May 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

MAY 2023 VOLUME 7: ISSUE 5
WWW.BOPBUSINESSNEWS.CO.NZ
FACEBOOK.COM/BAYOFPLENTYBUSINESSNEWS
AUSTRALIA
CHANGES
COULD
STRESS
KIWI JOB
MARKET
With demand for labour already under
extreme pressure here in the Bay of
Plenty, David Porter asks local business
experts about the impact of changes
to Australia’s policy on pathways to
citizenship. Their predictions: the
outcomes may not all be rosy. See page 3
PAGE 4
China tests its
international reach
PAGE 5
Best of Mercury and Trustpower to
come together under Mercury brand
PAGE 10
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FOR KIWI BUSINESS

COVER STORY
May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 3
oz chAnges could stress kiwI job market
By DAVID PORTER
Australia’s belated change of
policy in freeing up a path
to Australian citizenship
for Kiwis is likely to have a major
impact on New Zealand’s tight labour
situation.
The previous policy has always
been a source of political disaffection
between the two neighbours. The
changes in effect restore the situation
to that in 2001 when Australia introduced
the old policy.
Tauranga’s Priority One chief
executive Nigel Tutt told the Bay of
Plenty Business News that Australia
had recently generally been seen to be
more active in attracting immigration.
“But I do think this will heighten
employer concerns amidst NZ
companies.”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said
in a statement: “This is the biggest
improvement in the rights of New
Zealanders living in Australia in a
generation and restores most of the
rights Kiwis had in Australia before
they were revoked in 2001.”
From July, New Zealand citizens
who have lived in Australia for
four years on the current temporary,
special category visa provided to
all New Zealanders will be able to
directly apply for citizenship, without
first having to become a permanent
resident.
Tight Kiwi job market
Kellie Hamlett
It has been clear from media coverage
and government comments over
the past year or so that New Zealand
employers have been dealing with a
very tight job market. As the economy
has slowed, this tight labour
market shows signs of easing, but it
still isn’t easy.
Business News’ human resources
columnist Kellie Hamlett, director
of the Bay of Plenty’s Talent ID
recruitment firm, noted: “Even with
an increase in migrant arrivals here,
we are still painfully short of workers
across all sectors, and this change will
surely put even more pressures on our
employers over time.”
According to Hamlett’s research
into recent migration trends, even
pre-Covid there was a provisional
net migration loss of 8,100 people to
Australia in the year ended June 2022.
The loss in that year was made up of
net losses of 6,500 New Zealand citizens
and 1,600 non-New Zealand
citizens.
And traditionally, there has been a
net migration loss from New Zealand
to Australia. This averaged nearly
30,000 a year during 2004–2013,
and about 3,000 a year during 2014–
2019. However, it is unknown how
many of these were NZ citizens.
Matt Cowley
“I think the reality is that in the
past we have lost a lot of NZ citizens
to Australia,” said Hamlett. “At present
we have had 16 months of consecutive
net migration losses of people to
Australia.”
Australia a favoured target
Australia, being larger and generally
more active economically, has always
been a favoured target for New Zealanders
seeking to start their OE.
“Australia has always offered
higher wages, and an overall more
attractive ‘package’ with more affordable
housing and an arguably better
lifestyle, so to some, it has been
and is an attractive option,” said
Hamlett.
Matt Cowley, chief executive of
the Tauranga Business Chamber, said
migration had been an issue in New
Zealand for a long time and we were
now seeing it become an issue again
in the New Zealand media spotlight.
“Now that Covid has moved on a
bit people are beginning to feel more
free to move and have more choices,”
he said. “There are some sectors [in
NZ] that may be more exposed to the
development,” he said.
Anecdotally, Cowley referenced
as an example the problems faced by
fruit pack houses in recent times and
their concerns about Covid’s impact
on employment over the past few
years.
“Anecdotally the immigration
shift may [also] be of concern re
developing our new business leaders,”
he said.
Cowley said he had also heard
concerns expressed by bulk housing
producers that the market could see a
cooling-off in the construction sector.
Generally speaking, he suggested
migration was more likely to affect
blue collar workers in the Bay, especially
in the construction sector.
“It’s too soon to say whether we’re
going to see a mass exodus.”
The new citizenship laws were not
necessarily going to be disastrous, he
added.
Kellie Hamlett said that even with
the steep increase in wages experienced
in New Zealand over the past
two years, New Zealand still struggled
to compete with the wages on
offer in Australia.
“Whilst the recently announced
path to citizenship might not be the
reason people leave New Zealand, it
certainly is another tick in Australia’s
favour,” she said.
“Even with an increase in migrant
arrivals here we are still painfully
short of workers across all sectors,
and this change will surely put even
more pressures on our employers over
time.”
WHAT THE CHANGES OFFER
Under the changes:
• Rights come into effect on July 1, 2023.
• Applies to Kiwis on temporary, special category, visas who have
lived in Australia for four years, and meet the standard Australian
citizenship criteria (e.g. pass a character check, adequate knowledge
of Australia, a basic English competency, will continue to reside
in or have a connection with Australia) and attend a citizenship
ceremony.
• Is retrospective. Those in Australia since 2001 will be able to apply
directly for citizenship without gaining permanent residence first.
• Is affordable (the fee is A$490).
• Has no minimum income requirement or health requirement.
• Gives Kiwis access to services and benefits, once they become
citizens.
• Allows Kiwi children born in Australia to become citizens at birth
(rather than waiting till they turn 10, as they do now).
Take control of your future.
Buy your own business.
0800 225 999
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Bay of Plenty
· Managed by owner – 10 hours per week
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· Solid place in niche market
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· Repeat customers
linkbusiness.co.nz/BOP00583
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Ultimate Lifestyle Business! $415,000
Tauranga
· Minimal hours, great profit
· Niche within building & construction industries
· Efficient processes & systems
· Prime location, strong lease
linkbusiness.co.nz/BOP00598
Izaac Kershaw 021 0230 2377
izaac.kershaw@linkbusiness.co.nz
Successful Bobcat Business $1,175,000
Bay of Plenty
· Long established
· High profit margins
· Minimal competition
· Growth opportunities
· This thriving business has been in operation for
37 years at the same Sawmill.
linkbusiness.co.nz/BOP00600
Ray Owens 027 840 9274
ray.owens@linkbusiness.co.nz
Over 3 times the number of
Bay of Plenty business owners
trust LINK to sell their business
than our nearest competitor.
If you are thinking of selling your
business start here with a confidential
call to LINK today on 0800 225 999.
*Bay of Plenty market share of businesses for sale. Based on number of businesses priced over $100,000 on Trade Me on 12/02/2023.
All LINK NZ offices are licensed REAA 2008

4 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
THE PORTER REPORT
A monthly update on the business
world from leading writer David Porter
www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz
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Bay of Plenty Business Publications specialises in
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China tests its
international reach
French President Emmanuel
Macron’s recent
sojourn in China excited
some of the journalists covering
his visit. They reported
that he was given a “rock star
welcome” by students at the
elite Sun Yat-Sen University in
Guangzhou.
The coverage reminded me
of my own first visit as a green
foreign correspondent to China
many years ago. I accompanied
a group of 60 young New Zealanders
who were responding
to an invitation to visit from
then Communist Party General
Secretary Hu Yaobang.
As we descended from the
plane on our arrival, we were
greeted by a vast crowd of Chinese
citizens, banging gongs,
waving banners and exhibiting
great enthusiasm at our visit.
We were all delighted to
receive such a warm welcome.
However, on later mentioning
this incident to a Beijing-based
Kiwi diplomat, he looked at
me with some pity for my
naivety and remarked drily,
“Of course, they never have
any problem assembling a
crowd in China.”
As Macron discovered.
The French president
reportedly also hailed China’s
“critical thinking”, which
seemed an inappropriate
description of a country noted
for its tight media and political
controls.
Observing Macron’s peregrinations
in China, one could
only note that he had chosen
a very good time to be out of
France. His home country was
roiled by massive demonstrations
in burning streets amidst
some of the most extreme and
chaotic labour actions ever
seen there over his pension
change proposal.
Fortunately for Macron, the
relevant French institutional
committee gave the go-ahead
to his pension proposals and on
his return he dutifully passed
them into law. His detractors
already deeply resented the
fact that he had pushed through
his original pension changes
without parliamentary discussion
or approval. This latest
move seems unlikely to be the
end of French union unrest.
Ironically, the namesake of
the university that was credited
with his rock star reception,
Sun Yat-Sen, is unique among
20th-century Chinese leaders
for being widely revered by
both the Communist Party in
mainland China, and in Taiwan.
The breakaway state
continues to be threatened by
China with imminent takeover,
despite Taiwan’s evident resistance
since its inception as an
independent state to mainland
control.
Macron managed to attract
comment and in many cases
derision – even within the
European Community – for his
call that France should follow
its own path and not blindly
support the US – especially
with regard to the status of
Taiwan.
It would seem the French
President sees himself as an
international peace negotiator.
Unfortunately, his telephone
diplomacy to try and dissuade
Russian Federation President
Vladimir Putin not to invade
the Ukraine was a dismal
failure.
Macron has subsequently
purported to be trying to woo
China into helping broker a
peace plan with the Soviets
over the Ukraine. He seems
oblivious to the fact that the
last thing China intends to do
is dissuade Russia’s leadership
from its actions.
Chinese President Xi Jingping’s
recent reaffirmation of
the warm China/Soviet “partnership”
following his visit to
Russia made it clear that China
would not be attempting to
soften Russian policy.
After all, Putin’s doomed
war policy is China’s best
David Porter
chance of staking a claim to
independent influence in the
global order and resisting
international US pressure.
It is one of the ironies of
China, as I have observed
before in this column, that the
mainland’s greatest strength –
its vast population of almost
1.5 billion people – is also its
weakness. No senior leader
ascends to the top of China’s
political tree without understanding
the country’s history
and the vulnerabilities that
come with the job.
As became evident in recent
months when the lengthy
Xi-driven lockdown of entire
communities to try and control
the spread of Covid-19 eventually
triggered mass protests by
the Chinese populace.
Even the government’s vigorous
suppression of public
opinion couldn’t manage to
completely curb this, and ultimately
Xi had to back down
and ease the strict Covid-19
control policy. All Chinese
leaders understand that unsuccessful
regimes risk being
overthrown.
Making Quality IT, Simple

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 5
Some of Mercury’s Tauranga team
Best of Mercury and Trustpower to
come together under Mercury brand
This winter the Trustpower
brand will transition to
Mercury, bringing the
best of both brands together for
customers, while continuing
to be a supporter of the Bay of
Plenty community and major
employer in the region.
This follows Mercury’s
acquisition of Trustpower’s
retail business in May 2022.
Bay of Plenty-based Mercury
general manager customer
operations, Fiona Smith,
says she’s incredibly excited
about the opportunities bringing
together the two brands
presents.
“I worked for Trustpower
for nearly 27 years and was
very happy to join with Mercury
in 2022. I’m incredibly
proud of what we achieved as
Trustpower, from our success
in bundling after becoming the
first retailer to bundle fibre and
electricity together, to our support
for local communities,”
she says.
“Now, as we transition the
Trustpower brand to Mercury,
we will keep the best of Trustpower,
plus additional benefits
will be on offer soon - the
future is bright indeed.”
Mercury will continue the
good work Trustpower started,
investing in and being an active
Fiona Smith
supporter of Bay of Plenty
communities through sponsorships
and partnerships.
“We also remain a major
employer in the region so the
folk you chatted to last week
are the same ones who will
continue to look after you,”
Fiona says.
“Locals will simply see
an influx of Mercury yellow!
The Trustpower Community
Fund will become the Mercury
Community Fund, Trustpower
Baypark will be rebranded to
Mercury Baypark, our office
on Durham Street will likewise
be rebranded to Mercury and
other local signage and logos
will be updated to the Mercury
brand. There’re many benefits
of bringing the brands together
under Mercury,” Fiona says.
“Coming together under the
Mercury brand will build better
experiences for our customers.
This includes adding material
value for our customers
in terms of convenience and
the delivery of innovative and
exciting products.”
Trustpower is currently
contacting its customers about
the transition to the Mercury
brand.
What stays the same:
• Trustpower customers’
plans, services and benefits
will continue under the Mercury
brand.
• TECT beneficiaries in
Tauranga will continue to
receive this rebate under
Mercury.
• 100% NZ-based customer
service.
• Support for local community
and employment in the
region.
What changes:
• Trustpower branding will
change to Mercury nationwide.
This includes Trustpower
Baypark which will
become Mercury Baypark
and the Trustpower office
on Durham St which will be
rebranded to Mercury.
PRIVACY RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
It is important that businesses
understand their responsibilities
regarding any personal
information they hold.
According to the Privacy Act
2020, personal information is
defined as any recorded information
about an identifiable
individual.
If you have records that
contain information such as
TECH TALK
> BY YVONNE BLANCH
Yvonne Blanch is an Account Manager at Stratus Blue.
She can be contacted at yvonne@stratusblue.co.nz
name, date of birth, email
address, bank account details,
financial information, employment
history and medical
records, you have a responsibility
to protect that information
from unauthorised access
and transmission.
This includes ensuring
that staff are aware of their
obligations under the Privacy
Act 2020 and that they are
trained in how to handle personal
information safely and
securely.
The Privacy Commissioner’s
website at www.privacy.
org.nz provides guidance on
how to handle personal information
and what steps businesses
should take to protect it.
The website also has a range
of resources available for businesses,
including guidelines on
how to handle personal information,
privacy statements for
websites, and a privacy breach
notification form.
The Privacy Act 2020 sets
out the requirements for notifying
affected individuals and
the Privacy Commissioner of a
notifiable privacy breach.
The requirements include
notifying the Commissioner
as soon as practicable after
becoming aware of the breach
and notifying affected individuals
as soon as practicable after
notifying the Commissioner.
There are several new consequences
for breaching New
Zealand’s privacy laws under
the Privacy Act 2020. This
includes both criminal liability
for the company (and directors
if applicable), with fines up to
$10,000.
If you breach one or more
privacy principles (or equivalent
rules under a code of practice),
then any individual who
has been affected can make a
complaint to the Privacy Commissioner
to investigate.
Visit elearning.privacy.org.
nz for excellent free online
learning resources that are
short, snappy and practical
– and you get a certificate on
completion!
Our staff are encouraged to
complete these courses so we
all can understand our responsibilities
regarding the data we
hold and have access to. I recommend
they be part of every
induction programme.
We provide the digital
tools, applications and services
to protect your computer systems,
networks and digital data
but the weakest link is always
the human one. Increasingly
the bad actors are targeting and
probing individuals to gain
access. Education is important.
May 8 – 14 is Privacy Week
2023 and there are events
planned to provide further education
on privacy rights in the
digital age.
Check out the Privacy
Commissioner’s website and
ensure you, your staff and your
colleagues are aware of your
responsibilities – and your
rights.
IP protection, simplified.
We’ve been championing innovation since 1979.
A safe pair of hands delivering outstanding results.
jamesandwells.com
J&W Quarter Page Advert.indd 1
2021-12-28 5:31 PM

6 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
Maintaining confidentiality
during sale of a business
Business owners typically do not want the fact they are selling or contemplating selling their business to
be public knowledge. Awareness that the business may be sold may lead to staff looking for other job
opportunities, suppliers renegotiating contracts, or customers looking elsewhere for your services.
Construction
on new
Ōmokoroa
schools to
begin in 2024
The future layout of
Ōmokoroa continues to firm
up with a 2024 construction
start date for two new schools
confirmed.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti has
announced works on a new primary
school and secondary school are
expected to kick off early 2024, with doors
to be open for tamariki and rangatahi in
2025.
Ōmokoroa Primary School will initially
provide 350 places for Year 1–6 students,
with capacity to expand the roll to 550
students.
While Ōmokoroa Secondary School
will initially provide 800 places for Year
7–13 students, with capacity to expand the
roll to 1200 students.
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James
Denyer says the two schools, to be located
on the corner of Prole Road and Ōmokoroa
Road, are an integral part of the future of
Ōmokoroa and its predicted population.
By 2050, the Ōmokoroa Peninsula will
be fully developed and home to an estimated
13,000 residents. This will include
the development of 2500 new homes in the
surrounding schooling area.
“Fit for purpose facilities such as these
schools go hand in hand with supporting
the Ōmokoroa community and accommodating
its growth now and into the future,”
says Mayor James.
“This announcement will provide the
growing number of young families living
in Ōmokoroa with school-age children
the reassurance that they will soon have
schooling options much closer to home.
“It will also take some pressure off our
roads and State Highway with many families
currently needing to take their tamariki
and rangatahi to schools outside the area.”
The 2024 start date closely follows
Council getting underway on a $23.5 million
roading upgrade of Prole Road.
The $23.5m project is central to unlocking
the development of the two schools and
2500 homes planned, transforming Prole
Road from a rural road to one fit for a future
as a busy urban environment.
It includes the reconstruction of 1.7km
of road, from Ōmokoroa Road to Waipapa
River, new shared walking/cycling paths on
both sides of the road, on-road cycle lanes
for experienced cyclists, safe pedestrian
crossings, and a dual-lane roundabout at the
intersection of Prole and Ōmokoroa roads.
The future schools are part of wider
changes that will see Ōmokoroa look a little
different in the next decade.
This will include JACE Investments
Ltd’s $75 million privately-funded new
town centre, new residential areas for
around 2300 homes, more industrial zones
for local businesses and employment, a new
large reserve for active sports across the
road from the new schools, and a Natural
Open Space Zone to protect the extensive
gully network and retain it for stormwater
management and walkways and cycleways.
By using a business broker,
all of this can be managed
professionally. Business
brokers typically have tried and
tested confidentiality policies and
procedures.
When writing the advertisement
announcing the business is for sale,
brokers take care to hide details
that would identify the business.
Brokers know which words to use
and know how to make your business
an attractive choice while not
revealing anything too crucial.
It’s about finding the right
balance between, not disclosing
too much information while still
attracting the right buyer.
An advert outlines key points
about the business such as industry,
key features, and benefits but just
enough for an enquirer to want to
know more.
Commercially sensitive information
and identifying details are
typically withheld until the buyer
has signed a legally binding Confidentiality
Agreement.
This is important for any size
or type of business, but becomes
even more so for larger businesses,
where sales figures and other data
Tupperware finds itself in this
predicament seemingly as
a result of a failure to innovate,
both in product design and
distribution methods, and despite
attempts to freshen up its products
in recent years and reposition itself
to a younger audience. 3
As one expert reportedly 4 commented,
Tupperware – while considered
innovative many years
ago – was perhaps not as inventive
and stylish as other (kitchenware)
brands such as Joseph Joseph. 5
Add to its innovation woes the
arguable fact that the ‘Tupperware’
brand name has become a common
name in general public use (in trade
mark speak, ‘generic’) for food
storage containers, and Tupperware
(the company) faces a task of
Herculean proportions to survive,
let alone once again prosper.
Tupperware’s problems highlight
the need for all businesses to
‘stay relevant’: that is, continually
innovate in product and/or service
design and delivery to meet the
needs and wants of customers. As
Peter Drucker 6 once declared, businesses
must “innovate or die”.
In more common parlance,
“stay ahead of the pace of change
or you’re toast”. 7
In saying this, it is important to
note that innovation doesn’t have
to come with a huge price tag:
innovation can be small and cheap
– it might be a small change in how
you do something, or a slight shift
in how you communicate what you
do.
BUSINESS SALES
> BY STEVE CATLEY
Steve Catley is a Business Broker at LINK Business Brokers. He can be
contacted at 021 341 117 and steve.catley@linkbusiness.co.nz
The business broker
can take control of
the confidentiality
process and give
first-hand guidance
on when information
should be shared.”
are commercially sensitive.
Once this document is signed,
and before disclosing any additional
information, a business broker
typically asks specific qualifying
questions which can help sort
the serious buyers from those that
are just curious or can’t afford to
buy.
Notably, at this stage there is no
direct contact between the buyer
and the business, avoiding disclosure
of identifying details. Confidentiality
is maintained until each
potential buyer has been qualified
as genuine,
Release of information about
the business is typically released
in stages based on a tested process.
Once the business broker has qualified
a potential buyer, a summary
document will be provided giving
key facts about the business but
withholding information such as
Big or small, opportunities for
innovation are everywhere – you
just have to be open to them.
Tupperware’s problems also
highlight the need for brand owners
staff details, customer names and
full financial reports.
As the buyer continues to be
interested or is ready to make an
offer, more information can be
released. It’s possible to continue
to maintain secrecy right through
due diligence, depending on the
nature of the business.
The business broker can take
control of the confidentiality process
and give first-hand guidance
on when information should be
shared.
It is important to engage with
a broker who understands when
to release information to potential
buyers, and who can help you balance
the conflicting needs of marketing
and confidentiality.
TUPPERWARE ® – A TALE
OF TWO (IP) ISSUES
In early April, news broke 1 that Tupperware ® , the well known US-based food storage brand, is in serious
trouble. With rising debts and falling sales, Tupperware warned that it could go bust unless it can quickly
raise new financing. 2
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
> BY BEN CAIN
Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells. He can be
contacted at 07 928 4470 (Tauranga), 07 957 5660 (Hamilton),
and ben.cain@jamesandwells.com
to protect their brand name from
becoming ‘generic’ – as ‘Escalator’
and ‘Aspirin’, for example, did and
‘Sellotape’ and ‘Jandals’ arguably
have (at least in New Zealand).
Stopping a trade mark from
becoming generic in New Zealand
requires a fine balance of promotion
and policing (as Tasman Insulation,
the maker of ‘Pink Batts’
insulation, found out in the course
of litigation between 2012 and
2015 8 ).
Promote the name too much in
a manner which makes consumers
perceive it as noun, or fail to stop
people from using the name as a
noun, and brand owners could find
themselves in Tupperware’s shoes
or, worse, facing a claim to de-register
their trade mark.
It will be a huge pity if the lid
on Tupperware’s future is firmly
sealed shut in the next few months.
I, for one, hope the brand can be
saved – all it needs (apart from a
shed load of money) is the right
kind of love.
1. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65237293 “Tupperware warns of collapse unless it finds funds”. 2. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65243711 “Tupperware: Why the household name
could soon be history”. 3. As fn 2 above. 4. Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at the consultancy GlobalData, see fn 2 above. 5. https://www.josephjoseph.com/. 6. Peter Drucker was
an influential Austrian-American author, mentor and consultant who is considered the father of modern business management: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10634-peter-drucker-management-theory.html.
7. https://hbr.org/2014/12/innovation-on-the-fly#. 8. See Tasman Insulation New Zealand Limited v Knauf Insulation Limited [2014] NZHC 960 and Tasman Insulation New
Zealand Ltd v Knauf Insulation Ltd [2015] NZCA 602

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 7
TOP EATERIES
WIN FOODIE
FESTIVAL
CHALLENGE
A
scotch egg dish and pyramid-shaped
pasta have both
proven a hit during the Coastal
Bay of Plenty’s annual foodie festival.
The winners of the Plates of Plenty
Challenge have just been announced,
with Papamoa café Pearl Kitchen
receiving almost a third of all the
public votes cast to claim the People’s
Choice Award.
Inspired by a box of locally produced
ingredients, their dish featured
a bacon and maple scotch egg served
with a sautéed mushroom medley,
truffle mushroom foam, crispy potato,
rocoto romesco, and a parmigiano
and madeira jus.
Pearl Kitchen head chef Nigel
Reid says they sold about 400 servings
of the dish throughout the 10-day
Flavours of Plenty Festival (24 March
– 2 April).
“We really thought about the ingredients
in the Plates of Plenty Challenge
box and wanted to represent
them well. Scotch egg was perfect for
our breakfast/lunch demographic –
and who doesn’t love a scotch egg!”
Meanwhile, Alma Eatery in
Ōmokoroa caught the attention of
the Plates of Plenty Challenge expert
panel, earning the Judge’s Choice
Award for its fagottini con funghi e
tartufo.
Their dish, featuring pyramid-shaped
pasta stuffed with mushrooms,
Grana Padano cheese, ricotta,
and herbs, served with truffle butter
consisting of roasted hazelnuts, sliced
truffle, pekepeke-kiore, and truffle
salt, made one judge note: “It was
dancing on my palate.”
Alma Eatery co-owner and head
chef, Marco Velickovic, says his
whole team helped perfect the dish
before its release.
“It means a lot that people within
the hospitality sector recognise what
we’re doing. The dish sold out most
days [during the festival]. We’re even
planning to add the dish to our menu,
going forward.”
It’s the second year that the culinary
challenge has been held during
the Flavours of Plenty Festival,
which is organised by Tourism Bay
of Plenty.
Each of the 12 Plates of Plenty
Challenge entrants received a box
containing mushrooms, sausages,
chocolate hazelnut butter, truffle salt,
limoncello, chills, and eggs, and were
tasked with using at least three of the
items to create a bespoke dish for the
festival.
Pearl Kitchen and Alma Eatery
received vouchers donated by Southern
Hospitality, worth $400 and $600
1 2
3 4
1. Head chef Nigel Reid and front-of-house assistant manager Tanesha Horsburgh were excited with Pearl
Kitchen’s people’s choice win. 2. Pearl Kitchen’s award-winning scotch egg entry. 3. The pyramid-shaped
pasta dish, by Alma Eatery, caught the judges’ attention. 4. Alma Eatery head chef and co-owner Marco
Velickovic with the Judge’s Choice Award.
respectively, for their award-winning
efforts.
Oscar Nathan, general manager
at Tourism Bay of Plenty, says the
challenge is designed to establish
and encourage beneficial partnerships
between the region’s innovative
foodie producers and respected hospitality
businesses.
“We were impressed with the creativity
and culinary skills displayed
by all 12 of the eateries that entered,
and it was great to garner the support
of the seven local producers who
enthusiastically submitted their best
ingredients during the challenge.
“It’s been exciting to see foodie
producers, hospitality venues, tour
operators, and event organisers coming
together during our first two
annual festivals to showcase our
region’s spectacular range of edible
offerings. We’re very keen to ensure
that the Coastal Bay of Plenty earns
its rightful place on the national and
international culinary tourism scene,”
he says.
UTF raises red flags
over infrastructure
decisions at TCC
Tauranga’s Urban Task
Force have presented
a report which raises
concerns with changes to the
city council’s Infrastructure
Development Code (IDC)
highlighting the adverse
effects of these changes on
the environment.
The report was tabled in
response to mounting frustration
with frequent changes to
the IDC.
UTF Chairman, Scott
Adams, says the rules set out
in the IDC appear to pay little
heed to both the environmental
impact of infrastructure
and the cost to the local
economy.
“In the last 10 years alone,
developers who have constructed
over 70kms of new
roads in Tauranga have been
required to transport the specific
aggregate types needed
from the western side of the
Kaimais to the city despite the
availability of local options.
This has a huge logistical and
environmental cost,” he says.
“The IDC also includes
a move away from official
Standards New Zealand
conditions.
“This imposes changes to
the overall design, inspection
and compliance of a roading
project, doubles the cost and
causes all kinds of engineering
and running contractual
issues,” says Adams.
“Multiply the environmental
costs and the increased
expense by the amount of
roading that developers are
forecast to construct in the
Western Bay over the next 30
years, and you can see why
we are concerned at the arbitrary
specifications set by the
IDC.”
The report notes that the
IDC is an internal Tauranga
City Council (TCC) document
which is not subject to
external review. Any changes
to the IDC are made by Council
staff.
“Frequent changes to the
IDC significantly increase
construction costs, time and
risk without any evidence
that TCC has considered the
social, cultural, economic
and environmental impacts of
these changes,” says Adams.
“UTF would like to see a
balanced and fair approach
to all IDC decision-making.
This should include an opportunity
for better visibility, collaboration
on additions/variations
to the IDC document, or
changes via submissions to
be heard and for oversight by
either a
Commissioner or a panel
of experts,” says Adams.
The UTF report was presented
to the city’s Commissioners
and the Council’s
Chief Executive Officer,
Marty Grenfell.
“We’ve asked the city’s
leaders to consider the significant
uncertainty that the
IDC creates for the development
community. We’d like
TCC to follow the example
of other local authority’s and
restrict reviews of the IDC to
a five-year cycle.”
UTF have formed a
sub-committee chaired by
Steve Cutfield of Classic
Group to work alongside
Council staff and address
the issues raised in the IDC
report and move towards a
better system for implementing
acceptable changes to the
IDC document.
“The development community
understands the IDC
is an evolving document, so
the UTF is pleased that the
work we have put into our
report has resulted in this
opportunity to work alongside
the Council and provide
our perspective on the
changes needed to the IDC,”
says Cutfield.
“Through its recently
announced creation of a
Climate Plan, TCC has the
chance to reconsider the
environmental impacts of
key documents like the IDC.
UTF support these critical
decisions which will lead to
better environmental, economic,
cultural and social
outcomes for the ratepayers
of Tauranga.”
engineers | surveyors | planners
Proudly adding expert advice to projects
across the Bay of Plenty.
Contact
Cheal to find out
how we can assist
with your projects.
1180 Amohia Street, Rotorua
Ph: +64 7 349 8470

8 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
Man versus machine in franchisee
recruitment
As a generation X person I feel we’re a link
between the technology native millennials,
with their cloud based notes and voice
activated assistants, and the old school: pen
and paper, always carry a diary, err … old
schoolers.
So like many, I’ve
watched the development
of AI and the news
on what industries it’s going to
completely replace and wondered
if we’re next.
Technology has helped,
and changed, how we work
How we work is now very
different to when I started in
franchising more than 20 years
ago. This has been influenced
and facilitated by technology.
How people receive information
relating to a particular
franchise or opportunity has
completely changed.
The old path of a newspaper
advert, perhaps followed by a
telephone call, an exchange of
paper-based information and
endless face-to-face meetings
(to expound the virtues of purchasing
a particular business
model) is gone – dead and forgotten.
It has been replaced by
social media, brand websites
and Google. Thank goodness.
This makes for better-informed
buyers and for better,
more valuable conversations
when we start the dialogue
with people.
Unquestionably, processes
have also changed; the
well-developed excel sheets
with macros and links to
access information and repeat
tasks replaced by CRMs.
Faxed or posted forms have
been replaced by secure digital
signing platforms. Printed brochures
replaced by websites,
downloadable PDFs and digital
assets.
Embedded in these new
processes are time-saving process
automations – sending
forms, progressing sequential
information flows and
ensuring boxes are ticked and
actions recorded.
Technology has replaced
manual processes, assisting the
franchisee recruiter and potential
franchisee along the way.
Essentially the same route, on
a different mode of transport.
The real change now raised
is the possibility of AI jumping
in and replacing some of
the touch points of the human
recruiter.
A Google search “best franchises
to buy in New Zealand”
can already be replaced by AI;
chatbots can run an interactive
process resembling, and
in some cases scarily close to
replacing, a human recruiter,
asking questions and guiding
a potential franchisee buyer
through the process.
Their ability to collect and
Chatbots can run an
interactive process
resembling, and in some
cases scarily close to
replacing, a human recruiter,
asking questions and guiding
a potential franchisee buyer
through the process. Their
ability to collect and collate
data, record preferences
and manage processes will
in most cases surpass even
the most experienced and
capable recruiter.”
collate data, record preferences
and manage processes
will in most cases surpass
even the most experienced and
capable recruiter.
What people do that
technology cannot … yet
But before we log off and hand
over to the machines to complete
franchisee recruitment
and sales processes, it’s worth
stepping back and looking at
the intention of recruiting, and
what the machine is not yet
able to imitate.
Franchising is a relationship
model. The relationship is
between, and relies on, people.
The franchisee recruiter’s role
is to make a match between the
potential franchisee and the
franchise brand; In essence,
anything attempting to replace
the human component is still
trying to imitate the human
relationship part, and here lies
the crux.
The Maya Angelou quote,
“People will forget what you
said, people will forget what
you did, but people will never
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
forget how you made them
feel,” was not written about
the franchise relationship, but
it certainly does apply.
As yet AI can only imitate
empathy. AI will never really
have any feelings. AI cannot
have any collective experience
and relate to the candidate, so
ultimately how is that going to
make you feel?
So my take on AI as it
relates to franchisee recruitment:
it is not going to replace
our ability to relate to and
engage with each other on a
personal level. We should not
fear it taking our jobs, it should
simply be seen as another
(super clever) technology tool
that may actually give us back
some time.
Room to grow for SME wellbeing
A walk between meetings
can help achieve restedness.”
It’s no secret small
businesses in the Bay
of Plenty and across
Aotearoa have been
doing it tough these
last few years.
WORKPLACE WELLBEING
> BY BRIDGET SNELLING
Bridget Snelling,
Xero New Zealand Country Manager.
The string of Covid-19
lockdowns, followed
closely by high inflation,
talent shortages, and uncertainty
about the future, have all
made a challenging work environment
for our small business
communities.
However, if the last few
years have taught us anything,
it’s the resilience of our small
business communities.
But how does their wellbeing
fare against the general
population?
To better understand the
relationship between small
business ownership and wellbeing,
a new report draws
comparisons on small business
wellbeing across several
countries including Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, Singapore,
South Africa, the United
Kingdom, and the United
States.
Overall, Kiwi small businesses
appear to be coping
well compared to other small
business communities around
the world.
Our small business owners
ranked third in overall wellbeing,
and first in overall life satisfaction,
with almost half of
small business owners feeling
calm and relaxed most or all of
the time.
This is all testament to the
strong appreciation Kiwis now
have for work-life balance,
with more business owners
beginning to focus on fostering
a positive workplace culture.
While it’s encouraging to
see these solid indicators of
wellbeing for Kiwi small businesses,
their wellbeing still
trends below that of the general
population.
It’s common for small business
owners to take a hands-on
approach to business, deeply
involving themselves in any
day-to-day operations and
challenges which pop up. As a
result, this often puts their personal
wellbeing in a vulnerable
position.
There’s a general understanding
around why small
business owners often struggle
with wellbeing – the real thing
we need to focus on is what
can they do about it?
For small business owners
concerned for their wellbeing
or that of their employees, we
have four recommendations to
help mitigate this stress.
There’s no doubt small
business productivity and
wellbeing go hand-in-hand.
Conscious investment in wellbeing
initiatives can help support
you, your employees, and
your bottom line.
Training and guides which
help address the root causes
of employee’s mental health
issues are also an effective way
to introduce wellbeing into the
workplace.
This could be an expert
coming into the office to discuss
wellbeing, or even sharing
helpful tips and resources
with your team.
Then for anyone looking for
a more interpersonal approach,
there are a range of counselling
and peer support networks
available in Aotearoa to help
small businesses navigate their
wellbeing challenges.
Support offered through the
Xero Assistance Programme
(XAP) gives small business
owners on Xero starter, standard,
platinum or ultimate
plans free access to confidential
mental health counselling
and resources.
Lastly, try to explore different
ways to achieve restedness
in your workplace, with the
goal to help you and your team
set business matters aside.
This could be anything
from taking a walk around the
block in between meetings,
to giving a team member an
extended lunch break if they’re
feeling overwhelmed.
Wellbeing support comes
in all shapes and sizes, and it
doesn’t have to be a huge cost
for your business.
Small business owners
have made incredible progress
in the wellbeing space over the
last few years, and we hope to
see them continue to strive in
this space.

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 9
Award winning Tiaki Early
Learning Centre changes hands
After 15 years of hard work and obtaining a unique status among early childcare
services in Rotorua, award winning Tiaki Early Learning Centre changed hands
on 1st April 2023. It has been bought by Osatti Investments Limited which runs
Playtopia Educare.
The word Tiaki means to ‘care,
protect and look after, to be
a guardian’. This name was
given to the Centre by the local hapū
Ngāti Te Roro o te Rangi.
Tiaki Early Learning Centre, nestled
on the shores of Lake Rotorua,
caters for up to 30 children. It was
opened in November 2008, with a
desire to create a quality place for
children to grow and learn, with the
support of many kaiako, families and
the local community.
The service is set within a large,
well-established outdoor environment,
with vegetable gardens, an
orchard, and plenty of space and
mature trees which allow children
room to move, climb and play. The
outside environment is intentionally
designed to encourage children to
connect with nature.
Tiaki ELC has won several awards,
including the Innovation category of
New Zealand National Commission
(UNESCO) Award in Global Citizenship
Education in 2018; Excellence
in Health and Wellbeing Education at
the 2019 Prime Minister’s Education
Excellence Awards.
Tiaki’s philosophy is rooted in
whanaungatanga and tangata whenuatanga
– the concepts of relationships
and socio-cultural, place-based education.
Place-based learning builds
a feeling of belonging and fosters a
strong sense of identity, of affiliation,
and responsibility.
The high teacher:children ratio
allows the children to undertake
place-based education, connecting
with the local community which is a
large part of Tiaki life. With time, the
children develop a love and respect
for the local area, they want to care
and look after it, that is the essence
of kaitiaki.
“As a former senior environmental
scientist at Scion, and Professor
of Environmental Science at Fiji
National University, I am impressed
with the philosophy of sustainability
and zero waste policy at Tiaki ELC,”
said Dr Guna Magesan, Director of
Osatti Investments Limited.
“Tiaki’s philosophy will continue
under new management. Similarly,
excursions to local Marae, wetlands,
lake, and community interactions and
learning from nature will continue.
To make sure that happens, we have
appointed Bradley Graham, who is a
current kaiako, as the interim Manager
of Tiaki ELC,” he added.
“At Scion, I had an opportunity to
lead several projects including land
treatment of effluent; nitrate leaching
from gorse; biological farming and
Now, it is time to bring
scientific concepts to
childcare education,
showing importance of
vermicomposting, organic
gardening to grow our
own kai, and many more.”
impacts on water quality; and “wastes
to resources” programme. Now, it is
time to bring scientific concepts to
childcare education, showing importance
of vermicomposting, organic
gardening to grow our own kai, and
many more,” Dr Magesan added.
“We already compost all food
scraps. We work hard to find
resources that align with our philosophy.
We avoid plastic and try
to purchase well-made, long-lasting
resources. All of this means we
can significantly reduce the amount
of waste we produce,” said Bradley
Graham, interim Manager of Tiaki
ELC.
“The kaiako come from a range of
backgrounds but all of them share a
passion for the natural world while
ensuring the best quality education
for the tamariki.
“The outdoor environment is the
best possible resource which helps
children to become capable, confident,
and resilient while developing
a healthy respect for Papatūānuku,”
he added.
Tiaki provides delicious and nutritious
vegan kai. The menu has been
developed alongside a qualified and
experienced pediatric nutritionist,
who worked with the chef who prepares
the kai. It’s about teaching the
tamariki healthy ideas around food,
trying new foods, understanding
where your food comes from, and the
effect that has on the environment.
Tiaki Early Learning Centre is
indeed unique, and it holds a special
place within our hearts because of
its service, philosophy, and learning
from nature. The children are able
to authentically connect with their
local community and its history and
culture, and the result is that they can
receive the physical, mental, spiritual,
and emotional benefits these
connections offer.
“I got into the childcare business
with a concept of community development
through childcare education.
We are here to contribute to the community,”
added Dr Magesan.
“Let us all come together. Let us
all work together. Let us all grow
together.”
Celebrating
20 years
of giving
This year, the Acorn Foundation
celebrates 20 years of connecting
generous people who care with causes
that matter in our region.
Acorn’s Smarter Giving Model has enabled
generous locals to connect with causes that
matter in our region since 2003.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 425 donor
funds, Acorn has gifted over $13M to hundreds of
community organisations and award winners.
Community-minded donors, committed
strategic partners, and engaged local funders
work with Acorn for the benefit of the WBOP.
See our
photographic exhibition
Join us in building a stronger
Western Bay of Plenty, forever.
(07) 579 9839 www.acornfoundation.org.nz
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GIVING
The Strand, Downtown Tauranga, 4 April – 31 May 2023
In partnership with

10 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
The Te Manawataki o Te Papa development
will transform Tauranga city centre.
City centre revitalisation underway,
but there’s no quick fix
Calls for a variety of measures to assist struggling city centre businesses have been common in recent years and
Tauranga City Council is continuing to invest heavily in solutions to the area’s malaise. Many of those solutions will take
time to put in place, so in the meantime, we’re implementing a range of actions to bring people into the city centre and
re-energise Tauranga’s commercial heart.
By ANNE TOLLEY, Tauranga
Commission Chair
When the Commission
first joined Tauranga
City Council at the
start of 2021, we were saddened
to see the state of the
city centre; a result of years of
indecision and inaction by previous
councils.
One of our main priorities
ever since has been to revitalise
the city centre, so it once again
becomes the thriving, beating
heart of Tauranga city – a great
place for people to live, work,
learn, visit and play.
That’s one of the key reasons
we’ve committed to the
transformative redevelopment
of the civic precinct – Te
Manawataki o Te Papa.
At $303 million, this will
be the biggest investment the
city centre has ever seen and
will include a new library and
community hub; a civic whare
(community meeting place); a
museum where the city’s heritage
can be displayed; an exhibition
gallery; and landscaping
linking the civic precinct to the
nearby waterfront reserve.
On top of this, Council has
also redeveloped a city centre
mall between Devonport Road
and Grey Street to house He
Puna Manawa – our library
and customer service centre
– until the new Civic Precinct
facilities are constructed; and
has committed to leasing a
10,000sq.m-plus building
now under construction at 90
Devonport Road as its future
administration building.
The private sector is also
playing its part, with several
large-scale developments
already underway and more
planned across the city centre.
We do acknowledge that
this revitalisation won’t happen
overnight, and we really
feel for those businesses who
have been impacted by previous
inaction.
We are committed to working
with them and other organisations
such as Downtown
Tauranga, so together we can
support our city centre through
this transformation.
We have already begun
implementing some immediate
solutions to help bring people
back into the city centre
through initiatives like community
events.
These are working well,
with a noticeable increase of
people spending time in the
city centre over the past summer,
and we are looking to
continue activation events over
the coming months.
Creating more spaces for
people to spend time is another
great way to bring people into
the city centre and this is a big
driver for the transformation
that’s underway at the waterfront,
from Dive Crescent right
along The Strand.
A key objective of this
development, and the wider
city centre transformation, is
the need to make the heart of
our city a place our community
can feel proud of.
Cleaning up our streets,
increasing the number of trees
and plants and creating places
for people to sit and spend time
are just a few of the ways we
are doing this.
We’re also exploring other
solutions to support businesses
based in the city centre, such as
a review of licence to occupy
arrangements, which allow for
our outdoor dining areas.
A return to paid on-street
parking in the city centre was
undertaken in December to
support retailers and customers
who were concerned about
people working in the city
using parking spaces all day.
Anne Tolley
To further support businesses,
earlier this month the
Commissioners approved widening
the scope of an existing
city centre residential accommodation
fund.
This creates a huge opportunity
for us to kick-start a wider
range of initiatives that we
know businesses need in the
short-to-medium term, while
our city centre goes through
this period of transformation.
We welcome all ideas from
local businesses and will check
back in with our city centre
community over the coming
weeks to discuss possibilities
for making the best use of this
fund, so as many people as
possible can benefit.
Does your bach
have a hidden
GST cost?
There are thousands of baches for rent in the wider BOP and
Coromandel regions and I would put money on a significant number
of these being owned by GST registered entities.
Sometimes the GST registration
is necessary
because the total rental
is over $60,000 per year, or the
entity owning the bach carries
on some other GST taxable
activity.
In these cases the owner
has had no choice but to make
the property subject to GST,
meaning GST can be claimed
on the purchase but must also
be paid on the eventual sale of
the bach.
This is the same as for
any other business asset, but
because the expectation is
that baches will rise in value
the owner effectively pays
GST on the capital gain on the
property.
On the other hand, there
will be a number of bach owners
who have registered for
GST voluntarily. You might
be wondering why do they do
this?
In my experience, this is
often done to make the sums
work on buying the bach in
the first place. Especially with
coastal properties increasing
in value significantly in recent
times, if a buyer is struggling
to get the purchase over the
line with the bank they may
see making a GST claim an
easy way to reduce the overall
cost of purchase and therefore
the amount they need to
borrow.
But this strategy can be
short-sighted because GST
will be payable on sale of the
bach.
Take the example of a bach
that was bought for $600,000
and the owner claimed back
GST of $78,260. If the bach
increases in value by $1m, a
$1.6m sale means the owner
has to pay $208,695 in GST.
Being GST registered will
have cost the owner a net
$130,434 in GST.
Often this is not well understood
by the owner and can be
a surprise when they come to
sell.
The good news for these
owners is that a recent GST
law change may give them
ability to opt the bach itself out
of the GST net by paying back
the GST that they claimed in
the first place.
If the purchase was zerorated
for GST the opt out still
applies, but the amount of GST
payable is based on the GST
that would have been charged
on the purchase if it had not
been zero-rated.
Owners are only able to opt
out if the bach was acquired
and used primarily for private
purposes, so as a family bach
rather than a permanent shortterm
rental for example, and
they have to be able to fund
the GST that will be payable to
Inland Revenue.
The rental income remains
subject to GST after making
the opt out election and GST
is still claimable on the rental
costs.
But the upside is that the
TAXATION
> BY ANDREA SCATCHARD
Andrea Scatchard is a Tax Partner at Deloitte, based in the Bay of
Plenty. She can be contacted on ascatchard@deloitte.co.nz
GST payable on opting out is
based on the cost of the bach,
not the current market value or
the future sale price.
This represents a real saving
for affected owners when
you look at the long-term position
and is preferable to deregistering
for GST because this
will cost the owner GST on the
current market value.
There is a two-year window
in which to make an opt
out election for baches bought
before 1 April 2023, and similar
rules apply for baches purchased
after 1 April where the
owner can elect not to claim
the GST on purchase and the
future sale will not be subject
to GST.
If this sounds like something
you need to consider
make sure you seek advice
from your accountant or tax
adviser.

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 11
EAT CHOCOLATE, GET RICH
A recent Easter egg hunt revealed a surprise even sweeter than
chocolate - the discovery of how to make more sales with fewer
resources, while making more profit in less time.
“If you don’t know where
you’re going, any road
will take you there”,
purrs the Cheshire Cat in Alice
of Wonderland.
I look at things a different
way: If you don’t know what
you’re trying to fix, doing
nothing feels like the perfect
solution.
Your pressing problem
might not be immediately
obvious. Which one to choose?
Obviously, there’s the
whole ‘too busy’ thing. Too
many clients and customers,
not enough resources. Who
needs to pick up the slack?
Well that’s you, of course.
More money would be high
up the list. You wouldn’t be
greedy, of course. Just a little
bank account boost to help take
the weight off your shoulders.
Then there’s time: The
one thing you never have
enough of. Waking up every
morning, thinking, “I didn’t
sleep enough”, then going to
bed every night muttering, “I
didn’t do enough”.
Whatever problem you
believe you face, the easiest
solution is ‘do nothing’, followed
by telling yourself: ‘it
will sort itself out eventually’.
I’ve spent years perfecting
both these approaches: I am a
male, after all.
But, if you’re prepared to
undertake a little journey of
discovery, there is another way
to achieve outcomes you seek
in business and in life.
The secret lies in the most
unlikely of places … an Easter
egg hunt.
The chocolate anticlimax
Let’s pretend we all took a
proper break during Easter,
like we promised we would.
When I paused from my
one-man, chocolate-fuelled
mission to contract early
onset-diabetes, I saw my children
in the garden, on their
quest for hidden Easter eggs.
In that moment I received
a priceless lesson in sales,
money and time.
Observe children on an
Easter egg hunt … You will
see excitement, curiosity, joy
and delight. They’re empowered
by this wondrous journey
of discovery.
When the search is over,
they sit down to eat the chocolate.
Their energy drops. Eating
the eggs almost feels like a
chore. It’s an anticlimax.
And herein lies our first
lesson: It was never about the
OUTCOME – It was always
about the DISCOVERY.
In our goal-based society,
it’s too easy to get fixated on
the destination. We’re so busy
aiming for the top of the mountain
that we keep tripping over
pebbles in our path.
Stop looking for the big
goal, just focus on the next
step. You’ll get where you
need to go even faster.
(Don’t) follow the white
rabbit
During this particular Easter
egg adventure, children aren’t
worried about ‘how they’re
coming across’.
They’re not panicking
because they only allocated
45 minutes to this particular
activity but it’s actually taking
an hour and a half.
They don’t fear they must
‘provide significant value
up-front’ before they deserve
any Easter eggs.
They don’t say they ‘really
wanted’ to undertake this
quest, but capacity challenges
and resource constraints meant
it couldn’t happen.
You won’t get an unexpected
invoice next month
because the kids were terrible
at estimating their time
investments.
The tears only happen
when they start stressing about
how many eggs ‘other people’
are getting … but when they
focus on their own basket, they
do just fine.
The message is clear: If we
start paying too much attention
to the competition / colleagues
/ other members of the leadership
team / business coaches
/ the neighbours, we come
unstuck.
Trust yourself a little more.
You’ve felt lost before, but
you’ve always found a way out
of the darkness.
As Alice says, when she
tries to escape Wonderland,
“It’s no use going back to yesterday,
because I was a different
person then.”
The egg-sell-ent
adventure
Like all good things, Easter
egg hunts must come to an end.
Kids being kids, they
always want more.
However, if you listen
closely (there’s a lesson in
itself).
Children don’t ask for more
chocolate.
They ask for another Easter
Egg hunt.
The teaching here is to
detach ourselves from the need
to GET MORE EGGS.
Whether you want to
achieve more sales, greater
profits, or just a little breathing
space, ‘outcome indifference’
is a powerful tool. It sounds
like a paradox – being indifferent
to that which you desire the
most – but it works.
You only find something
when you stop frantically
searching for it.
Who would you rather be
someone who was stomping
around their garden, digging
holes with a shovel, wild eyes
blazing, muttering about ‘need
to get more eggs this month’?
Or the individual who
was inviting people on an
adventure? Someone who
approached the task at hand
with playful curiosity, no particular
outcome in mind apart
from finding some hidden
MINING BUSINESS WEALTH
> BY FREDDIE BENNETT
Guinness World Record Holder, podcast host and bestselling author,
Freddie is known as ‘The Profit Hunter’. He helps business owners
enjoy more time, money and freedom by discovering and extracting
hidden profits in their companies. Freddie@conqueryourmedia.com
treasure.
None of this is supposed
to be hard. We just delight
in making life difficult for
ourselves.
If you get the discovery
wrong, you’ll never find the
Easter eggs … even if they’re
right in front of you.
Remember, it’s not about
how hard you’re searching; It’s
about knowing where to look.
Through the looking glass
Whether you’re looking for
money, time, freedom or chocolate,
be careful what you wish
for.
Remember, you can have
too much of a good thing.
And once you get your
hands on that thing you seek,
you realise it doesn’t actually
unlock your freedom from the
rabbit hole.
Perhaps the Cheshire Cat
was right after all, it doesn’t
really matter which path you
take … any path is better
than ‘do nothing’ or ‘change
nothing’.
Lead. Explore. Take the
first step, and you might be
surprised who follows you.
Just remember, everyone
wants to go on a quest.
No-one likes a boring hunt.
Trust me, would I lie to you?
Lately I have been asked
a seemingly very simple,
yet quite complex question:
“How do I know who to
trust?”
When preparing to write
this I drew on a few other
information sources in addition
to my own experience.
One was the adventurer
(and some may say epitome
of “toxic masculinity”) Ernest
Hemingway who famously
said, “the best way to find out
if you can trust somebody is to
trust them.”
When posed the question,
“what does trust mean
to you”, my son William (18)
said, “trusting someone makes
you vulnerable, but those
defences need to be lowered
in order to truly connect.” To
be honest that was a much
‘deeper’ response than I was
expecting.
The IPI investigation
inbox has been getting absolutely
slammed with infidelity
related investigation requests
recently – more in a month
than we would have received
in a year pre-Covid.
We do not do infidelity
My advice for business owners is to set
your systems up like everyone is going to
lie to you and try to steal your money, then
you can appear to trust everyone while
knowing that you really can’t.”
investigations; they always
end in tears, and if nothing is
found, the client still believes
there is something going on
and you are just not good
enough to find it.
There is also always something
sad about one person
being betrayed by another and
our witnessing the moment
they realise it.
One particularly gutting
case from my Debt Free work
that we have just completed
involved a building developer
who contracted a trades company
to perform major works
when they knew full well that
the company was going into
liquidation.
The trades company lost
around $200k with virtually
no chance of recovering the
CREDIT CONTROL
> BY NICK KERR
Nick Kerr is regional manager for DebtFree NZ Ltd and director
of International Private Investigations Ltd. He can be reached
on 021 876 527 and Nick@debtfreenz.com
amounts owed. The case has
not only seriously affected the
business from a financial perspective
but also decimated
any confidence that they can
trust any client without a large
amount of due diligence and
risk mitigation.
It seems that trust is becoming
a rare commodity in these
post-Covid times (much like
an affordable block of cheese
or a sub $10 punnet of raspberries);
people have even lost
trust in what have traditionally
been considered bastions of
legitimacy and trustworthiness
such as governments, healthcare
providers and religious
institutions.
In particular, it seems we
have lost trust in each other
which is adding to a general
atmosphere of tension and
mistrust in the business community
as well.
So what do we do?
Well, my advice for business
owners is to set your systems
up like everyone is going to
lie to you and try to steal your
money, then you can appear to
trust everyone while knowing
that you really can’t.
We do it with other parts
of life, for instance most of us
lock our doors when we leave
our homes, yet we don’t expect
every passing pedestrian to be
an opportunist thief.
Trust is fine to have as long
as you insure there are adequate
checks and balances to
give you a chance should the
trust prove to be misplaced.
Just a thought.

12 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
Flight-to-quality trend
is not a flight of fancy
Income growth is now a key determinant of property value and is off-setting macro
headwinds for landlords who are staring down rising inflation, increased lending
rates, softening yields and higher compliance thresholds.
Latest MSCI data from December
2022 highlights that income
returns are propping up total
returns in the commercial and industrial
property sector – citing 5.3 percent
for office and 4.1 percent for
industrial – and signalling that this
will strengthen further.
Rental growth is negating softer
cap rates evidenced around the country,
with signs that the higher rents
being seen nationwide could continue
this year.
In its latest Outlook Report, Bayleys’
global real estate partner Knight
Frank said a renewed focus on income
growth will guide investor strategy
and asset selection during 2023, with
a spotlight on lease structures that
have the capability to ratchet up rents
in line with higher inflation.
With office occupiers seeking
higher amenity, “greener”, and modern
fit-for-purpose buildings to help
draw staff back to the office, and
landlords across the commercial sector
increasingly opting to upgrade
sustainability credentials to address
obsolescence issues with older buildings,
rents have been on the march.
The flight-to-quality trend is not a
flight of fancy – it’s tangibly altering
the dynamics of the occupier market
and resulting in historically-low
vacancies and significant rental
growth across prime properties.
Rising interest rates and tightening
credit lines have contributed
to dampened yields and lower sales
transaction numbers across most markets,
and with economists reluctant to
definitively state when inflation and
long-term interest rates could reach
their peak, uncertainty still hovers for
property owners.
Aggressive moves by the Reserve
Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) have
impacted the commercial and industrial
construction outlook and confidence,
with caution being exercised.
Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB)
latest Forecast Report 103 forecasts
a slowing down of new activity and
notes a decline in architects’ forward
work on commercial projects comparable
to that at Covid-19 onset and the
GFC.
RLB’s construction cost indices
show significant increases for developers
in the last three years, and when
coupled with substantially higher
thresholds of design, resilience, sustainability
and building code compliance,
it is inevitable that higher rents
will be needed to make new developments
feasible.
New builds are establishing fresh
rental benchmarks and landlords are
looking for leases with mechanisms
to regularly reset rents to market
(rather than long periods with fixed
increases) so they can optimise rental
streams in a growth market.
Meanwhile, tenants need to get
sound advice about rental budgets –
particularly if they have an upcoming
market rent review.
NZX-listed Precinct Properties
documented in its 2022 annual report
that its well-performing portfolio
reflects the quality of occupiers, an
overall portfolio WALT of 7.1 years
and occupancy levels of 99 percent.
The report said rentals achieved
on new office leases were on average
4.8 percent higher than valuation
rents at 30 June 2021 and, including
structured rent reviews, Precinct
completed a total of 183,973sqm of
reviews at a 3.0 percent premium to
previous contract rental.
Further, there were 17,441sqm of
market rent reviews settled at a 5.9
percent premium to 30 June 2021 valuation
rentals.
Dire lack of new supply around the
country has seen vacancy rates plummet,
prompting owners of existing
and dated stock to unlock measures to
improve building quality, resilience
and efficiencies to counteract rising
interest rates and protect asset values.
Value-add mechanisms include
creating more efficient yet reduced
space footprints at a higher per square
metre rental rate, providing quality
end-of-trip facilities, leveraging
shared meeting and event space, pursuing
higher sustainability credentials
via NABERSNZ or Green Star ratings,
and providing responsive property
management services.
David McGuinness, managing
director (development), Willis Bond
says delivering highly resilient, sustainable
workplaces with quality
amenity like its current projects at 110
Jervois Quay in Wellington’s CBD
and Blue Mountains Campus, Upper
Hutt, comes at a cost but rent is only
one part of the equation for occupiers.
“As the return to the office continues,
these buildings have intrinsic
value for occupiers in helping drive
higher productivity, team synergy,
and business continuity.
“They also attract talent and
deliver lower occupancy costs over
time through more efficient, futureproofed
buildings – it’s what businesses
need and that’s why we are
building them.
“Bell Gully is a great example of
a business that has reset its staff and
client experience in its new base-isolated
building on Wellington’s waterfront
– we understand staff love it
and attendance at the office is very
high, which is a pointer for other
businesses.”
While there is a rental per square
metre differential between premium
A-grade space in the CBD versus
regional locations, mainly due to land
value, McGuinness says it’s not as
much as people think and a focus on
square metre rates doesn’t tell the full
story.
“We are building New Zealand’s
largest mass timber office building in
Tauranga and the cost of this would
be virtually the same in any New Zealand
location putting aside land value
and site specifics.
“The nature and quality of the
building are the paramount drivers of
rents and smart businesses focus on
the efficiency of the space, potential
for staff engagement and productivity,
and how the premises connect with
their customers and surroundings.”
Auckland
Bayleys Auckland leasing specialist
Ben Wallace says given the depth of
the corporate market and the limited
supply of quality properties in desirable
locations, rental rates for prime
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

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 13
office space are holding firm, and
in some instances, still on the rise.
“Occupiers often mistakenly
assume that options will be plentiful
when looking to relocate
so there is often some educating
required in the early stages of that
process,” he says.
“Assuming they are paying a
market-driven rent at the time, and
want to remain in a specific geographic
location whilst also maintaining
a similar level of quality,
it can be challenging to present
alternative solutions at more competitive
rental rates than they are
currently paying.
“There is definitely a disconnect
between the current levels of inflation
and the level of rental growth
occupiers are willing to commit to,
but more than ever, occupiers are
wanting certainty.”
Wallace says that the majority
of deals they are concluding
are with fixed annual increases of
around three percent per annum,
with reviews to market at renewal
time.
“Most landlords accept that
although inflation is running high,
a fixed annual increase of three
percent compounded over a number
of years is likely to average out
over time.
“Occupiers also want to partner
and work collaboratively with proactive
landlords for mutually-beneficial
outcomes for all parties”.
Tauranga
Professional tenants are happy to
pay a substantial premium over
current market A-grade office
leasing rates for top quality newbuild
office space in the Tauranga
CBD as there’s such a shortage of
it, according to Bayleys Tauranga
commercial sales manager Mark
Walton.
“The market is extremely tight
so there’s significant competition
for high-quality sustainability-focused
space that is well-located for
private and public transport, and
offers modern, efficient workspace
with ample amenity to encourage
workers back to the office.
“Tenants are prepared and willing
to pay what developers require
to make these new office developments
viable, however, there
is resistance from occupiers to
commit to CPI-linked rents, with
a preference for fixed increases
or, at a minimum, capped rental
increases to allow for budgeting.”
Hamilton
In Hamilton, Bayleys Waikato
commercial manager David Cashmore
says lease negotiations can
be protracted as tenants and landlords
bring different subtleties to
the table.
“Tenants want fixed rental
increases to provide some certainty,
while landlords prefer CPIlinked
rents to accommodate rising
costs – but we can generally get
consensus to complete a deal.
“A significant portion of the
tenant market is prioritising quality
of space and staff productivity over
rental rates, but obviously others
are more conscious of outgoings
and business bottom lines.”
Rhys Harvey, development
director at leading Waikato construction
firm Foster Group Limited,
says to date, he’s not noted a
tangible disconnect between landlords
and occupiers over rental
rates on new-build property, but he
can see it coming.
“With developers and newbuild
landlords now dealing with
rising yields and the escalating cost
of capital, building and regulatory
costs, rents will have to increase to
get new builds across the line.
“There’s little negotiation flexibility
or risk tolerance on rents and
most of the tough conversations are
around rent review ratchets, and
cap and collars.
“However, most aspirational
occupier groups know that the
tight market means limited space
options and their lens is generally
more than just rent – it’s also retention
and attraction of talent, plus
the efficiencies and productivity
modern office space allows.”
Oceanography researcher
recognised for making
waves around the world
With a sea captain for a
grandfather and childhood
summers spent
around the sea, it’s no surprise that
Professor Karin Bryan was drawn
to studying the deep blue. A passion
for math and physics led the
University of Waikato Professor to
physical oceanography.
Professor Bryan is one of the
new Royal Society Te Apārangi
Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows.
She has been honoured for her
research on estuarine processes,
coastal morphodynamics, and climate-driven
variability in waves,
which has gained international recognition
over a period of more than
20 years.
“I like to think it is the most
challenging because of the complexity
of our coastline and the
immediate impact on coastal communities,
and in turn, our impact on
coastal ecosystems.”
Professor Bryan says climate
change is a game changer for an
already complex discipline.
“It is really hard to provide useful
information in such an uncertain
environment. The focus was
first on the slow onset hazard of sea
level rise, but these massive events
of the last few months are making
it even harder to visualise the
future. There is no time to perfect a
theory or model anymore, we need
to learn and improve really quickly
to be able to help.
The recognition that comes with
the Fellowship also comes with a
reminder for Professor Bryan.
“I think for my research it will
remind me to focus on fewer but
higher quality (and, most importantly,
more useful) outcomes,” she
says.
It’s also a prompt to keep working
with the next generation. As
Dean of Te Mata Kairangi School
of Graduate Research, Professor
Bryan is committed to demonstrating
the value of graduate study
in creating useful knowledge for
society.
“This year I want to focus on
helping students get real value
out of their university experience.
It sounds corny, but to show that
universities still have a place in
creating useful knowledge for
societies.”
Her world-leading work in the
University of Waikato Professor Karin Bryan has
been made a Royal Society Te Apārangi Ngā
Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellow. Photo/Supplied.
oceanography of the coastal ocean
and today’s announcement following
the rigorous election process
for Royal Society Fellows are testament
to that value.
Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows
are recognised by the Royal
Society Te Apārangi for their distinction
in research and advancement
of science, technology or the
humanities. They are world leaders
in their area of research and
scholarship.
THREE
WATERS
REFORM
RESET
BRINGS THE
COMMUNITY
BACK INTO
THE PICTURE
A move to give local
communities a greater
degree of influence over
their water services is being
welcomed in the Western
Bay.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
and Local Government Minister
Kieran McAnulty’s revamped
and renamed ‘Affordable Water
Reform’ is headlined by the originally
proposed four ‘mega entities’ being
scrapped, and 10 regional water infrastructure
entities to be formed in their
place.
The 10 entities will be owned by
local councils on behalf of the public,
and entity borders based largely
on existing regional areas – delivering
Three Waters (freshwater, wastewater,
and stormwater) services to
households.
It means the Bay of Plenty will
have its own entity, covering Rotorua
Lakes, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga
City, Western Bay of Plenty and
Whakatāne.
Each entity would be run by a
professional board, with members
appointed on competency and skill.
The 50/50 split of mana whenua
and council representation remains
unchanged. Western Bay of Plenty
Mayor James Denyer welcomes the
reset on the Three Waters Reform as
something which has the potential to
create greater acceptance nationwide.
“Having only seen the highlights
this morning, I’m pleased the Government
has listened to councils and the
community. It’s clear these changes
reflect some criticism of the original
proposal and that the mega-entities
would not be close enough to the communities
they serve.
“Providing every Mayor of every
local authority with a seat at the table
of their respective entity will guarantee
the priorities of local communities
are heard and make it easier to retain a
local workforce.”
While the legislation will be in
place before this year’s election the
new model won’t start delivering
water services until 1 July 2026. The
10 new regional entities have the
option to begin before the 2026 date if
they are ready.
The reform was initially set down
for a 1 July 2024 implementation
under the four mega-entities after the
Government made the reform mandatory
for all councils in 2021.
For more information on the
Affordable Water Reform visit
– www.westernbay.govt.nz/
affordable-water-reform

14 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2023
Shared office provider Bad Company
first in NZ to offer franchise model
Bad Company first opened its
doors during the summer of
2017 in what is now a 300sqm
light-filled space in the heart of Mount
Maunganui.
Even in 2017, before the whisper
of a pandemic had been uttered Kiwis
were turning towards greener pastures
and greater work/life balance.
Co-working spaces were already a
trend in urban centres, but with many
professionals relocating to rural areas
there was a dearth of shared office
offerings.
Enter Bad Company founder Tori
Taylor. Taylor began her mission to
create a community focused workspace
that offered co-working and
collaboration with other like-minded
individuals, taking the isolation and
disconnection out of the usual start-up,
sole contractor and small business
work environments.
Moving to Mt Maunganui from
Auckland in 2016, Taylor immediately
noticed a gap in the market. For
a community-minded town there were
few options available to the independent
businesspeople in the area. Part of
Taylor’s move out of New Zealand’s
largest city was to prioritise her health
and well-being, professionally and
personally.
Taylor champions the work/life
balance and believes it is this ethos that
sets Bad Company apart, alongside the
anti-urban approach. Bad Company’s
model is targeted at the burgeoning
rural locations, with no current plans
to enter any of Aotearoa’s main cities.
Taylor says, “We’re on a mission to
create community focused workspaces
that offer co-working and collaboration
with other like-minded characters,
enhancing each other’s offering
and providing supportive creators.
Afternoon banter and tunes are just
an added bonus. We want people to
feel welcome and included. Coming
straight from the beach? Need to bring
your pup or feel like channelling your
inner DJ? It all happens at Bad Company.
The vibe is very much ‘come as
you are’, it’s relaxed.”
Offering a variety of workstations
to suit individual needs such as monitors
for dual screens, knee chairs for
those focused on core and spine health,
Bad Company also has private call and
meeting rooms available for more
confidential requirements and client
meetings.
Bad Company Wānaka is now
home to 16 desk spots, housing permanent
and part-time businesses and is
renowned as a small but mighty asset
to the local business community. The
bustling community welcomed the
92m 2 addition with open arms.
Now into its sixth year, the next
evolution of the ‘destination workplace’
company, introduces what is
believed to be a first for New Zealand.
A franchise model for the co-working
space business.
“Two minds bounce ideas, four
create momentum and action, eight
achieve ongoing change”, notes Taylor
when talking about what inspired the
new offer.
The opening of Bad Company
Hawke’s Bay provides a welcome
option, interim or permanent, for business
owners in the hard-hit region, in
an art deco building that was fortunate
enough to not be impacted by the devastating
floods that took place earlier
this year.
There was a setback in terms of the
opening date: owner Belinda Williams
held off the refit for a week to ensure
she could volunteer in the community
during that time.
A first-floor office space in the
Hastings CBD, the high-stud character
space is filled with natural light
from stunning large windows. Two
boardrooms and separated ‘private’
office areas are also available as well
as kitchen and amenities in line with
Bad Company’s standard offering
across all its locations. The site is close
to cafés and retail and adjacent to The
Tribune development.
Fellow co-working space business
owner Matt Knight, founder of Shared
Space which opened its doors in 2010,
believes there is nothing better than
sharing and thinks the franchise model
may be the way forward for growth in
the category.
“It’s fantastic to see Bad Company
achieve a successful franchise sale for
their new location in Hawkes Bay.
This is the first successful coworking
franchise sale I’ve seen within NZ.
I think this is a wonderful model for
people wanting to set up a new space
and it works well with the unique
offering Bad Company coworking
spaces provide”.
They cater to a hugely varied pool
of professionals including designers,
developers, IP lawyers, e-commerce,
sustainability experts, accountants,
digital media mavens, marketing specialists,
copywriters, holistic health
specialists, town planners and VR
creators.
In a country built on SMEs, a
rurally focused co-working company
offering a franchise-model could be
just the answer to those looking to put
down rural roots, yet also take their
business to the next level thanks to a
small company focused on collaboration
and community.
Scion innovation leads to flexible
4D printing filament
A colour-changing and flexible 4D printing filament
developed by Scion scientists is set to benefit educators,
industry and New Zealand’s fast-growing home-based
3D printing community.
The 4D printing filament
changes colour with heat
and can be used to create
fun and flexible
objects
popular with
children.
The new filament, known as
‘Morph’ at Scion, has hit the
market following a successful
research collaboration between Auckland
filament manufacturer Imagin
Plastics and Crown Research Institute
Scion.
3D printing enthusiasts will be able
to use the filament to create fun and
flexible objects, including bath toys,
that change colour with heat. The
product, with its special stimuli-responsive
feature, is the only flexible
filament of its kind in New Zealand.
It’s expected to be popular among
3D printing hobbyists, teachers, and
spark commercial interest from the
automation industry for its potential
to support development of temperature-sensitive
machine componentry.
In the education space, Scion’s
Morph development team scientist Dr
Angelique Greene says the product
can be used to teach students about
the concept of 3D printing, with an
added science component thanks to
its flexibility and thermochromism.
“There are other fun 4D printing
filaments on the market, but they are
typically rigid. We wanted to create
a unique, flexible filament that had
added functionality.
“Morph is a flexible filament that
is also thermochromic; so, when it
senses a temperature change, like
holding it in your hand for example, it
changes colour from black to yellow.
This is the first product that combines
both properties.”
The concept of 4D printing is
similar to 3D, where both print three
dimensional objects (using length,
width and height), but 4D also features
an added dimension which
changes over time. In Morph’s case,
its thermochromic properties means it
changes colour with temperature.
Morph is made from a flexible
biodegradable polyester. During its
development, Scion scientists successfully
printed a number of objects,
including phone cases, animals such
as a gecko and octopus, as well
as moveable objects like stretchy
bracelets.
Senior materials scientist Dr Robert
Abbel says although it sounds
self-evident for a 3D or 4D printing
filament to actually print objects, it is
not guaranteed.
“Flexible materials are more difficult
to print than stiff ones, so we are
very happy that it performs so well.
This opens up a space for creative
product prototyping that has been
inaccessible with existing products.”
Greene adds New Zealand is home
to a “hobbyist 3D printing army” that
will be looking to experiment with the
new material as well.
“The true potential of Morph is in
the hands of whoever holds it.”
Work to commercialise the Morph
4D printing filament gained impetus
The Scion team that helped bring Morph to life (from left) Beatrix
Theobald, Robert Abbel, Angelique Greene, Ben Davy and Rob Whitton.
when Imagin Plastics picked up the
concept after it was showcased at an
event for Scion’s industry partners.
This followed an in-house design
pitch competition, Innovation Jumpstart,
which Scion ran at the beginning
of 2020 to help foster capability
and market validation for developing
technologies.
Together, Scion and Imagin Plastics
worked on finalising the raw
feedstock, before it was then turned
into a printable filament.
Ben Blakley, sales and technical
manager at Imagin Plastics, says what
brought the two teams together was
the exciting new applications for 4D
printing filament.
“We’ve worked with Scion on
projects for a number of years in different
capacities and the development
potential of this project was two-fold
for us – building the relationship further
and bringing a 4D printing filament
into the market.
“Initially we were interested in
having a printing material we could
see being used in the education sector,
like high schools and universities,
that has a fourth dimension to it. It
opens up opportunities for students
to use it for their own research and
development.”
Blakley says as well as education,
Morph has potential for use in the
likes of the automation industry.
“Machine componentry in the
packaging and food processing industries,
for example, could use it to
detect temperature change, and even
program artificial intelligence to recognise
it.”
Now Morph is on the market,
Greene says Scion is also using it for
community education.
“Our role as a Crown Research
Institute is to support industry, but it’s
also about supporting the communities
in which we operate. We can use
Morph to do that.”
During the school holidays, Scion
is holding a 4D printing interactive
workshop on Wednesday 12 April at
Te Aka Mauri | Rotorua Library to
introduce young people aged 11-plus
to the new filament and the world of
3D printing. People can register for
the workshop on the library’s website.
Morph is the second printing
filament that Scion scientists have
developed commercially in partnership
with Imagin Plastics, the first
being a wood-filled PLA 3D printing
filament.
As a partner, Blakely says Scion’s
research capabilities create real value.
“There’s no rulebook on how we
work together; from our perspective
everything’s possible.”
The Morph filament is available
through Imagin Plastic’s website:
www.imaginplastics.co.nz/

May 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 15
The ANZAC spirit is alive and well
– after 1pm
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED?
> BY ALAN NEBEN
Alan Neben is a Mount Maunganui local and experienced New Zealand
publisher. His columns provide a light-hearted perspective on social
changes effecting New Zealanders.
I
like to write this column
ahead of time, but rarely do.
Today, however, it’s
ANZAC Day as I write so I’m
ahead of schedule. Two questions
are on my mind, both as a
result of today being ANZAC
Day.
The first question is a
broadly sociological one: why
has there been a resurgence of
patriotic fervour around the
celebration of ANZAC Day in
the last few years?
The second question is a
far more mundane one: what’s
open today (and when)?
The answer to one of these
questions fills me with hope.
The answer to the other
simply makes my head hurt.
Let’s start with the philosophical
one.
The world we live in today
seems to be fraught with tribalism
– a, ‘if you’re not with us,
you’re against us; if your ideas
differ from our ideas, you’re
cancelled (and BTW we’re
storming parliament)’, kind of
world.
So how is it that in this time
of anti-liberal, anti-fascist,
anti-trans, anti-cis, anti-mining,
anti-nuclear, anti-everything
sentiment, virtually
everyone in this country has
got behind the celebration of
our forebears the ANZACs.
Despite our 21st century
lens identifying and acknowledging
that the ANZAC effort
so often discriminated against
women, pilloried pacifists
and conscientious objectors,
treated heroic Māori and Pasifika
soldiers miserably, and
was in many instances an
abject lesson in poor planning
and arrogant colonial butchery,
we have all conspired to
treat the ANZAC celebration
with upmost reverence and its
protagonists with increasing
adulation.
I am pleased we have a
common cause that unites all
of us, be we male or female,
young or old, Māori or
Pakeha: a respect for the sacrifice
of others.
But why has the annual
Kiwi pilgrimage to Gallipoli,
or attendance at the nation’s
ANZAC dawn parades
recently become so important
to our people?
I think it may be our human
response to the fractured
social structure we navigate
daily. Our peer groups, our
ethnicities, our genders and
our social-media groups constantly
drive wedges between
‘us’ and others who are ‘not
us’; but deep down maybe we
all want the chance to identify
as a collective ‘us’.
Perhaps as we become
more disparate, our desire for
unity actually becomes stronger.
Maybe that is why we
are seeing the celebration of
ANZAC Day become more
pervasive every year – maybe
its because we need it more.
Believe it or not, that was
the easier of the two questions
to answer.
The second question:
“What’s open and when?” …
now that’s a real tester!
Let me see if I can clarify
it for you.
ANZAC Day is a public
holiday, and as such you will
almost certainly be required
to pay a 15% surcharge at any
hospitality venue. But they
won’t necessarily be open
because most aren’t sure if
they’re allowed to open, or
some may simply choose not
to open.
There’s no surcharge at the
shops, even though they’ve
also got to pay staff extra for
working on a holiday. Unless
they don’t. And they might
not be open. Or they might.
Depending on whether they’re
in a tourist area.
It’s okay, you don’t have to
buy a meal if you’re having a
drink like you do at Easter …
well not all Easter … just Easter
Sunday, or Good Friday, …
actually, no, just Easter Sunday
I think.
There are of course different
rules in different locations,
but you won’t really know
which ones are which because
those rules change often. Some
councils give dispensation in
some areas for some holiday
trading.
Now just remember that the
opening rules only apply up
to 1pm on ANZAC Day, but
you’ve gotta pay the surcharge
even after 1pm.
Garden centres are different
(depending on where they are I
think), and pharmacies are not
restricted. Some garden centres
will of course choose to
open even when they are technically
not allowed to by law.
I’m not sure if the cafés in
those garden centres that do
open illegally on public holidays
are allowed to add the
surcharge – I guess that’s at
their discretion?
Unfortunately, one additional
complication is making
the holiday trading landscape
a little opaque at present –
many hospitality venues are
having trouble finding staff,
so some of them are choosing
not to open after 1pm due
to the staffing problems: the
upside – they won’t be adding
the 15% surcharge ‘cos they’re
not open.
I hope that helps clarify the
holiday trading situation. I was
told it’s really quite difficult for
overseas visitors to understand
– thank God we’re locals aye?
Salary rises in NZ
over the past year
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 past two years have seen a significant rise in salaries throughout New Zealand and no sector has been untouched. Whilst this has been
welcomed by the workforce, most employers have found themselves struggling to keep up with the significant and continual increases the market
has demanded. With low unemployment, low immigration numbers, and a tight employment market, it is still very much an employee-led market.
According to data from
Statistics New Zealand,
median weekly earnings
from wages and salaries rose
by 8.8 percent to $1,189 in the
year to the June 2022 quarter.
The 8.8 percent annual
increase in median weekly
earnings from wages and salaries
was the largest annual
increase since the series began
in 1998. My sense is that they
have risen again since then.
The rise in salaries is due
to a number of factors, including
a growing economy, low
unemployment, and government
policies aimed at improving
living standards for New
Zealanders.
One of the primary reasons
for the rise in salaries is
the strong economic growth
that New Zealand experienced
post-Covid. Despite the challenges
posed by the Covid-19
pandemic, the country’s economy
remained resilient.
The growth was driven by
a number of factors, including
a robust construction sector,
strong domestic demand, and
the government’s support measures
such as the wage subsidy
program. Simply put, the
demand has been high and the
Employers are looking at more
creative ways to ‘add-value’ to
packages without necessarily
paying outside of the base
salary range.”
supply low.
With fewer jobseekers than
available jobs, workers are
put into a stronger bargaining
position when it comes to
negotiating salaries and as a
result employers are competing
for talent, leading to higher
salaries to attract and retain
employees.
Government policies aimed
at improving living standards
for New Zealanders have also
played a role in the rise in
salaries.
For most employers, at
some point this has been problematic.
Keeping up with the
steep rise in inflation which
has been reflected in salaries,
to losing staff to competitors
who are paying more, getting
into a bidding war when making
offers or the problem of pay
relativity within a workforce.
Employers are looking at
more creative ways to ‘addvalue’
to packages without
necessarily paying outside of
the base salary range.
With cost of living at an
all-time high, there is no doubt
that while cash in the hand is
what employees are needing, a
benefits package can sweeten
the offer significantly.
This is referred to as a total
remuneration approach and
refers to not only the base salary
an employee receives but
also takes into account other
forms of compensation such as
bonuses, commissions, allowances
and benefits.
For example, benefits may
include, a company car with
full use, health insurances and
paid time off.
A total remuneration package
is designed to provide a
comprehensive compensation
structure that recognises the
value of the employee’s contribution
to the organisation.
It is often used by employers
as a way to attract and
retain talented employees by
offering a competitive and
attractive compensation package
that goes beyond just a
basic salary or wage.
Total remuneration packages
can be structured in different
ways, depending on
the needs and goals of the
employer and the preferences
of the employee.
With the commentary
around the looming economic
downturn, my feeling is that
we will see some stabilisation
in the employment market.
However, as a nation we are
still have a low level of immigration
and while unemployment
may rise in the months to
come, I think we are still going
to experience a candidate short
market in the foreseeable
future.