Waikato Business News February/March 2017

12 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2017
Gamechangers for
economic return
Visitor numbers, and economic return for
Hamilton and Waikato, are set to increase
thanks to the launch of an exciting menu of
“game changing projects”.
The projects are being
promoted by Hamilton
& Waikato Tourism
and will target the Waikato
River, Hamilton City
Riverfront, the Kingitanga
Story and Regional Events
Strategy.
Currently, the region is
New Zealand’s fifth largest
tourism region by value
attracting $1.37 billion in
visitor expenditure. We are
one of only six regions out of
29 with visitor expenditure
of $1 billion or more, alongside
Auckland, Wellington,
Queenstown, Christchurch
and Northland.
The Hamilton & Waikato
Visitor Strategy 2014 aims
to grow visitor expenditure
for the region from $1 billion
in 2014 to $1.35 billion in
2025. This goal requires clear
strategies to identify the tourism
opportunities that have
the greatest potential to drive
growth, yield and dispersal in
the region.
The Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism Opportunities Plan
released in July 2016 is a
major piece of work commissioned
by Hamilton &
Waikato Tourism.
It sets out to provide a
framework for delivering new
and improved tourism experiences
that have the potential
to drive growth in the local
tourism sector and contribute
to the regional economy. The
game changing projects have
a key part to play in this.
The Waikato River is the
longest river in New Zealand,
the lifeline of the region, but
it isn’t readily prominent or
accessible for use by locals
or visitors. The plan will see
the river activated and access
improved, and includes a
focus on events that celebrate
the river and on new visitor
experiences. The project
will support efforts to ensure
highest standards of water
quality and enhancement of
the river margins.
Emphasis will be placed
on the Hamilton City
Riverfront, supporting the
implementation of the existing
Hamilton City River
Plan to create a vibrant and
active riverside destination
for residents and visitors.
Elements fundamental to
achieving the tourism vision
are the Ferrybank development,
Waikato Museum and
ArtsPost, accommodation,
and improved connectivity
between Hamilton East,
Hamilton Gardens, the river
and the city.
Māori tourism presents
an opportunity for the region
to tell its cultural story,
with potential focus on the
Kingitanga, the Waikato
River and our natural environment.
The aim is to further
develop authentic, cultural,
local experiences to provide
a greater understanding of
Tainui to manuhiri (visitors)
to the Waikato.
A Regional Events
Strategy will be a significant
enabler. Expanding existing
major, regional, niche and
community events - and
developing new ones - will
benefit existing tourism businesses
and enable the development
of accommodation,
transport, hospitality and
attractions.
It is important to develop
an events programme that
smooths seasonal fluctuations
in the visitor industry, providing
increased, more reliable
employment and greater
returns to business owners.
Fieldays is currently
Waikato's only major annual
multi-day event that attracts
significant numbers of visitors
from outside the region.
A key objective for the
Regional Events Strategy will
be identifying and facilitating
one or more major shoulder
or off-season events.
The development of a
Regional Events Strategy will
further secure, develop, promote
and encourage events
which generate financial and
TELLING WAIKATO’S STORY
> BY JASON DAWSON
Chief Executive,
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism
social benefits to the region.
The starting point is
to conduct an audit of all
events across local councils,
iwi, business, industry and
community groups to develop
a comprehensive list of
all events currently held
throughout the region.
Find out more: Hamilton
& Waikato Tourism, Tourism
Opportunities Plan: www.
hamiltonwaikato.com/TOP
Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism’s Business Events
Employee reinstatement a surprise for workplace
This is an important case
where the employee
was granted interim
reinstatement without the
employer being informed
of the hearing or having an
opportunity to defend it.
Ms Eder-Entwistle was
working 20 hours a week as
a salon assistant at a hairdressing
boutique when she
got pregnant. Towards the end
of her parental leave there
was a text exchange where
she advised her employer
that she was ready to return
to work and was told that
business was slow and they
couldn’t employ both her and
her replacement.
Since 1987 the Parental
Leave and Employment
Protection Act (the Act) has
required employers to keep
a woman’s job open when
she went on parental leave.
Some employers have found
this very difficult to honour at
times, but there is no excuse
at all for an entry level position
to be permanently filled
in these circumstances.
The Act contains a most
unusual provision, that the
woman can make an ex parte
application for a hearing for
interim reinstatement to her
job. (It appears that this is
the first time the provision
ex parte has been used in the
30 years the Act has been
in force.) The Authority first
looked at whether it should
grant permission for the application
to be heard without
the other party being able to
put their case. It concluded
that Parliament included the
provision ‘to protect vulnerable
women, who might still
be waiting to give birth, or
else be dealing with the earliest
stages of motherhood’. It
also concluded that the wording
of the Act required the
Authority to hear it ex parte if
the woman so applied.
The Authority found
that the employer’s refusal
to allow Eder-Entwistle to
return to work amounted to
a dismissal. The usual tests to
assess whether interim reinstatement
were applied: is
there an arguable case? If so,
is there an adequate alternative
remedy available to the
applicant? Where does the
balance of convenience lie?
What is the overall justice of
the case?
In reviewing the overall
situation, the Authority
commented: ‘A contentious
matter exists…and that will
leave to a strained relationship
and stress. That is often
the case in such matters, but
does not necessarily mean that
reinstatement is not appropriate.
Once reinstated, the
parties must be “active and
constructive in establishing
and maintaining a productive
employment relationship”…
They will also be directed
to participate in mediation in
good faith.’
An interim order for reinstatement
was made and
will remain in place for six
months. It is expected that the
substantive matter would be
resolved in this time.
It is easy to imagine the
absolute shock the employer
experienced on receiving the
order and the ensuing tension
in the workplace.
There is also a short case
on a frequently asked question
about enforcing “no disparaging
comments” in mediated
agreements.
Wanaka Sun (2003) Ltd v
Woodrow
When an employment relationship
ends badly the parties
often end up in mediation.
Most mediation agreements
contain some wording that the
parties agree not to make any
disparaging comments about
the other. Clients frequently
ask if it is worth enforcing the
clause for what are normally
minor but irritating breaches.
In this particular case,
the Wanaka Sun (the Sun)
is a free community newspaper
that relies on advertising
revenue. When Ms Woodrow
left her job at the Sun, they
reached a mediated settlement
that included a fairly standard
clause that ‘the parties agree
they shall not make derogatory
comments about each
other to any other person or
organisation.’ Woodrow got a
new job and made derogatory
comments to a former Sun
colleague about the Sun and
its owner. The former colleague
reported the comments
back to the owner.
The owner sought to have a
penalty imposed on Woodrow
for breach of the agreement.
The Authority didn’t agree
that Woodrow had used abusive
comments or expletives,
but found that she had
HR AND THE LAW
> BY ANNE AITKEN
team provides a free service
to organisers looking for a
venue or service in Waikato
for their conference, business
event or incentive. Assistance
ranges from answering basic
questions to obtaining quotes,
preparing conference bids,
and organising site inspections.
www.hamiltonwaikato.
com/business-events
Phone: (07) 843 0056
email: bureau@hamiltonwaikato.com
Anne Aitken, HR Professional | Email: anne@anneaitken.co.nz
described the Sun as being
‘a stressful place to work’. It
concluded that ‘it was possible
to infer disparagement
from the comment, because
it could imply mismanagement,
overloading of work,
understaffing, bullying and
so forth’. He distinguished
between this situation and
workplaces that are inherently
stressful, like emergency
services.
Based on the minor nature
of the comments and the
admission from the Sun that
there was no damage, a penalty
of $250 was imposed on
Woodrow and was to be paid
to the crown – not to the Sun.
It was as hollow victory that
hopefully stopped the disparaging
comments, but was it
worth the time and effort?
Banks’ customers “most indebted in history”
Banks are increasingly
having to adapt their
service offerings as
the customer demographic
morphs from the wealthiest
generation in history to the
most indebted,” according to
an expert.
Sam Shuttleworth, PwC
partner and banking and capital
markets leader, says the
level of debt was a significant
issue revealed in a new PwC
report.
The Future of Banking
through a Kiwi Lens looks
at the performance of
Australia’s big banks and
raises questions about the six
trends that are forcing them
to consider how they operate
today, in preparation for
tomorrow.
Almost all of New
Zealand’s banks are
Australian-owned and therefore
face the same issues –
most of these are global challenges
that cannot be ignored.
“Banks are increasingly
having to adapt their service
offerings as the customer
demographic morphs from
the wealthiest generation in
history to the most indebted,”
he explains.
“In New Zealand, half of
our population have some
form of debt, with 24- to
35-year-olds the most indebted
age group, which brings
up questions about how our
banks service different, lesswealthy
demographics and
whether their appetite for risk
is changing as a result.”
The report says that banks
must become simpler, smaller
and more deeply connected
to customers so that they
can become more agile in an
ever-changing world.
Mr Shuttleworth says
a bank’s ability to quickly
adapt to suit customer preferences
is going to be a key
focus over the next few years.
“This also poses some big
questions for CEOs in the
sector: Are NZ banks ready
for a wider change to their
banking models because of
a change in their customers’
circumstances? From an ageing
population to one with
different levels of wealth,
banks will seek to be more
responsive to our shifting
demographics.”
The report looks at changes
in demographics, technology
and consumer behaviour;
Asiafication; the impact of an
interventionist Government;
and a subdued macro economy.
Mr Shuttleworth says getting
ahead of these trends
and looking at them from
a Kiwi perspective is really
important for our own banking
sector.
“When we look at the
report, we see six big trends
affecting the financial sector.
All of these can be looked
at through a New Zealand
lens – they have to be, if our
banks are to stay relevant,
profitable and evolve to suit
the environment,” explains
Mr Shuttleworth.
As we approach 2020, the
report outlines six priorities
for banks and some proposals
for how they can respond.
They must organise themselves
around the customer,
simplify the organisation,
make the most of their partnerships,
focus on specific
areas of innovation, embrace
regulation and put their culture
to work.