September/October 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 VOLUME 5: ISSUE 9 

WWW.BOPBUSINESSNEWS.CO.NZ 

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September/October 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 3 

Muller contemplates life after parliament 

One of the most interesting political trajectories Bay 

of Plenty citizens have seen in local politics has been 

Western Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller’s brief tilt at 

the National leadership and his recently announced 

decision to retire at the end of his term. 

By DAVID PORTER 

Muller recently spoke with Bay 

of Plenty Business News on 

the events surrounding his 

decision to leave active politics. 

Muller was reluctant to go into 

too much detail over the spat with 

the National leadership, which 

seems to have been the trigger for the 

move. It has been widely canvassed 

that his relationship with National 

leader Judith Collins has not been 

close. 

“The reality that became clear 

recently is that the relationship with 

the current leadership is not good,” 

said Muller. 

“I don’t have a particularly good 

relationship between myself and the 

leader and it’s essentially broken 

down, but these things happen in your 

personal and professional life. I’m 

pretty open to other options.” 

Muller handily won re-election at 

the most recent elections and is now 

finishing up what will be nine years 

as an MP. 

“It’s just become clear to me that 

it’s time to apply myself outside of 

the [parliament] building at the end of 

my term,” he said. 

“Nine years is a decent run. 

You’ve got to make sure you feel 

you can make a contribution in a way 

that’s in line with your values and 

your approach to life. And I think certainly 

over the last year I have found 

that pretty difficult.” 

Muller in a shock move just over 

a year ago ousted fellow Tauranga 

MP Simon Bridges from the leadership, 

but very quickly succumbed 

to a severe anxiety attack and soon 

stepped down from the leadership 

role. 

“I was determined to come back 

after that if I had the support of the 

You’ve got to make sure you feel you can make 

a contribution in a way that’s in line with your 

values and your approach to life. And I think 

certainly over the last year I have found that pretty 

difficult.” – Todd Muller 

Todd Muller clarifies his shock resignation move. Photo/Supplied 

BOP electorate, which I did. I got 

back on the horse and enjoyed campaigning 

and door knocking. Now 

as we come into a year and ending a 

third term, I’ve decided it’s time to 

move on.” 

Muller emphasized that he would 

be using his remaining time in parliament 

to work towards helping accomplish 

the party’s goals. 

“But I made my resignation 

decision with an increasing sense 

of excitement about what could be 

around the corner,” he said. 

As Muller acknowledges, it is a 

matter of public record that he found 

the leadership battle “brutal and 

acute” and that he had an acute breakdown, 

which drew widespread interest 

and sympathy from a large part of 

his electorate. 

Muller, who moved to Tauranga in 

1970, has a long relationship with the 

area as had his late father who was a 

well-respected member of the kiwifruit 

industry. 

Todd Muller has spent much of his 

working life in the kiwifruit and dairy 

industries and is deeply interested in 

agribusiness. 

“I haven’t turned my mind yet to 

future work, but I have my focus very 

much on some key areas.” 

These include the provision of 

mental health services in the BOP, and 

Muller is especially aggrieved that the 

current government has not delivered 

on its initial promise to improve on 

Tauranga’s mental health provision, 

especially in growing Papamoa. 

He is also concerned about the 

flawed nexus between housing and 

transport provision and how inadequate 

both have been planned for in 

this city. 

“It’s a real frustration for a number 

of years that governments have 

not invested in the way they should 

have for this city,”said Muller. 

“It’s as if we’re caught in a historic 

paradigm that we’re a little village out 

by the sea as opposed to the reality 

that we’re now 160,000 people and 

the fifth biggest city in the country.” 

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CONTACT INFORMATION 

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Ph: 021 733 536 

Email: alan@bopbusinessnews.co.nz 

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Baypark Arena is celebrating 10 years. 

From the editor 

We are delighted to celebrate in this month’s cover story the 

continuing strength of Trustpower Baypark Arena as the imposing 

landmark celebrates its 10 th year as an entity. 

It hasn’t been easy for the 

management and staff, especially 

in the past year or so 

as the organisation has grappled 

with the consequences 

of Covid-19 and the difficulty 

of forward planning in such a 

volatile environment. Nonetheless 

they have continued 

to drive on, as have so many 

other companies in the Bay of 

Plenty, despite the difficulties 

of living with the extremes of 

the pandemic. 

We went to print just before 

the Government announced its 

latest long-term survival plan 

for navigating the pandemic. 

This country is undoubtedly 

blessed, as we have remarked 

before, to be several thousand 

miles away from new sources 

of infection and to have a 

rather small population. 

However, there is evidence 

that New Zealand’s leadership, 

which has to date survived the 

global Covid-19 crisis better 

than most worldwide, is 

beginning to feel the negative 

impact of a now somewhat 

jaundiced electorate. 

As reported last month, the 

latest Newshub Reid Research 

poll had ruling Labour down 

9.7 points to 43 percent, while 

the National Party was up 1.7 

points to 28.7 percent. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, 

the ACT party scored its highest 

ever Reid-Research rating, 

up 4.2 points to 11.1 percent 

of the vote. 

ACT leader David Seymour, 

always a shrewd politician, 

was quoted as saying that 

Labour’s loss was both ACT 

and National’s gain. 

“The real story of this poll 

is both ACT and National rising,” 

said Seymour. “I believe 

that’s due to disillusionment 

Research indicates that over 

the next three decades, huge 

investment will be required to 

ensure all New Zealand communities 

continue to have the safe, effective and 

sustainable water, wastewater and stormwater 

services they need.” – Anne Tolley 

Community input sought on three 

waters reform proposal – p16 

with the government’s performance 

on substantial issues, 

being housing, the Covid-19 

recovery and law and order on 

the streets.” 

The National Party remains 

a clear second in the poll, and 

while their boost was not as 

dramatic as that received by 

ACT, National leader Collins 

said she was happy with the 

results. 

“ACT coming up is ultimately 

good for National 

because we’re also going up 

so it’s not as though it’s taking 

votes off us.” 

ACT leader David Seymour 

was just as keen to 

talk up joining forces with 

National – pitching the parties 

had two years until the next 

election to close a 10-point 

gap. 

Prime Minister Jacinda 

Ardern still clearly leads the 

David Porter 

preferred prime minister rankings 

– down 2.6 points to 45.5 

percent – but Seymour has 

now passed Collins. 

Given that Labour has 

enjoyed its ability to transmit 

its version of how well it 

thinks it has handled Covid- 

19, especially on television, 

with relatively little negative 

comment from the mass 

media, it is not hard to think 

that the latest poll may have 

sent a few shivers down the 

leading party’s collective 

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No end in sight for shipping delays 

The head of Port of 

Tauranga is cautioning 

that shipping delays 

and problems are likely 

to linger for many more 

months as the global 

struggle with covid 

continues. 

By RICHARD RENNIE 

Leonard Sampson, Port of Tauranga 

CEO said the greatest 

impediment to smooth cargo 

handling at the port in past months 

has been the increase in ships failing 

to keep to arrival schedules. 

“Typically, we would have three 

company services a week on the 

Asia-Australia-New Zealand route, 

and so that service required about six 

vessels over a 49-day rotation. 

“But at present that rotation is 63 

days, with no more vessels coming 

on. This equates to eight-to-nine less 

sailings a year – over three companies 

that is 24 less a year.” 

Less container vessels 

docking 

But he said Port of Tauranga has 

had 106 less container vessels dock 

between October last year and July 

this year, due to delays and scheduling 

changes. “So capacity is down, 

but the demand is still there.” 

This has been accompanied by 

a “very strong” July for container 

demand, despite July typically being 

the low point of the exporting season. 

Globally shipping schedules have 

reportedly fallen to all-time lows for 

reliability, with New Zealand schedules 

for most ports reported at only 

five-to-six percent accuracy, compared 

to historical averages of 80-90 

percent. 

POA delays 

Sampson said limitations at the Port 

of Auckland had also hampered Tauranga’s 

ability to maintain container 

flow, with some ships only partially 

discharging cargo there, instead delivering 

it to Tauranga and requiring it to 

be trucked back to Auckland. 

The particularly high number of 

containers deposited on Port of Tauranga 

land at present is due to lack of 

storage space in Auckland. 

Marty Verry, chief executive of 

Rotorua timber processor Red Stag, 

which exports to Asia, Africa, Australia, 

Europe, and the US, said exporting 

has been particularly problematic 

in recent months. 

“And it seems to be getting worse. 

Maersk vessel: Working with Maersk, Kotahi has managed to 

reduce congestion by adding additional capacity. Photo/Supplied. 

The supply lines never got a chance 

to disentangle and run smoothly last 

year when Covid hit before the world 

starting booming and demanding 

more products, leading to a massive 

increase in demand. This was led by 

the United States.” 

Major increases in the pipeline 

While still on a contracted rate for 

shipping, he anticipated some major 

increases once the contract ended. 

David Ross of Kotahi: high 

levels of port congestion. 

Photo/supplied. 

The Baltic Dry Index, an indicator 

of global shipping costs, has just hit 

its highest level in a decade and more 

than double what it was a year ago. 

Shipments to Australia have 

been particularly problematic, either 

delayed, “bumped” or interrupted. 

The delays were making filling 

orders difficult, with customers often 

forced to accept only partially complete 

orders in a country also struggling 

to source sufficient timber for 

construction. 

David Ross, chief executive of 

freight company Kotahi said the 

majority of American and European 

ports are suffering from prolonged 

berth delays and high levels of port 

congestion. 

Many ports throughout China are 

also heavily congested and gridlock 

every time Covid resurfaces there. 

He said New Zealand’s shipping 

schedules are lower than the global 

average reliability of 39.1 percent. 

“The Port of Auckland’s challenges 

with port congestion and shipping 

schedule reliability continues to 

disrupt shipping schedules for New 

Zealand ports. 

“Their automation project has 

been paused to try get ahead of these 

challenges, however these conditions 

are expected to last until mid-to-late 

next year.” 

He anticipated New Zealand 

The world’s largest shipbuilder, China State 

Shipbuilding Corp hit its 2021 annual target in 

only six months this year, while demand for bulk 

freighters has jumped 140 percent.” 

would continue to see pinch points 

on capacity to some regions over the 

coming 12 months. 

Working with Maersk, Kotahi has 

managed to reduce congestion by 

adding additional capacity. 

Challenges in the system 

Ross acknowledged that for exporters 

of chilled products the current supply 

chain conditions are a challenge. 

“We work with our strategic partners 

to ensure our customers’ chilled 

products aren’t further delayed, by 

focusing on what we can control such 

as equipment supply, capacity availability 

and ensuring their product gets 

off the port and onto a vessel. 

“Through the strength of our collaboration 

with partners, we have 

been able to keep our customers’ 

product moving, however it’s been 

hard yards.” 

Leonard Sampson said he did 

not believe the congestion and delay 

issues were a “this year, next year” 

issue, something Marty Verry agreed 

with. 

“This may be something that is 

likely to continue to be with us for the 

next two to three years,” said Verry. 

Sampson said capacity balance 

was unlikely to be achieved until 

either more ships were commissioned, 

or the world returned to a 

point where consumers spent more 

on services like tourism, rather than 

goods that require freight capacity. 

The world’s largest shipbuilder, 

China State Shipbuilding Corp hit its 

2021 annual target in only six months 

this year, while demand for bulk 

freighters has jumped 140 percent. 

Sampson said this came after 

a record number of vessels were 

reported anchored and idle only 14 

months ago. 

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From concept to 

reality to meet 

community needs 

Trustpower Arena at Baypark is celebrating ten years 

of activity since opening in late August 2011 

By 2005 the need for a new recreation, 

event and exhibition space for the growing 

city of Tauranga – which at the time 

had a population of approximately 100,000 – 

was identified. At the time there were several 

single court facilities dotted around the area 

in addition to the QEYC. There was also the 

Mount Action Centre and a four-court facility 

in a converted storage warehouse – these were 

a gauge of the city’s requirements for more 

court space. 

Meanwhile Baypark speedway had been 

re-established at the Baypark site on Truman 

Lane. The site boasted some 17 hectares of 

useable space, had great carparking and was 

a relatively central location. 

The decision was made to build a new 

facility, initially named TISEC – Tauranga 

Indoor Sports and Exhibition Centre – at Baypark. 

It was intended to be a multipurpose 

facility for the region, accommodating community 

sports and other events. 

Research was undertaken in contemporary 

venues throughout NZ and a concept was settled 

upon. Architects and contractors were 

engaged and in early 2010 the first earthworks 

commenced, officiated by then Mayor Stuart 

Crosby. 

On time and within budget 

In late August 2011 the new venue, named the 

TECT Arena to recognise TECT’s financial 

contribution to the project, was opened, on 

time and within budget – testimony to those 

managing the project. 

The first event was the NZ Wrestling 

Championships, followed soon after by the 

massive Police Charity Luncheon, the first 

catered event in the new venue with just over 

1000 people in attendance. Community sports 

such as netball, basketball, football and volleyball 

soon followed. The community immediately 

responded with over 250,000 users in 

the first 9 months of operating. This figure 

grew to one million visitors in early 2014 (in 

July 2021 visitors numbered 4 

million). 

Although something of a ‘baptism 

of fire’ for the operators, the launch was a 

huge success and the venue has gone from 

strength to strength since that time. Since 

opening patronage has increased every year 

(until rudely interrupted by the covid outbreak 

in 2020). 

Build it and they will come 

The classic, “build it and they will come” 

approach applied perfectly to the venue development. 

It has provided opportunities for a 

vast range of community participation events 

and event promoters, sports administrators 

and business organisations have brought a 

vast range of entertainment and commercial 

activities to the city. 

The Arena has on many occasions hosted 

the Silver Ferns and netball tournaments, 

international basketball fixtures, NZ basketball 

finals, NZ gymnastics, 

NZ weightlifting, NZ wrestling and 

volleyball championships. One of the early 

highlights was the setting up of an indoor tennis 

court for an international tennis Davis Cup 

match. 

Meanwhile the demand for community 

sports and activities continues to grow with 

major local, regional and national tournaments 

a feature of the calendar. 

The venues contemporary design has seen 

it stand out and ten years after opening it 

still represents the high-water mark of such 

facilities in NZ. It is however now bursting 

at the seams with the growing population and 

associated increase in demand for space; The 

time is now right to expand the city’s amenities 

further. Planned expansion now could be 

every bit as inspirational as when the Arena 

was originally launched. 

Tauranga City Council, shareholder of 

Bay Venues Limited, is delighted to wish 

Baypark Arena and its staff a very 

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HAPPY 10 TH 

BIRTHDAY 

Bay Venues plays a major role in helping 

Council make Tauranga better, by enhancing the 

lives and experiences of residents and visitors 

across the city through its community facilities. 

TRUSTPOWER ARENA PROVIDES THE PERFECT SETTING FOR A WIDE RANGE OF 

CATERED EVENTS, EXHIBITIONS, CONCERTS AND MORE.


A facility for 

the whole 

community 

The Trustpower Arena is not only home 

to local indoor sporting codes, it also 

hosts numerous regional and national 

tournaments. 

Almost every day the six-court side of the 

venue is abuzz with a variety of community 

activities. 

Most weekday mornings start off with 

Tumble Time, a play-based programme for 

pre-schoolers, where the number of caregivers 

and toddlers can be up to 100 per session. 

During the day the courts can be filled with 

primary school-aged children attending one 

of their favourite outings, Funky Fun Days, 

where the Arena programmes team facilitate a 

range of sporting, recreational and play activities 

which have school students coming back 

for more each term. 

Space for people to drop in and 

shoot hoops 

On other days Pickleball, or Walking Basketball 

take centre stage, both sporting activities 

for active retirees with space for people to 

drop in and shoot hoops. 

The afternoons attract teams of youths 

turning up to play basketball or volleyball. 

Then come the evenings when secondary 

school students and adults get their chance to 

participate in their chosen indoor sport, be it 

basketball, netball, volleyball or football. 

Alongside the traditional structured sporting 

codes, locals can also participate in payfor-play 

sports leagues – a great way for 

groups of friends, families or work mates to 

participate in social sport. 

Sporting groups like Tauranga City Basketball 

have grown from strength to strength 

since the opening of Trustpower Arena. 

When the facility was first built, basketball 

occupied the space just one or two nights 

a week, but now basketball is being played 

every weekday during autumn and winter and 

often in the weekends. 

Arena hits the mark for AIMS games 

A feature of the annual calendar is the AIMS 

games, which utilises all the Arena spaces for 

the week of the games. 

The 6+3-court arrangement is a preferred 

destination for many indoor codes. For example, 

every year Basketball Pacific host the Mel 

Young Easter Basketball Tournament which 

attracts 10,000 visits to the venue. Likewise, 

Volleyball NZ frequently hosts the National 

Junior Volleyball Champs which attracts 

nearly 8,000 visits. 

Trustpower Arena contributes to the fabric 

of our community. It is a place where people 

can come to compete, recreate, socialise, 

hone their skills, eat and build connections 

with others. 

Congratulations 

to the Trustpower Baypark 

Arena for their success 

and positive contribution 

to our region over the 

last 10 years! 

We are proud to celebrate this milestone 

achievement with the Arena and the 

integral role they play in supporting our 

local communities. 

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www.trustpowerbaypark.co.nz


Baypark also means business 

The multi-use portfolio of Trustpower 

Arena is evident in the growth of business 

events. 

The Arena is promoted strongly 

through various commercial industries 

and hosts large expos, national conferences, 

numerous meetings, awards 

dinners and celebration events. 

As well as the state-of-the-art Lion 

Foundation Centre for expos, functions 

and plenary sessions for conferences, the 

Arena boasts purpose-built suites for breakout 

rooms to compliment any business event. 

The suites are also preferred spaces for many 

local business meetings. The variety of events 

cater for young families through to seniors. 

Attendance at all the business events 

has increased annually and post 2020 

covid lockdown there has been on average 

a 30% increase in numbers to the variety 

of events such as Tauranga Home Show, 

Seriously Good Food Show, Wedding Show 

and Armageddon. 

Notable national conferences also feature 

prominently, such as Zespri Momentum, 

Stormwater NZ, Fire protection NZ, and NZ 

Bridge Congress and Competition; All bring 

large numbers of people to Tauranga and the 

area. 

That’s entertainment! 

The level and variety of entertainment 

has grown substantially 

since opening in 2011. 

Initially, with the Arena 

being a new regional venue, 

concert promoters needed 

to gain confidence in the market. 

Despite small beginnings, 

the range has broadened and the 

number of concerts has grown to 

around 20 per year – and this could 

be an even greater number 

if more short-notice 

dates and spaces were 

available for promoters. 

Trustpower Arena has 

also played a large 

part in the Summer 

Bay Dreams 

Festival. 

S o m e 

highlights 

h a v e 

been the 

sold-out 

concerts 

by the 

Beach 

Boys, Dr 

Hook and the 

Hollies, showing 

that there is a 

market for the nostalgia of yester-year. 

The entertainment mix has included a 

diverse range of both international and New 

Zealand artists – Sol3 Mio, Jimmy Barnes, 

Bill Bailey, Dionne Warwick, Slash, Stan 

Walker, 7 Days, Devilskin, Kora, Katchafire, 

The Feelers, Dragon, Broods, Good 

Vibes Winter Festival, Blindspott, Tones & 

I, Sticky fingers, Macky Gee, Kanine and 

more – have all played in the Arena. 

Trustpower Arena has been turned into a 

theatre for productions such as Madagascar, 

Merchants of Bollywood, Saturday Night 

Fever and The Sound of Music. The success 

of these productions indicates that the community 

enjoy the entertainment the Arena is 

able to provide. 

The future is bright for Trustpower Arena 

with back-to-back events and bookings 

through until 2025. The community can 

look forward to activities and many exciting 

events to come. 

Celebrating ten years 

of innovative events together 

AMPLIFY YOUR EXPERIENCE 

eventsinnovated.com 

TRUSTPOWER ARENA PROVIDES THE PERFECT SETTING FOR A WIDE RANGE OF 

CATERED EVENTS, EXHIBITIONS, CONCERTS AND MORE.


BOP 

PERSONALITY 

PROFILE 

Trustpower Baypark Arena: 

A great investment by Council 

If there’s one person you need to talk to about what makes Trustpower Baypark Arena tick, that person is probably Bay Venues 

commercial manager Ervin McSweeney. Ervin has been commercial manager of the facility for seven years. Before that he was CEO of 

Baypark’s former council operator, Tauranga City Venues Ltd 

By ALAN NEBEN 

Ervin explained to me the earlier history 

of what he affectionately terms the ‘long 

journey’, when the old Baypark area 

was largely taken over for residential housing 

and Baypark raceway and stockcar track was 

replaced by the new stockcar track, ultimately 

resulting in the Baypark we see today. 

In 2005 the decision was made to build 

what is now Trustpower Baypark Arena. Construction 

commenced in February 2010 and 

the building opened a year and a half later. 

Hawkins Construction was the lead contractor 

for that project. 

According to McSweeney, “the Arena is in 

superb condition, particularly considering the 

number of people who have used it over the 

last 10 years.” 

“It really has proved to be a fantastic facility,” 

he says with a certain degree of pride. 

Is there need for expansion? McSweeney 

is quite objective: “The numbers say it all – 

the sheer volume of users is evidence of the 

demand. That demand has clearly been identified 

and continues to grow and grow.” 

He points out the venue has also provided 

a lot of opportunities for the community to be 

involved in numerous ways. 

He estimates that in early July 2021 the 

Arena welcomed its 4 millionth user – not an 

insignificant number by any standards. 

Operationally, a facility such as Trustpower 

Baypark Arena, with users numbering 

in the millions over a few short years, 

requires a skilled team of personnel; The 

Arena activities are broadly divided into two 

categories: the community sports and events, 

and the business activities. Servicing these 

broad categories is a catering team, a production 

team, venue and event operations staff, 

and the set-up and take-down staff who make 

the venue presentable. At any one time there 

can be 50-60 people working directly on an 

event – where there are very big events on, 

this number can be far bigger. 

It’s been a fantastic 

experience to be so closely 

involved.” 

– Ervin McSweeny 

“It’s one thing having some walls and 

a roof, but it’s what happens inside 

that counts” 

“Big events give us the opportunity to ultimately 

offer employment to large numbers 

of people, if not directly by us, then certainly 

enabled by our provision of the facilities – 

consider the labour force required to serve a 

meal for 600 people at an event for example, 

or at the other end of the scale, the numerous 

referees and support people who are needed 

to organise and officiate at community sports 

events held regularly at the arena.” 

“But it is far more than a building. It’s one 

thing having some walls and a roof, but it’s 

Ervin McSweeney, commercial 

manager, Bay Venues. Photo supplied. 

what happens inside that counts.” 

“I think that’s where the Arena really has 

provided such a fantastic facility for the community 

to enjoy,” says McSweeney. 

The fact that the usage numbers have 

grown as dramatically as they have in recent 

years is proof of the demand. 

“From a commercial business perspective, 

our facilities are leading edge. Businesses 

often need a turnkey solution for their business 

events, from training days, client and 

supplier functions or exhibitions to conferences 

and shareholder meetings – we have 

it all covered. We have a support team that 

really does it well with provision for business 

requirements of all types,” he says 

“It’s just a great experience for a lot 

of people” 

The Trustpower Baypark Arena now regularly 

hosts music and entertainment events 

that, until the arena was built, would never 

have come to the region. 

In particular McSweeney points to the 

Beachboys concert, the Davis Cup tennis tie 

and international basketball and netball games 

as absolute personal highlights for him. 

“From ‘Tumble Time’ for the tots, to 

pickle ball played by seniors – it’s just a great 

experience for a lot of people,” he says. 

As for suggestions that extensions to the 

arena may come to fruition sooner rather than 

later, McSweeney is hopeful: “The work is 

being done on looking at the city’s needs, 

demand has been identified, so we look forward 

to seeing developments.” 

His verdict so-far: “What a good investment 

it was; A very good decision was made 

by Council all those years ago.” 

Considering it has only been 10 years, to 

have built and grown a facility that is now 

unequivocally regarded as a success and a 

key foundation for the community really is 

remarkable. 

Keeping Trustpower 

Bay Park Arena Cool 

0800TEMP4U 

www.technicool.net.nz 



Trustpower Arena – 

officially double digits! 

Last month Trustpower Arena hit double digits. Unfortunately the latest Covid-19 

developments got in the way of our celebrations, but we will be doing our very 

best to ensure that all of our visitors are catered for. However, please note that 

although information on planned events previewed here is the most accurate 

available at the time of publishing, Covid restrictions may necessitate changes to 

scheduling. We recommend you check online for the most recent event updates. 

Women’s Lifestyle Expo 2021 

Do you need a girls’ day out? The 

Women’s Lifestyle Expo is a two-day 

event for woman of all ages, featuring 

everything from fashion and beauty 

to health and fitness, artisan good, 

gourmet food & beverages and much 

more! 

This is the only event of its kind 

happening in nine regions across New 

Zealand so grab your girlfriends, sisters, 

mum, grandma or daughters for 

the ultimate weekend at the Women’s 

Lifestyle Expo on Saturday 18 & 

Sunday 19 September. 

Tickets are just $10 at the door, or 

get a 2-for-1 deal on GrabOne in the 

lead-up to the show! Kids under 12 

are free. 

Stan Walker – All in Tour 

With no need for introductions, Stan 

Walker embarks on his nationwide 

‘ALL IN’ tour performing 9 spectacular 

shows across Aotearoa, singing all 

of his hit songs and some brand new 

music! 

Joining Stan Walker on his headline 

tour are renowned Kiwi artists 

Kingz, Louis Baker, Hamo 

Dell and rising star Crete, guaranteeing 

a show like no other that brings 

the WOW factor – a concert sure to 

impress fans of all ages! 

Stan Walker’s ALL IN tour marks 

the resurgence of his first headline 

tour in two years. With his unparalleled 

powerful performance style that 

captivates audiences with his entrancing 

vocal ability and personable 

humour, Stan’s new show will reach 

new heights taking it to another level! 

Join Stan Walker, Kingz, Louis 

Baker, Hamo Dell and Crete on 23 

September to experience a night of 

unforgettable live music. Tickets on 

sale www.ticketspace.co.nz. 

NZ Bridge – NZ National 

Bridge Congress 

After the disappointment of not being 

able to hold a National Congress in 

2020, there will not just be a new 

venue but many other changes as 

well. 

The 35th New Zealand National 

Bridge Congress is the premier bridge 

event in the annual calendar and was 

last attended by over 700 players in 

2019. In 2021, it will be held from 

Saturday 25th September to Saturday 

2nd October 2021 with events open to 

all levels of players, from grand-master 

to Novice players. 

It’s never too early to start 

thinking about Christmas 

It’s that time of year again when your 

work social committee starts to brainstorm 

ideas for your staff Christmas 

party. What have we done before? 

How can we make it better than last 

year? Sure you could invite everyone 

to the conference room for drinks, or 

go out for dinner – but that’s all been 

done before. 

Why not celebrate the festive season 

at Baypark this year and indulge in 

a delicious Christmas feast created by 

our award-winning Executive Chef? 

Why not make your party extra special 

and visit BayStation and enquire 

about Drift-triking or Blokarts? 

For info or to book ph 07 577 8560 

or email events@bayvenues.co.nz. 

Tauranga’s Premier Venue 

Trustpower Baypark is Tauranga’s 

Premier Venue for conferences, meetings, 

entertainment and exhibitions. 

Offering a complete package in one 

convenient location that features state 

of the art meeting rooms, in-house 

catering, audio visual services, professional 

conference organiser (PCO) 

and marketing/promotional services. 

For more information on any 

events, enquiries for Trustpower Baypark 

venues, BayStation activities or 

service on/off site from BayCatering, 

BayAudioVisual visit www.trustpowerbaypark.co.nz 

or email events@ 

bayvenues.co.nz. 

Stan Walker 

Proud service provider to the Trustpower 

Bay Park Arena & Tauranga 

community for the past 10 years 

As New Zealand’s leading provider of turf, parks 

and facilities management, we 

maintain, create and manage parks, landscapes 

and sports surfaces across Aotearoa. 

At the Trust Bay Park Arena, we proudly maintain 

the on site green spaces and have completed 

various large pitch transformation projects to an 

exceptional standard. This includes converting 

the pitch from a jet boat event to a National 

Provincial Rugby rugby field. 

visit us at: www.rs.kiwi.nz | contact us on: 0800 265 000 or info@rs.kiwi.nz 



Global share markets 

continue to hit new highs 

NEWSBRIEF 

Investment market update (for the quarter ended 31 July, 2021) 

Globally, the majority 

of share markets continued 

to climb higher, 

with many sitting at or near 

record highs. Markets have 

been driven higher by a combination 

of: 

• Companies generally delivering 

better-than-expected 

earnings results benefiting 

from a combination 

of improving economic 

activity and significant cost 

savings. 

• Central banks and governments 

remaining committed 

to “loose” policy settings, 

including ultra-low interest 

rates, which continue 

to underpin very healthy 

growth in economic activity, 

and support demand for 

higher risk-return investments 

such as stocks. 

• Vaccine roll-outs in Europe 

and the United States 

boosting hopes that rising 

cases of the Covid-19 delta 

variant will not lead to further 

lockdowns. Vaccines 

have proved effective in 

substantially reducing the 

proportion of people who 

catch the virus getting seriously 

ill. 

New Zealand has 

remained a laggard 

The New Zealand market is 

dominated by defensive dividend-paying 

stocks, which 

many investors look at as an 

alternative to fixed interest 

investments such as bonds or 

term deposits. The firming in 

long-term interest rates over 

the past nine months has generally 

been a headwind for 

these stocks. 

The Reserve Bank of 

New Zealand (RBNZ) 

likely to lead interest 

rate hikes globally 

Until very recently the message 

from our own RBNZ was 

consistent with this “wait and 

see” approach. But, in the past 

month, the outlook has shifted 

sharply. It now appears to be 

a two-horse race between the 

RBNZ and Norway’s Norges 

Bank as to who will be the first 

developed market central bank 

to hike rates in a post-Covid 

world. 

There are a number of reasons 

we believe the inflation 

we are seeing in New Zealand 

is likely to be stickier (and 

therefore more concerning 

for the RBNZ) than in other 

countries: 

1. Whilst the rest of the world 

has been grappling with 

restrictions and lockdowns, 

New Zealand has largely 

(with the exception of tourism 

and border movements) 

been in a post Covid-19 

economy since the middle 

of last year. Consumers 

— without the burden 

of Covid fears — have 

responded to ultra-low 

interest rates by breaking 

out the credit cards. 

2. The New Zealand economy 

is facing pent-up demand 

and capacity constraints — 

the housing shortage being 

the most obvious example 

— from the tidal wave of 

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY 

> BY BRETT BELL-BOOTH 

Investment Adviser with Forsyth Barr Limited in Tauranga, and 

an Authorised Financial Adviser. Phone (07) 577 5725 or 

email brett.bell-booth@forsythbarr.co.nz. 

migrants over the last eight 

years. In recent years, that 

same migration kept a lid 

on wages. But now, with 

borders shut, capacity pressures 

are biting. 

3. New Zealand is a small, 

open economy a long way 

from most trading partners. 

The delays in supply 

chains and dramatic jump 

in freight prices are disproportionately 

impacting 

import costs for our 

businesses. 

Invest locally and globally 

Over the past decade or so, 

a home market bias to New 

Zealand would have been very 

beneficial. Our high dividend 

yielding market has been one 

of the top performers globally. 

A large part of this return 

has been from investors’ willingness 

to pay a higher price 

for the income generated by 

businesses in sectors such as 

utilities, telecommunications, 

and property. We believe the 

shift in the direction of interest 

rates means this benefit is now 

likely at end. 

That isn’t to say you should 

throw the baby out with the 

bathwater. There are still 

high-quality companies in 

New Zealand we are happy to 

remain invested in. But, it does 

mean having adequate diversification 

(always a mainstay 

of any investment plan) across 

markets and sectors may prove 

even more important than 

usual. As always, whether 

regarding adequate diversification 

or any other questions 

you may have, your Forsyth 

Barr Investment Adviser is 

available to discuss your 

investment plans at any time. 

This column is general in 

nature and does not take any of 

your personal circumstances 

into account. For personalised 

financial advice, contact Forsyth 

Barr for an overview of 

the services we can provide. 

Shelving the 

‘outdated’ library 

overdue fine 

Opōtiki District 

Library has joined 

the growing number 

of libraries in New 

Zealand and around the 

world that are shelving the 

‘odd and outdated’ notion 

of fines on books returned 

late. 

Ōpōtiki library manager, 

Jo Hunt, said that 

existing fines have been 

wiped and no further overdue 

fines would be issued 

although there will still be 

charges to pay for replacement 

or damaged books. 

“Our library is such a 

valuable part of the community. 

Our services open 

up doors to information 

and expertise for learners 

of all ages. We support digital 

literacy, a place to do 

homework, a place to do 

work-work, and of course 

reading for pleasure and 

social connection. 

“I would hate to think 

for one second that a punitive 

measure, like a fine, 

was a barrier to anyone 

accessing library services. 

“Libraries that go finefree 

here and internationally, 

note that overdue fees 

do nothing to incentivise 

people to return their 

books, but probably have 

the reverse effect – keeping 

people away either 

because they have overdue 

fines they can’t pay or 

worry that they could end 

up with fines against their 

name,” Ms Hunt said. 

Increasingly, libraries 

are deciding that fines are 

inconsistent with the outcomes 

that libraries work 

towards – equal access to 

resources and information 

for everyone. 

Research shows that 

people will stay away 

from a library if they don’t 

want to pay a fine, which 

has the reverse effect of a 

book never being returned, 

rather than just being 

returned a couple of days 

late. 

Ms Hunt also pointed 

out that fines are not a significant 

part of the library 

funding, and in fact usually 

cost more to chase and 

administer. 

“Libraries are paid for 

through rates, like sports 

fields and playgrounds, so 

that the whole community 

has facilities they can use 

and benefit from. 

“Of course, fines aren’t 

how we fund our building 

or new resources or staff 

time, so they don’t add 

anything except put up an 

unnecessary barrier. 

“At any point in time 

we probably only have a 

small handful of overdue 

books, so they are not a 

significant problem,” Ms 

Hunt said. 

“Our way of working 

is to stay in close contact 

with our borrowers – 

checking in, sending text 

reminders and offering 

loan extensions rather than 

penalty charges. 

Removing fines means 

that all borrowers, existing 

and new, can relax, borrow 

and enjoy the resources,” 

Ms Hunt said. 

YEAR 

BOOK 

CELEBRATING BAY BUSINESS | 2021 

Out 

Now 

www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz/year-book


What you need to 

know about the 

Clean Car Program 

Some 27 years ago I walked into an office for my first accounting job 

and a couple of weeks later I was hooked. I loved everything about 

it: the numbers, the challenge, and especially the people. That was 

back in Russia (my home country) – today I live in beautiful Tauranga 

and have done for almost 20 years. 

After so many years of 

working with business 

owners, I have noticed 

how hardworking and determined 

business owners are; 

I see my job as helping business 

owners to see the bigger 

picture. 

We often discuss business 

strategy, goals, and aspirations. 

I cannot stress enough 

how important it is to read 

and understand your business 

numbers. Your cash flow can 

often tell us if you are winning 

or losing. 

To put it simply, I aspire to 

be your trusted adviser, who 

is looking out for you, assisting 

you in any way possible. 

Sometimes I am your critic, 

but mostly, I am your biggest 

cheerleader. 

Clean Car Program 

You may have heard about the 

Government’s Clean Car Program 

which is part of our government’s 

response following 

the Climate Change Commission 

issuing its recommendation 

in May 2021. 

The Commission was 

formed in May 2018 and 

provides independent, evidence-based 

advice to government 

on climate issues. 

Following the recommendation, 

on 13 June 2021, 

James Shaw and Michael 

Woods announced the Clean 

Car package. 

In essence, if you purchase 

a new or imported second hand 

electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle 

you will be given a cash 

rebate of up to $8,625 for a 

new fully electric vehicle and 

$3,450 for a used vehicle. 

For a new plug-in hybrid 

you will be given a rebate of 

If you purchase a new or imported 

second hand electric or plug-in hybrid 

vehicle you will be given a cash rebate 

of up to $8,625 for a new fully electric 

vehicle and $3,450 for a used vehicle.” 

$5,750 and $2,300 for used 

import. 

Current approved rebates 

are applicable from 1 July 

2021 to 31 December 2021 

and will be reviewed every 

year. The rebates will also 

expand from 1 January 2022 

to include low emission vehicles, 

like the Suzuki Swift and 

Honda Jazz. 

To claim a rebate, you will 

need to apply via the NZTA 

website and provide a copy 

of the vehicle offer and sale 

agreement, proof of the registered 

person’s bank account, 

and your GST number (if the 

vehicle is being used for business 

purposes). 

What about the fees? 

The most popular question 

is about the fees – when, and 

how much will I be charged if I 

purchase a petrol vehicle after 

1 January 2022? 

TAXATION 

> BY VALERIE ROWE-MITCHELL 

Accounting and other money matters with Valerie Rowe-Mitchell, 

owner of Emerald Business Advisers. Valerie can be reached on 

07 579 5777 or valerie@emeraldbusiness.co.nz 

Fees will be charged on 

higher emitting vehicles and 

will start from 1 January 2022 

when they are first registered 

in New Zealand. 

For example, the fee for 

a Ford Ranger will be in the 

region of $2,780. A Toyota 

Hilux will attract a fee of 

$2,900. 

I assume the fee will be 

paid by the dealer if they 

are registering a vehicle and 

most likely be passed on to 

the buyer, or the fee will be 

charged to an individual who 

is registering the vehicle in 

New Zealand for the first 

time. 

Will there be any 

exemptions? 

Yes, agricultural vehicles for 

farms, such as tractors, harvesters, 

mowers, toppers, bailers; 

military vehicles; special 

interest vehicles; vintage and 

veteran vehicles; scratch- built 

vehicles and modified vehicles 

certified by the Low Volume 

Vehicle Technical Association 

Incorporated will be exempt 

from the Clean Car Program. 

Check out https://www. 

nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/cleancar-programme/ 

for more info. 

Feel free to get in touch, I 

would love to hear from you. 

Stressed sector working 

hard for New Zealand 

A new survey commissioned by Registered Master Builders for its annual Constructive 

Forum highlights key issues facing the building and construction sector: 

• 95% of respondents reported issues with increased costs, delays, customer 

complaints and product substitutions due to a lack of available building materials. 

• 88% reported that stress and mental wellbeing was a significant issue 

• 70% of respondents say it’s harder to get the staff they need now than it was 12 

months ago 

The Registered Master 

Builders Association’s 

annual State of the Sector 

Survey has revealed that 

while the building and construction 

sector is optimistic 

about its business prospects 

and the economy, reflecting the 

current boom, it is facing huge 

constraints and challenges. 

Released at this year’s Constructive 

Forum, the survey 

identifies the biggest challenges 

and opportunities facing 

the building and construction 

sector. Over 300 industry 

leaders from across the sector 

responded to questions about 

the economy, critical issues the 

sector is facing, and their outlook 

for the sector. 

Master Builders Chief 

Executive David Kelly said 

that respondents were asked 

to rank the most critical issues 

impacting their businesses in 

2021. 

“The three most important 

issues were: the supply chain 

disruption, product availability 

and increasing product substitution; 

the rising costs of construction; 

and, acute skilled 

labour shortages. The sector 

is stretched to breaking point, 

largely due to factors outside 

its control.” 

These issues are imposing 

significant stress on builders, 

with 88% reporting that stress 

and mental wellbeing was a 

significant issue for them. 

David Kelly expressed his 

concern, “It is worrying but 

not surprising that our workforce 

is feeling under stress. 

If every one of our members’ building 

projects is delayed by even one week, 

collectively our members and homeowners 

are incurring almost $100 million per 

annum in lost profits and extra costs. 

After all, they live in the communities 

where they work so 

they’re at the front line delivering 

the homes that New Zealanders 

desperately need.” 

“They like the rest of the 

community also have to navigate 

the stresses of Covid. And 

they have the added uncertainty, 

even in boom times, 

that it can’t last, and the industry 

does suffer hugely when it 

changes.” 

The survey also found 

that finding skilled staff is an 

acute problem for the sector. 

Almost 70% of respondents 

say it’s harder to get the staff 

they need now than it was 12 

months ago, with 37% say that 

it is substantially harder. 

“Finding skilled staff has 

been in the top three issues 

since we began the survey in 

2018. The sector is crying out 

for experienced people across 

a range of specialist areas. 

Uncertainty around immigration 

settings only exacerbates 

this situation,” stated David 

Kelly 

“This is also more complex 

than many people realise. 

While training is an important 

piece of the puzzle – it will not 

solve the problems we have 

today. We need experienced 

skilled workers, and they 

are competing for those people 

with other countries and 

sectors. 

“The Government’s 

apprentice boost scheme has 

been appreciated, apprentice 

numbers are at an all time high 

and we are pleased to see more 

employers commit to training. 

This is a vital part of the puzzle 

to ensure we have the skilled 

workers we need in the future, 

but it is not the complete 

answer today.” 

Supply chain disruptions 

and consenting issues were 

also highlighted as barriers 

to building. Cost escalation, 

building delays, and customer 

complaints were reported by 

95% of respondents. 

Consenting delays are also 

a huge problem according to 

David Kelly, “More than half 

of our respondents are experiencing 

delays of longer than 

three weeks for consents, more 

than five days for inspections 

and three to four weeks longer 

for code of compliance. These 

delays affect both builder and 

customer.” 

“If every one of our members’ 

building projects is 

delayed by even one week, 

collectively our members and 

homeowners are incurring 

almost $100 million per annum 

in lost profits and extra costs. 

This is a phenomenal number, 

especially when you consider 

that just a one week delay 

is very conservative. 

This is a key part of our 

productivity conundrum and 

will be a key focus for the 

Forum this year.” 

The annual Constructive 

Forum is an industry led effort 

to enhance collaboration, build 

resilience, and ensure a vibrant 

and sustainable sector that 

delivers for New Zealand. 

Its purpose is to bring the 

entire supply chain together, 

from Government, finance, 

land, design and build, and 

key enabling sectors such as 

research, training, and regulation 

to work together and identify 

ways to lift performance in 

the sector.


The less appreciated 

approach to making 

money in franchising 

Franchisee entrepreneurs are attracted to buying a franchise 

business for a variety of reasons including brand passion or wanting 

the support and guidance of an established business system. 

Universally, people invest time and effort into a business with an 

expectation of a financial return. 

The conventional 

approach has broadly 

been one of two options 

depending on the individual’s 

risk profile, experience, and 

capacity to build and develop 

a business. 

The first, invest into a new 

or greenfield opportunity – 

grow the business and hopefully 

enjoy both positive cash 

flows generated by a profitable 

business, and capital gains over 

time by increasing the value of 

goodwill. By and large franchises 

grow their footprints on 

this platform with franchisee 

entrepreneurs. 

The second approach is 

to purchase an established 

well-performing business 

with a proven trading history. 

This tends to attract franchisee 

entrepreneurs with a lower risk 

profile. 

They have the benefit of 

being able to see the history 

and performance of the business, 

and in many cases it can 

be an easier operational path 

to follow. They are of course 

making an assumption, and 

assuming an associated risk, 

that they will be able to maintain 

the performance of the 

business, continue to enjoy the 

benefits of the business’ profitability 

and protect the goodwill 

component. 

The less-appreciated 

approach 

There is a third and very 

neglected option for franchisee 

entrepreneurs, and one that I 

would suggest provides a number 

of potential upsides versus 

the two traditional approaches 

– this is to purchase an underperforming 

or even unprofitable 

franchise business. This 

sounds like it flies in the face 

of the universal objective of 

generating financial returns, 

but first we need to look at 

where and how financial return 

is generated. 

What’s driving 

performance and can it 

be altered? 

The incomparable advantage 

of buying into a franchise system 

is the ability to see and use 

benchmarking information. 

Independent businesses 

may have industry benchmarking, 

but a good franchise 

system will have not only an 

abundance of benchmarking 

information but more importantly, 

an understanding of 

what and how these outcomes 

or measures can and are 

influenced. 

When looking at an underperforming 

business, the 

potential franchise purchaser 

needs to ask the questions: is 

it a good system, how does this 

business unit perform against 

others, what key performance 

indicators are out of kilter, 

and can I influence these? Is 

it sales, a goods management 

or cost of goods issue, or is it 

wages or perhaps fixed costs 

that can be improved? 

The franchisee factor cannot 

be underestimated and if 

the purchaser is able to align 

the performance of the businesses 

KPIs to the systems 

benchmarking, just a small 

number of factors could move 

the needle of profitability from 

red to black. 

Altering return on 

investment ratios 

For a vast majority of businesses, 

once established, their 

value is a function of their 

profitability or goodwill. 

Unfortunately, an underperforming 

business will often 

sell for less than its asset value. 

FRANCHISING 

> BY NATHAN BONNEY 

Nathan Bonney is a director of Iridium Partners. He can be 

reached at nathan@iridium.net.nz or 0275-393-022 

This creates two opportunities 

for the purchaser; firstly, 

they can acquire the business 

for less than what it would cost 

to establish it. 

There are additional potential 

cash flow and establishment 

cost savings. 

Perhaps more substantial 

is the franchisee’s ability to 

improve goodwill and the relationship 

this will have on business 

value. 

Improved profitability creates 

goodwill which can create 

an opportunity for capital 

gains, for some business this 

can be substantial and create 

super return to investment 

ratios. 

Made all the more attractive 

as in most cases there would be 

no capital gains tax if or when 

the business is sold. 

Against this backdrop, I am 

not surprised that certain franchise 

systems have franchisees 

that are known as turnaround 

specialists who have bought 

and sold several businesses 

improving them along the way. 

As greenfield opportunities 

shrink in some established systems 

and as well-established 

profitable business opportunities 

decline or command 

higher prices, I would not be 

surprised to see an increase 

in the skilled and less risk 

adverse franchisee entrepreneurs 

backing themselves 

and successful brands to take 

advantage or franchised turnaround 

opportunities. 

ADVERTORIAL 

Spreadsheets – your Hidden Hazard? 

The integrity of your incident management process begins with a robust source of information; if you rely 

on spreadsheets to inform your business response you could be adding risk and cost. 

By ANDREW TAYLOR 

There’s reason for the 

wide-spread dependency 

on tools like Microsoft 

Excel. Being a universally 

recognised application, 

it is accessible to most users 

in any sized organisation, has 

excellent functionality and, 

importantly, it is inexpensive. 

However, the perceived low 

cost operationally of using 

spreadsheets to manage company-wide 

quality processes 

turns quickly into high overheads 

when Excel is applied 

outside of its capabilities. 

Spreadsheet hazards 

If you recognise some of 

Andrew Taylor, CEO Integral 

andrew@integral.co.nz 

these painful spreadsheet 

moments, you are not alone; 

ambiguity with the master 

document, left wondering 

what the current version is; 

multiple editors whose individual 

habits differ in their 

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Rotorua Rotorua • • Auckland • • Napier 

Rotorua • Auckland • Na


Rotorua looks to its 

legacy of resilience 

Rotorua continues to be a preferred 

destination for visitors. Photos/Supplied. 

Rotorua has long been known for its strong legacy of resilience and ongoing 

expression of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. Its history tells a unique story of 

indigenous entrepreneurship and tourism leadership that has continued to evolve 

across generations. 

By MARISA BALLE 

Over the past year, the Rotorua 

community has shared with 

Rotorua Economic Development 

and Destination Rotorua 

their challenges and aspirations. And 

whilst 2020 began on a surge of consumer 

confidence with the Bay of 

Plenty recording the highest level of 

optimism of any New Zealand region, 

2021 started on a more sombre note. 

The data told us that like the rest of 

New Zealand, our situation was serious 

and that the solution lies within 

an all-of-Rotorua approach working 

in partnership with iwi and alongside 

local businesses and Central 

Government. 

Fast-forward to where we are now 

and it would be fair to say our city 

is well on its way to building back 

better. From a visitation perspective, 

we’ve experienced a 30 percent 

increase in the number of conferences 

and events compared to 2019, our 

world-class lakefront redevelopment 

is nearing completion, and partnerships 

with iwi and wider stakeholders 

continue to thrive. It’s also impossible 

to ignore that Rotorua is the epicentre 

of the country’s third-largest export 

earner – forestry. 

In recognition of the role the forestry 

industry plays in our economy, 

Te Uru Rākau – NZ Forest Service 

announced in April this year it would 

be moving its headquarters from 

Wellington to Rotorua. With strong 

ties and working partnerships with 

Scion, Red Stag Timber, and Toi Ohomai 

Institute of Technology we’ve 

strengthened the city’s establishment 

as an industry leader. 

Rotorua’s Wood First initiative 

recognises the economic, environmental, 

cultural and social significance 

of wood within the community. 

This initiative is about looking at 

wood as the first material of choice 

for construction, interior design and 

living developments within Rotorua, 

with a long-term goal of taking 

the Wood First concept to a wider 

national and international audience. 

Awards for new Scion HQ 

Scion’s newly built Te Whare Nui o 

Tuteata recently won international 

design accolades, selected as both 

the 2021 Architizer A+Awards Jury 

Winner and Popular Choice Winner 

in the Architecture +Wood category. 

It then went on receive The Building 

Award at the 2021 INDE Awards for 

Indo-Pacific countries, along with an 

Honourable Mention in The Influencer 

Award. The INDE Awards saw 

more than 687 entries from 14 countries 

in the Indo-Pacific region – no 

easy feat. 

As a destination, we continue to be 

a preferred choice for New Zealanders 

and the increase in business activity 

within the visitor industry reflects 

this. Our tourism operators are resilient 

and realistic and have remained 

steadfast to their values, continuing to 

be agile as they respond to the ongoing 

impact of Covid. Just last month, 

three of our local tourism operators 

won gold at the Qualmark 100 Per 

Cent Pure New Zealand Experience 

Awards held in Christchurch. Kaitiaki 

Adventures, MDA Experiences and 

Rotorua Canopy Tours were among 

12 New Zealand businesses that won 

the award. Rotorua Canopy Tours and 

Rotorua Rafting were also voted Best 

Activities in the World in this year’s 

Tripadvisor awards. 

We’re also seeing a surge in activity 

in the commercial property space 

with new businesses being established, 

and many existing businesses 

focused on product development. 

Whakarewarewa Forest is now home 

to New Zealand’s newest mountain 

bike hub Te Pūtake o Tawa, situated 

near Lake Tikitapu, and a new eatery, 

Eastwood, has opened in the stunning 

Te Whare Nui o Tuteata at Scion that 

is also nestled within the forest. 

The near-completion of our stunning 

lakefront, alongside Rotorua 

Lakes Council’s developing innercity 

revitalisation plan, means there 

will be additional commercial opportunities 

in the CBD that will open up 

more opportunities and create a positive 

flow-on effect for the wider community. 

Alongside this is the increasing 

demand for housing which allows 

developers to realise the potential of 

investing in our district. 

Our place is home to remarkable 

people who are innately connected to 

Rotorua’s shared legacy of resilience. 

Despite the uncertainty a global pandemic 

brings, we know our communities 

will continue to adapt and overcome 

adversity and we need not look 

far to see the entrepreneurial spirit in 

action. 

• Marisa Balle is Corporate 

Communications Manager for 

Rotorua Economic Development and 

Destination Rotorua. 

NEWSBRIEF 

Bay of Plenty’s Kale Print win big 

on national stage once again 

Established in 1993 with the 

goal to promote excellence 

in print in New Zealand, the 

Pride In Print Awards have been a 

pinnacle of recognition year after 

year for the best in visual print 

communication products produced 

in New Zealand. They embody a 

culture of excellence aimed at meeting 

and exceeding the needs of the 

customer and continuously pushing 

boundaries. 

It is in the commercial marketplace 

where Pride In Print delivers 

its greatest tangible reward. Each 

sector of the industry is covered, 

with expert panels of judges analysing 

every entry. Judging is based on 

technical excellence in all facets of 

the production process, typography 

and good design, allowing specialists 

to make judgements based on 

the potential and the limits of processes, 

and the materials and equipment 

used. 

This year a new category was 

introduced to the Awards programme 

– The Business Awards. 

These awards are intended to highlight 

the businesses that are driving 

the future of the industry. 

There are three categories – Sustainability, 

Wellness & Innovation, 

each of which are an important factor 

in the success of a business and 

the evolution of the industry, ensuring 

that print continues to have a 

great story to tell. 

On 25th June, a contingent of 

Kale Print representatives attended 

the 2021 Pride in Print awards. A 

welcome celebration after the 2020 

awards night was cancelled due to 

Covid restrictions. 

The team were honoured to be 

recognised amongst their peers as 

leaders in their field, displaying 

excellence in a variety of categories 

including the new Business 

Award Innovation category for their 

reception chairs and a prestigious 

overall category win for Promotional 

Print with the Wealleans 2021 

Calendar.


Mandatory record keeping: 

What you need to know 

In the wake of the recent lockdown, the Government has announced that mandatory record keeping is being 

introduced for busy places and large gatherings. This means those responsible for businesses and events will 

need to ensure people keep a record when they visit, either by scanning QR codes with the Covid-19 Tracer 

App or making a manual record. Mandatory record keeping is currently required at social gatherings including 

when visiting a marae, at weddings, funerals, tangihanga and faith-based services at Alert Level 2. It will now 

be a requirement for those businesses and events that are permitted at any Alert Level. 

Sebastian Hartley, solicitor at Holland Beckett Law, discusses the changes and your obligations. 

New Zealand is famous world 

wide for its Covid-19 stopping 

lockdowns, but our ability to 

sustain regional and localised lockdowns, 

and avoid the full economic 

impact of shutting down our economy, 

is only because of our ability to 

contact trace quickly and effectively. 

As the last few days have demonstrated, 

this ability is of critical importance 

in the new Delta environment. 

This is why the Government has now 

made the decision to formally require 

contact tracing records to be kept at 

all alert levels. 

This will expand the range of 

businesses required to contact trace 

and apply this requirement at all alert 

levels. 

Current Obligations 

Contact tracing has obvious privacy 

concerns – it requires people to provide 

personal information and creates 

an accessible record of the places they 

have been. 

Making it mandatory has continued 

to be controversial throughout the 

pandemic and, probably as a result, 

the Government has held off on making 

it a mandatory requirement unless 

there is an active outbreak. 

Under the current rules, at Alert 

Level 1, businesses’ and event managers’ 

are only required to display a QR 

code at or near their main entrance. 

There has not been a requirement for 

customers to sign in. 

It has only been at Level 2 and 

above that certain kinds of businesses 

have been required to keep a record 

of who has visited – and to monitor 

their customer’s compliance with that 

requirement. 

Outside of businesses, there have 

also been record keeping requirements 

for social gatherings – in particular, 

gatherings at marae, weddings, 

funerals, tangihanga and religious 

services. Again, this has only applied 

at Alert Level 2 and above. 

The New Requirements 

The Government has now announced 

that it will be requiring businesses to 

do more work to support contact tracing 

going forward. 

This is because in a Delta environment, 

as the latest outbreak shows, 

by the time alert levels change, thousands 

of people may already have 

been exposed. Being able to quickly 

and accurately identify those people 

will be the main tool in avoiding the 

need to move to Level 4 again in the 

future. 

The new changes mean that the 

contact tracing requirements will 

extend to a much wider collection 

of businesses and events. They will 

also apply even at Level 1. Contact 

tracing will now be a part of the ‘new 

normal’. 

The Government does not usually 

release the full details of future alert 

levels until they take effect – draft 

orders are not being published in 

advance. 

But based on the announcements 

to date, and the previous rules that 

have been put in place, it is clear that 

most businesses will now be captured, 

including: 

• visitors to aged care and healthcare 

facilities; 

• cinemas, theatres, casinos and 

concerts; 

• customers at massage parlours, 

beauticians, barbers, hairdressers 

and exercise facilities; 

• customers at cafes, restaurants, 

bars and nightclubs; 

• indoor public facilities, such as 

libraries, museums, swimming 

pools; 

• social gatherings including those 

at marae, weddings, funerals, 

tangihanga and faith-based services; 

and 

• visitors to courts and tribunals, 

local and central government 

The new changes mean that the contact tracing 

requirements will extend to a much wider 

collection of businesses and events. They will also 

apply even at Level 1. Contact tracing will now be 

a part of the ‘new normal’.” 

agencies, and social services 

providers with customer service 

counters such as councils, Ministry 

of Social Development offices. 

It is not clear whether this will 

apply to large-volume businesses like 

supermarkets and petrol stations that 

are currently open – but which are not 

required to contact trace customers at 

present. 

It is likely that this will also be 

combined with a requirement for customers 

to sign in themselves, although 

the Government has made clear that 

the emphasis on enforcement will be 

on businesses not individuals. 

However, this may change over 

time as people get more used to the 

requirement of scanning in wherever 

they go. 

These new restrictions will be 

in force in each region about seven 

days after it enters Level 3. This will 

give businesses a week’s grace to get 

up to speed with the new measures. 

However, we are recommending that 

businesses start immediately, so they 

can iron out any difficulties with their 

systems. 

Penalties 

Once a new order is put in place to 

cover the contact tracing requirements, 

the same penalties will apply 

under the Covid-19 Public Health 

Response Act 2020, which provides 

the authority for the Government’s 

actions. 

Under this Act there are effectively 

three levels of penalty that can 

be applied: 

• An infringement notice (like a 

speeding ticket) for $300 for any 

breach 

• An infringement offence – which 

is like an infringement notice but 

must go through the Court and can 

include a fine of up to $1000; and 

• A conviction offence – for intentionally 

breaching the order – 

which carries a conviction and a 

maximum penalty of six months 

imprisonment or a fine of up to 

$4000. 

So far, the police have been cautious 

in using their formal powers 

and have only charged people who 

are either committing quite serious 

offending or who have repeatedly 

failed to comply. 

We expect this to continue – people 

who are caught out by accident 

in the early days will likely receive 

warning or infringement notices; people 

who refuse to comply and continue 

to act in breach may be charged. 

It is important to note that Courts 

take these offences seriously. During 

the March 2020 lockdown, many 

people who breached received short 

sentences in prison: deliberate flouting 

of the law carries a very real risk 

of similar treatment. For many people 

the risk of a criminal conviction will 

also be a significant deterrent. 

Privacy 

While businesses will now be required 

to comply with these obligations, it 

is important that they also take into 

account their obligations under the 

Privacy Act 2020 when recording 

information. Key obligations include: 

• Only gathering information that is 

necessary; 

• Only using information for the 

purpose for which it was gathered; 

and 

• Destroying information when it is 

no longer needed. 

Contact tracing information 

should be kept separate and destroyed 

after a matter of weeks. It should not 

be used for other purposes (like client 

data bases) without specific permission. 

As the information is highly personal, 

it must also be stored carefully 

to avoid anyone accessing it. 

The risks of getting things wrong 

in terms of privacy are serious with 

compensation for breaches often 

exceeding $10,000. 

With the frequent changes to the 

rules, it is important to have people 

on your side who understand the 

requirements and can help you ensure 

your business complies with all of the 

requirements. 

Our team are more than happy to 

discuss your situation and help you 

better understand your rights, obligations, 

and options. 

• Content supplied by Holland 

Beckett Law 

LawVu receives fund injection 

An industry-leading Tauranga start up has crowned off 

a major earnings surge with a capital injection of $17 

million from a New York venture capital and equity firm. 

By RICHARD RENNIE 

LawVu, a company developing 

and selling software for in-house 

legal teams has welcomed the 

$17 million, which includes support 

from Australian venture capital firm 

AirTree Ventures. 

Sam Kidd, LawVu co-founder, 

welcomed the significant capital 

injection at a time when corporates 

were intensifying efforts to improve 

their counsels’ technology. 

“In house legal teams perform a 

critical function inside every corporation. 

However, you will often find 

the only ‘tech’ they have is email and 

word documents. 

“Legal teams are becoming a bottleneck, 

as the rest of the business 

leverages off technology and speeds 

up.” 

The firm was established by Kidd 

and Tim Boyne in 2015, stemming in 

part from Boyne’s employment with 

a leading city firm, and his frustration 

at the delays in compiling monthly 

reports for big company clients. 

Combined talents 

The men combined talents, with 

Boyne’s experience in law IT systems 

and Kidd’s ability project managing 

software development pushing the 

company along quickly. 

LawVu combines a range of software 

tools based around document 

creation, record keeping and time 

management under one umbrella, 

replacing the Post-it notes Kidd says 

are often employed by teams to keep 

track of jobs. 

The platform allows teams to manage 

all their matters, contracts, documents, 

e-billing, outsourced work, 

and reporting from one cloud-based, 

secure, and connected platform, with 

a connected third-party tools critical 

to a high-performing in-house 

function. 

The initial big break for the company 

came with Telstra adopting 

the software suite, and other large 

Australian corporates and public 

entities quickly following. Large clients 

in New Zealand include Zespri, 

Fonterra, Sky, and Harcourts. The 

company’s technology is now in 30 

countries. 

LawVu is considered 

the leader in this 

space amongst many 

of the most tech 

savvy in-house legal 

teams in the world.” 

– James Cameron 

James Cameron, a partner in Air- 

Tree Ventures, said there was a big 

push globally to get in-house legal 

teams up to speed with technology, 

and improve their efficiency in the 

process. 

“LawVu is considered the leader in 

this space amongst many of the most 

tech savvy in-house legal teams in the 

world. It is also fantastic to be investing 

alongside world-class global 

investors like Insight to help continue 

to grow the business in its biggest 

markets in the US and Europe.” 

He said there was significant 

demand from global investors to 

invest in fast-growing Australian and 

New Zealand tech businesses. 

The injection comes after the company 

earlier secured $2.5 million of 

funding through convertible notes, 

supported by NZ Growth Capital 

Partners. 

Funding has also come from local 

investor Craig Wearne who liked the 

idea from the get-go. 

The latest investment enables the 

company to continue to optimise 

in-house legal team performance and 

increase their engagement with the 

broader business.


Exporting to Australia – trademark 

tricks and copyright catches 

Are you thinking of exportin’ to Australia? Got your IP rights in 

order? Not yet? Well, don’t leave it too late because ‘she’ might 

not be right if you do. 

While Australia’s IP 

laws, rules and processes 

are for the 

most part identical or very similar 

to New Zealand, there are 

key differences which exporters 

should be aware of, and 

seek advice on, when planning 

the growth of their business. 

This article focuses on 

the areas of Australia IP law 

that I most commonly advise 

aspiring exporters on in my 

legal practice: trademarks and 

domain names, and design and 

copyright. 

Trademarks and domain 

names 

As in New Zealand, rights in 

trademarks (typically brand 

names and logos) in Australia 

are acquired through use and/ 

or registration. 

Registered rights are best, 

as they give exporters rights 

across Australia as a whole – 

unlike use-based rights, which 

are usually geographically 

limited in scope; that is, they 

are limited to the city/state in 

which you sell goods are sold. 

Registered rights in brand 

names are also best for two 

reasons: first, because your 

brand name will be protected 

regardless of how it appears 

in graphic form (including a 

logo); and, second, because, 

as I talk about shortly, they 

enable exporters to register a 

com.au domain name for their 

Australian business (if they 

want to register such a domain 

name). 

Some exporters may not 

be able to register their brand 

names as word marks because 

they descriptive or generic, in 

which case obtaining registration 

for a logo mark is better 

than no registration at all. 

Other exporters may not 

be able to register their brand 

names because someone else is 

already using or has registered 

an identical or similar trade 

mark in Australia. 

If you find yourself in that 

boat, you should investigate 

what your options are before 

making any decisions. 

Registered trademark rights 

are particularly important in 

Australia if aspiring exporters 

are considering operating 

a designated Australia website 

under a com.au or net.au 

domain name. 

This is because to register 

a com.au or net.au domain 

name, there are certain eligibility 

criteria under the ‘.au 

Domain Administration Rules: 

Licensing’ (‘the Rules’) that 

must be met: 

• Firstly, the person applying 

to register a com.au or net. 

au domain name must be a 

commercial entity; 

• Secondly, the domain 

name applied for must be 

a match of, for example: 

the person’s company, 

business, statutory or personal 

name; an acronym 

of the person’s company, 

business, statutory or personal 

name; a match of the 

person’s Australian Trade 

Mark (noting that “Australian 

Trademark” means 

either a pending trade mark 

application or a registered 

trade mark that appears on 

IP Australia’s trade mark 

database); or a match or 

synonym of the name of a 

service that the person provides 

or goods that the person 

sells (whether retail or 

wholesale). 

In practical terms, the 

simplest way for an aspiring 

exporter to be eligible to register 

a com.au or net.au domain 

name is to have filed (and had 

published on IP Australia’s 

database) a trademark application 

for their company name or 

their service or product brand 

name. 

As the criteria above indicate, 

however, the desired 

domain name must be an exact 

match of the words which are 

the subject of the Australian 

Trademark application or registration 

(noting that the definition 

of ‘match’ in the Rules 

excludes commercial status 

identifiers like “Limited”, 

punctuation marks, articles 

such as “a”, “the”, “and”, “or” 

and “of”, and the symbol “&”). 

Designs and copyright 

A fundamental difference 

between New Zealand and 

Australia IP law is the lack 

of copyright protection for 

“industrially applied” product 

designs in Australia. 

Confidential 

personal 

service 

In New Zealand, owners of 

CAD drawings used to manufacture 

physical products 

for sale or hire, for example, 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES 

> BY BEN CAIN 

Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells and a Resolution 

Institute-accredited mediator. He can be contacted at 07 928 4470 

(Tauranga), 07 957 5660 (Hamilton), and benc@jaws.co.nz. 

enjoy copyright protection for 

16 years from the date the 51st 

product is manufactured from 

those drawings. 

Not so in Australia. In Australia, 

exporters of such products 

do not, except in certain 

limited circumstances, enjoy 

copyright protection in their 

CAD drawings. Exporters 

must either rely on registered 

design rights or consumer 

awareness of their product’s 

appearance in Australia to prevent 

or stop copying. 

Registered design rights 

protect the shape and configuration, 

pattern or ornamentation 

of or on physical article 

– in other words, the item’s 

appearance. 

Design rights do not protect 

how things work (which is the 

remit of patents), the materials 

used in products, the size of 

a product, or designs with no 

physical form, such as computer 

graphics. 

Registered design rights 

are preferrable to reliance on 

consumer awareness of a product’s 

appearance because they 

do not require public use of 

a product design in order for 

any rights in the design to be 

enforceable. 

Quite the opposite, in fact. 

To be registered in Australia, 

a design must be new and 

distinctive, where ‘distinctive’ 

means not identical or substantially 

similar to a design previously 

publicly used in Australia 

or published in a document 

in or outside Australia. 

Due to this requirement, 

if Australia features in an 

aspiring exporter’s plans it is 

crucial the exporter seek registered 

design protection as 

early as possible – potentially 

months if not years before any 

product is actually shipped to 

Australia. 

Finally, I note that this article 

is for general information purposes 

only and is not intended 

to be a substitute for legal 

advice. If you are in need of 

advice, please contact your IP 

specialist. 

Confidential 

What is your business 

personal 

worth? 

service 

ADVERTORIAL 

I commonly get asked by business owners, purchasers and 

professionals “what is a business worth” and I usually respond 

with “it depends”. 

It depends on a number 

of factors that should be 

taken into consideration 

when establishing a business 

value including industry, 

location, owners input, 

staffing and supply chains to 

name a few. 

However, the most important 

factor is the “Future 

Maintainable Earnings” 

(FME) of the business and 

whether that is transferable 

to a new owner. 

Wayne Lonergan puts it 

well in his book (The Valuation 

of Businesses, Shares 

and Other Equity), states: 

“Too many FME-based valuations 

are flawed in that 

they automatically employ 

historical profits as a proxy 

for FME, without undertaking 

sufficient critical 

examination of the past performance 

and likely future 

events. An understanding of 

the future profits of a business 

is essential for an accurate 

valuation, yet is omitted 

when historical profits are 

used in isolation”. 

The key question for me 

when assessing a business is 

to understand the environment 

they are currently operating 

in and the impact this 

has in establishing the FME. 

As we well know, the 

business environment for 

a lot of businesses has 

changed dramatically over 

the past 18 months due to 

the pandemic, supply chains 

and a tightening labour 

market. 

To complete a valuation 

appraisal we effectively undertake 

a full due diligence 

on the business examining 

the owners’ involvement 

and skills, staff structure, 

lease arrangements, customer 

breakdown and industry 

sector. Once we have 

completed an analysis of this 

information, and established 

the “Future Maintainable 

Selling your busines 

BETTER BUSINESS SALES 

> BY PAUL BRLJEVICH 

Director at TABAK Business Sales. Paul can be reached on 

027 693 4079 or paulb@tabak.co.nz 

Earnings” of the business 

we are then in a position to 

compare the subject business 

with sales data from 

other similar businesses that 

have been sold. This comparative 

data coupled with 

our own business examination 

essentially forms the 

basis for establishing the 

valuation range. 

At Tabak’s we are engaged 

to complete appraisals 

for a variety of reasons 

including to establish a 

market value for sale purposes, 

marital and Selling your business? 

ownership disputes and 

peer reviewed by members 

of our wider Tabak NZ team 

which includes Chartered 

Accountants, MBA Graduates, 

Business and Man- 

management buy outs. In all agement Degree Graduates, 

We connect quality businesses with serious bu 

cases we work closely with 

We connect quality accountants businesses and business with serious buyers 

advisors to provide a realistic 

market value that we are 

prepared to stand behind. 

Tabak brokers are in the 

fortunate position of being 

able to have our appraisals 

holders of the Advanced 

Business Valuation Diploma 

plus other brokers who have 

been involved in business 

ownership. We all combine 

to have many years of experience 

in appraising, negotiating 

and selling businesses. 

Selling your business? 

We connect quality businesses with serious buyers 

Confidential 

personal 

service 

For more information call: (07) 578 6329 

or email: tauranga@tabak.co.nz 

For more information call: (07) 5786329 

or email: tauranga@tabak.co.nz 

Licensed REAA (2008) 

147 Cameron Road 

www.tabak.co.nz 

For more information call: 

or email: tauranga 

Licensed REAA (2008) 

Licens


Community input sought on 

three waters reform proposal 

Tauranga City Council commissioners are calling for community input to include in feedback to the 

Government on its three waters reform proposal. 

Anne Tolley 

Commission Chair Anne 

Tolley says the reform 

proposal is complex 

and much of the detail still has 

to be finalised, but potentially, 

it does offer an effective model 

for delivering high quality 

and affordable drinking water, 

wastewater and stormwater 

services. 

“Research indicates that 

over the next three decades, 

huge investment will be 

required to ensure all New 

Zealand communities continue 

to have the safe, effective and 

sustainable water, wastewater 

and stormwater services they 

need,” she says. 

“The fact is that the bar is 

continually being raised as 

new health and environmental 

standards evolve and communities 

grow. The reform proposal 

aims to get ahead of that 

and put a structure in place that 

can provide the investment 

and service quality required 

to futureproof three waters 

services.” 

Key facets of the 

Government’s reform 

proposal 

• There will be four new, 

regional water service entities 

across New Zealand. 

Tauranga is in ‘Entity B’, 

which includes the Bay 

of Plenty, Waikato and 

Taranaki regions. 

• These entities will take over 

the management of water 

assets, debt and income 

streams from councils. 

Councils will jointly own 

the water entities on behalf 

of their communities. 

• Councils and iwi/Māori 

will contribute to the objectives 

and priorities of these 

entities, through a proposed 

50:50 governance model 

that honours the Treaty of 

Waitangi. 

• The entities will be held 

to account by the drinking 

water regulator, Taumata 

Arowai, to ensure public 

health remains paramount. 

• The new entities will be 

required to consult with 

communities. 

• A funding package has been 

offered to ensure no council 

is financially “worse off” as 

a result of the reform. 

• An additional future funding 

package has been 

offered to each council to 

ensure the reform leaves 

all communities “better 

off”. Based on a population/deprivation/land 

area 

formula, Tauranga would 

receive $48.5 million, 

with the bulk of the funding 

becoming available in 

2024. 

A key building block of 

the reform will be a partnership 

with tangata whenua, in 

accordance with the principles 

of the Treaty of Waitangi. The 

reform also aims to deliver the 

outcomes of Te Mana o te Wai, 

a set of principles co-designed 

with iwi/Māori to lift the water 

quality of our streams, rivers 

and lakes. 

Anne says that if the three 

waters service delivery stays 

as it is – managed by 67 separate 

councils – future service 

quality across the country will 

remain variable and the level 

of investment required will 

mean services will become 

unaffordable for many people. 

“What’s proposed is a significant 

change, but this does 

provide an opportunity to 

co-design a delivery model that 

will work for all New Zealanders. 

We’re keen to gauge the 

community’s views on what 

that model should look like and 

what safeguards are required to 

protect the community’s interests,” 

she adds. 

Issues identified by the 

Commission for raising with 

central Government include: 

• Ensuring that our communities 

have an opportunity 

to provide local input into 

the reform process 

• Protecting our water assets 

against privatisation 

• Clarifying how we manage 

our water assets and staff 

during a transition period 

• Ensuring that Tauranga’s 

growth needs will be met in 

a timely fashion, and given 

appropriate consideration 

within Entity B’s priorities 

• The impact of the reforms 

on stormwater, as the focus 

has mainly been on drinking 

water and wastewater. 

The Council has until the 

end of September to consider 

the potential impact of the 

reform, identify areas of concern 

and advocate for the best 

community outcomes. As part 

of that process, business leaders 

can provide feedback on anything 

they want commissioners 

to raise with the Government 

by going to: www.tauranga. 

govt.nz/three-waters-reform 

It’s good business to care: Sick Leave 

and the importance of wellbeing 

Sickness isn’t the same anymore. Covid-19 has made it all the more 

important for people to stay home when they’re unwell. 

WORKPLACE WELLBEING 

> BY CRAIG HUDSON 

Craig Hudson is Xero’s managing director for New Zealand 

and the Pacific Islands. 

Earlier this year, Parliament 

passed the Holidays 

(Increasing Sick Leave) 

Amendment Bill to increase 

the minimum employee sick 

leave entitlement from five 

days to 10 days per year. 

While the minimum amount 

of paid sick days has doubled, 

the maximum amount of sick 

leave that can be taken by an 

employee remains at 20 days. 

It’s important to reframe 

how we think about employees 

taking sick leave. 

Not only do we need to 

prioritise keeping germs away 

from the workforce, but we 

need to consider how sick 

leave impacts your employees 

productivity levels and their 

overall wellbeing. 

In fact, making a concerted 

effort to empower your 

employees to look after their 

health and wellbeing has the 

potential to increase the overall 

productivity and profitability 

of your business. 

So, if an employee is starting 

to feel unwell, in any 

capacity, it’s better for the 

employee and your business 

that they take time to recover 

instead of coming into work 

when they’re not feeling 

100%. 

But sometimes workplace 

culture can get in the way of 

these conversations. This is 

where establishing an environment 

where it’s okay to ask for 

help is beneficial. 

After all, healthier, happier 

workers are more productive 

workers, achieving more with 

their time and producing work 

to a higher standard. 

According to the NZIER, 

poor wellbeing affects 

decision making and productivity 

for an average of 13 

weeks. 

Imagine the difference in 

productivity if workplaces put 

more emphasis on creating a 

culture where it’s okay to ask 

for help. 

Creating a work 

wellbeing culture 

All workplaces play a central 

role in building people’s resilience 

and positive wellbeing, 

so they can better cope with 

setbacks, take advantage of 

opportunities and be productive, 

contributing members 

of families, communities and 

workplaces. 

This starts with communicating 

with your staff and 

fostering a supportive culture 

where employees feel comfortable 

to take leave when 

they need to. 

For example, take time to 

get to know your team, what 

makes them tick, and how they 

manifest stress. 

Fostering these relationships 

goes a long way to creating 

an open workplace culture 

where people feel safe and 

empowered to have discussions 

about what they need – 

from sick days and schedule 

Recognising the signs of employees 

dealing with poor health or wellbeing 

means being able to proactively support 

them to manage their workload at work 

or while they take time off.” 

flexibility, through to taking 

some proper leave to recharge 

their batteries. 

We spend so much time 

at work, why not make the 

most of it and reinforce a 

healthy culture of camaraderie 

between your employees? 

Investing in fostering a good 

culture doesn’t have to cost a 

lot of time or money. 

One thing to consider is 

how you and your employees 

talk about sick leave, and 

whether there’s a benefit in 

examining what this entails. 

A shift happening in organisations 

across the world at the 

moment is reframing this as 

“wellbeing leave” to encompass 

everything people might 

feel compelled to take leave for. 

Something as simple as 

changing how we refer to 

leave can open up how people 

use this, allowing them to 

take leave for things that are 

important to them – or simply 

take a break for their own mental 

wellbeing. 

Recognising the signs of 

employees dealing with poor 

health or wellbeing means 

being able to proactively support 

them to manage their 

workload at work or while 

they take time off. 

And creating a culture 

where people are empowered 

to make the right decisions 

for their own health is essential, 

whether that’s taking 

sick leave or spending time 

to address other wellbeing 

issues.


Foresters say afforestation report 

raises more questions than it answers 

The Forest Owners Association said in a statement that the recent 

Beef+Lamb-commissioned survey on forest planting rates is nowhere 

near robust nor detailed enough to draw a conclusion that the 

government should impose controls over the rate of forest planting. 

Forest Owners Association 

President Phil Taylor said 

the Beef+Lamb report 

was a worthy contribution to 

the land use debate, but that it 

raised more questions than it 

answered. 

“Government data is contradicting 

the report,” said 

Taylor. “Official figures 

clearly point to a decline in 

the area of the exotic plantation 

forest estate, and so new 

planting is not keeping pace 

with the land area going out of 

forestry.” 

The plantation forest estate 

had shrunk by 162,000 ha in 

the past 18 years, mostly to 

dairy farms, said Taylor, who 

noted that there had always 

been changing land use. 

“Our concern on current 

figures, would be that the Climate 

Change Commission’s 

reliance on an expansion of the 

exotic forest area by another 

380,000 hectares by 2035, 

to meet the 2050 greenhouse 

gas target, is going to fall well 

short. 

“On top of that, the Climate 

Change Commission 

anticipates there will need to 

be more use made of wood 

in construction, and its extensive 

utilisation in biofuels to 

replace fossil fuel.” 

Risk of not meeting 

carbon targets 

Taylor said that meant any 

government restrictions on 

afforestation would risk New 

Zealand not meeting its carbon 

targets. 

“By the time that shortfall 

becomes clear it will be too 

late to fix it,” said Taylor. 

The National Exotic Forest 

Description, which is 

published by the Ministry for 

Primary Industries, recorded 

a reduction in the net stocked 

area in the year to April 2020 

of 31,347 ha, after allowing 

for 19,000 ha of new 

afforestation. 

The President of the Farm 

Forestry Association, Graham 

West, said farmers should be 

free to continue to make economic 

decisions on whether 

they want to use their own 

land to plant trees and on what 

land classes. 

A recent Ministry for the 

Environment study has shown 

that there is currently 313,000 

ha of plantation forests on 

farmland. 

Forestry stacks up well 

as a land use 

“And that makes sense for 

farmers,” said West. “The 

recent PwC report was clear 

that forestry stacked up very 

well as a land use and so forestry 

benefits the economies 

of local communities. 

“There is between 7.5 and 

10.4 million hectares of hill 

country farm land, and if a 

There is between 7.5 and 10.4 million 

hectares of hill country farm land, and if 

a conversion of a mere 380,000 ha is a 

threat, then the meat and wool industries 

has more serious issues to deal with 

than just a few profitable trees to worry 

about.” – Graham West 

conversion of a mere 380,000 

ha is a threat, then the meat 

and wool industries has more 

serious issues to deal with than 

just a few profitable trees to 

worry about.” 

West said the report was 

actually positive about the 

integrated use of trees on 

farms and that land sales to 

forestry are giving better capital 

gain, which allows movement 

up the farming ladder or 

retirement. 

Phil Taylor 

BakerAg, the report’s 

author, stated: ‘If farmers 

already have experience 

with trees and forestry, or 

are confident of the support 

available in what may not 

be core business to date, 

then indicators are this will 

provide further confidence 

to consider investing in 

forestry as part of the land-use 

mix.” 

Taylor said Beef+Lamb 

automatically assumed that 

farming would always be a 

better and more productive 

land use than forestry. 

“On the tougher hill country, 

Beef+Lamb are now 

demanding that even if livestock 

can barely survive on 

that land, then tree planting 

should still be restricted,” said 

Taylor.” 

Very little known 

According to Taylor, the report 

showed that very little was 

known about the extent of 

carbon-only forest planting in 

recent times. 

“The Beef+Lamb report 

estimates this non-harvest forest 

planting is about 30 percent 

of the total planting. But 

nobody has any real idea at the 

moment. If this carbon planting 

is on land which could be productive 

for timber or livestock 

then we would have concerns 

that the land should be used 

better.” 

“After all, there’s at least a 

million ha of land in New Zealand, 

which is too remote or 

erosion prone for farming or 

for production forestry and so 

is ideal to use for locking up 

carbon, but not useful for anything 

else.” 

Taylor said it was important 

to realise that while forestry is 

hugely important in sequestering 

carbon produced by industrial 

emitters over the next three 

decades, trees do not offer a 

continuing long-term answer 

to greenhouse gas emissions 

through offsetting. 

“We have no issues with 

either Beef+Lamb or the Climate 

Change Commission in 

their same view that the only 

effective long-term response to 

the threat of climate change is to 

reduce those source emissions, 

wherever they come from. 

Farmers who are expected 

to produce this extra value 

strongly demonstrated against 

regulations recently. They don’t 

need more restrictions.” 

NEW APPOINTMENTS 

BBN’S GUIDE TO NEW PEOPLE AND NEW ROLES ACROSS BUSINESS IN THE BAY 

To feature in New Appointments email us at new.appointments@bopbusinessnews.co.nz 

Appointments indicator of Bay’s importance 

Despite the uncertainties resulting from Covid-19 lockdowns in late August, New Zealand businesses have continued to signal their 

commitment to the Bay of Plenty business sector through a raft of new appointments. 

Alex Russell 

Apricity Finance recently welcomed 

Alex Russell to the team as Business 

Development Associate. With a background 

in the insurance industry, 

Alex prides himself on developing 

and maintaining strong relationships 

and consistently delivering a 

high level of customer service. Passionate 

about exercise and learning 

new things – Alex is approachable 

and happy to discuss business cash 

flow challenges. He can be contacted 

via alex@apricityfinance.com or 021 

719 037. 

Kate Romey 

Kate Romey is heading up New Zealand 

operations of the trans-Tasman 

construction and engineering staffing 

recruiter, Marble. 

Kate is based out of Tauranga 

and recruiting across Bay of Plenty, 

Waikato and Auckland regions. Her 

key focus is white collar appointments 

within residential, commercial 

and civil construction. 

Expansion across New Zealand 

is on the horizon, including other 

regions and staffing offerings. Kate 

holds two years of specialist construction 

recruitment experience in Sydney 

and New Zealand. 

She is excited about opportunities 

that exist within the ever-changing 

construction and design industries 

and bringing her knack and passion 

for matching talent with great 

organisations. 

Kaydi O’Connor 

Kaydi O’Conner has joined Page 

Macrae Engineering as Marketing 

Specialist. Kaydi comes to Page Macrae 

from her previous role at Priority 

One which enabled a good insight 

into local Bay of Plenty industry. 

Given Kaydi’s sporting background 

in representative canoe slalom 

and her passion for storytelling, 

she is well placed to drive Page Macrae’s 

new market and products marketing 

strategies. 

Sustainability is becoming a more 

integrated consideration for all industries 

– Kaydi is very passionate in this 

area, with a totally holistic approach 

to not only our environment, but also 

our people and communities. 

Her involvement in growing 

tomorrow’s minds with the likes of 

the Young Innovators program, which 

Page Macrae continues to sponsor, 

reflects a synergy which will have 

benefits for both Kaydi and Page 

Macrae. We are very excited to merge 

Kaydi’s talent with our own growth.


NEWSBRIEF 

Seeka announces six 

month interim results 

$30.8m net profit before tax – up 77% on six 

months to 30 June 2020. 

Listed New Zealand produce 

company Seeka Limited, 

with operations in New Zealand 

and Australia, is pleased to 

report its unaudited interim results 

for the six months ended 30 June 

2021. 

“Seeka delivered outstanding 

customer service and excellent 

financial results to shareholders in 

the first six months of 2021,” says 

Seeka chief executive Michael 

Franks. 

“Strong demand for our services 

contributed to record Group 

revenues of $224m in the sixmonth 

period; up 26% on June 

2020. Importantly, we’ve delivered 

on our strategy to improve 

earnings, posting $30.8m net 

profit before tax for the period, up 

77% on the pcp. 

“Seeka continues to invest in 

our kiwifruit business, acquiring 

Ōpōtiki Packing and Cool Storage 

Limited (OPAC) in May. OPAC 

is an eight-million-tray kiwifruit 

operation that expands our service 

delivery to the Ōpōtiki, East Cape 

and Gisborne regions. OPAC is 

now integrated, synergy savings 

on target, and the business is set to 

make a full-year financial contribution 

in 2022. 

“We have also made a significant 

investment into agritech, 

taking a cornerstone stake in the 

digital startup Fruitometry. Seeka’s 

investment will accelerate 

the development of smart orchard 

scanning technology that will help 

lift orchard production and realise 

supply chain efficiencies. 

“Our New Zealand kiwifruit 

business is in a strong growth 

phase, and Seeka is investing 

$20m in capacity builds for harvest 

2022, including a new automated 

packline and high- efficiency 

coolstores near Te Puke. 

These new facilities will improve 

labour use while providing us with 

post-harvest capacity through to 

2024. 

“Sustainability is a major focus 

and we are implementing strategies 

to minimise our environmental 

footprint. Our 2019 carbon 

footprint has been independently 

verified, and we’re defining performance 

baselines so we can set 

reduction targets and measure 

efficiency gains. Seeka is working 

to be an industry leader on reporting 

the impact of climate change 

and we are making real progress 

to reduce our emissions,” says 

Franks. 

PMG closes investment 

offer in Bethlehem 

Town Centre 

Hundreds of Bay locals now own a slice of their own backyard. 

Over 2000 new investors, 

including many Bay of Plenty 

residents, have jumped at the 

chance to own a share of Bethlehem 

Town Centre. 

Unlisted commercial property 

funds manager PMG Property Funds 

Management Limited (PMG) has 

now closed its latest offer in its PMG 

Generation Fund. Funds raised will 

help buy the high-profile Bethlehem 

Town Centre for $107.6m* alongside 

an industrial property at 11-13 Gough 

Street in Seaview, Wellington. Conservative 

bank borrowings will fund 

the remaining purchase price. 

PMG Chief Executive Officer 

Scott McKenzie says it’s a privilege 

to be the new owner and custodian 

of Bethlehem Town Centre as it’s a 

vital community hub. “We are looking 

forward to enhancing the value of 

Bethlehem Town Centre and further 

building its reputation as the shopping 

destination of choice in this region.” 

McKenzie says the ongoing low 

interest rate environment, coupled 

with headwinds in residential property 

investment, is generating a high 

level of interest in commercial property 

from a wide range of individuals. 

In a first, PMG partnered with 

online investment platform Sharesies 

and InvestNow to bring this offer to 

market, which has resulted in over 

1,850 new investors joining through 

these investment platforms. 

“At PMG, we’re passionate about 

creating value and security for people 

in property, helping New Zealanders 

achieve financial freedom. We 

have great respect for the innovative 

work Sharesies have done to simplify 

the investment landscape and build 

financial literacy and we’re delighted 

to expand our reach and partner with 

them as part of this latest offer to 

market. 

“Investment in unlisted commercial 

real estate is sometimes 

seen as out of reach for many New 

Zealanders. Through Sharesies and 

InvestNow we are able to help people 

overcome some of those barriers 

to invest in commercial property and 

make it easier for everyday Kiwis to 

participate.” 

The new acquisitions bring the 

total portfolio value of PMG’s Generation 

Fund to an estimated $166m*. 

The Fund comprises five quality 

commercial properties located within 

main metropolitan centres across New 

Zealand and is underpinned by notable 

tenants, some of which are classed 

as essential services and provide further 

confidence around the Fund’s 

income resilience for investors. 

McKenzie believes the strong 

uptake from both new and existing 

investors – in one of New Zealand’s 

largest directly-held and unlisted 

commercial property funds – is a 

reflection of the track record PMG 

and its funds have demonstrated over 

time. 

“We are extremely pleased with 

the number of investors who have 

come on board and the feedback we 

have had about the quality of our offer 

and the acquisition properties, including 

the spread of income risk via multiple 

tenants, in various industries and 

the offer of a regular cashflow at an 

attractive rate.” 

PMG’s Chairman of the Board 

Denis McMahon is impressed by 

the strong response to the offer, 

which had an accessible minimum 

investment threshold of 1,000 units 

($1,090). 

“When we launched PMG Generation 

Fund in 2020, the aim was 

to help more New Zealanders gain 

access to the benefits of investing in 

commercial property, providing regular 

income and the opportunity for 

good capital growth on their investment. 

This latest offer has certainly 

achieved this.” 

Since its inception, PMG Generation 

Fund has delivered a gross cash 

distribution return of 5.80 cents per 

unit* to its original investors and has 

seen a significant increase in the value 

of its underlying property assets. With 

a forecast gross cash return of 5.5% 

p.a.**, paid monthly, this offer delivers 

an attractive passive income so 

investors can enjoy the lifestyle they 

love, well into the future. 

Loosen the reins or risk losing the horse 

Us kiwis have always prided ourselves on being a DIY-capable, ‘get it 

done’ “leave it to me” kind of people. And while this is without doubt 

an admirable quality to possess it can sometimes be taken too far 

when it comes to running businesses. I have seen this lead to the 

downfall of many businesses, especially during phases of growth 

where the business owner refuses to let go of some of the control. 

CREDIT CONTROL 

> BY NICK KERR 

Nick Kerr is a Business Advisor at NJK Advisory Ltd. 

He is also director of International Private Investigations Ltd. 

Nick can be reached at nick@nzipi.com 

Let’s put this into the context 

of the current building 

boom in the Bay of 

Plenty with a fictional, but 

familiar example: 

Bob is a plumber who has 

gone out on his own after leaving 

a large firm. He picks up 

a few builders that he works 

for and because of his good 

quality of work he starts to get 

busy. 

Two months after striking 

out on his own, Bob is 

spending 30 hours a week 

doing plumbing and travelling 

to jobs and 15 hours a week 

doing quotes, invoicing and 

general administration. 

A few more clients come 

on board and at month three, 

Bob is doing 40 hours of 

plumbing and 17 hours a week 

of admin. 

At month four, Bobs’ business 

is still growing and he 

takes on another plumber to 

“lessen” the stress. 

But Bob insists on still 

doing all of the administration, 

including invoicing, ordering 

materials and quoting, which 

at this point is over 25 hours a 

week as he now must schedule 

all of his work and that of his 

staff member as well as doing 

his 30 hours a week on the 

tools. 

Reaching maximum 

capacity 

At month five, Bob is pretty 

much at maximum capacity 

and should an incident happen, 

such as a day-long disputes tribunal 

hearing with a disgruntled 

client, a Worksafe investigation, 

or his staff member 

being sick for a day, then the 

whole house of cards comes 

tumbling down. 

A symptom of this is often 

shown in the debtors’ ledger of 

businesses. Where the owner 

operator is the one doing the 

work and doing all of the 

admin, often the last thing 

on the long list of tasks is the 

overdue accounts. 

I have seen owner operator-run 

trades businesses write 

off thousands of dollars of 

accumulated overdue accounts 

a year because they simply 

do not have the time to chase 

them up, but they still refuse 

to contract an administrator as 

they do not want to relinquish 

control or don’t feel that the 

administrator will do as good a 

job as they would. My answer 

to this assertion to them is, 

would you hire a painter to fix 

your car? Would you hire a Vet 

to paint your house? 

As silly as this seems, it is 

true that if you specialise in 

a task (like administration) 

and do it for long enough you 

should be better at it than an 

overworked and stressed out 

“other subject matter expert” 

person who is trying to juggle 

that activity with 10 others. 

I have interviewed multiple 

owners of small liquidated 

trades businesses and the most 

common admission of fault 

they make is “I tried to do 

everything myself”. 

The first thing that they do 

when starting a new business 

is hire someone to do the tasks 

that they are not expert in. 

Like some NZ city councils, 

small businesses often 

wait for growth to become 

untenable before infrastructure 

is addressed. 

There are business growth 

experts and outsourced admin 

businesses out there that specialise 

in taking the stress in 

this area away from business 

owners, you just have to ask. 

My own investigations 

company brought on an admin 

expert six years ago and it 

transformed our business into 

an industry-leading profitable 

entity that is fun to work in 

rather than a struggling stressful 

mess. 

Just a thought.


NEWSBRIEF 

Results Released: The EMA 

Workplace Wellbeing Survey 

Nearly 600 respondents participated in 

the inaugural EMA Workplace Wellbeing 

Survey 2021 which was delivered in 

partnership with nib New Zealand. 

The results highlighted challenges, and the 

connections between wellbeing and engagement, 

retention and productivity for businesses. 

Small business choices have the most significant 

everyday impact on your people – and 

ignoring them could be a huge risk to your 

business. 

While 84% of survey respondents strongly 

agreed that staff wellbeing initiatives contributed 

to the retention of high performing 

employees, the most common methods of measuring 

staff wellbeing relate to turnover and 

retention levels (65%), absentee rates (63%) 

and exit interviews (48%). 

Survey findings indicated that one in six 

companies do nothing to track and measure 

wellbeing, and of those, 33% were small 

businesses with less than 15 employees. On a 

positive note, small businesses were seen as 

particularly good at responding to requests for 

flexible hours, with 62% of respondents from 

organisations with less than 15 staff saying their 

employers did so ‘really well’, compared with 

43% overall. 

nib highlighted that strong communication 

and support during the height of the pandemic 

saw 55% of respondents report improved job 

satisfaction over that time, but that worryingly 

these levels have since dropped. 

In addition, 32% of respondents were concerned 

about the health of their family (up 10% 

from pre-pandemic levels), one in four had concerns 

about their own health (up 11%), closely 

followed by 23% being concerned for the mental 

health and wellbeing of their family (up 6%). 

Given that one-in-three employee respondents 

also believed their employer could be 

more proactive at prioritising, adapting and 

implementing wellbeing strategies, it’s time for 

businesses to do something different. 

Office extras prove worth 

When viewed in the context of productivity, culture and employee appreciation, it’s the extras in the 

office environment that are proving their worth in today’s marketplace. 

Bayleys’ global real estate 

partner Knight Frank 

recently released its (Y) 

OUR SPACE report, which drew 

on responses from almost 400 

international businesses. It found 

that within the next three years, 

47 percent of firms will seek to 

improve the quality of the real 

estate they occupy, with 46 percent 

looking to improve the 

amenities available to employees 

within the workplace. 

Steve Rendall, Bayleys 

national director office leasing, 

said amenity-rich offices were 

making their mark pre-pandemic 

as companies sought to differentiate 

themselves in the market and 

take their corporate culture up a 

notch. 

“However, after the events of 

2020 and the enforced work-fromhome 

experiment, the office of 

today needs to offer tangible value 

to employees who have demonstrated 

that it is possible to work 

remotely. 

“Employers need to look 

beyond merely providing desk 

space and a staffroom, and not 

only give people reasons to come 

back to the office, but give them 

an environment that supports 

them on many levels. 

“Innovative spaces that bolster 

the physical and mental wellbeing 

of staff like collaborative lounges, 

breakout spaces, gym facilities – 

even on-site childcare – are making 

their way up the list of amenities 

that are now seen as global 

best practice.” 

Knight Frank’s (Y)OUR 

SPACE report found that the top 

four amenities identified by at 

least 45 percent of respondents 

are all well-being related. These 

include healthy food and beverage 

offerings, the provision of gym 

and changing facilities, along with 

other amenities that support mental 

wellbeing. 

Think dedicated rooftop gardens, 

meditation spaces, sleep 

pods, yoga classes and biophilia-related 

amenity for that feelgood 

factor. This could include 

plenty of natural light, loads of 

fresh air, green spaces, the use 

of natural materials and water 

features. 

Rendall said that in a post-lockdown 

world, people want to feel 

valued and appreciated, and there 

is also an innate need for social 

connection. 

“Balancing a company’s 

productivity goals against the 

well-being of its staff has been 

thrown into sharp focus,” he said. 

“One of the world’s biggest 

developers, Lendlease, claims the 

pandemic may have shifted the 

dial with the physical location of 

an office now having less importance 

than the connectivity, amenity 

and sense of place it offers.” 

Within mixed-use precincts, 

office workplaces are often integrated 

with retail outlets, hospitality/food 

and beverage options 

and fitness studios and this convenience 

factor is proving useful 

in staff recruitment and retention. 

Office workers can easily tick 

multiple life admin and recreational 

tasks off the list during 

their working day, meaning that 

once they get home, they can 

relax. 

Having onsite childcare could 

facilitate even greater efficiencies 

and while many mixed-use precincts 

include childcare centres, 

globally, this is being taken further 

within office tower developments. 

In the United States, a proposed 

multi-billion Child Care Growth 

and Innovation Fund would create 

an expanded tax credit to encourage 

companies to build onsite 

childcare facilities which, with the 

widespread uptake of more flexible 

work models, may encourage 

parents to return to the office. 

Rendall said whether New 

Zealand goes this far remains to 

be seen. 

“But there is no question that 

forward-thinking developers and 

landlords will continue to value 

the availability of high-quality 

childcare solutions when positioning 

their office buildings in the 

market.” 

www.bayleys.co.nz/workplace/ 

office/insights 

At Bayleys, we believe relationships are what businesses are built on and how they 

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

Professional property management 

A business partner that understands your views and goals 

Contact the Bayleys Tauranga Commercial Property Management team today. 

Bayleys Tauranga 

Commercial Property Management 

07 579 0609 

jan.cooney@bayleystauranga.co.nz 

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

ALTOGETHER BETTER 

Residential / Commercial / Rural / Property Services


First on the scene 

Photos from Rotorua Business Chamber’s ‘Business After 5’ at Secret Spot Hot Tubs Rotorua 

Photos by Carole Stabler and Saniya Abdul 

1 

2 3 

1 Annie Canning (Canning Life Coaching); Deb Rowles (Level 13); Israel Suarez Guido (Pullman Rotorua); Shaz Safarzadegan (Dancing Scissors); Miriam Hewson (Futureproof Concepts); 

Ashleigh Nairn (BurgerFuel, Fairy Springs) 2 Tracey Goodall (Rotorua Business Chamber): Keith Kolver (Secret Spot) 3 Secret Spot Direction Post. 

4 

5 

6 

4 Marie-Jo Rudsdale (Eves) ; Patty Maxfield (Eves). 5 Teresa Stout (Secret Spot). 6 Nadia Christensen (Professionals Real Estate); Lily Prummel (Professionals Real Estate). 

7 

8 9 10 

11 

7 Bryce Heard (Rotorua Business Chamber). 8 Keith Kolver (Secret Spot). 9 Karen Heard (Rotorua Business Chamber); Angelique Scott (Personnel Resources). 10 Eric Kolver (Secret Spot). 

11 Desirae Kirby (Rotorua Sustainable Charter). 

12 

13 

12 Sue Baty (AVID Business Agency); Martyn Evans (Martyn Evans Art); Vivien Cooper (BnB Redwoods). 13 Vanessa Price (Novotel); Shaz Safarzadegan (Dancing Scissors); Viv Sutton (Life 

Education Trust).


EV, or not EV? – that is the question 

Musings on luxury and leisure, 

post annus horribilis 

I’m going to describe my 

limited understanding of a 

process that I have grown up 

admiring – we pour in petrol, 

and when we turn a key a battery 

causes a starter motor to 

“start” an engine. 

Sparks are created which 

cause explosions (loud) and 

these explosions cause pistons 

to move, thus driving power to 

wheels (via lots of other bits). 

And here’s the really cool 

kicker: the dirty bits of leftover 

exploded stuff are then 

expelled out a pipe into the 

atmosphere, but the pipe has a 

part which ‘muffles’ much of 

the noise from the explosions 

(less loud) – nice touch. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I 

love the noise, and the vibration, 

and the smell, and the 

whole vibe, so yes, I guess I 

am a petrolhead. 

But, it’s 2021 and we live 

in a world with no plastic 

bags, surrounded by electric 

scooters, battery power 

tools, voice-activated mobile 

devices, wifi-enabled, satellite 

directed, un-manned and 

un-womaned autonomous 

everything. 

My carbon fibre running 

shoes give me a remarkable 

four percent efficiency boost, 

my raincoat is nuclear-fallout 

resistant, my eyes are lasered, 

my teeth are veneered, my fat 

is surgically removed and my 

dog is micro-chipped. 

I mean, my mechanic 

doesn’t even use a spanner, he 

just plugs in his laptop to my 

dashboard and hey presto, my 

car is fixed. 

So, is it just me, or does 

the concept of us still using 

the petrol explosion polluting 

engine method to move around 

our neighbourhoods so loudly 

while expelling the dirty 

exploded bits into the air seem 

… well … archaic? 

This is not good vs evil 

No, don’t stop reading. This 

is not a diatribe on good versus 

evil; I’m not being paid 

by anyone (yeah, but that’s 

another story) to say electric is 

good and petrol is bad. 

In fact, I’m one of those 

people saying, “It’s all very 

well for you to slag off air 

travel, but I’m not swimming 

to Oz, and neither, I suggest 

‘Mr Greeny Boy’, are you!” 

(OK, traveling to Australia is 

a bit theoretical right now, but 

you get the point). 

But I have been thinking 

about the dirty explosion 

method, and the government’s 

plans to incentivise the other 

clean method of perambulation, 

and I don’t understand 

why the petrol anti-vaxxers are 

so cross? Like really? 

So, you are incensed cos 

the guy who has to endure the 

humiliation of driving a Prius 

may get some advantage over 

you because you drive a Raptor? 

(I’m not sure the ‘dinosaurish’ 

name denomination is 

really on point right now, but 

that’s not important). Why are 

you so angry? 

We want less pollution. We 

want to slow global warming. 

We want to be 100 percent 

Pure Something – but, for 

Maybe we try and agree one thing 

then – we should encourage less 

pollution and better alternatives 

than exploding petrol machinery.” 

LUXURY & LIFESTYLE 

> BY ALAN NEBEN 

Alan Neben is a Mount Maunganui local and experienced New 

Zealand publisher. He has never openly aspired to be a TV 

newsreader. alan@bopbusinessnews.co.nz 

some of us it would appear, 

not if that means paying more 

for your car than the Uber guy 

pays for his – because that’s 

fascism. We’re American, and 

we’re not standing for it! 

Hang on – no we’re not? 

Maybe we try and agree 

one thing then – we should 

encourage less pollution and 

better alternatives than exploding 

petrol machinery. The 

details of how we can best 

encourage a shift may not be 

perfect yet, so let’s argue about 

those details, not whether there 

should be incentives to change. 

Isn’t it better for us all to have 

more EVs on the road – even 

if you’re not the one driving 

them? 

Q & A: 

Q: But I won’t be able to drive 

all the way to Wellington 

on a charge? 

A: You don’t have to. No one 

is making you. You don’t 

have to go electric. You 

won’t be judged. 

Q: I won’t be able to drag my 

three-tonne hunting kit 

across the swollen river in 

a poxy EV? 

A: Like when was the last 

time you actually did that? 

Seriously? And you don’t 

have to go electric if you 

don’t want to. You won’t be 

judged. 

Q: Incentivising so-called 

clean car alternatives 

is undemocratic and 

discriminatory? 

A: Well that’s not a question, 

it’s a statement … and one 

on which you definitely 

will be judged. 

“ 

Together, we’re 

making a real 

difference. 

” 

Thanks to the incredible 

generosity of our donors, we’re 

making a record distribution to 

charitable organisations in our 

region this year. 

Over $2M in 

distributions 

this September 

and more than 

$10M since 2003. 

September is 

Wills Month. 

Building thriving communities 

in the Western Bay of Plenty 

Add Acorn to your existing Will 

for free this month with our 

partner law firms. 

www.acornfoundation.org.nz | 07 579 9839 

Lori Luke, 

Chief Executive 

ADVERTORIAL 

Acorn Foundation 

makes record 

distribution 

This month the Acorn Foundation is celebrating a record 

contribution of over $2M to the Western Bay of Plenty 

community – the Foundation’s largest annual distribution to-date. 

Nearly 200 local charities, 

community 

groups and scholarship 

winners will receive a 

share of this funding – all 

thanks to generous local 

donors who believe in the 

Foundation’s model of investing 

the capital of a 

donation in perpetuity and 

distributing the returns to 

the community, year after 

year. 

This year’s record distribution 

means Acorn 

has contributed more than 

$10M to the region since its 

inception in 2003, supporting 

hundreds of charitable 

organisations doing vital 

work in our community – a 

testament to the success of 

the community foundation 

model. 

Acorn Foundation CEO, 

Lori Luke told us, “We’re 

incredibly grateful to all of 

our donors and supporters, 

including the invaluable 

support from local businesses, 

whose generosity 

and commitment to our mission 

has enabled the Acorn 

Acorn Foundation Chair Lesley Jensen & CEO Lori 

Luke. 

Foundation to make this 

significant contribution to 

our community. 

“Our thanks go to all the 

local firms who support us 

– and our community – via 

workplace and corporate 

giving, as well as participation 

from local law firms 

during our September ‘Wills 

Month’.” 

Eighteen local law 

firms have partnered with 

Acorn Foundation for Wills 

Month, to allow clients to 

make a simple change to an 

existing Will to include a 

gift to Acorn – for free. 

For a list of participating 

law firms and more 

information, head to 

www.acornfoundation.org.nz.


The power of 

storytelling 

You know your business or organisation does great work. The 

problem is, how do you get other people to care? The answer lies in 

storytelling. From cave paintings to friends gossiping and that gritty 

new Netflix drama, stories are the fabric of civilisation. 

THE LAST WORD 

> BY JAMES HEFFIELD 

Director of Bay of Plenty marketing and PR consultancy Last 

Word. To find out more visit lastwordmedia.co.nz or email 

james@lastwordmedia.co.nz. 

According to the BBC, 

the average adult spends 

at least six percent of 

their day engrossed in fictional 

stories on various screens. Add 

in books, magazines, and all 

that idle chit chat and you’re 

immersed in stories for a lot of 

your waking hours. 

But why do we dedicate 

so much time and energy to 

them? It’s because storytelling 

is fundamentally human. 

We are evolutionarily wired 

for it because we are a social 

animal. To survive and thrive, 

we needed to communicate, 

sharing ideas over distance 

and time. 

According to cognitive 

psychologist Jerome Bruner, 

we are 22 times more likely to 

remember a fact when it’s tied 

up in a story. This is because 

we recognise shared needs and 

emotions in tales about others, 

which creates familiarity and 

trust. Brain scans have shown 

that when we hear or read stories, 

the social and emotional 

processing parts of our brains 

are activated. 

Scientists define this as a 

form of cognitive play. Stories 

are a way to teach us empathy 

and help us understand the 

minds of other people. And by 

forging this emotional connection, 

stories make information 

memorable. 

Gather round... 

Take these two scenarios: A 

conservationist is being interviewed 

on the news about 

elephants. 

In one interview, he gives 

lots of information – how big 

they are, what they eat, the 

different techniques to protect 

them, etc. In another, he recollects 

seeing an elephant for the 

first time. He was on a family 

holiday, visiting a sanctuary 

for orphaned animals. 

He remembers feeling sad 

at first, but then recollects the 

joy he felt at helping to feed 

and look after the elephants, 

seeing the difference he could 

make. He explains that it 

parked a life-long love for 

these animals and taught him 

how valuable they are. 

Which one sticks with you 

more? It’s most likely the latter. 

You’ve put yourself in 

his shoes and are emotionally 

tied to the cause in a way you 

wouldn’t have been with just 

a list of facts. You may even 

be more likely to donate to 

the cause, and definitely more 

likely to talk about it. 

Telling your tale 

Storytelling is undeniably 

powerful. So, how can you 

weave it into your communications? 

Here are some things 

to think about: 

1. Emotion 

What’s your organisation’s 

cause or purpose? How does it 

make you and others feel, and 

why? How do you want people 

to feel about it? 

Even the most seemingly 

boring topic can have emotions 

attached to it, because if 

someone cares about it, then 

anyone can care about it. 

2. Structure 

At their most basic level, stories 

have a beginning, middle, 

and end. Or, a problem, journey, 

and resolution. They give 

it flow and logic, which keep 

people engaged. 

Be sure to incorporate all 

the steps, with some little surprises 

thrown in along the way. 

From cave paintings to friends gossiping 

and that gritty new Netflix drama, stories 

are the fabric of civilisation.” 

Oh, and keep it simple! It’s 

always better to not overcomplicate 

things. 

3. Characters 

Characters give a place for our 

emotions to land. We all need 

somebody (or something) to 

root for, especially if it’s an 

underdog. 

Think about who or what 

will carry your story forward 

and what their motivations are. 

This could be anyone – an 

employee, someone who’s 

used your service or product, 

or even the product itself 

(think – the M&M adverts). 

4. Universality 

What are common experiences 

of the human condition? 

While we may come into 

contact with them differently, 

some things are universal 

regardless of background or 

culture – birth, death, love, 

aspiration, conflict. 

Think about what makes 

us human and weave that into 

your narrative. 

It will help anybody, anywhere, 

relate to the story 

you’re telling. 

Candidates rightly demanding more 

HUMAN RESOURCES 

> BY KELLIE HAMLETT 

Talent ID are Recruitment Specialists and can support you through 

your recruitment process. Please feel free to talk to us about this by 

calling 07 349 1081 or emailing kellie@talentid.co.nz 

The age old saying “pay 

peanuts and you will 

get monkeys” has never 

been more relevant in today’s 

talent-short market. Candidates 

are demanding more 

and rightly so, with the highly 

skilled becoming harder to 

come across, it makes for 

simple supply and demand 

economics. 

However, with some thinking 

outside the box, investment 

in the recruitment process and 

building on a great company 

culture, there are ways to still 

avoid a hefty wage bill and 

ensure that you have a team 

that delivers. 

With job seekers applying 

for roles way above skill sets 

and candidates with experience 

realizing they are worth a 

lot more (especially given the 

recent minimum wage rise and 

the aligning of higher wages), 

it can feel like it is doom and 

gloom from an employer’s 

point of view. With additional 

questions like “how do 

I retain my staff?” and “how 

do I employ the right person?” 

ever present, taking a strategic 

approach is paramount. 

But while some employees 

are still looking for extra dollars 

in the pay packet, most just 

want to feel valued, offered 

more flexibility and enjoy a 

good work culture. 

A number of complementary 

benefits in addition to base 

pay are becoming increasingly 

popular remuneration mechanisms. 

Bringing together all 

the investments an organisation 

makes in its workforce 

and including this in the 

employment agreement could 

sway the right candidate your 

way. 

How to highlight the 

employment package 

advantages 

If you think it is expensive to hire a 

professional – wait until you hire a 

monkey.” 

These benefits could be things 

that are already done within 

your organisation and align 

with the company values, 

but are not highlighted in the 

employment package. By 

clearly communicating what 

is on offer, it can actively 

engage response from potential 

candidates and also drive 

current employees’ loyalty and 

engagement and overall a better 

organisational culture and 

performance. 

The offerings can be as 

simple as health and wellness 

benefits – free employment 

assistance programs (EAP) 

and medical services to ensure 

the employee feels cared for. 

Learning and development, 

or insurances and shareholding 

options could also be an option 

depending on the company. 

Often small, thought-out benefits 

can go a long way. 

I recently met an employee 

who took a $15,000 per annum 

pay drop to take on a role that 

offered one afternoon off a 

fortnight for personal things, a 

new phone, a yearly medical, 

and birthday leave. Nothing 

close to $15,000 value for the 

employer, yet a much happier 

and productive employee. 

From the employee’s point 

of view, she values the care 

factor and her personal time 

afternoon, over the wages she 

received at the previous role. “I 

value that I can book appointments 

and not feel guilty on 

skipping work and without trying 

to fit it all in a lunch break 

and I also feel like they genuinely 

care for me, it really was 

what clinched the deal”. Not 

only do the benefits add to a 

better workplace culture and 

environment, it makes people 

want to stay, or better yet come 

and work for you. 

Fair and well-aligned 

bass pay needed 

Kiwi psyche will always make 

us look for the carrot. However, 

they will not forget the 

base pay and this still needs 

to be fair and aligned with the 

demands of the role. At the 

end of the day, it is what pays 

for their lifestyle. Highlighting 

the base pay along with 

the perks can be included in 

employment contracts and 

wording this can be a mine 

field for some. This is where 

employing the skills of a HR 

company is essential. 

Our Talent ID Recruitment 

and Human Resource Specialists 

have been keeping a 

close eye on the market and 

are very aware of the current 

talent shortage. This is evident 

with great candidates being 

employed elsewhere within 

hours of even being identified 

as a potential employee. In 

some cases, we are now lining 

candidates up 4-6 months 

in advance, knowing that they 

will be in demand. 

Given the current situation 

and recruitment market, many 

organisations are turning to 

Talent ID for professional 

advice to update contracts and 

general HR needs. They are 

not just a recruitment specialist 

for the entire Bay of Plenty 

region but are also HR specialists 

that are being utilised 

more and more by businesses 

to support their daily HR 

needs. This includes support 

through the writing and updating 

of employment and contractor 

agreements and they 

can advise you on how best to 

word your job descriptions and 

your employment packages, so 

you can put your best foot forward 

when recruiting into your 

business. 

All in all, in this changing 

and challenging market the 

message is clear. Value your 

people, pay them what they 

are worth and they will help 

you grow your business. Highlight 

your culture and benefits 

so you will attract more of the 

right people. Let the professionals 

take care of the hard 

stuff because if you think it 

is expensive to hire a professional 

– wait until you hire a 

monkey.

24 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2021

September/October 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

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