There’s no doubt that Havelock will need a third arterial road connecting to Hastings and that will happen to the south at St Georges Road, at the existing bridge across the Karamu creek.”

As Colin looks back on his career, he’s reluctant to single out his own personal achievements or any specific development but when pressed, he says the Enfield lifestyle development near Paki Paki is a standout.

He’s particularly proud of the relationships the firm has developed with many landowners across the district, as well as the long-standing contribution made by many of his loyal staff. Frank Nijssen has been with the firm for over 38 years and Aaron Britten for 28 years.

As he prepares to exit in 2020, he says that although the firm hasn’t kept pace with modern technology, he’s enthusiastic about the next era of the firm without him at the helm.

“I have had huge satisfaction in doing what I’ve done. We’re a bit old-school but that comes from the foundations of the business and the early years I spent with Harry Davies.

“We are a bit behind the eight ball when it comes to a modern practice but there will be a new environment here that means the firm will be very much alive and well after I’ve gone.

“I’m pulling out at the right time and in good heart. The new administration will move Shanley & Co onwards and upwards.”

Aaron Brittin has worked for Colin for nearly 30 years, starting straight out of high school and he’s in awe of what Colin has achieved in a professional capacity as well as his dedication to the community.

“He is devoted to his work and his integrity is unique and goes beyond the call. He deals with people in such a fair way and I’ve never seen him get flustered,” Aaron says.

Professionally, Colin is so well respected by his peers, many of whom have started their careers under his wings.

“They are in awe of his work ethic and how many survey plans we complete over the course of a year.”

Aaron says as a boss, you couldn’t get a better mentor and it’s no surprise that staff have stayed long term with the business.

“He’s taught me everything I know and is an icon within the survey profession,” Aaron says.

Fastway Couriers takes on international name – Aramex

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Fastway Couriers, New Zealand’s oldest courier business is adopting the brand name of its international parent company Aramex.

The change gives New Zealand businesses a seamless delivery network across the world as well as increasing delivery channels into New Zealand for global e-commerce retailers.

Established in Hawke’s Bay in 1983 by Bill McGowan, Fastway Couriers New Zealand has 18 regional franchisees with over 250 courier franchisees from the far north to Bluff in the South Island.

Aramex, a Dubai-based logistics group bought Fastway Couriers New Zealand in January 2016 for $125 million. Aramex is considered one of the top 5 logistics providers in the world with a presence in 72 countries, transporting nearly 70 million parcels globally each year.

Fastway Couriers NZ chief executive Scott Jenyns said the time was right to adopt the Aramex name with the significant rise in the parcel movements across the globe due to the explosion in e-commerce retail shopping and new technology advanced products.

“We are retaining our unique franchise business model but are gaining a global mindset with access to new innovations, new technologies and new shipping destinations.

“This is a major step forward for our local franchise operators but also for many New Zealand businesses that either export products to the world or import to New Zealand.

“The parcel and delivery industry has changed dramatically over the past 35 years, which started as a business to business offering but today over 80 percent of parcel movements are smaller than 3 kilograms and delivered to residential properties due to online retail.”

Mr Jenyns said the name change will also better align New Zealand with the Aramex international business strategy and extends the New Zealand service offering to the movement of envelope sized parcels to large shipping containers.

“We will now be able to position our New Zealand business as a full service logistics company which is of significant benefit to local exporters and importers, as well as international businesses sending products here.

Aramex Regional Chief Executive Officer Andy van der Velde said introducing the Aramex brand to New Zealand reflects the country as one of the most rapidly growing e-commerce markets in the region and we can serve more businesses and consumers online and through our strengthened distribution network.

“We can now tell a simple story to our international customers that Aramex is in New Zealand and can deliver to and from the country and this will have significant benefits for our NZ business partners,” Mr van der Velde said.

Mr Jenyns said the brand roll out will take approximately three months to complete and includes rebranding all of our nationwide offices and depots, over 300+courier vehicles  and for 500+ people employed and engaged with the company in New Zealand a brand-new look to their uniform. Our transport company (Transport Linehaul Ltd) will be completed in 2020.

“It’s a big exercise which has been keenly welcomed by our business franchisees and our business partners.

“The change is about improving how we move parcels. We can leverage off Aramex’s global footprint in New Zealand and introduce new products and services to build a bigger, stronger business in New Zealand and grow our franchisees in the process.

“We’ll still be local franchisees, in local regions, and this is very important to us as franchising remains in our DNA. The key point of difference is that now we’ll be able to offer greater global reach and opportunities to our customers and our people through career advancement opportunities.

“We have received increasingly positive feedback and there is a general feeling of excitement about what opportunities this could present for each of the regions in the near future.

Call for Young people to get involved and take lead in horticulture

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Outgoing Hawke’s Bay 2018 Young Fruit Grower of the Year Lisa Arnold is calling on more young people to get involved and take the lead in her industry.

“Hawke’s Bay needs more young people for our horticultural industry because its growing careers.  Every year the region is planting thousands of apple trees and more orchards, along with creating new sustainability initiatives,” Arnold said.

“We want young people to get involved and take the lead.”

Arnold, a HB Young Orchardist Group member, is an orchard operations assistant with Bostock New Zealand.  She created history last year as the first woman to win the prestigious and strongly contested local title.

Attending the Horticultural Field Days this week, Arnold says she’s looking forward to supporting this year’s finalists in the HBYFG competition, which is going from strength to strength.  She is also featuring at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s stand as part of highlighting productive sector success.

Ask her what the future holds for both her and Hawke’s Bay and the first word that springs to mind is – Wairoa.

She recently purchased an acre of good fertile land in Wairoa where she hopes to grow crops in a district she says is on the cusp of exciting opportunity and growth.

“Wairoa’s on the move, it’s going to be the place to be.”

“It has great soil, weather and access by road and rail is improving, locals are friendly and there’s available land with affordable housing, not to mention the weather and being close to the beach!”

Growing up in Gisborne and now living back home in Hastings where she was born, Arnold says as well as work, Hawke’s Bay is a really great place live.

“You can get outdoors, we’ve got Te Mata Peak, the beaches and it’s a great place to get out walk your dog”.

Youth connectors paves way to the top for job starter

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Topline Contracting managing director Taurus Taurima is leading from the front when it comes to upskilling and inspiring his 26 strong workforce.

Taurus has gone back to school, joining 10 of his team, to do the EIT Hawke’s Bay’s Infrastructure Works course.

“Many of the team don’t have formal qualifications from school or otherwise, so the EIT course was a good opportunity to gain a qualification that’s aligned to the work we do.

“I thought, why not join them? My main focus is to point them in the right direction and to create opportunities for these young men – most of whom are young Māori fathers – to become achievers and good examples for their children.”

The EIT certificate course covers industry specific skills, plant and equipment maintenance and operation, health and safety and first aid. Other workers are doing a similar course in Civil Trades through national industry training organisation (ITO) Connexis.

Taurus says it’s pretty hard to recruit skilled workers in a strong economy and he’s now worked out a plan of having a good mix of skilled and/or experienced staff while giving some young and inexperienced a chance.

One of these is Keil McClutchie, who was offered a labourer’s position as part Topline Contracting managing director Taurus Taurima with Keil McClutchie of the Hastings District Council’s Youth Connector initiative.

Keil had returned from five years working as a scaffolder in Australia but was struggling to find a permanent job.

At the same time Taurus was approached by the council’s Youth Connector team to see if he had any roles available, as he had previously taken on job seekers from Ministry of Social Development.

The timing was perfect. Keil was prepared for the interview by a council’s Youth Connector team member and he duly got the job.

For Taurus, who started out as a labourer himself over 10 years ago, he wanted someone with the right attitude; he would do the rest.

“You know if they’re not right if they’ve taken three days off in three weeks. Keil was really keen both to work and learn from others. I’ve partnered him with a good foreman and Keil’s doing everything right.

“Giving a young person a chance from the Youth Connector programme is worth it. There’s a support network that helps the transition into work.”

Keil is enjoying his new job and learning new skills. He’s recently been working on the enhancement of Flaxmere Park.

“It beats staying at home. I’m learning a trade and there’s a good bunch of guys here to work with. I’m keen to make my way up through the business and I’ve got a good boss who leads from the front.”

Hastings District Council started the Youth Connector programme in 2017. It was given a $1.7 million funding boost from the government in 2018.

Hastings District Council social and youth development manager Dennise Elers says the annual target is to place 80 youth in work. With three months to go, 77 have already been employed, with 28 current job seekers. Council has engaged with 45 businesses and 22 have signed up – the annual target is 30.

“We are really pleased with how the programme is going. We’re very close to achieving all our targets and we are thrilled that 22 local business are supporting it.”

She says there is a strong emphasis on pastoral care, both in preparing youth for employment opportunities as well as follow-ups once they’ve been placed in a job.

“We try to make it as easy as possible for both the worker and the business owner. You do get the good and the bad but we do everything we can to ensure we get the right match,” she says.