May 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

BOP
PERSONALITY
PROFILE
Finding a vocation
on the sea
Jon Jon Peters knows he carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. As Bay of Plenty
Regional Council’s Harbourmaster and Marine Manager, he is responsible for keeping the
community safe while they use our local rivers, lakes and harbours.
Jon Jon Peters
While the number of
on-water rule breaches
is up this summer from
last, Harbourmaster Jon Jon Peters
says the maritime team are making
a difference across the Bay
and the majority of water users are
complying with the rules that keep
them safe and more importantly
alive.
The father of three grew up in
Central India – landlocked hundreds
of kilometres from any open
water. His father, the late Tony
Peters is of Indian descent from
Goa and his mother’s family is
from England.
His father had many sea captains
as friends and they would
tell the small impressionable Jon
Jon stories of the open seas and
adventures they had thousands of
kilometers away from home.
At the age of four, he sailed
from Mombasa, Kenya to Bombay
returning home from visiting family
members working as expats on
the East African shores – he was
sold, it was the life for him.
“I fell in love with the sea – I
drew tattoos of anchors, boats and
waves up and down my arms day
dreaming of the open waters,” he
said.
After completing school and
working at other jobs, he joined the
Merchant Navy as a deck cadet.
He travelled across oceans for
10 years on super tankers slowly
moving his way up the ranks until
he graduated as a sea captain.
While on vacation, he met his wife
Michelle – who was working for
an airline in Hong Kong
“I was sailing and she was
flying.”
The pair soon had their first
son, and settled in Hong Kong
for around 10 years and were land
locked once again, but over the
next 20 years, Jon Jon’s career
crossed over different aspects of
the shipping world.
From being the general manager
of a port, operations manager
and cargo superintendent across
West Africa to China to the Americas
– he knows the industry inside
out and has the stories to go with
it.
In 2000, he was a mate on
board a product tanker when a
massive storm hit off the coast of
Newfoundland.
It was -18 degrees outside and
9m high waves were smashing
over the ship when Jon Jon was
summoned to the captain’s quarters.
The captain of the ship had
passed away and Jon Jon was left
in charge to sail the ship to shore
through the storm, which lasted
two days.
Although attracted to a life at
sea, his fondest memories through
his career have included places
close to shore including travelling
up the Kiel Canal in Germany and
transporting large ships up and
over the Soo Locks in America.
Peters and his family first immigrated
to New Zealand around 18
years ago, but then finally returned
five years ago after working as an
expatriate overseas – he was after
a little slice of paradise and a place
to call home after so many years
traveling abroad.
He spent the last five years in
Tauranga working for Maritime
New Zealand, but secured his
position as the new Bay of Plenty
Regional Council Harbourmaster
in late 2020.
Each summer the Maritime
team patrol the Bay of Plenty
waters ensuring that boats and
other personal watercraft vessels
May 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 15
are following the rules.
Jon Jon knows he has a challenging
role keeping the community
safe, but that is what drew him
to the job.
Jon Jon said flouting the rules
is just not worth it.
“Most drownings occur
because a person isn’t wearing a
life jacket. It’s about safety - we
are not here to hand out infringements,
we are here to save lives,”
he said.
“If you don’t follow the rules
you are a danger to yourself and
to the rest of the community – the
rules are here to save lives – nothing
more.
“That is my biggest challenge,
getting this message across to the
community. We are here to keep
you safe and alive.”
If you have broken a rule on
Bay of Plenty waters, you will
receive a Breach Notice from the
Harbourmaster, which includes a
warning with a letter of explanation,
but no further action will be
taken.
If your offence is deemed
unforgivable, you will receive an
infringement notice, with details
of your offence and a $200 fine to
be paid.
However, before handing out
an infringement, the Harbourmaster
will look at a few things.
“The attitude of the offender,
have they breached before, do they
just not know better for example
or are from out of the region. But
if you are arrogant and just flouting
the law… then you will be
fined.”
“It is a challenging job at
times and you have to be cautious
of not making a wrong call – but
the most important thing for me is
keeping my eye on the ball which
is the safety of the community.
“Some people won’t like that
but if it’s good for the community
then I am going to do it. I have to
look at the bigger picture.”
NEWSBRIEF
Tech in the Bay:
Not a world away
The BOP has more in common with
Silicon Valley than many of us
realise. Sure we’re not the home of
Google or Apple, but we punch above our
weight.
In the June issue we will be running our
first quarterly Tech in the Bay supplement.
Every month we see new developments in
the tech sector right here on our doorstep –
incredibly these often go largely unnoticed
by the general public; There are looks of
astonishment when down the track those
very same local innovators make headlines
on the world stage.
We believe the tech sector will continue
to become an increasingly important part
of or local economy and we have an exciting
job to do - we will be telling the stories
of what our innovators are doing.
Look for Tech in the Bay in the June
issue of BOP Business News. If you have a
story you think we should know, contact us
now: info@bopbusinessnews.co.nz
Dunne moves on
After five years as chief executive
of Tourism Bay of Plenty, Kristin
Dunne is moving on.
Under Dunne’s leadership, Tourism
Bay of Plenty has delivered significant
outcomes for Tauranga and the Coastal
Bay of Plenty, including growth of more
than 65 percent in visitor spend, worth just
over $1 billion to the local economy, the
organisation said in a recent statement.
An advocate for iwi and hapu engagement,
Dunne inspired the co-created strategic
plan, Te Ha Tapoi | The Love of
Tourism, that she leaves as a legacy and
Tourism Bay of Plenty chairperson Laurissa
Cooney said she was leaving behind
“significant shoes” to fill.
“Kristin’s leadership has been particularly
inspiring as the region faced crises
in Whakaari/White Island and Covid-19,”
said Cooney. “The Board of Tourism Bay
of Plenty wish to thank Kristin for her
unstinting effort to create a visitor economy
that regenerates our people and place.
We appreciate Kristin has not made this
decision lightly. While we are sorry to see
her leave us, we respect her decision and
thank her for all she has helped achieve for
the destination.”
Current Tourism Bay of Plenty trustee
Oscar Nathan will step down from the
board to fulfil the acting leadership role
until July 1, while searching for a permanent
chief executive.
Nathan said the organisation was in
great shape to keep delivering its strategic
plan. “The team at Tourism Bay of Plenty
are a talented bunch of people, fiercely
dedicated to what they do, and extremely
passionate about the region.”
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