Bay of Plenty Business News February/March 2018

Bay of plenty 

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 VOLUME 3: ISSUE 3 WWW.BOPBUSINESSNEWS.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/BOPBUSINESSNEWS 

Encouraging 

Māori entrepreneurship 

SCIENCE AWARD 

$500,000 prize for Psa 

researchers 

P12 

STANDOFF 

TECT-Trustpower row 

continues 

P13 

RATING RUMBLE 

TCC engages with 

business 

P13 

Buddy Mikaere (left) and Ian Taylor: Time to draw upon 

Ma¯ori technology and enterprise. Photos/supplied 

The recent Te Hekenga conference held in Tauranga was the third 

of the bi-annual events that bring together representatives of 

Māori Business Networks from around the country. Their objective 

is to share ideas, issues, successes and war stories about the 

challenges of encouraging Māori to set up their own enterprises 

and establish supportive networks. 

By DAVID PORTER 

The Māori economy contributes 

at least 11 percent 

to the wider Bay 

of Plenty GDP, according to 

Bay of Connections data. But 

despite the undoubted potential 

and capacity of the Maori 

economy, more needs to be 

done to encourage Māori to 

create successful small and 

medium enterprises (SMEs), 

said sources interviewed by 

Bay of Plenty Business News. 

Te Hekenga organiser 

Buddy Mikaere pointed to the 

need to build up the numbers 

of successful Māori-run SMEs. 

“There’s a big gap in the 

economy as far as Maori are 

concerned,” said Mikaere. 

“We have a reasonable 

presence at the upper end with 

some of the larger iwis, and 

we’re over- represented down 

at the bottom level where there 

are all the manual workers. 

Where we’re missing out is 

in the middle with the SMEs. 

That’s where most of New 

Zealand business is done, but 

we don’t have a really strong 

presence there.” 

The Te Hekenga conferences 

were aimed at helping 

Māori to start up businesses 

that would help create high 

value employment opportunities, 

he said. 

Key speakers included 

Ian Taylor, who founded 

Animation Research Ltd. 

ARL’s innovative America’s 

Cup and sporting events software 

has been developed into 

a global business from its base 

in Dunedin. 

Taylor said there was no 

lack of Māori technology 

smarts, with the Māori division 

introduced two years ago 

at the New Zealand Hi Tech 

Awards attracting the highest 

number of application for any 

category in its first year. He 

cited the success of entrepreneurs 

such as the Bay’s Steve 

Saunders of Robotics Plus, and 

he also noted the support ARL 

itself had received, with Ngati 

Kahungunu Iwi acquiring a 40 

percent stake in ARL last year. 

“One of the things we’re 

saying to iwi is that if [Māori] 

have a multi-billion dollar economic 

engine, then it’s time 

you started making investments 

in industries that will 

create high value jobs for 

young people,” said Taylor. 

“At the moment [the Māori 

economy is largely in] primary 

industries that don’t create 

high value jobs. But the 

opportunity is not in investing 

in companies like Uber or the 

like, that’s not growing the 

economy. It’s about investing 

in the bright Maori ideas that 

are coming and getting them 

to grow.” 

Awhina August, who leads 

the implementation of Bay 

of Plenty’s He Mauri Ohooho 

Māori economic development 

action plan within the 

wider Bay of Plenty Regional 

Growth Study, says there is a 

growing Maori business sector 

in Tauranga and the wider 

region. 

“The opportunity is that 

Māori own a large portion of 

significant assets across key 

sectors and comprise a high 

proportion of young people 

across the region,” said 

August. 

“There are amazing businesses 

out there and we need 

to be promoting them. But we 

need to be better connected 

with one another as Māori 

businesses, and also to networks 

and partners who aim 

to drive economic growth and 

better social outcomes for our 

people. 

“We’ve come from very 

entrepreneurial backgrounds 

from our ancestors - and 

there’s a lot of gold and gems 

out there. We just need to 

be promoting and connecting 

them more. Events like 

Te Hekenga are important 

and provide opportunities to 

share, to learn and to network. 

Collaboration at all levels is 

key to creating the scale that is 

needed for meaningful change 

in the region.” 

Steve Bird, founder of 

Bay-based Steve Bird Wines, 

who also addressed the conference, 

echoed the collaboration 

theme. 

“My message was that, for 

an SME proposition, don’t 

ever underestimate the power 

of collaboration,” he said. 

Steve Bird Wines collabo- 

Continued on page 3 

*Special applies for meetings in the Arena Suites held before 30 April 2018. Minimum 20 people with one full day catering. Free AV includes: 1 x screen, 1 x projector, technical handover, Wifi.

2 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 

BAY EMPLOYERS 

URGED TO 

PAY CLOSE 

ATTENTION TO 

LAW CHANGES 

One of the biggest challenges 

facing Bay business owners in 

2018 will be to keep up with 

the raft of employment law 

changes that are heading 

our way. 

The new Labour Government has 

announced a long list of amendments 

to the Employment Relations Act – and 

while these proposals have yet to go to 

Select Committee, some could become 

law in just a few months’ time. 

One Bay of Plenty lawyer is uniquely placed to 

follow and comment on these developments. 

Sharp Tudhope partner and employment 

law expert, Shima Grice, is a member of the 

New Zealand Law Society’s Employment 

Law Committee and will be fully involved in 

analysing these changes and contributing 

to the Select Committee process. 

She says no matter what the outcome, 

employers will need to seek trusted and 

professional advice so they don’t trip up 

and find themselves on the wrong side of 

new employment legislation. 

“It’s very difficult for business owners to 

keep an eye on all the detail but those 

details have very real implications for the 

way they operate, and their employee 

relations,” Grice explains. 

“There are a couple of key areas which 

Bay businesses need to be mindful of, 

particularly when hiring or firing their staff.” 

90 Day Trials 

The Government plans to abolish National’s 

previous policy of 90 day trials for businesses 

which employ 20 or more staff. This means 

large companies will no longer be able to 

dismiss someone after 90 days without a 

specific reason. So what can be done instead? 

“All employers, no matter their size, can 

choose to have a probationary period written 

into their employment agreements if they 

wish to thoroughly check out a new staff 

member on the job. This can give you peace 

of mind and the opportunity to give someone 

a go even if you’re not 100% sure, but you will 

still have to follow an appropriate process if 

you decide you do not want to keep them. 

“Bay businesses should certainly be 

working with their chosen legal advisor 

to make sure the correct wording is used 

and the appropriate process is followed.” 

Reinstatement 

One of the more controversial law 

changes from an employer’s point of view 

will be the increased likelihood of having 

to reinstate an employee if they win a 

personal grievance case against you. 

“That’s a real worry for a lot of employers. 

The last thing you want is to have a 

disgruntled, and potentially bitter, staff 

member back in your business.” 

Grice says it’s crucial to have a robust 

disciplinary system in place to help you 

avoid Trump-style ‘you’re fired’ moments 

from happening in the first place. 

“You need a process to handle 

performance management, disciplinary 

and redundancy issues. If you don’t do 

things correctly from the outset, the 

Employment Relations Authority could 

rule your dismissal to be unjustified and 

order you to reinstate that employee.” 

Union Changes 

Greater union rights and collective 

bargaining powers are two key areas that 

the Government is focused on. While 

you might not think unions have much 

influence or presence in New Zealand 

these days, Grice says dozens of unions 

exist, which cover employees across a 

range of industries. 

“A couple of important things 

businesses need to be aware of involve 

the requirement to employ new nonunion 

employees on the same terms of 

employment agreed in an applicable 

collective employment agreement, and to 

provide that person’s contact details to 

the union, unless the person objects.” 

Grice says Bay employers should also seek 

professional legal advice to help them 

through the collective bargaining process. 

“These proposed law changes are just 

the beginning – we will see a lot more 

employment law reform to come so it’s 

worth paying attention to the details and 

getting things right from the outset. It will 

ultimately save you a lot of time, money 

and stress.” 

SOUND LEGAL ADVICE 

FOR EMPLOYERS 

Employment law reform is underway. Understanding your rights and obligations as an 

employer during this time of change is crucial. 

Our team can assist you with: 

• Employment agreements, including 

workplace policies and procedures 

• Personal grievance claims and 

employment-related litigation 

• Restructuring and redundancy advice 

www.sharptudhope.co.nz 

• Performance management and 

disciplinary procedures 

• Health and safety systems review and 

WorkSafe investigation assistance 

CONTACT: Shima Grice, Partner 

PH: +64 7 928 0764 

EMAIL: shimag@st.co.nz

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 3 

Encouraging Māori entrepreneurship 

From page 1 

rates with five other small wineries 

that identify themselves 

as being in the Māori space to 

improve access to distribution, 

reduce costs and help present 

themselves as a meaningful 

critical mass of business. 

“It has got to a point where 

that is more or less a necessity 

for the long term survival of 

our businesses,” he said. 

“The domestic wine trade 

is characterised by quite low 

value, low returns. We smaller 

producers see the future 

for our companies as export, 

and exporting is horrendously 

expensive in terms of establishing 

market.” 

By collaborating, they had 

formed a like-minded group 

that could operate within the 

same umbrella, and the extra 

critical mass had helped attract 

NZTE support, he said. In 

addition, the winemakers were 

currently exploring working 

with a larger food and beverage 

collective that included 

honey, dairy and seafood, he 

said. 

Anthony Olsen, a representative 

on the Bay of 

Connections Māori Advisory 

Group, said there were a number 

of projects being undertaken 

that were really good. 

But he noted that recent 

data produced on behalf of 

Bay of Connections showed 

that Māori on average earned 

$116 per week less than non- 

Māori. 

“The issue for me has 

always been about where do 

the benefits flow down to 

Māori people - can you show 

me how this is actually increasing 

employment opportunities 

and increasing the hourly rates 

for Māori.” 

“Predominantly, the data 

showed that Māori were in 

more lower paying hourly rate 

jobs than non-Māori, which 

was not what I expected. That 

changed my whole perspective. 

So you can either encourage 

Maori to enter into working 

for themselves as a means 

of increasing their hourly rate, 

or encourage them to take on 

work that gives them a higher 

hourly rate, but may require 

some upskilling.” 

One of the things 

we’re saying to iwi is 

that if [Māori] have 

a multi-billion dollar 

economic engine, then 

it’s time you started 

making investments 

in industries that will 

create high value jobs 

for young people.” 

- Ian Taylor. 

Olsen said that although 

Māori were encouraged to feel 

the Māori Business Networks 

were an avenue to develop 

their own businesses, they 

also needed to be sold on the 

idea that non-Maori business 

networks were also available 

to them. 

“A lot of Māori think the 

Maori business networks are 

where they need to go and that 

the other networks aren’t available 

to them. That’s a complete 

fallacy, but it’s a perception.” 

The Bay has a number of 

organisations that encourage 

startup businesses, including 

the country’s biggest early 

stage funding group, Enterprise 

Angels, and groups such as the 

Venture Centre, which facilitate 

a number of mentoring 

and training programmes. 

Executive director Bill 

Murphy said there was “a bit of 

a chasm” between Enterprise 

Angels and the Māori Business 

Networks. 

“Although there are some 

individual exceptions, in my 

experience there is very weak 

engagement between iwi representatives 

and groups like 

ours,” said Murphy. 

“I always make it clear to 

anybody I talk to in Māoridom 

how open we are, and that 

we would enjoy working more 

closely together, and helping 

with training and inviting 

them to bring along some of 

the young people, but it just 

doesn’t happen.” 

Ian Taylor emphasised 

to conference delegates the 

importance of iwi becoming 

more open in their investment 

policies, citing ARL’s experience 

with Ngati Kahungunu. 

He said the iwi’s investment 

came about because it believed 

in what ARL was attempting to 

achieve. 

“Our business plan is 250 

years long and it’s driven to 

Steve Bird: Don’t ever underestimate the 

power of collaboration. Photo/supplied. 

a certain extent by being concerned 

with what the social 

return is for our people,” he 

said. 

“Other businesses don’t 

think like this. Everybody 

thinks that if you’re going to 

have a social return that means 

you aren’t going to make 

money. But actually to make a 

social return, you have to make 

money.” 

As an example, ARL is 

currently working with the 

Methodist Mission in Dunedin 

to build an application in 360 

degree virtual reality that will 

provide a new way of teaching 

numeracy and literacy in prisons, 

where Maori and Pacifica 

people are over-represented as 

a percentage of the general 

population. 

“We would find it very 

difficult to prove the business 

case,” he said. “Ngati 

Kahungunu said this is going 

to make a difference to our 

people… so let’s do it.” 

Taylor also emphasised that 

the concept of technology was 

not new. 

“If we look at [Maori] 

history, our ancestors sailed 

across one-third of the planet 

in state-of-the-art boats. They 

were designers, they were 

engineers, they were building 

the leading technology of their 

day. And when they arrived in 

New Zealand, the country was 

nothing like the one they left 

behind so they innovated ways 

to survive.” 

Taylor said that growing 

up, he never learned at school 

about the achievements of his 

Maori ancestors. 

“Our education system has 

failed. We talk about our young 

Maori and Pacifica kids being 

at the bottom of the ladder education. 

Maybe that’s because 

they don’t know that the stuff 

they need to survive today is 

already in their DNA... so let’s 

get on with it.” 

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Blokarts move to Baypark’s 

new entertainment zone 

Baypark has created a 

new upmarket entertainment 

zone that will 

open this month, increasing 

the range of activities available 

to the public. Matt Beckett, 

owner of Blokart Recreation 

Park Papamoa, has joined forces 

with BayVenues Ltd, adding 

a new dimension to an established 

local business. 

From mid-March, the 

hugely popular Blokarts and 

Driftkarts will move from their 

Papamoa site and relocate at 

Baypark. The new location 

offers an all-weather track in 

a specially designed indoor 

pavilion, which will be home to 

the Driftkarts, the three-wheel 

electric trikes developed so that 

the experience of drifting could 

be made safe and accessible to 

everyone. 

The challenging new track 

will create a different experience 

from the previous 

Driftkarts location. All ages 

can enjoy the ride and set their 

own pace. 

The Blokarts, which provide 

the unique experience of sailing 

on land, will be on a new 

purpose-built track. Since first 

developed, the Blokarts have 

continued an ongoing process 

of refinement. That includes 

software systems to measure 

the duration and angle of the 

drift to have a measureable 

competition available with the 

results based on style and technique 

rather than just speed. 

In addition, the Baypark 

Entertainment Zone’s challenging 

and stimulating activities 

will include the existing 

Paintball and Laser strike. 

For those into more traditional 

sport activities, the 

Entertainment Zone includes 

the recently developed Pavilion 

One. There are corporate league 

and social activities with great 

programmes for friends, family 

or work colleagues to have a 

social and competitive experience. 

Currently football and 

netball are available, with more 

planned. 

Meanwhile, the Summer 

Special continues until the end 

of April: hold a meeting in 

one of the Arena suites by end 

of April to qualify. Check the 

advert on the Bay of Penty 

Business News’ front page for 

more information. 

Community activities 

and commercial business at 

Baypark is thriving, with a fantastic 

2018 coming up. 

Planning for the NZ Tattoo 

& Art Extravaganza 14 and 

15 April is gearing up. This 

established event will be presented 

at Baypark for the first 

time – bigger than ever with 

an increased number of artists, 

multiple stages, and more 

entertainment than ever before. 

From the editor 

In this month’s cover story 

we look at efforts to encourage 

more Maori to develop 

their own entrepreneurial 

businesses. 

The Māori economy contributes 

at least 11 percent 

to the wider Bay of Plenty 

GDP, but despite its undoubted 

potential and capacity of 

the economy, more needs to 

be done to encourage Maori 

to create successful small and 

medium enterprises (SMEs). 

We report on the recent 

Te Hekenga conference held 

in Tauranga, the third of the 

bi-annual events that bring 

together representatives of 

Māori Business Networks 

from around the country. 

As Te Hekenga organiser 

Buddy Mikaere points out, 

there’s a strong need to build 

up the numbers of successful 

Maori-run SMEs. 

For the past few weeks, 

the Western Bay and Tauranga 

have been at the centre of an 

escalating row between two 

pillars of the local community 

- with the management of 

major listed genco and retailer 

Trustpower on one side, and 

the trustees of the Tauranga 

Energy Consumer Trust 

(TECT). 

Should the TECT proposal 

to become a fully charitable 

trust gain majority support, 

parties opposed to the move 

have indicated that a legal 

challenge is likely. 

At stake are two very different 

visions of how to use the 

revenue from the 26 percent 

TECT stake in Trustpower. 

The Tauranga City Council 

This year Baypark will host 

some of the best in the business, 

with two exciting days of 

international artists, a variety of 

entertainment, food and family 

fun. 

Baypark will also host the 

first Wearable Arts event this 

year with performances from 

top New Zealand choreographers 

and dancers. With so 

much going on under one roof, 

this is one event not to be 

missed. Pre-sale tickets are 

available now on Eventfinda. 

So come on – give our new 

Entertainment Zone and other 

Cover story: Steve Bird. 

events a go. For more information 

on Baypark – venues, 

services and activities contact 

INfuzed has established itself in Bay of 

Plenty as a business network with something 

of a difference. 

Unlike many business groups, INfuzed’s 

focus isn’t just on networking and potential 

sales referrals, says founder Zita Cameron, 

who is also deputy chair of the Tauranga 

Chamber’s Small Business Tauranga group. 

“We are a support network,” she said. 

“It’s absolutely about networking and I 

believe referrals are great. But we focus more 

on the individual members of the group and 

on building them up.” 

Cameron said the group aims to empower 

members by building up their confidence, 

educating them through a guided discussion 

process, and equipping them to become better 

business owners through a range of sales and 

business growth training and insights. 

Mike Everard, who holds the regional 

franchise for Giggle TV and has been a member 

of INfuzed for two years, says that rather 

than it being purely a business referral group, 

its primary aim is to assist members to grow 

their businesses. 

“It’s more of a forum that provides inspiration 

and support and discussion around 

David Porter 

has begun actively engaging 

with the community in an 

effort to get across the justification 

and underlying drivers 

for its proposed move to a differential 

rating system, which 

would see businesses charged 

more. 

When details of the proposal 

emerged earlier this year, 

the business community was 

critical of what they described 

as a lack of forewarning about 

the changes. 

Last month saw the first 

large scale engagement with 

businesses, with TCC chief 

executive Garry Poole and 

chief financial officer Paul 

Davidson making their case 

at The Tauranga Club before 

a large crowd of business people 

who peppered the officials 

with questions. 

But as Tauranga Chamber 

chief executive Stan Gregec 

comments, for such a big 

change, there was an opportunity 

to start laying the groundwork 

for this much earlier. 

Helping pull the kiwifruit 

industry - and by default the 

Bay of Plenty economy - back 

from the brink of annihilation 

from Psa has earned local 

and national Plant and Food 

Research scientists the country’s 

richest science award, the 

$500,000 , the Prime Ministers 

Science Prize for 2017, awarded 

in mid-February. 

The multi-site, multi-disciplinary 

team, won recognition 

for several aspects of 

their work that contributed 

significantly to the kiwifruit 

industry’s recovery after the 

November 2010 discovery of 

the Psa disease. 

David Porter 

Editor 

us on www.asbbaypark.co.nz 

or events@bayvenues.co.nz or 

call 07-577-8560. 

INfuzed offers support to 

small business owners 

Zita Cameron: Supportive 

network. Photo/supplied. 

common business issues,” said Everard. 

“A lot of small business owners are often 

sole traders and don’t have colleagues they 

are working with all day, so INfuzed helps 

provide that social aspect of work and an 

opportunity to discuss issues and problems.” 

INfuzed has a range of membership subscriptions 

and also does out of the box networking 

events, including a Mingling After 

5 evening, which Cameron says is a less 

formal and more fun version of the chamber’s 

Business After 5 (BA5) meetings.

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 

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PMG’s Pacific Property acquires 

Tauriko warehouse 

Property Managers Group’s Pacific 

Property Fund has acquired a large 

industrial warehouse in Tauranga’s Tauriko 

business estate. The acquisition takes the 

company’s portfolio to 10 properties and 

total assets to $123.2 million. 

The warehouse at 8 

Paerangi Place is a 

newly built 5085sqm 

space leased to NZSKP (NZ 

Specialty Kiwifruit Products), 

which develops kiwifruit products 

for export to Asia. With 

a lease term of 15 years, this 

acquisition takes the portfolio’s 

How to find the best location for your industrial operation 

If you have decided that 2018 

is the year for some big business 

decisions – particularly 

around where you will base 

your industrial operation in 

coming years – then it’ll pay 

to keep a close eye on areas 

where infrastructural upgrades 

are underway or planned. 

The squeeze is on existing 

industrial property stock. Traditional 

industrial areas are experiencing 

unprecedented low 

vacancy rates making it hard 

for businesses to get a foothold 

in these popular locations. 

However, some forward 

thinking and decisiveness 

could see you secure a presence 

in emerging industrial precincts 

weighted average lease term to 

8.0 years. 

PMG chief executive Scott 

McKenzie says the acquisition 

is in line with Pacific 

Property’s strategy to grow a 

diversified portfolio of quality 

industrial, retail and office 

assets predominantly across 

the upper North Island. 

“This recent acquisition is 

a strong and attractive addition 

to the robust lineup of Pacific 

Property’s assets, increasing the 

industrial warehouse weighting 

within the portfolio,” says 

McKenzie. 

“With nine other properties 

owned by the company 

and following the purchase of 

Kelston Mall in December, 

Pacific Property was able to 

leverage its scale to acquire this 

impressive warehouse without 

the need to raise additional capital,” 

he said. “We now have a 

diverse and robust portfolio.” 

Pacific Property is one of 

planned in conjunction with 

infrastructural improvements 

across New Zealand. 

New industrial property 

developments will be based 

handy to evolving population 

nodes for ease of access to a 

labour force and close to transport 

infrastructure. 

Well-located industrial 

property will continue to be 

sought after. Any properties 

that are centrally-located and 

which tap into transport arterials 

to optimise efficiencies will 

be hotly contested in the leasing 

market. 

The mantra is “go where 

the money is going” – in other 

words, watch where significant 

investment is being made 

into infrastructure and observe 

where other successful businesses 

are choosing to locate 

to. 

Most major centres around 

New Zealand have proactive 

long-term plans in place to 

cater for industrial growth. Local 

councils seem keen to future-proof 

business growth on 

the back of strong economies – 

both in the key markets like the 

“golden triangle” of Auckland, 

Hamilton and Tauranga, and 

also in the regions. 

Bayleys’ industrial manager 

Scott Campbell says business 

growth in and around well-located 

industrial precincts has 

the largest unlisted commercial 

property funds in the country, 

not including private trusts. 

“PMG has a range of diversified 

commercial property 

portfolios to invest in and as 

one of New Zealand’s most 

trusted property funds managers 

we offer a highly-personalised 

and friendly service for 

those looking to invest in property 

or have their property(s) 

professionally-managed,” said 

McKenzie. 

“We’d love to talk to new 

investors and property owners 

about the opportunities and services 

we currently have available,” 

he says. “We were able to 

use our balance sheet to fund 

this acquisition, but over time 

will look to vary the investors 

in the mix.” 

peaked to levels not seen since 

pre-Global Financial Crisis 

days in 2006. 

“Just look at Auckland Airport, 

for example,” he says. 

“It’s become a full-on industrial 

destination with all 

the big names represented and 

fierce competition for space. 

“Roading improvements 

and the opening up of large 

tracts of land have transformed 

that precinct and demand still 

outstrips supply.” 

Scott Campbell says rental 

growth of circa 3-4 percent pa 

is being noted within well-located 

areas. 

Future Proof is an initiative 

which has seen partner councils 

8 Paerangi Place: 15 year lease to NZ 

Specialty Kiwifruit Products. Photo/Supplied 

PMG has been in business 

for 25 years. The portfolios 

PMG manages on behalf 

of investors includes Pacific 

Property Fund, which invests 

in geographically and category 

within Hamilton and the wider 

Waikato seriously consider 

how the sub-region should develop 

into the future – including 

how it will manage the 

demand for industrial land and 

how it plans for infrastructure. 

The proposed Ruakura inland 

port in Hamilton will forever 

change the way Waikato is perceived 

as an industrial hub. 

Meanwhile, a proposal from 

Infrastructure New Zealand 

to investigate building a new 

Auckland satellite city around 

Paerata, north of Pukekohe, 

is meeting with strong support 

and this could change the 

broader Auckland industrial 

game – again. It says planning 

diverse properties, two funds 

which invest in category specific 

properties such as PMG 

Direct Office Fund and PMG 

Direct Fund, and a private equity 

fund, PMG Capital Ltd. 

for growth at scale around rapid 

transit will allow a more efficient 

use of land. 

While demand for industrial 

space from the logistics and 

distribution sector will increasingly 

be driven by the growth 

of e-commerce, food production 

and niche manufacturing 

businesses are also driving industrial 

property demand. 

If you’re seriously gearing 

up for a big business push in 

coming years, then start identifying 

where you’d ideally like 

to be located now and set the 

cogs of change in motion – before 

the rest of the sector catches 

up. www.bayleys.co.nz/ 

workplace/articles/insights 

Maximise the return on your 

commercial investment 

At Bayleys, we 

believe relationships 

are what businesses 

are built on and how 

they succeed. 

Speak to our 

Bayleys team today. 

SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008 

We understand that to maximise the return on your property you need: 

Professional property management A business partner that understands your views and goals 

Jan Cooney 

Senior Commercial Property Manager 

B 07 579 0609 M 027 408 9339 

jan.cooney@bayleystauranga.co.nz 

Brodie Thomas 

Commercial Property Manager 

B 07 579 0608 M 027 746 9218 

brodie.thomas@bayleystauranga.co.nz 

Becky Jefferson 

Commercial Property Management Asst. 

B 07 579 0614 

becky.jefferson@bayleystauranga.co.nz


Getting the community on side with rates 

Tauranga businesses are in for a 

nasty shock on two fronts this year, 

with rates hikes on the cards from 

both Tauranga City Council and the 

Bay of Plenty Regional Council. 

By STAN GREGEC 

CEO of the Tauranga Chamber 

of Commerce 

Paul Davidson from 

Tauranga City Council 

explains the new rates 

proposal to Tauranga 

business people at a 

meeting in Tauranga. 

Both councils have 

included significant 

rates rises in their draft 

Long Term Plans which go out 

for consultation this month. 

The Regional Council rates 

for Tauranga will increase by 

a massive 54 percent average, 

driven largely by the council’s 

decision to no longer crosssubsidise 

bus services; whereas 

Tauranga City Council is doing 

a complete flip on its whole rating 

system, that includes bringing 

back a business differential 

rate – which means some businesses 

will face hikes upwards 

of 50-75 percent over a three 

year period, and some larger 

businesses even more than that. 

My guess is that most people 

will be oblivious to these 

increases until their next rates 

bill hits them in the pocket 

after July 1. 

So what steps have our 

councils taken to prepare 

and educate their communities 

about the changes that are 

coming, let alone get them on 

side? 

Both councils seem to be 

following a similar process of 

putting out their Long Term 

Plans for public consultation 

over a period of about a month, 

and then a further period to 

hear submissions and make 

deliberations before the plans 

are signed off by June 30. 

As part of its process, The 

Tauranga City Council held 

a community forum with 

Chamber of Commerce members 

at the end of February, 

where chief executive Garry 

Poole and CFO Paul Davidson 

fronted to explain why business 

rates increases were needed 

to a largely sceptical business 

community. 

‘Tell them what the plan 

is, and then ask for their feedback.’ 

This appears to be the standard 

process that all councils 

are meant to follow. But when 

there’s a lot at stake and big 

changes are being demanded of 

the community – as reflected 

by the rates hikes we’re about 

to see in Tauranga – is this 

really the best way to engage 

with the community, let alone 

get its understanding and support 

behind you? 

So how else could the councils 

have prepared their communities 

for the rates hikes 

they are about to face? 

A good example is offered 

by what the Waipa District 

Council did a few years ago 

in the leadup to its last 10-year 

plan. Yes, Waipa followed the 

same formal ‘consultation’ 

process as every other council 

was obliged to do. But it did 

something extra too. Well in 

advance of the formal consultation, 

it initiated a ‘preconsultation’ 

campaign with its 

community to lay the groundwork 

for the changes that were 

needed. 

The Waipa brief was about 

raising community awareness 

and understanding of the big 

issues the district was facing 

– and to openly discuss the 

council’s ongoing financial 

sustainability. In other words, 

it asked its ratepayers to tell 

it what kind of community 

they wanted, what they valued 

and were prepared to pay for, 

and to consider what tradeoffs 

might be needed. 

The Waipa District 

Council’s “Let’s Get Engaged” 

campaign was such a success 

it was recognised with an 

excellence award from Local 

Government New Zealand in 

2015. 

One of the best definitions 

of engagement comes 

from the Victorian department 

responsible for local govern- 

ment, dating back to 2006: 

“Engagement is achieved when 

the community is and feels part 

of the overall governance of 

that community. Local governments 

have an important role in 

building stronger communities 

and engaging communities is a 

key means to doing so.” 

My question to the councils 

is: what steps have you taken 

to engage your communities to 

participate and create a shared 

vision for our region’s future 

(as opposed to selling us your 

pre-packaged view of what you 

think is needed)? 

Tauranga Business Events 

& Training Calendar March 2018 

Managing Diverse Cultures in the Workplace 

½ day workshop with Charlie Dalton (Zest) 

BOP/Waikato Expo 

Inaugural business-to-business expo at ASB Baypark, Tauranga. 

Effective Time Management 


Communication that gets results 

Full day workshop with Gail Page (Positive Pathways) 

Breakfast Connect in Tauranga CBD (SBT) 

Breakfast networking at Crown & Badger 

How to handle Performance and Misconduct Issues 

2-hour workshop with Kate Ashcroft (Copeland Ashcroft) 

Business After 5 with NZME 

Our premier monthly networking event 

The Workplace of the Future (Diversity Roadshow) 

90 minute seminar & case study on how employers are increasing business success through 

diversity practices. 

Leveraging your Strengths – Maximising your Potential 

½ day workshop with Claire Russell (Thinkplus) 

How to Make More Money from your Business 

Workshop with Graham Hawkes (Your Sounding Board) 

Smart Talk, Future Thinking: Attracting Savvy Millennials 

Free 90 minute thought leadership discussion 

T.E.A.M. – Together Everybody Achieves More 


Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace 

½ day workshop with Claire Russell (Thinkplus) 

Go Karts (LinkT) 

Outdoor adventure and networking at Bay Karts 

Business Behind the Scenes (BWN) 

Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Inc. 

Breakfast Connect in Tauranga Avenues 

Venue to be confirmed 

6 Mar 

7 Mar 

9 Mar 

13 Mar 

14 Mar 

14 Mar 

14 Mar 

15 Mar 

16 Mar 

20 Mar 

20 Mar 

23 Mar 

27 Mar 

27 Mar 

27 Mar 

28 Mar 

Tauranga businesses 

stand together… 

...by joining the Chamber. 

Join Tauranga Chamber members 

like Steve Wagstaff from Pureprint, Tauranga 

Everyone is welcome to attend Chamber events by paying the non-member rate. 

Special pricing for Chamber members. Some training events may be eligible for partial 

funding. For more information and to find out how the Chamber can support your 

business call our Bizhelp line on 

0800 249 482 or email bizhelp@tauranga.org.nz 

All events subject to change. 

For latest details and to register, visit: 

www.tauranga.org.nz 

Join the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and become part of a connected and 

committed business community that supports our region to grow and prosper. 

For more details visit www.tauranga.org.nz


HR MANAGEMENT & RECRUITMENT 

Employment is booming in the Bay 

We are well into the first quarter of 2018 

and the Bay of Plenty employment market 

seems to be booming, with recruitment 

and employment stats over the Tauranga 

and Rotorua regions showing positive signs 

of growth. 

We are all looking forward 

to a positive year 

in which business will 

sustainably grow and improve. 

Indications have shown that 

business confidence is positive, 

and there are some exciting 

events ahead to capitalise on 

within our region which will 

give the area a real boost. 

The employment sector, has 

had a positive start to the year 

with many organisations proactively 

seeking talent to increase 

current capabilities, noticeably 

through the increase of leadership 

roles. We are seeing businesses 

embrace flexible working 

hours within their workforce, 

which is in turn widening 

the pool of candidates available 

to them and increasing capability. 

Employment forecasts 

through to 2020 show that the 

business services, construction 

and utilities sectors are 

set to have the largest employment 

growth, faster than the 

national average year-on-year. 

Employment growth is forecast 

at around two percent for the 

next three years. 

The New Year also tends 

to bring fresh movement in 

the workforce – those who are 

either relocating to the region 

and looking for work, or those 

who are currently employed 

and looking for a career move. 

While there has been a considerable 

slowdown in inquiries 

being received from those 

wanting to move from the 

metro city centres - probably 

partly due to recent publicity 

around the cost of living in 

Bay of Plenty - what we do 

have now is candidates who are 

more committed to the move. 

These are qualified candidates, 

meaning those who have 

already researched, and invested 

in the relocation process and 

are ready to go. 

The effects of strong working 

age population and employment 

growth will become more 

and more evident in the labour 

market. Strong labour force 

participation and net migration 

levels above the long-term 

average will sustain continued 

strength in labour supply for 

now, but with growth diminishing 

over time. Employment 

growth exceeding the growth 

in labour supply will result in 

the unemployment rate trending 

down to four percent in the 

short-term towards 2020. We 

are very likely to experience 

labour supply constraints and 

skills shortages with this low 

unemployment rate. 

The beginning of the year is 

always a good time to review 

and plan for growth, and ensuring 

that you have the right platform 

to enable that growth is 

imperative. Many business and 

organisations operate with a 

DIY view of recruitment, their 

human resources and health 

and safety. However, it’s these 

businesses that in our experience 

seem to have problems 

with high staff turnover, costly 

recruitment mistakes, personal 

grievances, and a state of confusion 

over health and safety 

compliance. Having robust policies, 

procedures and reporting 

mechanisms in place, along 

with the right people on board 

to advise on such issues, will 

all help to guard against costly 

HUMAN RESOURCES 

> BY KELLIE HAMLETT 

Director, Recruitment & HR Specialist, Talent ID Recruitment Ltd 

mistakes and build an environment 

for long-term sustainable 

business growth. 

Data Source: Ministry of 

Business, Innovation and 

Employment (MBIE)

HR MANAGEMENT & RECRUITMENT 


Are you ready for changes 

in the remuneration market? 

We have seen considerable change in the 

remuneration space over the past 12 months 

which will likely have an ongoing impact 

on pay rates in New Zealand. Specifically, 

the Care Workers’ Pay Equity settlement, 

NZX changes on the reporting of executive 

salaries and the policy announcements made 

by the new Government. 

The first half of last year 

saw the settlement of 

the care workers’ pay 

equity claim, although this 

Cathy Hendry 

Senior consultant 

Strategic Pay 

Tauranga 

+ mob 027 498 9812 

+ cathy@strategicpay.co.nz 

increase was funded by the 

Government, the funding 

failed to cover the increases 

needed to maintain relativities. 

Nigel Murphy 

Consultant 

Strategic Pay 

Hamilton 

+ mob 027 403 1242 

+ e nigel.murphy@ 

strategicpay.co.nz 

This one off settlement has 

had ripple effects in the in 

health and not for profit sector 

with many organisations 

looking at ways to cover the 

funding shortfall with reports 

of job losses, restructures and 

even one rest home choosing 

to close operations. 

In October 2017 a new NZX 

Corporate Governance Code 

came into effect. Included in 

this code is the requirement 

for listed organisations to have 

greater transparency around 

CEO, director and senior executive 

pay. Listed organisations 

will also need to state their remuneration 

policy. While this 

is only directly affecting listed 

organisations, it will be interesting 

to see changes come into 

effect around the middle of this 

year when the majority of the 

annual reports are released. 

Greater transparency will hold 

organisations accountable for 

remuneration decisions and 

it is likely that public sector 

organisations will also adopt 

these reporting standards. 

Finally, the new Labour-led 

Government has announced 

two major initiatives which 

will directly affect pay. Firstly, 

the announcement that the 

mimum wage will increase to 

$20 p/h by 2021 and secondly 

that they are going to focus on 

closing the gender gap in the 

public sector. 

The minimum wage increases 

are a major concern for 

organisations with large numbers 

of minimum wage workwww.strategicpay.co.nz 

ers. Depending on how these 

increases are phased in, organisations 

can expect large yearon-year 

increases of between 

4-7 percent. What is difficult to 

determine with these increases 

is what the flow-on affect will 

be. With an increase at the bottom 

of the market, there will 

need to be some movement 

further up to account for relativities. 

We won’t know the 

full affect until the increases 

are applied but we would expect 

to see increasing wage 

pressure for all organisations 

over the next 3-4 years. 

In terms of closing the 

gender pay gap, this is a topic 

that is gaining momentum and 

many private sector organisations 

are looking to address this 

important issue. Gender disparity 

can appear in both small 

and large organisations and 

we often find that it is worse 

where organisations don’t have 

a clear remuneration policy or 

structure. SMEs could also be 

more at risk as tend to grow 

organically. Typically, if an organisation 

identities the issue 

early on, it is easier to address. 

Now more than ever, it is 

important to be well informed 

in remuneration strategy and 

policy. Strategic Pay are running 

two short courses in Tauranga 

and Hamilton over the 

coming months with a focus 

on remuneration for SMEs. 

You can register for these on 

our website www.strategicpay. 

co.nz/Workshops . 

Our Tauranga course will 

be on Wednesday March 21, 

and our Hamilton Course will 

be on April 11. If you would 

like to know more, please get 

in touch with your locally 

based consultant. 

Performance 

+ 

Rewards = 

Success 

Create Success by Rewarding Performance 

At Strategic Pay we understand local businesses and your unique issues. 

Talk to us about: 

• Organisational Structure and Design 

• Remuneration and Reward 

• Performance Management 

www.strategicpay.co.nz | info@strategicpay.co.nz 

Auckland 09 303 4045 Hamilton 07 834 6580 Wellington 04 473 2313 

Christchurch03 353 0909 Dunedin 03 479 0637


Tauranga’s jobs and business 

growth tops country 

Following five years of strong growth, 

new statistics released by Priority One 

have seen Tauranga emerge as the top 

performing city in New Zealand across all 

key measures of economic activity. 

In reports commissioned 

by economic development 

agency Priority One from 

Infometrics, Tauranga’s growth 

domestic product for the 2017 

calendar year was an unprecedented 

6.6 percent. This was 

the highest GDP growth for a 

city in New Zealand, and well 

ahead of Auckland’s 5.2 percent, 

Hamilton’s four percent 

and Christchurch’s 3.3 percent. 

Infometrics also reported 

that Tauranga’s business 

and employment growth are 

the highest in the country, at 

5.3 percent and 4.6 percent 

respectively. Priority One says 

this equates to nearly 800 

new business units establishing 

themselves in the city, and 

almost 3000 new jobs being 

created. 

Over the 2017 calendar 

year, Tauranga also had a 

higher increase in knowledge 

intensive jobs than the national 

average, at 3.9 percent versus 

2.1 percent. One of the key 

areas of job growth has been 

professional, scientific and 

technical services, where 288 

new jobs have been created in 

the last year. 

A real standout last year 

was Tauranga’s city centre, 

which saw an expansion across 

all indicators, including 7.6 

percent growth in GDP. There 

are a large number of quarternary 

businesses based in the 

city centre – those that have a 

good proportion of staff with 

degrees, in management positions 

or working in professional 

or technical occupations. At 

56 percent, this is considerably 

higher than the New Zealand 

average of 32 percent. 

One of the key areas 

of job growth has been 

professional, scientific and 

technical services, where 

288 new jobs have been 

created in the last year. 

Experis Recruitment brings IT 

expertise to the region 

January 2018 saw the arrival of Experis 

Recruitment in Tauranga, focusing on 

the placement of Information Technology 

professionals here in Tauranga, the wider 

Bay of Plenty region and Waikato. 

This new operation, led by principal consultant Simon 

Driessens, is part of the ManpowerGroup – a world 

leader and recognised pioneer in the employment services 

industry for nearly 65 years. It joins well-established 

branches in Auckland and Wellington, servicing some of 

New Zealand’s leading technology providers. 

National manager Matthew Templar says there was a 

twofold reason for opening in Tauranga. 

“The enormous potential of doing business in the region 

is plain to see, with the most exciting growth technology 

sector in the country. This combined with the opportunity 

to work with someone with Simon’s energy, commitment 

We’re actively building a resource map of 

the region and developing relationships with 

local talent as well as being able to tap into 

other markets. 

and proven history; we’re already seeing great relationships 

developing and the foundations of a very exciting business”. 

While initially led by its IT recruitment business, Experis’ 

longer-term plans for the region are broader. The brand is 

committed to bringing its engineering and Health & Safety 

businesses (through its specialist SafeSearch brand, leaders 

in safety, health, wellbeing and environment recruitment and 

consulting solutions) to Tauranga over the coming months. 

“We’ve had enormous support from both existing customers 

whom we service nationally and local bodies and we 

are investing in Tauranga for the long term,” says Simon, a 

returning Kiwi who has moved to Tauranga after many years 

working in technology recruitment in the UK. 

Simon’s background, and the supporting capability within 

Experis, covers recruitment of both technical IT roles (with 

established candidate pools in software development, infrastructure 

and project services) and the growing digital space 

(with particular focus on digital leadership). 

“We’re actively building a resource map of the region and 

developing relationships with local talent as well as being 

able to tap into other markets,” says Simon. 

“We regularly find candidates looking to make the move 

to Bay of Plenty and I’m able to work with them closely, giving 

them a first-hand view of the market and my experiences 

moving to Tauranga”. 

Few companies can match Experis’ scope, history of 

success and reputation as the global leader in professional 

talent and solutions. Experis has a proven history helping 

clients and candidates achieve peak performance through 

deep industry knowledge and an unmatched understanding 

of human potential. 

In addition to recruitment services, Experis’ research is 

Simon Driessens 

a valuable resource for many clients, candidates and even 

government departments. Experis’ information is used to 

assess and forecast the health and direction of labour markets, 

both globally and locally. Experis’ aim is to put its clients and 

candidates one step ahead, anticipating what’s coming in the 

changing future of work. 

To find out more, contact Simon Driessens on 027 285 

3657 or simon.driessens@nz.experis.com 

PO Box 13292, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty | Phone: +64 27 285 3657 

www.experis.co.nz 

P4220Y

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 11


Top science award given 

to Psa researchers 

Helping pull the kiwifruit industry - and by 

default the Bay of Plenty economy - back 

from the brink of annihilation from Psa has 

earned local and national Plant and Food 

Research scientists the country’s richest 

science award. 

By RICHARD RENNIE 

The multi-site, multi-disciplinary 

team, which 

includes scientists based 

at the crown research institute’s 

Te Puke research station, 

were the proud recipients of the 

Prime Minister’s Science Prize 

for 2017, awarded in mid-February. 

The $500,000 award is 

regarded as the ultimate recognition 

for researchers. It went to 

the Plant and Food scientists in 

recognition of several aspects 

of their work that contributed 

significantly to the kiwifruit 

industry’s recovery after the 

November 2010 discovery of 

the Psa disease. 

Psa’s immediate impact was 

to all but eliminate the then 

new poster fruit for Zespri, the 

Hort16a Gold variety, which 

proved particularly susceptible 

to the disease. The infection 

forced the complete removal of 

the variety as scientists scrambled 

to better understand the 

disease, and how to cope with 

it. 

Dr Bruce Campbell, Plant 

and Food Research chief operating 

officer, said the award 

was a massive endorsement of 

the scientists’ work. The team 

included more than 100 scientists 

from fields including 

molecular, genetic and epidemiological 

study, spread across 

multiple campuses, including 

Te Puke, Ruakura, Mount 

Albert and Motueka. 

Campbell said the months 

immediately after Psa’s discovery 

were particularly intense 

and demanding. Scientists 

were focused on developing 

an easily read test for Psa’s 

presence, and in trying to determine 

the level of tolerance in 

possible new varieties of Gold 

kiwifruit. 

The diagnostic test developed 

for determining the presence 

of the Psa strain was a 

world first, and meant growers 

did not have to indiscriminately 

chop out vines across all 

orchards. Meanwhile, scientists 

also had to determine if new 

Gold cultivar, G3 - which has 

since become the major Gold 

variety - would prove tolerant 

to the invasive disease. 

“We were testing right to 

the latest point and we had to 

choose the best cultivar,” said 

Campbell. 

“Fortunately G3 proved to 

be very good. The G3 re-graft 

by the industry was a test of 

confidence by the industry in 

our science.” 

Paul Jones, a Te Puke kiwifruit 

grower and ex-board 

member of Kiwifruit Vine 

Health, said it had been a privilege 

to get an insight to the 

work the team had done over a 

very stressful time. 

“The industry at all levels is 

very grateful to Plant and Food 

Dr Bruce Campbell: the months immediately after Psa’s discovery 

were particularly intense and demanding. Photo/Supplied. 

for the amount of work they 

did, and the priority they gave 

it at the time. The G3 variety 

had been out as an option 

before Psa struck, but an enormous 

amount of work had to 

be done to establish if it would 

be tolerant.” 

Campbell said scientists 

were forced to almost “crash 

test” possible cultivars to test 

their tolerance, and the speed 

required to come up with an 

outcome had pushed team 

members well beyond their 

comfort levels. 

But he said it was also 

reflected a change in how science 

was conducted in New 

Zealand, in terms of the huge 

level of cross-discipline cooperation 

and information sharing. 

Carol Ward, Zespri’s general 

manager for innovation said 

Plant & Food Research was 

a key research partner for the 

New Zealand kiwifruit industry 

and had been for many years. 

“The support from their 

dedicated team was a critical 

part in the Psa response – we 

congratulate Plant & Food 

Research on this well-deserved 

award,” said Ward. 

Campbell said the $500,000 

prize money was an invaluable 

injection to the organisation’s 

research funds, and would go 

a long way to help boost further 

research into Psa, and into 

other diseases. 

Volatile times 

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY 

> BY BRETT BELL-BOOTH 

Investment Advisor with Forsyth Barr Limited in Tauranga. 

Phone: (07) 577 5725 or email brett.bell-booth@forsythbarr.co.nz 

Decline % 

Number of 

declines 

After a strong start to the 

year, sharemarkets experienced 

a sharp fall in 

early February. The S&P 500, 

the index of the largest 500 

companies on the US market, 

fell almost 10 percent, but has 

since recovered. Global markets, 

including New Zealand, 

followed suit, although our 

market did not experience as 

big a fall as it had not started 

the year as strongly as other 

markets. By way of comparison, 

the US market had risen 

seven percent in January alone. 

Average 

decline % 

Average length of 

decline (months) 

If you are considering your current 

investment arrangements, perhaps 

it’s time to get a complimentary review 

Forsyth Barr is a New Zealand owned firm with 21 offices nationwide 

including three offices in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. 

Supported by Forsyth Barr’s research and investment expertise, our Authorised 

Financial Advisers can work with you to deliver a personalised approach taking 

into account your investment objectives, preferences and your tolerance for risk. 

To make an obligation free appointment to discuss your investment 

arrangements, contact your local Forsyth Barr office by calling 0800 367 227. 

We look forward to discussing how our investment advice can work for you. 

Disclosure Statements are available on request and free of charge. 

Fees and charges will apply if you elect to have a continuing relationship with Forsyth Barr. 

What prompted the change 

in sentiment? The general 

view is that a fear of rising 

interest rates triggered the initial 

selling, which then appears 

to have been accentuated by 

“programme traders”. For 

some time media commenta- 

Average time to 

recover (months) 

5-10 77 (6) 1 1 

10-20 27 (14) 4 4 

20-40 8 (27) 11 14 

40+ 3 (51) 22 57 

TAU5162-01 – © Forsyth Barr Limited August 2016 

tors had been predicting a fall 

was overdue because of how 

long the bull run in sharemarkets 

had been going. 

Using historical records of 

how many months bull runs 

have lasted before a correction 

has occurred, some analysts 

suggested warnings of 

an impending correction or 

even a bear market. However, 

little note was taken of economic 

fundamentals, with the 

bounce-back appearing to support 

the widely held view of 

strong economic growth, low 

inflation, low interest rates, 

and strong corporate earnings 

growth underpinning company 

valuations. 

The chart puts recent market 

volatility into perspective, 

based on past declines in the 

S&P 500, since December 

31, 1945 (provided by 

Guggenheim). 

What this shows is that 

10 percent falls in value tend 

to recover within a quarter, 

while 20 percent declines, on 

average, take about a year to 

recover. There have been three 

large declines of more than 40 

percent since 1945, and these 

obviously take much longer to 

recover. 

What caused the largest 

downturns? Recessions and 

high interest rates. Have we 

got either of those conditions 

present in the world today? 

No. World economic growth 

is currently synchronised for 

the first time in many years. 

Interest rates remain very 

low and while interest rates 

are looking to increase in the 

next few years, starting with 

expected interest rate rises 

in the US, the increases are 

expected to be measured and 

incremental to ensure inflation 

is kept under control. 

There is no doubt that 

sharemarket valuations are 

higher than historical averages. 

Because of this, we are likely 

to see more volatility this year 

than we have seen over the 

past couple of years. However, 

one could argue that this is 

a healthy return to “normal” 

market behaviour. 

The Price Earnings ratio 

(PE) is a useful indicator of 

value, which measures a company’s 

current share price relative 

to its per-share earnings, 

or the number of years it’s 

expected to take to recover the 

price paid from future earnings. 

The New Zealand sharemarket 

as a whole, (measured 

by the NZX50, the 50 largest 

companies listed) has a historical 

average PE of 14.6 times. 

Currently, the average PE for 

the market is 16.6 times. 

The premium the market 

is currently paying seems to 

be justified by increased company 

earnings. However, any 

earnings surprises are likely 

to disappoint the market and 

affect valuations. This indicates 

the likelihood of more 

volatility than in the years post 

the Global Financial Crisis, 

when valuations were low and 

economic growth and corporate 

earnings were starting to 

improve. 

In summary, despite 

increased volatility, positive 

economic growth, low inflation, 

and low interest rates are 

all factors that continue to support 

sharemarkets. 

This column is general in 

nature and is not personalised 

investment advice. Disclosure 

Statements for Forsyth Barr 

Authorised Financial Advisers 

are available on request and 

free of charge.


The TECT-Trustpower standoff 

For the past few weeks, Western Bay and Tauranga have been 

at the centre of an escalating row between two pillars of the local 

community - with the management of major listed genco and 

retailer Trustpower on one side, and the trustees of the Tauranga 

Energy Consumer Trust (TECT) on the other. Should the TECT 

proposal gain majority support, parties opposed to the move have 

indicated that a legal challenge is likely. 


At stake are two very different 

visions of how 

to use the revenue from 

the 26 percent TECT stake 

in Trustpower. TECT is a 

minority shareholder, behind 

controlling stakeholder Infratil 

with 51 percent, and the trust’s 

stake is currently worth around 

$600 million-plus, after a fall 

in Trustpower’s share price 

when the trustees announced 

their proposal to wind up the 

current trust and shift the 

assets solely to its charitable 

arm. 

The trustees have proposed 

that its beneficiaries who are 

also Trustpower consumers 

would stop receiving their 

annual cheques averaging 

$400-$500 per year, in favour 

of a $2500 payout later this 

year. That would be followed 

by annual cheques of around 

$360 for five years, at which 

point the current TECT trust, 

which has 55 years to run, 

would be wound up. 

The proposal aims to 

change TECT from a consumer 

trust representing Trustpower's 

roughly 58,000 consumers in 

the Bay, to a charitable trust 

that distributes all its income 

to groups within the community. 

Some supporters of the proposed 

change argue that the 

cheque allows Trustpower to 

charge retail power customers 

above market rates. That is 

disputed by the retailer, which 

gets most of its revenue from 

power generation, and credits 

its relative lack of consumer 

churn to its marketing policy 

of a combined power/gas and 

internet offering. 

Some sources have suggested 

pressure for the change 

in TECT’s policy originates in 

the desire of some influential 

members of the community 

to see much more of its asset 

base deployed to supply needed 

infrastructure for the growing 

sub-region. 

However, TECT chair 

Bill Holland says the trustees 

are trying to future-proof 

the organisation because of 

expected changes in the power 

sector and possible new government 

policy decisions. 

We will be influenced 

by what consumers 

are saying and the 

submissions, then 

we will make a 

decision on whether 

it’s the right thing to 

challenge the legality. 

- Vince Hawksworth 

“The purpose is not to put 

more money out to charities, 

that’s not what we’re trying to 

do,” he said. 

“What we are saying is that 

changes will be taking place, 

technological changes, structural 

changes within the industry, 

possibly changes to the 

Infratil shareholding, if they 

happen to sell to some other 

company that did not require 

dividends, [possible] regulatory 

changes.” 

Holland emphasised that 

the trustees had no current 

plans to sell down TECT’s 

Trustpower holding. However, 

he said that was a possibility 

in the medium to longer term 

if the proposal was approved, 

should TECT see the need to 

diversify its asset base as a 

charitable trust. 

“Our objective is to de-risk 

the whole situation and the 

only way to do that [longer 

term] is not to have a huge 

chunk in a single investment.” 

Trustpower officials say it's 

unfair to ask customers to give 

up $20,000-$30,000 worth of 

TECT cheques over 55 years 

for only $4300. Chief executive 

Vince Hawksworth told 

Bay of Plenty Business News 

that despite discussions with 

the trustees over the past two 

years, the parties had been unable 

to find common ground. 

“That’s particularly because 

we disagree with them on the 

idea of making an irreversible 

decision on winding up the 

consumer trust,” he said. 

“We actually disagree 

with the way they are going 

about it with a simple choice 

between the proposal they’ve 

pout out of a 50 percent plus 

one majority vote. When the 

trustee election occurs shortly 

after this has all gone though 

and [if] new trustees come on, 

it will be impossible for them 

or any future trustee to reverse 

it, because the trust will be 

wound up. We think that goes 

against the fabric of the intention 

of the trust when it was set 

up. Unfortunately we’ve found 

ourselves in the position of 

Tauranga Council engages 

business on rates 


The Tauranga City Council 

has begun actively 

engaging with the community 

in an effort to get across 

the justification and underlying 

drivers for its proposed move 

to a differential rating system, 

which would see businesses 

charged more. 

When details of the proposal 

emerged earlier this year, 

the business community was 

critical of what they described 

as a lack of forewarning 

about the changes. Tauranga 

City Council senior officials 

argued that they were unable 

to consult on the detail before 

receiving council members’ 

signoff to explore the proposal. 

But as Tauranga chamber 

chief executive Stan Gregec 

observes below, regardless of 

the formalities, an opportunity 

was missed to get the business 

sector involved earlier in the 

process. 

Currently, commercial and 

residential ratepayers pay the 

same rate per dollar of property 

value: a 1:1 ratio. As of 

July 1 next year that would 

change to 1:1.2 residential to 

commercial, rising to 1:1.4 in 

2019 and peaking at 1:1.6 in 

2020. The council's proposed 

changes also involved halving 

the Uniform Annual General 

Charge, which meant about a 

third of residential ratepayers 

could see their rates bill drop. 

Last month saw the first 

large scale engagement with 

businesses, with TCC chief 

executive Garry Poole and 

chief financial officer Paul 

Davidson making their case at 

The Tauranga Club before a 

large crowd of business people 

who peppered the officials with 

questions. 

Poole’s core argument was 

that ultimately the proposed 

changes would ultimately be to 

the advantage of the business 

community. 

“Internationally competitive 

cities are about people – they 

are cities that can compete on 

the world stage,” he said. 

“An internationally competitive 

city has reliable travel 

times with strong connectivity, 

builds city centres that are well 

planned, resilient and consider 

the environment, has high levels 

of amenity, and provides for 

all of the community.” 

And that all helps to attract 

and retain staff, he said. The 

advantages for business were 

about improving their customer 

base, the speed of delivery, 

transport and logistics, and 

addressing long-term business 

sustainability. 

Poole argued that the current 

rating system was inequitable, 

and made it difficult to 

develop needed infrastructure 

and services because it was 

overly constrained by affordability. 

“It is a regressive rate, which 

doesn’t consider the fairness of 

the contribution by different 

sectors of the community and 

affordability for ratepayers,” 

said Poole. 

“Under our current system, 

our residential sector pays a 

disproportionate share of rates. 

But in many cases, those paying 

the commercial rate also 

contribute as a resident.” 

Poole and Davidson outlined 

some of the details of the 

estimated impact of the proposal 

on commercial ratepayers, 

saying that: 

• 285 (eight percent) of com- 

Trustpower’s Vince Hawksworth (left) and Bill Holland (right): 

At odds over proposal. Photos/supplied. 

having to present the alternative 

view because the [TECT] 

consultation process isn’t canvassing 

alternative views.” 

The battle has also pitched 

former trustees against each 

other. Inaugural TECT chair 

Noel Pope, in a supportive 

ad, congratulated the current 

TECT board on their proposal 

to future-proof the assets. 

“This proposal would make 

everyone a potential beneficiary 

in some shape or form 

of a substantial charitable trust 

and the value of that should not 

be lightly overlooked by any 

of the participants concerned.” 

His view was endorsed by 

Jan Beange, a former mayor 

and former TECT trustee. 

On the opposing side, 

former trustees Michael 

Cooney, Bruce Cronin and 

Ken Collings, have written 

to TECT strongly opposed 

the proposal. They said the 

believed the trustees would be 

failing in their fiduciary duty 

to consumers if they proceeded 

with the proposal. 

The former trustees’ opposition 

was based on the fact 

that TECT was specifically 

formed in 1993 as a consumer 

trust, and that it was obliged 

to act in the best interest of 

the consumers. They add: 

You state ‘doing nothing is no 

longer an option for TECT’ but 

you give no valid reasons why 

you have formed this view. 

TECT has shown a capacity to 

meet changed circumstances 

when necessary. There is no 

reason why this should not be 

the case in the future.” 

They also noted Trustpower 

had proven it was well capable 

of meeting challenges. And 

they noted that at the time 

the TECT Charitable Trust 

was formed in 2002 to enable 

tax efficiencies in respect of 

its distributions to Consumer 

charitable organisations, consumers 

were advised that 

the charitable trust was not 

intended to be the vehicle for 

increased distributions to charitable 

organisations. 

Cooney told Bay of Plenty 

Business News the current 

trustees were changing a policy 

that had been in place for 

some time. 

“It’s like trying to change 

a will, if all the beneficiaries 

agree you can make the changes, 

but you can only agree 

TCC’s Paul Davidson and the Tauranga Chamber’s 

Stan Gregec: Rating exchanges: Photo/David Porter. 

mercial properties would 

have reduced rates. 

• 972 (29 percent) of commercial 

properties would 

have the same or less than 

the current system. 

• 1,816 (54 percent) of commercial 

properties would 

have less than $20 per week 

increase 

• 59 (top two percent) of 

commercial properties 

would pay one-third of the 

total increase in commercial 

sector rates. 

However, several speakers 

from the floor - including 

commercial property owners - 

noted that any increases would 

inevitably be passed on to tenants 

who could be smaller businesses 

that were less able to 

afford them 

Tauranga Chamber chief 

executive Stan Gregec commented 

after the briefing that 

irrespective of any council processes 

that needed to be followed, 

for such a big change 

there was an opportunity to 

start laying the groundwork for 

this much earlier. 

“We understand and 

acknowledge the council is 

between a rock and a hard place 

on finding the means to fund 

Tauranga’s spiralling growth. 

The business community is 

committed to the same goals of 

wanting to see Tauranga grow 

on an informed basis. If the 

proposition is to give more 

money to the community, then 

put the proposition clearly to 

consumers. The sole question 

is, do consumers agree to give 

up their benefits and entitlement 

to a share in the profits 

of the trust’s investment in 

favour of a charitable trust, or 

do they not. None of this other 

stuff in my view is relevant to 

the issue that has been placed 

before them.” 

Cooney said he believed 

there were legal grounds for 

challenging the proposal, 

should it be approved. 

Trustpower’s Hawksworth 

said the company was considering 

legal options, but had 

been consistent in saying it 

would wait and see what customers 

and consumers were 

saying. 

“We will be influenced by 

what consumers are saying and 

the submissions, then we will 

make a decision on whether 

it’s the right thing to challenge 

the legality.” 

TECT’s Bill Holland 

emphasised that the trustees 

were still very much involved 

in the consultation process. 

and become internationally 

competitive and attractive, and 

is not opposed to paying its fair 

share towards this. 

“However, if the whole 

community’s involvement 

and support had been enlisted 

much earlier on in the process, 

other options may have been 

identified and at the very least 

all sections of the community 

would have been much better 

prepared for the rating changes 

that are now being proposed. 

That would seem to us to have 

been a much stronger basis of 

consultation than the seemingly 

predetermined outcome the 

council is now trying to sell to a 

sceptical business community.”


Why we need 

Techweek 

TechweekNZ is happening again from May 

19 to 27 and, excitingly, this year Techweek 

Tauranga will have some big, international 

implications for our region and local 

industries, if they can accomodate change. 

Mark Wilcox, senior product manager at Nyriad shares his knowledge of how 

organisations need to evolve to survive and thrive in the future at Techweek. 

TechweekNZ, a national 

event, was launched by 

NZTech, an overarching 

body which represents over 

100 technology associations 

and institutes around New 

Zealand. TechweekNZ started 

in Auckland, but Tauranga got 

involved three years ago, via 

Venture Centre. 

“NZTech represents a community 

that spans the whole 

country and the relationship 

regularly brings people to 

Tauranga to meet with locals at 

Basestation, and the opportunity 

to get involved in national 

events,” Venture Centre director 

and co-founder Jo Allum 

says. 

This year Techweek will 

include 300 events nationally, 

with headline events focused 

on four different regions 

across the country. Due to previous 

involvement, Tauranga 

will host the ‘marquee’ event 

around Food, Agriculture 

and Horticulture technology. 

Named ‘10 Billion Mouths’, 

this conference will focus on 

Bay of Plenty’s competitive 

advantage, showcasing how 

our region can contribute to 

feeding the world. 

The conference, over one 

full day, will ask the questions 

needed to work out how we 

may feed the world’s population 

into the future. It is being 

held on Wednesday, May 23, 

at ASB Arena, but Tauranga 

will also host a full five days 

of events for Techweek. 

“This year Techweek has 

made a more concerted effort 

to bring international visitors 

to NZ to see our country’s centres 

of technology, featuring 

Tauranga” Jo says. 

This is a chance for 

Tauranga to create 

a name for itself 

globally as a centre of 

excellence for agritech 

and foodtech,” 

- Peter Wren-Hilton 

Techweek Tauranga starts 

with GrowPlenty, a two day 

learn-by-doing ideation challenge 

event to explore use 

of platform technologies 

important to the sustainability 

and traceability of food. 

Entrepreneurs of all ages are 

encouraged to attend and build 

their sector network, they’ll be 

mentored by local and national 

experts in food and agritech, 

will create concepts for solutions 

to areas of significant 

impact on food and agritech in 

the future. 

The ideation challenge, 

centres around four themes. 

The first is energy, then earth, 

air and water, followed by 

what we grow, and finally how 

we produce and distribute it. 

Concepts will be showcased 

at the end of two days to other 

participants and potentially 

international visitors. 

GrowPlenty on Monday 

21 and Tuesday 22 May is 

followed by the 10 Billion 

Mouths conference on 

Wednesday. Following that a 

Waikato University session 

about regional development on 

Thursday includes an international 

speaker who will talk 

about how innovation and 

entrepreneurship can assist 

regional development. 

The week rounds off on 

Friday 25 with an Impact 

Investing Network event which 

will unpack how socially conscious 

investors can contribute 

and benefit from investing in 

our people and planet through 

long term social enterprise 

investments. 

“They’re coming to meet 

with local, individual investors 

and community funders to discuss 

how impact investments 

could be made locally to get 

more social enterprises up and 

running, realising the potential 

of the resources and talent we 

already have here,” Jo says. 

“The whole week plays 

very nicely into the theme 

for Techweek, which is about 

innovators who do good for 

the world, and our local focus 

on food, agritech, environment 

and socio-economic sustainability 

because those are key 

themes for our region,” she 

concludes. 

Wharf42 founder and director, 

Peter Wren-Hilton who 

regularly connects local entrepreneurs 

to his network of contacts 

in Sunnyvale, one of the 

major cities comprising Silicon 

Valley, California says hosting 

10 Billion Mouths is a big coup 

for the region. 

“Where we are, geographically, 

plays an important part 

in our opportunity to host this 

event. As a horticultural centre 

it’s not simply the amount 

and advances in the fruit we’re 

growing, but the technology 

that enables growers to do it 

- which is quite incredible and 

a draw card for international 

investors and venture funds.” 

We’re determined to 

show how well New 

Zealand, and the Bay, 

does collaboration,” 

He says Tauranga needs to 

continue to be creative in how 

it solves food and agriculture 

challenges to attract significant 

international investment, and 

working together is a key part 

of that. 

10 Billion Mouths will have 

sessions on collaboration and 

Plantech - the state-of-the-art 

research institute which will 

open in Tauranga in future. 

Plantech is a collaboration 

between MBIE and the private 

sector. “We’re determined to 

show how well New Zealand, 

and the Bay, does collaboration,” 

Peter says. 

“We’re looking at sessions 

on alternative plant-based proteins, 

traceability and bio-security. 

There will also be a 

business showcase, including 

a feature demonstration from 

Robotics Plus.” 

Peter says Techweek is 

looking to bring eight to 10 

Silicon Valley venture funders 

into the city, which represents 

a huge opportunity for local 

entrepreneurs and businesses. 

Yamaha Ventures, a Silicon 

Valley-based company is a 

major sponsor of the event, 

the first sponsorship in New 

Zealand from a Silicon Valley 

company. Peter says: “It’s a 

major coup for the event, for 

Tauranga and New Zealand.” 

Also of note is Finistere 

Ventures - a $140b agritech 

fund which is looking for 

investment opportunities in 

New Zealand. Their CEO, 

Arama Kukutai, is a Kiwi 

and is coming to 10 Billion 

Mouths. 

Techweek will also see the 

launch of AgritechNZ on May 

23. It is a new cluster which 

provides a framework to allow 

New Zealand’s agritech sector 

to become a lot more collaborative 

in nature, share information 

and resources. “It will 

make it easier to take our story 

offshore and grow our sector,” 

Peter says. 

“This is a chance for 

Tauranga and Bay of Plenty to 

promote itself… to international 

businesses and investors. We 

already have confirmed visitors 

from Singapore, San Francisco, 

Sydney and Melbourne,” he 

says. 

Jo sums up saying: 

“Everyone from youth to 

investors can spend this week 

in May addressing food and 

agritech, alongside national 

and international visitors who 

will spend that time exploring 

what we have going on here in 

that space and showcasing the 

international competitiveness 

of our city.” 

Peter has the final word saying 

the region’s people and 

companies should jump at the 

opportunity Techweek offers 

by getting fully involved and 

committed to the whole week 

of events. “This is a chance 

for Tauranga to create a name 

for itself globally as a centre 

of excellence for agritech and 

foodtech.”

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 

Giving back helps next generation do better 

15 

Mashup, a learn-by-doing ideation event 

for local teens, is being held again in 

March. It’s a chance for youth to not only 

come up with great, problem-solving 

ideas, but to test them using real world 

techniques, while being mentored by 

experts giving back their expertise and 

experiences. 

One such expert is Erika 

Harvey, an American 

entrepreneur living in 

New Zealand. She’s worked 

for Fortune 500 companies 

and co-founded InVenture 

to support entrepreneurs and 

startups. We spoke to Erika 

about Mashup, why she got 

involved and why she believes 

it’s important to let parents 

know that local teens should 

take part. 

What is your background? 

I’ve worked for some of the 

world’s largest technology and 

advisory companies, identifying 

ways businesses could 

achieve better outcomes. This 

led me to start experiencing life 

If you’re unsure if you 

(or your child) should 

participate, just do it!” 

- Erika Harvey 

as an entrepreneur by building 

businesses in my free time. 

I’ve created seven businesses 

Teen says Mashup 

event set her up for life 

Local teen, CJ Dobbs, 18, 

has taken part in the last 

three Mashup events. 

Here she explains for benefit 

of parents and their children, 

what she learned, and why she 

thinks other teens should enter. 

My experience from 

Mashup over the past three 

years has been more beneficial 

than I could ever put into 

words. I learnt general business 

and entrepreneurial skills 

that translated into me knowing 

what my life could be like 

and am currently working with 

my husband to create Redline 

Fishing, which is developing 

New Zealand’s first digitally 

enabled fishing vessel, with 

technology set to revolutionise 

the commercial fishing industry 

and its sustainability. 

What made you want to be 

part of Mashup? 

I love working with teenpreneurs 

and am a huge proponent 

of lifelong learning. I’ve been 

in the emotional trenches of 

building a business, so I understand 

the work that goes in 

to taking an idea and turning it 

into a profitable business. This 

is my third year as a mentor 

for Mashup and I truly enjoy 

helping others navigate their 

way through the various stages 

of starting a business. Young 

people have an amazing opportunity 

today to truly change 

the way we live and work and I 

love being able to share in their 

journey of learning. 

Why should teens take part 

in Mashup? 

Mashup will give you frameworks 

that enhance your thinking, 

develops your skillset, and 

introduces you to new tools, 

after high school finishes. 

I am now working as an 

insurance broker full-time, 

as well as completing the associated 

qualification, and I 

couldn’t be happier. I wouldn’t 

be in a job that I adore and am 

so passionate about now if I 

had not taken part in Mashup. 

I am more confident in myself 

and my ability, which I hadn’t 

been before entering the Mashup 

event. 

I eagerly invite teens to 

take part, whether they take 

QrtHori_BOPBN_Basestation_Oct17.pdf 1 17/10/17 10:37 AM 

Erika Harvey (right) with fellow mentor and up and coming 

local filmmaker Rose McMahon at last years Mashup. 

along with a community of 

like-minded individuals. The 

best way to predict your future 

is to create it, so why not 

test the waters now by joining 

Mashup? 

What sort of skills will teens 

learn at this weekend? 

You’ll walk away armed with 

a variety of new business and 

technology skills. By using 

them, hands-on, you will gain 

hands-on insight you can’t find 

in a book. 

If you’re unsure if you (or 

your child) should participate, 

business as a subject in school 

or not. It is such a fun and exciting 

way to experience what 

I, now, get to do every day, 

alongside people who have 

been doing it for years. Solving 

problems for people and doing 

it well. You get to meet so 

many like-minded people, as 

well as connect with mentors 

and see ideas come to life, all 

in one weekend – it’s magical. 

Business and entrepreneurship 

is everywhere. Get amongst it. 

Go Mashup for your life! 

just do it! You have nothing to 

lose and you’ll leave inspired, 

with connections to a whole 

community ready and willing 

to support you in any future 

endeavours. 

Why should other 

entrepreneurs/business 

owners become mentors? 

Mashup, and programs like it, 

are only as good as the volunteers 

who get involved. If you 

are an entrepreneur or business 

owner who is passionate about 

sharing your own experience, 

knowledge, and giving back 

so the next generation can do 

better, sign up! 

As a bonus for your time, 

you’ll also be rewarded by 

meeting other incredible mentors 

you may find beneficial to 

your network. 

So, if you love supporting 

people to step outside their 

comfort zone, have knowledge 

to share, have had successes 

and failures and stories to tell, 

and want to make a difference 

in the community, I can’t wait 

to meet you! 

Want to be a mentor? Let 

the team know at this link: 

http://clik.vc/beamentor 

CJ (Callie-Jay) Dobbs (left), from Tauranga 

Girls CollegeTeam ‘Brite’ accepts her Regional 

YES Teenpreneur of the Year award from local 

Babysitting club entrepreneur Georgia Meeks. 

MADVentures 

– events for youth 

Mini Mashup Ideation Workshop 

3 March 2018 

9:30am till 3pm 

Mashup 2018 Bay of Plenty 

24/25 March 2018 

PoweringON 

– events for business owners 

Office Hours Financials with 

Crowe Horwath 


11am to 1pm 

Automate your Android 

smartphone with Technologywise 


9am to 10am 

Office Hours Intellectual Property 

with James & Wells 


11am to 1pm 

Don’t spend cloud money 

unwisely with Technologywise 


9am to 10am 

Office Hours Sales and Marketing 

with Bravesight 


10:30am to 12:30pm 

Office Hours Legal with 

Mackenzie Elvin 


11am to 1pm 

Xero user group with 

Ingham Mora 


9:30am to 10:30am 

Google for Small Business user 

group with CreativeQ 


9:30am to 10:30am 

Instigator 

– events for founders 

CO.STARTERS @ Venture Centre 

8 March 2018 - 5:30pm 

Entrepreneurs Everywhere 


5:30pm to 7:30pm 

Plug-in & power up 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

Coworking – way 

more than a desk! 

Be our guest, take 

a tour & enjoy a 

coffee on the house 

• Desks, secure offices, team spaces 

• Flexible terms - come for a day, 

a week, month or year 

• Event and Meeting rooms free 

with residency or book as needed 

• Uncapped internet 

• Tech support and award 

winning barista onsite 

Designed, managed and run by 

Get in touch 0800 000557 

info@basestation.co.nz 

148 Durham Street, Tauranga 

The Communication & Technology Space 

join us!


WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY 

Speaking from experience 

Amped4Life was set up in 2002 to create 

substance abuse prevention programmes, 

drawing on the recovery experience of 

founder Pat Buckley. 


But while the organisation 

continues to reach 

out to high schools and 

community groups, delivering 

specialised services that reflect 

the needs of the community 

and the experience of children 

and youth, Amped4Life’s 

programmes are increasingly 

finding traction with employers. 

“We recognised it was also 

an issue in the workplace and 

the wider community,” said 

Buckley. 

Any misgivings staff 

may have had about 

attending a one-hour 

drug and alcohol 

presentation were 

quickly dismissed 

as Pat launched 

into a professional, 

edgy, real, from 

personal experience 

presentation. 

“There are challenges with 

workplace drug testing, and 

employees can often feel like 

they are being harassed. We 

wanted to offer solutions, 

presentations and programmes 

to help employers and employees 

to bridge the gap between 

them.” 

Amped4Life has now been 

working with industry for a 

number of years especially in 

the forestry sector, and with 

major corporates in other sectors, 

to provide meaningful 

solutions to substance use and 

abuse in the workplace. 

One of the key messages 

the organisation aims to get 

across is that with tightening 

laws around workplace health 

and safety, employers have no 

choice when it comes to drug 

testing. 

“We want employees to 

understand that, first of all, 

they are going to be tested 

in the workplace - it’s coming 

about because of OSH 

and ACC requirements,” said 

Buckley. 

And much as employers 

may wish to retain their 

workforce, there will come 

a time when they have no 

choice in responding when 

substance problems emerge. 

Dealing with drug-related 

problems were very much part 

of employer health and safety 

measures and employers needed 

to have in place regular 

Amped4life founder Pat Buckley: Bridging the gap between employers and employees over drug testing. Photo/Supplied 

education and ways to combat 

it affecting workplace safety 

and health, he said. 

“Regulatory requirements 

include the regular testing of 

your workers - if you injure 

yourself at a workplace, and 

you are found to be under 

the influence of drugs, the 

regulators could [potentially] 

shut the employer’s business 

down.” 

Buckley said Amped4Life’s 

programmes aimed to challenge 

people on where they 

were at with their own personal 

out-of-work habits. 

“We want to challenge people 

to have a better lifestyle, 

not only for themselves with 

sustainable work, but to create 

and model a better life for 

their family and their kids.” 

Buckley’s programmes 

draw upon his own experiences 

- he has been clean and in 

recovery from his substance 

issues for 23 years. 

“I come at it from a very 

personal viewpoint, and talk 

about the carnage of addiction 

and abuse in my own life,” he 

said. “I’m passionate about 

people creating a better life 

through their choices, and the 

workplace is another aspect 

of life.” 

Kiwifruit grower Ian 

McBride, who was HR, safety 

and compliance manager 

at Sequal Lumber for several 

years until January, said 

Buckley had been invited to 

speak to the entire team at the 

company’s Kawerau mill. 

“Any misgivings staff may 

have had about attending a 

one-hour drug and alcohol 

presentation were quickly dismissed 

as Pat launched into a 

professional, edgy, real, from 

personal experience presentation,” 

McBride said. 

“Pat quickly moved to 

where the rubber meets the 

road in terms of drug and 

alcohol use and abuse. In an 

intensely personal, sometimes 

tragic and shocking style 

mixed with a sharp wit and 

humour he had our full attention. 

Feedback from the team 

after the presentation was only 

positive.”



New online model for health 

and safety in the workplace 

Health and safety is becoming a core 

central value driver in every business in 

New Zealand and around the world, says 

Nathan Hight, founder of an innovative new 

online-based approach, Safe365. 

“The government has made 

it very clear in recent regulatory 

reforms that they 

want changes implemented,” 

said Hight. 

“Workplace accidents are 

a real blight on our society. 

We looked at the traditional 

model for how businesses were 

understanding where they were 

at, and what they had to do 

to make sure their businesses 

were safe for employment. And 

we have come up with an alternative 

model.” 

The traditional, tried and 

true approach for decades has 

been for a business to engage 

someone with expertise who, 

for a fee, sits down with them, 

does a health and safety audit, 

makes recommendations and 

proposes a price tag for implementing 

the changes, he said. 

“The cost for both small 

and large businesses can be 

significant. And that’s not really 

to get a solution, but just a 

starting point.” 

Hight says that as a result, 

many businesses have not really 

developed the processes and 

capabilities they need to ensure 

a safe and healthy workplace. 

In addition, unlike professions 

such as accounting and legal 

services, there is no standardised 

quality assurance when 

it comes to health and safety 

consulting, and considerable 

variability. 

“There are some very good 

health and safety consultants 

who are aligned to all the new 

thinking around risks and 

understand that behavioural 

and workplace culture changes 

are where it’s at. But equally, 

we believe there are a number 

of consultants in the market 

who don’t have the expertise 

to provide good solid advice.” 

Hight noted that the government 

is working through the 

Health and Safety Association 

of New Zealand as part of 

industry moves to get the entire 

advisory community to scale 

up and standardise its capabilities. 

“Our approach is modeled 

on companies like Xero, that 

have taken what was once an 

exclusive professional skill set 

and made it possible for people 

to become more sophisticated 

at doing the lower-end stuff 

themselves,” said Hight. 

“That helps save an inordinate 

amount of money and 

time across the whole economy.” 

Nathan Hight with Ron Williams, a 

director of Safe365 client Harris Dowd 

Construction: At the National Convention 

Centre site, Auckland. Photo/supplied. 

Safe365’s model is, rather 

than to have an adviser come in 

to do a company H&S warrant 

of fitness, to create an online 

system that a business owner 

or manager can jump on and 

within an hour develop a very 

clear visibility on where their 

company is at relative to current 

legislation and international 

health and safety standards. 

Safe365, which was 

launched in 2016 and has 

now been used by some 700 

businesses and organisations, 

allows users to sign up through 

a browser where they answer 

a series of questions divided 

into 10 modules. This allows 

the users to objectively assess 

their organisation’s health and 

safety capabilities and identify 

what needs to be done to 

improve. 

The Safe365 algorithms 

produce a dashboard, providing 

a visual reference to where 

the company is at. Within that, 

attached to each element, users 

can dive into the detail of what 

actions, resources and support 

are required. 

Users can begin with a 

10-day free trial, then need 

to move to a paid subscription 

for continuing detailed 

access to resources. It is also 

possible to buy bulk licences, 

allowing larger companies - or 

those working with a number 

of subcontractors - to look at 

and compare each component 

across the organisation. 

“It means they can see and 

evaluate each of those moving 

parts and the head office can 

align their workflow and health 

and safety practices both vertically 

and horizontally.” 

Oliver Sanandres, head of 

health safety and wellbeing at 

Auckland Council, which has 

a number of licences, says the 

beauty of Safe365 is that it is 

so easy to use. 

“You do not need to be 

a health and safety expert to 

use this product… it takes the 

fear away from starting the 

journey.”



ACC – a tax or insurance? 

If your business insurance premiums 

went up 10 percent on last year you 

would call your broker pretty quickly 

and find out why. You have an 

expectation as to the cost and what 

you are actually covered for. 

Most employers do not 

look at their ACC 

levies the same way. 

Rather, they take what they 

are given and pay accordingly. 

Great for ACC, not so 

good for you. 

The average ACC saving 

we create is 41 percent and 

this has been true for the 

seven years we have been 

doing this gig. This tells 

us that employers really do 

not understand ACC levies 

very well… and overpay as 

a result. 

We encourage you 

to look at ACC with a 

cynical view as with 

any insurance, it is 

meant to be there if 

there is a need. So, 

what is the need or in 

other words, what is 

the risk that is being 

covered? 

In all honesty, I don’t 

blame them. The invoices 

have changed at least four 

times over the last six years; 

the way levies are calculated 

seems convoluted; most folk 

have at least one war story 

with ACC; and lastly, ACC is 

a government agency which 

doesn’t give us much confidence 

and the best of times. 

ACC for business is an 

insurance, it is there to cover 

a risk. Sure, it is compulsory 

however it is still an 

insurance. This means that 

we should look at it like all 

our other insurances… do we 

know the risk it covers? 

Once we do, then we guarantee 

you there are savings 

available and quite substantial 

at times. 

ACC covers two key areas 

– the shareholders and the 

workers. 

As a shareholder, do you 

need ACC and if you do, 

how much would you need 

at claim time? If you do not 

need ACC either because you 

will still get paid or you happen 

to have income protection 

insurance, then you can actually 

pay a lot less. Similarly, 

if you are like most business 

owners and never take any 

time off, what are you actually 

paying ACC for? You are 

basically gifting ACC your 

money. Nice for ACC. 

As a business owner, what 

do you actually do in the 

business? 

At seminars I always like 

to shake everyone’s hands. 

Why? Because it allows me 

to see if they have clean fingernails 

and soft hands. Ok, 

humour me on this one. if a 

bloke has clean fingernails 

and they have a scaffolding 

business… then there is 

a good chance they are not 

on the tools. This means we 

can potentially move them 

to a better suited levy code. 

Scaffolding is $2.26 per $100 

of income. A management 

code by comparison is $0.14! 

So, my question to you is, 

what is your risk? 

For your workers, what 

business risk is being covered 

and is this even accurate 

for you? There are that 

many levy codes to choose 

from that 1 in 5 businesses is 

actually on the wrong code. 

Did you know we can back 

date this type of change four 

years? 

We encourage you to look 

at ACC with a cynical view 

as with any insurance, it is 

meant to be there if there is 

a need. So, what is the need 

or in other words, what is the 

risk that is being covered? 

This year ACC is working 

on a raft of changes to the 

way ACC is calculated. Some 

of the changes will be great 

however, it will be up to you 

to take advantage of them. 

As the only ACC brokers 

in NZ, it is our job to advise 

you of these changes. Like all 

brokers, we work on commission 

so no upfront fees for 

you. If we do not create savings 

there is no charge. 

It is something we are very 

passionate about and very 

good at doing. 

Manage Company offers 

a monthly webinar series on 

how to make ACC work for 

you and your business. Give 

Martin a call on 021 322 

286 or email martin@managecompany.co.nz 

to find out 

more. 

Martin Wouters, managing director Manage Company. 

ACC Training 

Be in the know, make it work for your business 

Webinar Series: How to make ACC work for you 

CLAIMS 

We teach you the fundamentals of claims. We cover recruitment; induction; claims 

processes; medical certificates; and disagreeing with ACC’s decision making. 

Best suited for all who want to understand the fundamentals of managing claims 

risk and not being controlled by ACC. 

Dates: 6 March 1pm, 10 April 12pm, 1 May 1pm, 5 June 1pm cost: $49.00 

INSURANCE 

ACC and insurance have a lot in common – both cover risk, you can pay handsomely 

for it and it is often not well understood. We recognise this so we’re getting our inhouse 

experts to share with you what the insurance companies don’t. Over a series of 

webinars we cover compliance insurances, business insurances, group employee 

schemes, life and income protection insurances, buy sell agreements, the list goes on. 

Dates: 6 March 12pm, 10 April 11am, 1 May 12pm, 5 June 12pm cost: FREE 

SAFE + 

A new health & safety initiative by Worksafe, ACC and MBIE. We tell you what it is, 

how it works, how to align your business, and how to future proof your business. 

The Safe+ scheme will get a big push from government this year so you may want 

to learn about this. 

Dates: 6 March 10am, 10 April 10am, 1 May 10am, 5 June 10am cost: $49.00 

CPX Detail 

Just as the title would suggest we will go into CPX (CoverPlus Extra) in more detail for 

an in-depth understanding of the nitty gritty. CPX covers an individual’s risk which 

means we have to be very clear about what that risk is and how we manage it. We 

explore the needs analyses, application process, how to navigate ACC’s expectations, 

levels of cover, passive earners, and much more. Best suited to accountants. 

Dates: 6 March 3pm, 10 April 1pm, 1 May 3pm, 5 June 3pm cost: $49.00 

Monthly 

Webinars Series 

How to register 

Register online at: 

manageacc.info/ 

monthlywebinars 

You will receive a 

confirmation email upon 

registering. This will 

provide a link to attend 

the webinar/s. 

Find more information for 

each topic online. 

If you have any 

quesitons please feel free 

to get in touch with 

Martin at: 021 322 286, or: 

martin@managecompany.co.nz

Bay of plenty 

First on the scene 

The recent Bay Venues-hosted BA5 at Baypark’s Indoor Sports Pavilion. 

Photos by: Helen Chapman Photography 

1 

1 Sharon Giblett (Jigsaw Solutions Group Ltd) and Tim Taylor (Stratus Blue). 

2 Erin Narayan (Bay Venues), Robyn Coulter (Tha Page Works) and Gosia Costar (Life Care Consultants). 

2 

3 

3 Gillian Houser (Bay Venues), Wayne Shadbolt (Interlink Communications), Alan Hewitt (Apricity), Anton Moonen 

(Bay Media Lts) and Stan Gregec (Tauranga Chamber of Commerce). 

4 

4 Les Geraghty (Harcourts Realty Advantage), Thea Straub (Harcourts Realty Advantage) and Huw O’Connor (Strategic Pay). 

5 Peter and Jacqui Wren-Hilton (Wharf42 Limited). 

5 

6 7 

6 Driftkarts: Tan Phuangdokmai (Avalon Aotearoa Charitable Trust) and Judith Russell (Connect2 Chartered Accountants). 

7 Elena Smirnova (Trustpower) and Gary Benner (Onlearn Ltd).


When PR spin 

goes too far 

Let’s be honest. Many of us are prone to 

focusing on the positive and making the 

odd exaggeration when telling a story. 

That football match in 

the weekend? I scored 

a goal. Never mind the 

two penalties I gave away. And 

that new car my company is 

selling? It’s the first of its kind. 

Never mind that the only difference 

is the unique shade of 

grey it is painted. 

A little bit of poetic licence 

is often accepted when you’re 

telling a friend what you got up 

to on the weekend, but when it 

comes to business or politics, 

there’s such a thing as “good 

spin” and “bad spin”. 

That topic was brought 

sharply into focus recently by 

US President Donald Trump in 

his State of the Union address. 

Speaking about his decision 

to deregulate the coal industry, 

he uttered the oxymoronic 

phrase “beautiful, clean coal”. 

Trump was making the case 

for deregulation of fossil fuels 

to boost jobs and business 

opportunities, but his turn of 

phrase would have done little 

to convince anybody outside 

his supporter base. 

What Trump forgets - or 

on his previous history of documented 

falsehoods may not 

care about - is that there’s a 

difference between accentuating 

the positive and making 

statements that are completely 

at odds with scientific consensus. 

Good spin has its basis 

in fact and it can influence 

people because it has a degree 

of credibility. Without a factual 

basis, spin is nothing more 

than deceit. 

But it’s not just US presidents 

who are tying themselves 

in knots. Some Kiwi 

businesses are also spinning 

themselves off their feet. 

One example was 

Wellington business 

Glassescases, owner of 

New York-style diner Five 

Boroughs, which was recently 

put into voluntary liquidation. 

The directors told 

BusinessDesk that they 

planned to re-open Five 

Boroughs a few blocks away 

on a site owned by one of 

their other companies, and that 

winding up Glassescases was 

“the quickest and cleanest” 

means to an end. 

It’s one thing to talk 

about the benefits of 

deregulation and the 

jobs the coal industry 

will create, but quite 

another to label it 

“clean”. 

“Our company grew from 

four employees when we 

opened the doors to 19… we 

weren't quite ready for that. 

The way I look at it is we had 

a practice run at opening our 

dream business, and now we 

get to do it all over again,” a 

director was quoted as saying 

by BusinessDesk. 

Unsurprisingly, readers 

didn’t buy it. The comments 

section of the National 

Business Review website, 

which ran the story, was filled 

with remarks from readers 

expressing outrage that the 

directors were allegedly leaving 

creditors and staff out of 

pocket. Simply put, the narrative 

being put forward by the 

company was not perceived as 

TELLING YOUR STORY 

> BY JAMES HEFFIELD 

Director of Bay of Plenty communications consultancy Last Word 

Writing Services. To find out more visit lastwordwriting.co.nz or 

email james@lastwordwriting.co.nz. 

believable. The eventual outcome 

was that the directors 

of Glassescases issued a statement 

saying they had decided 

to take out a personal loan to 

pay staff what they were owed. 

The point of all this is that 

companies and politicians need 

to give the public more credit. 

It’s one thing to talk about the 

benefits of deregulation and 

the jobs the coal industry will 

create, but quite another to 

label it “clean”. The same principle 

applies to any business 

announcing it is going into liquidation. 

It’s fine to talk about 

lessons learned and plans for 

the future. However, any issues 

of unpaid debts or the business 

closure’s impact on staff can’t 

simply be ignored, as they are 

more than likely to emerge and 

potentially result in the company 

being seen in an unfavourable 

light 

So remember, next time 

you’re spinning a good yarn, 

make sure it’s founded in fact 

and think about how it will be 

received by readers. Chances 

are that if you’re not convinced 

of something yourself, your 

readers won’t be either. 

Challenges and strategies in 2018 

Across sectors, small 

businesses continue to 

face challenges in 2018; 

namely increased competition 

from global chains, and technology-driven 

commoditisation 

of products/services and 

consumer comfort with online 

sales. 

For some, trying to compete 

against this changing 

world and its economies of 

scale seems unsustainable. But 

challenges are also opportunities 

and in 2018 the winners 

will be those who differentiate 

themselves in the market, 

by delivering highest quality 

personalised service and products 

by focusing on some key 

areas. 

These include: 

• Customer service - Loyal 

customers are a competitive 

edge in a corporate retail 

and online environment. So 

don’t get complacent about 

customer service which 

will only make you vulnerable 

to the convenience 

and price advantages of 

the corporate/online players. 

Focus on delivering the 

‘wow’ factor, offering your 

customers a highly personalised, 

interesting and 

excellent experience that 

will enhance their sense of 

value and give them a good 

story to tell. You sell an 

experience, not a commodity. 

• Business management - 

The old adage of working 

on the business not in it 

still rings very true. Yet, 

many owner-operated businesses 

still spend most of 

their time in day-to-day 

operational tasks, to the 

detriment of the long-term 

business. Take time to manage 

the business – financial 

planning, reviewing the 

effectiveness of systems 

and processes such as customer 

service, staff training, 

and addressing longterm 

strategic needs, risks 

MONEY MATTERS 

> BY STEPHEN GRAHAM 

Stephen Graham is director and managing partner at BDO Rotorua, 

Chartered Accountants and Advisers. To find out more visit bdorotorua.co.nz 

or email rotorua@bdo.co.nz 

and opportunities. 

• Pricing structures - 

Suppliers are struggling as 

much as anyone so will be 

open to negotiation to be 

competitive. It comes down 

to getting a price that’s 

good business for both 

parties, achieving the best 

possible margin available 

considering the source of 

the product or service and 

what it can be sold for in 

the market. 

• Internet presence - Around 

49 percent of New Zealand 

small and medium-sized 

enterprises (SMEs) still do 

not have a website. That’s a 

shocking stat. A good quality 

web presence is critical 

in today’s world - that is 

where people find out about 

you and communicate with 

you. Social media platforms 

also play an important 

role in creating an 

online presence - it is estimated 

by 2019 there will be 

approximately. 2.77 billion 

social media users around 

the globe. Social media for 

small to medium businesses 

has the ability to increase 

website traffic, as not only 

do social media sites help 

drive traffic to your website, 

but the more shares 

your social media receives 

the higher your business 

will rank online. Without 

a quality internet presence 

you’re not only missing out 

competitively in terms of 

branding, but are also losing 

out on opportunities to 

connect better with customers 

and build online sales 

and services. 

• Community involvement - 

As a local business, another 

competitive edge you can 

build on over the global 

and national retail chains 

is getting involved in your 

community, helping building 

a level of visibility, connection 

and reputation that 

is difficult for the chains to 

replicate. 

Overall, there is a lot to be 

positive about in 2018. There 

doesn’t appear to be any sign 

yet of the forecast instability 

in the economy post-election, 

the dollar is strong ensuring 

purchasing costs remain stable, 

and generally our primary 

sectors are doing well. 

Opportunity is knocking.

REMARKABLE WOMEN IN BUSINESS 

Fresh ideas from 

Design One 


Building a remarkable business 

throughout New Zealand 

Design One’s Angela Gray 

has been in the interior 

design industry for eight 

years in the Bay of Plenty. 

With a diploma in interior design, 

she started in business while 

being a busy mother to twin 

boys and soon turned a hobby into a 

successful business. 

She has since been working alongside 

some of the region’s most renowned 

architects, housing and building companies, 

with her career soaring to new 

heights. 

“From as early as I can remember I have 

been interior design obsessed, so it’s no 

surprise to anyone that knows me that 

being immersed in the design world is 

my happy place,” says Angela. 

“I absolutely love being able to have 

a career that encapsulates my love of 

people and design - and what a place to 

work, here in the Bay,” she says. 

Angela says she appreciates the opportunity 

of working on larger commercial 

projects. But she also welcomes the intimate 

approach that a residential project 

brings out of her, where she can pull 

together all elements of a build from 

exterior to interior, designing and detailing 

cabinetry and kitchens, to the finer 

soft furnishing and finishing details. 

Angela Gray 

“I live and breathe design and having 

my finger on the pulse with everything 

current, while knowing how to coherently 

bring together both the old and the 

new,” she says. 

Angela says she is always excited by the 

team element of working with residential 

builders. 

“Bringing great relationships to my clients 

is all-encompassing and incredibly 

rewarding,” says Angela, who is 

currently involved in beachfront home 

renovations and large rural new builds. 

A new development for this year is the 

launch of her new Online Design concept, 

reflecting the increasing push of 

business into the digital world. 

“No design project is ever the same and 

that’s what I love about what I do.” 

Natasha Walsh 

Tradestaff is celebrating its 22nd year of business in 2018 

and remarkable women have been at the foundation of 

our success. Our first employee Janice McNab is now our 

general manager. 

Eighteen Years ago our third branch 

opened in Tauranga and Sara Kerr 

now national training and development 

manager has been here almost ever 

since. This trend continues in Bay of Plenty 

with senior recruitment consultants Sanne 

van der Vliet in the Rotorua Branch and 

Natasha Walsh in Tauranga. 

Tradestaff was born from the desire to 

make a difference in blue collar temp recruitment 

and Sanne and Natasha bring the 

Tradestaff “cool and easy” philosophy to 

job sites across the Bay each and every day. 

Surrounded by heavy machinery, in steel 

caps and hard hats they are prepared to go 

Sanne van der Vliet 

the extra mile for their clients and temps to 

“get it right” 

Keeping hundreds of locals working every 

day is a huge commitment and responsibility 

that Sanne and Natasha take very seriously. 

Their relatable personalities, respect for their 

temps and positive attitude have been the key 

to the Tradestaff branches in Rotorua and 

Tauranga achieving record results recently. 

Both Sanne and Natasha are their respective 

branches health and safety representative 

– you can find them on industrial 

sites, looking the part, doing the business 

throughout the Bay – otherwise call them at 

Tradestaff 0508 404040 

Growing a shutter and blind 

business in Tauranga 

As operations director of Santa Fe 

Shutters & Blinds Gail Christie works 

incredibly hard helping to design 

shutters and blinds which transform 

your home. 

Santa Fe is a privately owned business that was purchased 

in 2003 by Gail and Paul Christie. The head 

office and factories are both located in Tauranga. 

Santa Fe has now become one of New Zealand’s largest 

and well-known suppliers of window furnishings, with 

shutters and blinds to fit all budgets. The company sells to 

the wholesale and retail markets throughout New Zealand. 

The brand is well established and highly regarded for quality 

products and services. Last year Santa Fe added to its portfolio 

by purchasing another very well-known local company 

My passion has also been to grow the 

systems within the business and over 

the years we have developed very strong 

systems which allow us to provide a high 

level of service to our customers. This is to 

ensure it is easy for our customers to do 

business with us. 

email: hello@designone.co.nz 

Phone: 021 729 458 

www.designone.co.nz 

Our Tauranga 

team is growing 

We are currently seeking a 

talented and extraordinary 

Recruitment Consultant with 

a flair for sales. 

called Bay Blinds. 

“This highly regarded manufacturing facility has now 

enabled us to supply an extensive range of locally made 

blinds to our customers across New Zealand,” says Gail. 

Gail works within the company and over Apply the last online 16 years via our Seek ad 

from when she came into the business as a radiographer or our who website 

knew very little about window furnishings, she has become 

well known within the industry as a valuable 

www.tradestaff.co.nz 

source of information 

on expert shutter and blind design. She is in daily contact 

with architects, interiors designers, agents and residential 

customers helping them to solve complex design issues. 

Over this time we have grown our range from manufacturing 

only Cedar shutters back in 2003, to having a shutter 

range that includes five different wood types plus aluminium 

shutters and a blind range that encompasses rollers, 

venetians, romans and verticals in more than 1000 different 

fabrics. 

As well as the huge product growth the company has seen 

Gail says that one of her greatest satisfactions over the years 

is to have mentored staff and grown the initial small team of 

six to a dedicated and hardworking team of more than 100. 

This growth has been with a strong passion for staff health 

and wellbeing. We have fitted offices with sit-stand desks and 

run a company fitness programme to help those staff who 

want to stay fit and healthy. 

“My passion has also been to grow the systems within the 

business and over the years we have developed very strong 

systems which allow us to provide a high level of service to 

our customers. This is to ensure it is easy for our customers 

to do business with us.” 

Gail says that she loves the industry, the company and the 

people she deals with on a daily basis and is looking forward 

to growing Santa Fe and Bay Blinds to be leading Tauranga 

Gail Christie 

businesses over the next five years. 

Tradestaff Tauranga & Rotorua 

www.tradestaff.co.nz 

Freephone 0508 404040 

P2757Y 

Santa Fe Shutters & Blinds 

142 Newton Street, Mt Maunganui 

Phone: 0508 274 888 

www.santafeshutters.co.nz 

Bay Blinds 

8 Maleme Street, Greerton 

Phone: 07 578 7794 

www.bayblinds.co.nz 

P2563Y


Meet the woman behind the Bay 

of Plenty/Waikato Business Expo 


Rev up your business 

Sharon Giblett is the founder and director of Jigsaw Solutions 

Group, an organisation that helps build people capability 

through attraction and retention strategies, recruitment, team 

building, motivation and financial solutions. Find out how her 

own experiences led this savvy entrepreneur to create the Bay 

of Plenty / Waikato Business Expo. 

Like many women in business, personal 

growth and entrepreneurial success for 

Sharon Giblett has come with a lot of 

hard work, perseverance and dedication. 

Starting out in the financial services 

industry more than 30 years ago, Sharon has 

gained valuable insight and corporate experience 

around the world. In her 30s Sharon 

set about establishing one of her first start 

up businesses. Faced with the challenge of 

generating her first sales leads, she attended 

a local business expo. 

“I met more 500 people at that expo 

and followed up every lead” says Giblett. 

“From that single event I generated a lot of 

business, tapped into an amazing support 

network and ended up needing to hire an 

assistant.” 

She continued to grow the business and 

sold it five years later. 

In 2018, together with husband and 

business partner Barry Brown, Sharon is 

looking forward to helping others create 

the same opportunities by hosting the first 

ever Bay of Plenty / Waikato Business 

Expo which will be held at ASB Baypark 

on March 7. 

Sharon Giblett 

Jigsaw Solutions Group 

Sharon Giblett 

sharon.giblett@jigsawsolutions.biz 

021 566 869 

www.jigsawsolutions.biz 

P5476Y 

Nikki Barnard, Business Success Partners. 

Nikki Barnard is experienced and passionate about working with 

business owners to transform their business and their lives. 

Nikki’s executive management experience 

in the rural and automotive industries, 

as well as owning/operating 

her own businesses, brings an understanding, 

pragmatic, down-to-earth approach to driving 

productivity and profitability with SME 

businesses in BOP. 

Nikki and the Business Success Programme 

are ideal for business owners who: 

• Want to achieve significant growth 

• Need to be more productive or profitable 

• Seek a more enjoyable lifestyle 

• Have frustrations with or within their 

team 

• Want a succession or exit plan 

• Are ready to develop or expand 

Business Success Partners 

www.businesssuccesspartners.co.nz 

nikki@businesssuccesspartners.co.nz 

027 206 3336 

The Business Success Programme, combined 

with Nikki’s extensive and varied 

knowledge means she works with business 

owners to clarify their end goals, the opportunities 

and challenges. A strategy, business 

plan and task log is then developed and implemented 

to achieve these goals. 

Nikki stays with the business to ensure 

the task log is achieved and undertakes some 

of the work herself, to relieve the pressure of 

business owners having to do it all. 

Nikki takes the initial informal approach 

of “Let’s have a chat to see how I can help”. 

Living at Papamoa Beach, when not 

working, you can find Nikki riding her Kawasaki 

650cc motorbike all over the country, 

on a race track or travelling a whole lot slower 

cycling or climbing Papamoa Hill. 

P5476Y 

Nettl of Tauranga is your local full service 

marketing, web and design studio 

Experienced branding and marketing 

specialist Michelle Beaumont was 

delighted when the opportunity came 

her way to become director and 

marketing consultant for boutique web 

design and marketing studio Nettl of 

Tauranga. 

The unique Nettl concept originates in the UK and 

it now has five studios in New Zealand with plans 

to expand their national presence, including the 

Tauranga branch at 801 Cameron Road. 

“We’re not just a web firm, we’re a one-stop shop for 

a range of business needs including branding, logo design, 

business printing, promotional products, signwriting and 

exhibition displays,” says Michelle. 

“What sets us aside from other web design companies 

is our ability to provide clients with a well thought out, 

strategic, goal orientated, website in a fraction of the time it 

can traditionally take.” 

Michelle’s deep experience includes more than 12 years’ 

dealing with Tauranga businesses in her roles at Publicity 

Printing and setting up Printing.com – a reputable NZ company 

renowned for value for money and service. 

“We are now 18 months in and I feel very lucky to have 

been given the opportunity to develop and assist so many 

local businesses. Our clients become friends and we are 

there for the journey with them” she says. 

“Some of our most rewarding projects to date have been 

rebranding and redesigning the beautiful Olive Tree Cottage 

Wedding Venue, a much loved local icon. Developing the 

Family Physio and Pure O2 Brand, and of course helping 

Infuzed Network & Sales Training with their online presence, 

and their message. However, every project is rewarding 

in its own right when you are providing your clients with a 

quality, value for money solution that gets the results.” 

Michelle says Nettl offers clients better value for money 

because of its uniquely tailored system and clever operating 

procedures. 

“Being part of a network of studios and hosting locally 

means our clients are assured their website will be in good 

hands, “she says. 

“My passion is helping businesses grow,” says Michelle. 

“As a marketer, it’s my job to help my customers get 

the best return on investment for their budget. In my experience, 

if we get the basics right from the start, we can 

eliminate the two-to-three year bump in the road that can 

happen when it becomes apparent to companies that the 

poorly executed logo they have just isn’t doing them justice 

anymore.” 

By starting on the right track, the marketing and visual 

representation of a company should continue to present 

them correctly for several years, she says. 

Michelle credits the strong local team to the success of 

Nettl Tauranga. 

“My team are qualified and experienced in what they 

do with a sharp eye for design, we’re also Google Partners, 

which means we have been able to diversify and strengthen 

our offering in digital and social media and marketing. We 

like to make our customers feel cared for and appreciated. 

And we offer free training and ongoing services designed 

to help our clients continue and expand their online growth 

strategies.” 

Integral to any design process is the ability to take a 

good brief, she adds. 

“And the key to that is listening to your client.” 

Michelle Beaumont 

0800 2 NETTL 

web: nettl.co.nz 

mobile: 027 537 9492 

E: michelle.beaumont@nettl.com 

Address: Suite 1, 801 Cameron Road, Tauranga, 3112 

P2410Y



Sheree Merrick 

Sheree soaks up the 

stress for landlords 

Landlords who lose sleep over the state of their rental 

properties or the suitability of their tenants prompted one 

Tauranga businesswoman to take a leap of faith and set up 

her own business. 

Providing a fast track to 

marketing success 

Chantelle Laurent 

Most SMEs can’t afford to employ an international 

marketing expert fulltime – which is why Chantelle Laurent’s 

skills as an external contractor are in hot demand. 

After 13 years working as a property 

manager, Sheree Merrick bought 

the Tauranga franchise for Propertyscouts 

last year so she can deliver the 

customer service she believes Bay property 

investors deserve. 

“Buying a rental property is a terrific investment, 

but people often struggle to find 

good tenants, worry their house might get 

trashed or contaminated with meth, and fear 

the rent won’t be paid on time,” says Sheree. 

“Most people hate conflict and don’t 

know the ins and outs of the Residential 

Tenancy Act, which is why having someone 

like me taking care of the hard stuff is always 

a smart move.” 

Propertyscouts works with investors 

to help find (and then manage) their ideal 

rental property, as well as tenants who are 

looking for a suitable roof over their head. 

They’re the only company that offers landlords 

“guaranteed rent”, meaning they will 

cover rental arrears for a specified period 

and re-let the home at no cost to the owner. 

“My passion is to help other people 

achieve their goals and I enjoy working 

with both parties. If you’d like help getting 

started, or a hand managing your rental to 

reduce your risk, give me a call.” 

Since 2006 her company, Formula 

One Results Ltd, has been working 

with local businesses to create 

an in-depth marketing plan to fuel their 

growth. 

“Their main challenge with marketing 

is that they just don’t have the expertise 

in-house,” Chantelle explains. “They know 

it’s something they need to do but just 

don’t know how or who can do the job. So 

I set them up with a game plan and either 

get everything up and running for them or 

coach their team to do so – or a combination 

of both.” 

Chantelle says she helps clients see the 

wood from the trees. She brings clarity to 

their goals and strategies, provides a clear 

and simple pathway to success and gets 

the owners and management team working 

together on the business rather than in it. 

“The best results are not just increased 

sales but sales growth from the market we 

are specifically targeting – that is the real 

success story for me. However, the ripple 

effect of a new marketing strategy often 

includes more enthusiasm among the staff, 

an increased pride in their business and 

brand, and a general sense of confidence 

that they know where they are going and 

how they are going to get there.” 

Sheree Merrick 

027 537 0685 

tauranga@propertyscouts.co.ns 

www.tauranga.propertyscouts.co.nz 

P7639Y 

Formula One Results Ltd 

www.formulaoneresults.co.nz 

chantelle@formulaoneresults.co.nz 

Ph: 021-557-817 

www.linkedin.com/in/chantelle-laurent 

P4216Y 

Breaking stereotypes with great company culture 

When you think of a lawyer, what do you 

picture? Pinstripe suits, brogue shoes, 

and expensive ties? A bunch of old boys 

or uni graduates who all played rugby 

together? Think again, as the team at 

The Law Shop is tackling things a little 

differently. 

Although more women than men have graduated from 

New Zealand law schools in the past two decades, the 

partnership ranks of law firms are still not gender-diverse. 

Unconscious biases still make things challenging for 

women, which means promotion can be tough. 

That’s not what Paula Lines had in mind when she opened 

The Law Shop in 2008. Ten years later, in a field still dominated 

by men, the all-female team at The Law Shop is on the 

ball and walking the talk. 

“Flexibility, supporting other women, and caring for each 

other is important to us. Something that annoys me for instance 

is the negative assumption about the commitment of female 

lawyers once they have children. It is absolutely possible to 

be a great lawyer and a fantastic mother. Why wouldn’t it be? 

What you do need, though, is some flexibility,” Paula says. 

The Law Shop has grown fast, and Paula was joined in 

partnership by Stephanie Northey in 2014, who now runs the 

Rotorua office. Stephanie, of Nga Puhi, Ngati Tu Korehe, 

Tuhoe and Ngai Te Rangi descent, specialises in family law, 

mental health and employment law. 

Sarsha Tyrrell joined The Law Shop a year ago, when the 

Tauranga office opened. She helps families with legal issues 

including domestic violence, child care arrangements and 

Child Youth & Family matters (now Oranga Tamariki). As 

Directors, they each have their individual strengths. 

“I’m all about the details, Steph is great at the big picture 

stuff, and Sarsha is always calm and methodical. We work 

From left to right: Sarsha Tyrrell, Stephanie Northey and Paula Lines. 

extremely well together, with no cattiness. We genuinely care 

for each other as people and have become great friends,” Paula 

says. 

Now with a team of 15 working in both Rotorua and 

Tauranga, most of The Law Shop’s staff is full-time. However, 

that doesn’t mean they are office-based from 8.30am to 

5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The business has introduced better 

technology, including cloud-based systems and dictation apps 

on the phones, to increase flexibility. 

“Meeting our client’s needs can also be done from home, or 

after hours if that suits better. If there’s a parent-teacher meeting, 

or children are competing in the school cross-country, I 

wouldn’t want my staff to miss it. We’re big on family and 

balance. It can be done,” Paula says. 

The Law Shop offers personal law services, business law 

services, and law services for retirees. Give them a call on 

07-572 5272 or email team@thelawshop.co.nz to find out 

more. 

The Law Shop 

team@thelawshop.co.nz 

1268 Arawa Street, Rotorua 3010 

1262 Cameron Road, Greerton, Tauranga 3112 

0800 LAW SHOP | www.thelawshop.co.nz 

P9945Y


WAIKATO NEWS 

Economy ‘partying too hard’ says economist 

New Zealand’s economy has been partying 

too hard but the hangover should only 

be a minor one, according to an ANZ 

economist. 

By CAITLAN JOHNSTON 

Phil Borkin – speaking 

at a business summit in 

Hamilton in February - 

said the economy is due for a 

few speed bumps but any economic 

correction won’t be as 

severe as the 2007 recession. 

“There are signs that the 

economy has been partying 

too hard,” said Mr Borkin at 

the event at Hamilton Gardens. 

“Housing debt is at its 

highest it’s ever been and skill 

shortages, poor productivity 

growth and political change all 

suggest signs of a vulnerable 

cycle. 

“Things are going to get 

harder, but not hard. The vulnerabilities 

are nowhere near 

as extreme as they were in 

1997 or 2007” he said. 

Most of the talk at the 

second annual Waikato Business 

Summit concerned the 

region’s growth. The summit 

was a joint collaboration between 

ANZ, BDO Waikato, 

Chartered Accounts NZ and 

Xero. 

BDO Waikato managing 

director Bernard Lamusse said 

events such as the summit were 

key for businesspeople to enable 

them to gain insights from 

the speakers and network. 

“We have an outstanding 

line-up of speakers who will 

offer valuable insight into our 

local and global economies 

and will contribute to discussion 

about key issues facing 

our region in terms of business 

growth,” said Mr Lamusse. 

Finance Minister Grant 

Robertson highlighted the 

strong levels of population 

growth that the region is experiencing 

due to Hamilton’s 

strategic location within the 

Golden Triangle. 

“Projections show that 

Hamilton is well on its way 

to being a city with more than 

200,000 residents by 2034 and 

225,000 by 2041, effectively 

adding the current population 

of Palmerston North to the city 

in that time,” said Mr Robertson. 

He said the Government 

had priorities to help Hamilton 

growth with a new policy 

platform to help tackle housing 

and transport bottlenecks, 

Hamilton City Council general manager 

of city growth Kelvyn Eglinton. 

while driving regional development. 

He confirmed that the 

new Government has accepted 

the business case for Peacocke 

subdivision as part of the 

Housing Infrastructure Fund, 

an initiative by the former National 

Government. The funding 

would allow for 3750 new 

houses in the Peacocke area, 

south of Hamilton, within the 

next 10 years, rising to a total 

of 8400 homes in this area in 

30 years’ time. 

“Final documentation is being 

worked on by officials and 

Hamilton City Council staff, 

and the council still needs 

to consult the community 

through its long-term plan process. 

But we expect that construction 

can start in earnest 

when long-term plan approval 

is gained in June.” 

ANZ economist Phil Borkin at the Waikato Business Summit. 

“Within this plan, a new 

southern link road, connecting 

to the existing State Highway 

1 on the western side of 

Hamilton, will swing past the 

southern edge of Peacocke, 

also linking a new Airport Employment 

zone with the eastern 

side of the city.” 

Hamilton mayor Andrew 

King talked about the positive 

relationship with the Gov- 

ernment making special note 

of the Housing Infrastructure 

Fund support for Peacocke. 

“Our relationship is very 

strong and they support what 

we’re doing here in Hamilton” 

said Mayor King. 

Hamilton City Council’s 

general manager of city 

growth Kelvyn Eglinton gave 

an extensive briefing on the 

city’s growth and its plans. 

Airport company 

buys hotel 

Waikato Regional 

Airport Limited 

(WRAL) has purchased 

Hamilton Airport Hotel 

and Conference Centre. 

The sale includes the acquisition 

of all buildings and 

the ground lease as well as the 

existing hotel and conference 

business. 

Current operators, Hamilton 

Airport Hotel Limited, will 

lease back and continue to operate 

the hotel and conference 

centre at least until January 

2019, 12 months from the date 

of purchase. 

WRAL chairman John 

Spencer said the acquisition 

was in line with WRAL's 

strategic objective to grow 

its non-aeronautical revenue 

stream. 

“Ownership of the hotel 

provides an opportunity to further 

develop and enhance the 

range of services offered within 

the airport precinct.” 

WRAL, the parent com- 

Waikato Regional Airport 

chairman John Spencer. 

pany of Hamilton & Waikato 

Tourism, cites regional tourism 

growth plus ongoing demand 

for accommodation and conference 

facilities as supporting 

reasons for the purchase. 

The Ministry of Business 

Innovation and Employment’s 

(MBIE) Regional Tourism Estimate 

lists Hamilton and Waikato 

as the fifth largest region in 

New Zealand in terms of visitor 

expenditure (behind Auckland, 

Wellington, Christchurch and 

Queenstown). An estimated 

$1.456 billion was spent in the 

region for the year ending October 

2017, an increase of six 

per cent on the previous year. 

Commercial guest nights for 

the Waikato region are also rising. 

The latest Commercial Accommodation 

Monitor figures 

released by MBIE show three 

percent year-on-year growth 

for the year ended November 

2017, a total of 1.42 million 

guest nights. 

“With a number of new 

businesses in the area and record 

numbers attending events 

such as Equidays and Fieldays 

at nearby Mystery Creek 

Events Centre, demand for accommodation 

near the airport 

has grown,” Mr Spencer said. 

As well as purchasing the 

hotel and conference centre, 

the airport company has recently 

established five new 

fully-equipped meeting spaces 

within the Hamilton Airport 

terminal building. 

WRAL chief executive 

Mark Morgan said the airport 

receives a steady stream of inquires 

for conference facilities 

and meeting rooms. 

“Our new facilities have 

already proven popular to businesses 

who regularly utilise the 

airport,” he said. “They will 

complement the existing facilities 

already at the Airport Hotel 

and Conference Centre.” 

WRAL is a council-controlled 

organisation owned by 

Hamilton City, Otorohanga, 

Waipa, Waikato and Matamata-Piako 

District Councils and 

is the umbrella for subsidiary 

companies; Hamilton Airport, 

Hamilton & Waikato Tourism 

and Titanium Park Limited. 

New boss at Momentum 

Hamilton City Council’s 

high profile general 

manger city growth Kelvyn 

Eglinton has been appointed 

as Momentum Waikato’s 

new chief executive. 

Mr Eglinton will take up the 

role at the community foundation 

in mid-March. Founding 

chief executive Cheryl Reynolds 

has left after four years 

at the helm to establish a new 

social enterprise for generosity. 

Momentum Waikato chairman 

Leonard Gardner says 

he is pleased the foundation’s 

board has appointed Mr Eglinton. 

“We are grateful Kelvyn 

is joining us. He has a very 

strong background in community 

engagement and growth 

and that, combined with his 

strategic approach, will drive 

Momentum Waikato through 

its next important phase.” 

Mr Gardner says Mr Eglinton 

is a strong supporter of the 

Waikato region, and will be a 

perfect fit for what is a unique 

role in New Zealand. 

Momentum Waikato Community 

Foundation is an independent, 

permanent resource 

for high-impact philanthropic 

giving within the Waikato region, 

linking generous donors 

to strategic charitable investments 

targeted at transformational 

change. Among other 

things it is currently convening 

donations to deliver the new 

Waikato Regional Theatre. 

Mr Eglinton, who has held 

the city growth role at Hamilton 

City Council for two years, 

has a strong background in 

corporate social responsibility 

in mining in New Zealand and 

Australasia, and has long-term 

connections to Waikato. 

“The Momentum CEO role 

was very attractive because 

my background is in working 

across communities and within 

corporate organisations, particularly 

around corporate social 

responsibility. Waikato is on 

the cusp of great things and 

Momentum Waikato is aligned 

with many good business people 

seeking to make the region 

a better place.” 

He plans to build on the 

work already put in place by 

Ms Reynolds and the Momentum 

Waikato team to specialise 

in brokering deals by connecting 

donors and projects, and to 

make Waikato the most generous 

region in the world. 

“We have about 460,000 

people across our region, making 

us the third biggest economy 

in New Zealand. We have 

communities wanting to build 

a sense of place, a strong iwi 

in Waikato Tainui and solid opportunities 

to leverage across 

projects and programmes. So, 

we’re big enough to trial things 

but we’re flexible and have 

great connections, and therefore 

we can adapt and amend 

quickly if we need to.” 

Mr Eglinton says Momentum 

Waikato already has the 

support of many generous individual 

donors, and he’ll also 

be looking to work with corporate, 

iwi and community organisations 

to benefit the Waikato 

community. “Corporate social 

responsibility is still really in 

its infancy in New Zealand, 

but we are seeing great changes 

in many industries. I hope to 

New Momentum chief 

executive Kelvyn Eglinton. 

be able to talk with companies 

here about providing benefits 

to communities in such a way 

that makes good sense to organisations.”

25 

Master the art of networking 

While it is necessary to grow your online 

professional networks though the likes of 

LinkedIn, this should never replace face-toface 

business networking. 

Networking is an essential 

part of building relationships, 

opening yourself 

up to new ideas or ways of 

thinking, seeking opportunities 

and raising your profile. In fact, 

it’s the personal connections 

you make that will create referrals 

for you and your business. 

There are very few natural 

networkers. Most business 

owners and professionals must 

work at it. The good news is 

there are some easy things you 

can do to improve your networking 

skills and success. 

Here are a few tips to get 

you started: 

1. Be one of the first to arrive. 

Don’t be late, but rather 

try and arrive a few minutes 

early. The event will 

not be busy yet, making 

it easier to find people to 

introduce yourself too. This 

is a lot less daunting thant 

trying to break into already 

established groups deep in 

conversations. 

2. Try to ask open questions 

when meeting people. Use 

who, what, where, or when, 

rather than something that 

can be answered with a simple 

yes or no. This encourages 

discussion and shows 

listeners that you are interested 

in them. 

3. Don’t focus on selling 

your product or service. 

Networking is about building 

connections. There is 

nothing more off-putting 

than people who try to hard 

sell themselves or their 

business. People will want 

to speak with and are more 

likely to do business with 

you afterwards if you connect 

with them on a personal 

and authentic level. 

4. Remember people’s names. 

To help, repeat people’s 

names back to them when 

they introduce themselves. 

Then use the name 

once or twice throughout 

the conversation. 

This will help you cement 

their name and face into 

your memory banks. 

5. Be prepared. Know how to 

tell people what you do or 

what your business is about 

in a few sentences. Also 

have business cards handy 

so you can easily give them 

out. 

6. Share your passion. People 

are more likely to remember 

you and connect with you if 

you share why you do what 

you do. 

7. Smile - smiling is a networking 

super power. Not 

only will it make you feel 

more comfortable, it will 

put others at ease too. You 

will come across as warm 

and inviting and someone 

people want to meet and 

talk to. 

8. Follow-up. There is no 

point networking if you are 

not going to do the work 

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS 

> BY DARREN MCGARVIE 

Darren McGarvie is co-founder and Chief Coach of the 

Firestation, the Bay’s only business growth centre. To find out 

more go to www.thefirestation.nz or email grow@thefirestation.nz 

after the event. Connect on 

LinkedIn with the people 

you have met, and if appropriate 

follow up with an 

email or phone call. 

Now you have the skills 

and knowledge, find out where 

you can practise them. Search 

for networking groups in your 

area. You will be pleasantly 

surprised in what is around. 

In the Bay of Plenty we have 

the usual Chamber functions, 

but a host of other groups and 

events including Rotorua X, 

Tauranga Entrepreneurship 

Meetup, Export NZ, EMA 

Briefings, The Networking 

Group, INfuzed and BNI to 

name just a few. 

If you’re unsure what’s 

around, then reach out to a 

local coworking space or economic 

development agency, 

as they usually know what’s 

around. 

So, get started now. Find 

out what’s available, put events 

in your diary and put these tips 

into action. You will quickly 

see your connections and networks 

grow and the positive 

impact it will have on your 

business. 

Connect your business with Tauranga's 

most connected networking group 

“The Networking Group is committed to connecting, improving and growing 

New Zealand businesses in a structured networking environment.” 

TNG is different to other networking groups in the sense 

that we create a relaxed atmosphere for you to network and 

grow your businesses through word of mouth marketing. 

Our meetings allow you to feel comfortable and enjoy 

yourself whilst investing time to work on your business. 

Visit us today: Meetings are held fortnightly on 

Wednesday’s and the following Thursday’s at 

9am-10am, The Raft Cafe, Bay Central Tauranga. 

Keen to start your own group in another region of the 

Bay of Plenty with our marketing and systems, please contact: 

Melanie Budden – The Networking Group 

Tel: 021 209 3210 e: sales@tng.org.nz 

www.tng.org.nz 

P6407Y


Finding a way through the 

cryptocurrency maze 

A new financial and social paradigm is 

upon us with the rise of cryptocurrencies, 

initial coin offerings (ICOs), and other 

emerging blockchain applications and 

technologies. 

Currently, governments 

and regulatory bodies 

around the world are 

grappling with if, and how, 

they should regulate cryptocurrencies 

and ICOs. But regulation 

of one does not necessarily 

mean the regulation of 

the other. While they are enabled 

by the same technology, 

cryptocurrencies and ICOs are 

fundamentally different. 

Cryptocurrencies such 

as Bitcoin are decentralised 

digital currencies whose creation, 

regulation and exchange 

is facilitated by encryption 

techniques. ICOs are usually 

a form of fundraising for entities 

or ventures where investors 

typically exchange one of 

the main cryptocurrencies for 

digital tokens that carry certain 

rights or benefits for the 

investor. 

Regulation to date has 

focused upon ICOs and trying 

to capture them within countries’ 

existing financial market 

laws. 

Many regulators, including 

New Zealand’s Financial 

Markets Authority (FMA), 

accept the need to embrace 

the pursuit of technological 

advancement and new and 

REGULATORY MATTERS 

> BY GRANT NEAGLE 

Grant Neagle, a director at Ingham Mora Chartered Accountants 

in Tauranga, is a business advisor and tax specialist. He can be 

contacted on 07- 927- 1225 or grant@inghammora.co.nz 

innovative techniques of capital 

raising. But at the same 

time they rightly believe this 

shouldn’t compromise established 

and proven approaches 

to protecting investors and 

markets. 

The FMA has released its 

view on how ICOs will be 

regulated by the FMA. While 

recognising that some ICOs 

may not fit squarely within one 

of the categories of financial 

products governed by the NZ 

legislation, it reserves the right 

to adopt a substance over form 

approach and classify ICOs 

into the financial product category 

it thinks best describes 

the ICO’s economic attributes. 

Regulation of cryptocurrencies 

seems to be the hotter 

debate. Some countries’ regulators 

are uneasy, particularly 

in the case of Asian countries 

threatened by cryptocurrencies’ 

ability to skirt their strict 

foreign exchange laws. 

Countries and states such 

as Singapore, Dubai and 

Switzerland are acutely aware 

of the economic and social 

benefits that attracting crypto 

business can bring and are 

actively courting them. The 

Swiss canton of Zug - commonly 

referred to as “Crypto 

Valley” and home of crypto-giants 

Ethereum, Tezos and 

ShapeShift - is seen as a regulatory 

and tax-friendly place to 

headquarter crypto businesses. 

There is a huge opportunity 

for NZ to be neutral if not 

friendly in this space. Crypto 

businesses are growing at a 

rapid pace, creating jobs and 

generating massive revenues. 

NZ should be proactive and 

playing on its status as the 

easiest country in the world to 

do business. 

Tax regulation of cryptocurrencies 

is a given, at least 

in NZ. Income is taxable here 

regardless of the form it is 

received in, so those that mine, 

trade or invest in crypto will 

likely be subject to tax. 

However, the IRD is still 

ironing out the finer details 

and grappling with some of 

the complexities. Issues to be 

addressed may include businesses 

paid in crypto for goods 

and services, employees paid 

in crypto, mining rewards, and 

GST. 

The groundswell for government 

and mainstream 

acceptance of cryptocurrency 

is growing. Arizona in the US 

has recently passed a bill that 

makes it possible for its residents 

to pay their state taxes 

in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

Other jurisdictions 

have already, or are planning 

to follow suit. The NZ IRD 

should be considering allowing 

this too as it is of real benefit 

to cryptocentric businesses, 

given how tricky it can be to 

exchange cryptocurrency into 

regular fiat currency. 

A lot of the criticism levelled 

at cryptocurrencies is 

coming from financial intermediaries 

whose business models 

and existence it threatens. It 

would seem the threat of disintermediation 

is too great to 

take lying down. The incumbents 

are jostling for position 

in the face of an upstart competitor 

growing in strength and 

stature by the minute. 

Crypto advocates are quick 

to point out that ultimately it 

does not matter who supports 

it or does not, as it has a 

life and an agenda of its own 

– its decentralised, encrypted 

nature means it is a runaway 

train that can’t be stopped. 

The comments in this article 

are of a general nature 

and should not be relied on 

for specific cases, where readers 

should seek professional 

advice. 

USE VIDEO 

IN SOCIAL 

MEDIA TO 

GET BETTER 

RESULTS 

FOR YOUR 

BUSINESS. 

VIDEO CONTENT IS KING - your business needs engaging media for your 

message to be SEEN on your social media, web and digital marketing. 

PRODUCTIONS 

www.visionproductions.co.nz 

Use video for your business today. 

Call Murray Maunder for a free, no obligation appraisal and quote for your business marketing today. 

Phone:021 922 118 | email: murray@visionproductions.co.nz 

P7020Y

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018 27


What does better business advice look like? 

You’re looking at it! 

In business the best advice comes from experience. 

What’s more, the depth of that experience profoundly 

influences the quality of the advice. More experience. 

Better advice. At Ingham Mora we are fiercely proud 

of the depth of experience of our senior partners and 

team that combines with our innovative, energetic and 

forward-thinking new partners and associates. 

It’s a dynamic combination that speaks to our heritage 

and our future. Most importantly it speaks to what we 

deliver to our clients – quite simply, more. 

Experience. The difference adds up. 

07 927 1200 

60 Durham St, Tauranga 

www.inghammora.co.nz

Bay of Plenty Business News February/March 2018

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