Waikato Business News News | February 7, 2024

FEBRUARY 2024
Hooked on Māori
Tania Te Rangingangana Simpson is an author, businessperson,
professional director, gardener and mother of two. Senior
writer Mary Anne Gill caught up with her after she was made
an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year
Honours for her services to governance and Māori.
She has a five metre inflatable boat with
an outboard motor and puts it out into
Kāwhia Harbour.
Tania Simpson calls the boat her little
leisure tripper, something she and her
friends can hop into, pull up in nearby bays,
have a picnic and go fishing.
It is an escape from the corporate world
of governance which has been her norm for
more than 25 years.
“Kāwhia is like a big papakāinga. There’s a
lot of family and friends out there.”
When you look at the long list of boards
and organisations she is and was involved
with, it is a fair bet the opportunities for
relaxing in Kāwhia are rare.
Simpson, 58, who has a bach in Kāwhia but
lives in Matangi, was born in Ōtorohanga,
grew up in Te Kūiti – where she attended
the high school – before leaving to study
languages at Waikato University.
Her father, a Pākehā, was a diesel
mechanic in Te Kūiti and later opened a
woodturning factory. Her Māori mother’s
tribal affiliations were Tainui, Ngāi Tahu
and Ngā Puhi.
Accepting the Officer of the New Zealand
Order of Merit in the New Year Honours for
her services to governance and Māori from
King Charles was a nice acknowledgement
of her Pākehā side, she says.
Ten years ago, Kīngi Tuheitia awarded her
the rank of Commander in the Order of the
Taniwha, a tikanga-based honour system he
set up to celebrate the efforts of Māori.
It was her father who encouraged she
and her late brother to speak Māori at
home. He grew up in a predominantly Māori
community while her mother grew up in a
similar environment in Ōtorohanga.
“At dinner he would generally tell us
in Māori to pass the bread and butter,
At dinner he would generally
tell us in Māori to pass the
bread and butter, potatoes, salt
and pepper. So, it just seemed
normal.”
potatoes, salt and pepper. So, it just seemed
normal.”
He was thrilled when she went to Waikato
University to study languages but worried
when she changed her major from Japanese
to Māori as he was concerned it might not
lead to employment. At that time, in the
mid-1980s, there were not many options
other than to teach the language at schools.
Simpson had hoped languages would open
the door to international travel but once she
started studying Māori, she was hooked.
She quickly discovered an interest and
passion for the language, the history, its
traditions and the Treaty of Waitangi.
In 1988, after her graduation from
the Māori department, she undertook
translations of the letters the university had
in its Bishop George Selwyn collection.
The letters were written in Māori and sent
from 1842 to 1872 to Bishop Selwyn, who
spoke the language fluently.
Simpson’s work was substantial and
formed the basis of the comprehensive and
historical background to the letters in the
collection.
Her next job was with the Housing
Corporation which had offices around the
country helping Māori to build on their
land and to construct kaumātua housing on
marae.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
In her spare time Tania Simpson enjoys gardening and checking out what is on offer at the local
garden centres.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
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2 FEBRUARY 2024
Editor
Roy Pilott
027 450 0115
CONTACTS
News
Mary Anne Gill
021 705 213
Viv Posselt
027 233 7686
editor@goodlocal.nz
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viv@goodlocal.nz
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027 287 0005
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david@goodlocal.nz
Office
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Website
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Readers’ contributions of articles and letters are
welcome. Publication of contributions are entirely at
the discretion of editorial staff and may be edited.
Contributions will only be considered for publication
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Hooked on Māori CONTINUED
She worked as an advisory officer out of
the Hamilton branch and in 1989 moved
to manage the Te Kūiti office covering
Ōtorohanga, Te Awamutu and the rest of the
King Country.
In 1992 she joined Te Puni Kōkiri in
Wellington as a policy analyst with
secondments to the Office of Treaty
Settlements and an Auckland merchant
bank.
She founded Kōwhai Consulting Ltd in
1995, and moved to Waitomo where her
son and daughter were born. Now in their
20s, they work at Pūniu River Care a maraebased
river care group near Te Awamutu
and at Te Nehenehenui Trust in Te Kūiti,
the post settlement governance entity for
Maniapoto.
Kōwhai was a Waikato based group of
consultants advising on Māori business,
environment, education and culture.
“I identified pretty early that I did want to
work in governance,” she says.
“That’s where I felt I was best positioned
in terms of my skill set and my interests.”
What followed were appointments to
various boards and trusts.
“I like to do things related to my tribes and
other things related to governance.”
But even she was surprised when she went
on the Reserve Bank board in 2014 – the
first Māori director. She went on to become
deputy chair before stepping down two years
ago.
“I told them I was not an economist. They
felt they had enough economists around the
table and they wanted someone with more of
a grassroots perspective.
“If you have too many of the same people,
you’re getting too much of the same stuff.”
Simpson loves what she does.
“Everyone knows my space is around iwi
relationships and ensuring being that voice
at the table can help the organisation think
about how to engage well and effectively
and where the mutual gains from having a
mutually beneficial relationship are. There’s
a lot to be gained.
“It doesn’t feel like work. It just feels really
interesting spaces to be. It’s diverse, I get to
go in all kinds of spaces that’s meaningful
for me.”
Like the Waitangi Tribunal. She sits on
the health subcommittee which is part way
through a Health Services and Outcomes
inquiry.
She is also on the Meridian Energy board
as an independent director. Her mother
was affiliated to Ngāi Tahu who work with
Meridian on projects in the South Island
around green energy.
Simpson’s passion for research and
writing resulted 10 years ago in a book on
her Ngāi Tahu great grandfather called The
Last Maopo – the Life and First World War
Sacrifice of Wiremu Maopo.
It was published to mark the centenary of
the start of World War I. Wiremu, who died
in 1929, was unaware his girlfriend Phoebe
had given birth to a daughter. The book
reconnected the Maopo line with Simpson.
Now she is working on her Pākehā
grandmother’s memoirs and later this year
will travel to Scotland – she also has English
heritage - to gather more information.
FROM PAGE 1
She looks surprised when The Business
News ask whether she has any plans to slow
down when she turns 60 in May next year.
No way, she says. She will keep
directorships like Waste Management,
Meridian and Auckland Airport and possibly
pick up more while continuing her work on
the Waitangi Tribunal and the Waitangi
National Trust.
The garden on her small Matangi block
still has a lot of area which needs developing
too.
Already in are a multitude of vegetables
and fruit trees plus there are a couple of
toys – a robot mower and a ride on. There
is also a bicycle which she hopes to get more
use on.
“I enjoy all that sort of stuff, it’s a good
counterbalance to work.
“My focus is really just being there for my
kids, even though they’re in their 20s and
they have their own lives, I want to be as
supportive as I can.”
And with a new coalition government
raising issues around all things Māori which
it says reflects communities’ views, Simpson
feels she is in a position to contribute to
the debate citing her work on the Waitangi
Tribunal.
“It brings the tribunal into sharper focus.
It is the Treaty conversation. We have the
ability to put out reports that influence
decisions.”
That, says Simpson, is where her core
interests lie – improving the lives of Māori.
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correspondence with the publication.
Tania Simpson on the five-metre inflatable boat, she recently bought, heading out into Kāwhia
Harbour. Photo: Supplied.
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FEBRUARY 2024
Briefs…
Another masthead
Good Local Media – the
company which publishes
Waikato Business News – has
purchased the King Country
News from Whakatane’s
Beacon Media Group. The
highly-respected community
newspaper has been
publishing for over 110 years
in Te Kuiti and Ōtorohanga,
formerly as Waitomo News.
It joins Cambridge News
and Te Awamutu News in
the Good Local stable. Owner
David Mackenzie has had a
frenetic few weeks buying
Waikato Business News
in November and then
launching Cambridge and Te
Awamutu Apps last month.
Black Cap on board
Former Black Cap and
Northern Districts left-arm
spinner Matthew Hart has
joined the Tīeke Golf Estate
board as an appointed
member for three years. Hart
is a former owner operator of
Foodstuffs supermarkets –
most recently at New World
Matamata – and a past board
member of New Zealand
Cricket Players Association.
A keen golfer, and member
at Tīeke, Hart has a Bachelor
of Management Studies from
Waikato University.
Business changes
Several recent law changes
will impact small and
medium business owners.
The Fair Pay Agreements
legislation has been
repealed and 90-day trial
periods reintroduced.
From June other changes
include mortgage interest
deductibility reintroduced
for rental properties and
increased eligibility for the
Independent Earner Tax
Credit.
Volunteers wanted
Two members are wanted for
a new Hamilton voluntary
advisory group - the
Welcoming Communities
Advisory Group. The group
will help allocate funds from
the Welcoming Communities
Fund and support initiatives
that help newcomers, such
as recent migrants, former
refugees, international
students, and anyone new
to the city. Applications to
the city council close on
February 26.
Harkness Henry chief executive Ray Lewis.
A
glass bottle crusher
could solve two
major problems for
Cambridge Raceway – fixing
potholes and recycling
the thousands of bottles
generated at the sports venue
every year.
And though an application
to Waipā District Council’s
Waste Minimisation
Community Fund for help
to buy the $7000 machine
was unsuccessful, Raceway
chief executive Dave Branch
is determined to make it
happen.
Branch and his team have
already introduced several
initiatives which keep
rubbish out of landfills.
They grow their own
produce on site to supply the
onsite sports bar and catering
company. Food waste is
fed to their own worms to
generate plant fertiliser made
up of the worms’ wee - their
own chickens produce eggs
3
A new goal for Lewis
The evolution of manuka honey to becoming a global success
is something Ray Lewis looks back on with pride. Mary Anne Gill
discovers why and checks out his footballing pedigree.
One of Waikato’s oldest
legal firms has hired a
familiar face as its new
chief executive.
English-born Liverpool
Football Club supporter Ray
Lewis, 59, has joined Harkness
Henry having first come in
contact 20 years ago when
he was divisional manager at
Comvita and then in 2006
when he took over as Waikato
Chamber of Commerce chief
executive.
That relationship with
the firm’s commercial team
made it easy for him to
get his feet under the desk
at its central Hamilton
offices in the KPMG
Centre.
“It’s an absolute
pleasure to join an
organisation in such
robust health and with
an already-established
reputation of service
excellence,” he said.
And if the firm is looking for
someone to play a part in any
social football games, Lewis
and composted manure feeds
the gardens.
The Raceway has 30 race
meetings a year and because
they do not have beer on
tap, they have thousands of
empty glass bottles to get rid
of.
Recycling involves sorting
the bottles into colours
which is time consuming and
the track has only 10 staff, all
involved in race activities.
A glass crusher machine
would turn the glass bottles
into sand which when mixed
with an emulsion, can be
used to fill potholes.
It is common in Australia
for training track surfaces
to be made from glass, said
Branch.
“Success will be measured
by the reduction in waste
that goes to land fill,” he
said.
“We estimate we could
instantly reduce our skip bins
from two to one essentially
cutting our waste to land fill
in half.”
The bins are emptied
once a week but twice after
a big race meeting and glass
bottles makes up most of it.
Meanwhile the Raceway
club is continuing with its
financial recovery after
reporting an operating
deficit of $730,000 last year.
The club secured a loan
from Harness Racing New
Zealand and members to
bolster the bottom line.
The sale of a 34-lot
residential subdivision
where the club’s stables
currently are will generate
revenue as will the upcoming
Grins Night on April 12.
The club’s upgraded
kitchen now gives its
in-house caterers the
opportunity to cater for
other events at Mystery
Creek, Lake Karāpiro and the
Velodrome.
has the pedigree. His grandfather
Harry Lewis scored 57 goals in
101 wartime matches for Liverpool
from 1916-1919 before joining the
first team and going on to play 70
games and scoring 12 goals before
he transferred to Hull City.
His grandson Ray Lewis was born
on the Wirral Peninsular between
Liverpool and North Wales. He
emigrated to New Zealand in 2002.
A physicist originally, Lewis’
first job was as a consultant
at AgResearch before joining
Cambridge-based Comvita in 2004.
He worked closely with Waikato
University professor Peter Molan
around his work researching the
medicinal benefits of manuka honey.
The technologies were at early
patent, pre-commercialisation
phase but the potential was
clear. Lewis’ task was to take the
technology beyond New Zealand.
“To do this well we needed the
very highest levels of legal counsel
and support because of the complex
deal negotiations across the globe.”
Enter Harkness Henry. Two
years later Comvita signed a global
manufacturing and licensing deal.
– Mary Anne Gill
“It is now a personal delight for
me to know that manuka honey for
wound care is now a mainstream
offering in hospitals and wound
care centres around the world, and
all that was in no small part due
to the excellent legal advice I was
acquiring from Harkness Henry.”
When he joined the chamber,
Lewis proactively developed strong
relationships with a broad range of
legal firms on behalf of members.
“I quickly came to realise how
fortunate we are here in the
Waikato with the high number of
truly excellent legal companies
available, and I firmly believe it
is one of the drivers behind this
region’s high performing economic
growth across recent decades.”
Lewis started with Harkness
Henry last month.
The firm, under other names,
has been in the Waikato since 1875
and in 1945, when the practices of
Phillip Harkness and Clive Henry
merged, became Harkness Henry.
The firm has offices in Paeroa and
from April 1, 2002, in Cambridge
when it merged with Cambridge
Law Centre.
Raceway has eco-friendly solutions
Cambridge Raceway chair Graham Bowen and chief executive
Dave Branch (right).
Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Procuta Associates
Urban + Architecture
07 839 6521
www.pauaarchitects.co.nz
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4 FEBRUARY 2024
Lodge stay a huge relief for young cancer patient
ADVERTORIAL
28-year-old lawyer, Ella Scown was
preparing to move to Canada
when she found a lump in her
breast. The diagnosis – triplenegative
breast cancer – came just two
days before her flight to Vancouver.
Her plans disrupted, Scown moved
in with her parents and 20 weeks
of chemotherapy soon followed.
Then came surgery, radiation and
egg retrieval to help with fertility
preservation.
Scown stayed at the Cancer Society’s
Lions Lodge while receiving treatment
at Waikato Hospital. The second round
of chemotherapy, she says, was brutal.
“They told me to ‘brace myself’. It
was so bad. It was this red liquid they
call the ‘red devil’ and it was pumped
through a port into my chest. I was
taking 30 tablets every day to stop
feeling sick but it was just horrible. That
lasted about eight weeks.
“It took me about a month to get
back to the 60% mark. Then I was
dealing with the mental health side
of things because I lost my hair, my
eyelashes, my eyebrows, which is huge
for a 28-year-old.”
Staying at the Lodge was a relief for
Ella, as its close location to the hospital
saved long hours of travel time between
appointments as well as the burden of
asking a support person to take time off
from work to drive her.
“The shuttle service takes the stress
out of getting there on time. The Lodge
provides three meals a day, which is
good as it’s forcing me to eat some
“It takes a lot of
shaking buckets on
street corners to
run a place like the
Lodge”
vegetables. I was eating relatively
poorly because I was too tired to cook.
I’ve also got a view of the lake and a
nice room with everything I need.”
Over 800 people have stayed at
the Lodge over the past four months.
Demand has increased so dramatically
that the Lodge is now open 7 days a
week.
Cancer cases are predicted to double
by 2040. The Cancer Society, which
is also the country’s largest private
funder of cancer research, is not
directly government-funded and relies
on the community to continue its vital
services.
Businesses are urged to show their
support for the Cancer Society by
taking part in Relay For Life, an all-day
fundraiser that inspires teams to relay
in honour of loved ones with cancer.
“It takes a lot of shaking buckets on
street corners to run a place like the
Lodge,” says Cancer Society Waikato/
Bay of Plenty CEO, Helen Carter.
“Cancer affects us all and as more and
A shock cancer diagnosis meant months of chemotherapy and radiation for Ella
Scown.
more Kiwis are diagnosed, the demand
for our services only increases. We
need more businesses to support us so
we can keep doing what we do.”
For Scown, she is looking ahead to
her future travels.
“The outcome of the chemotherapy
and surgery is good. Although my plans
had to change, I’m still hoping to move
overseas. We’re just kind of waiting
until we can press play.”
To find out how your business
can support the Cancer Society,
please email Sharon at
sharonrobertson@cancersociety.org.nz

FEBRUARY 2024
5
From riverbed to roundabout
The ceremonial start of a major
roading project at Piarere provided
dignitaries with an opportunity to
learn about Māori legend, reports
senior writer Mary Anne Gill.
As invited dignitaries
dug their glistening
spades into the
ground signalling the start
of construction on a new
roundabout at Piarere
last month, Ngāti Koroki
Kahukura kaitiaki Poto
Davies watched on ready to
share an ancient story.
When completed, the
$43.5 million 60m wide
roundabout will take 30,000
vehicles a day – 16 per cent
of it freight – on what Waka
Kotahi says is currently the
unsafest stretch of SH1 in
the country.
Centuries ago they would
have needed boats, and not
cars and trucks, as Davies
explained the cultural
context of the site.
Pointing to the hard
ground where the spades
made their marks, she
revealed the Waikato
River used to flow through
the paddock where the
roundabout will be.
The river which now meets
the sea at Port Waikato once
flowed into the Thames
estuary. The course change
was one consequence of the
Oruanui eruption of the
Taupō volcano more than
26,000 years ago.
Davies explained that
in Māori legend siblings
Taupiri and Tongariro, grew
up together in the central
plateau but were separated
when Taupiri became
homesick after she migrated
to the Waikato to become
bethrothed to Pirongia, she
explained.
Taupiri believed the only
way she would get better was
for healing waters from home
so she sent a message to
Tongariro to bring the sacred
water north to her. When the
water reached what is now
the SH1-SH29 intersection,
the river changed course,
cutting its way along SH29,
ending up in Hauraki.
Some of the sacred water
was taken to Taupiri and she
was instantly cured but when
she was told the river had
changed course she started
an incantation to bring it to
her. The land began to shake
but the river did not know
where to go. It heard a dog
barking, followed that sound,
and flowed right in front of
Ngāti Koroki Kahukura kaitiaki Poto Davies, watched by Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell, gives guests the cultural context of the site at the
sod turning ceremony.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Taupiri and out to the west
coast.
The roundabout will be
built in the paddock away
from the busy state highways
and is already two metres
lower than the roads to
allow Downer Construction
to build the approaches first.
When finished the
roundabout will be future
proofed to fit in with plans
to extend the Waikato
Expressway from Cambridge
to Piarere as part of the
government’s 13 national
road of significance plans.
Transport minister
Simeon Brown confirmed
the extension was back on
after the Labour government
froze it during its two terms.
More details about funding
and finance opportunities
– known as public-public
partnerships - will be
announced then. Brown has
met officials from the NZ
Super Fund to discuss their
approach to infrastructure
investment.
• See: Turning the sod, page 19.
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6 FEBRUARY 2024
The village people
Gary Cox accepts his gift box from regional construction manager Dave Gibson.
Gary Cox is a wellknown
face at two Waikato
retirement villages.
For 15 years he has worked
at several Ryman Healthcare
construction sites including
more recently at Linda Jones
in Hamilton and Patrick
Hogan in Cambridge.
Regional construction
manager Dave Gibson
recently surprised Gary,
affectionately known as
Coxy, at a prestart meeting
on site with a giftbox and
letter of appreciation from
head office.
Coxy, now Ryman’s
longest-serving project
manager, began in 2008
when he worked at Jane
Mander Retirement
Village, in his hometown of
Whangārei.
This was followed by
stints at New Plymouth
for Jean Sandel, Waikanae
for Charles Fleming and
Tauranga for Bob Owens.
Then it was down to Petone
for Bob Scott and last year
he finally completed one of
Ryman’s biggest villages,
Linda Jones in Hamilton.
It was during that build
that he really got to grips
with what his role as project
manager was about.
“I’m like a structural
psychologist,” he said at the
time. “I’ve got to get inside
its head and visualise how A
meets B and C.”
The role has also enabled
a fair amount of personal
growth too.
“If someone had said to
me when I was backpacking
around Europe that I would
be doing this job now I
would have laughed because
I hated public speaking and
yet that’s a lot of what I do
now.
“When I first started doing
our toolboxes on health and
safety, I never used to sleep
on a Monday night but now
I don’t think anything of it.”
Now, the focus is on
completing Patrick Hogan
Retirement Village, Ryman’s
8.6 hectare site in Cambridge
which will eventually have
185 townhouses, 60 serviced
apartments and an 80-bed
care centre.
Four stages have now been
finished, so 66 townhouses,
and they’re laying down the
slabs for the next stage now.
While he never believed
he would be in the same job
for 15 years at the start, the
reason, he says, is simple.
“I love building, it’s the
only thing I’m knowledgeable
and passionate about.”
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FEBRUARY 2024
7
Walking the talk on zero carbon
Hamilton Airport has
achieved another goal in
flight towards net zero
carbon emissions.
The airport, part of Waikato
Regional Airport Ltd (WRAL),
has been awarded Level 4 airport
carbon accreditation from Airports
Council International (ACI). The
globally recognised accreditation
programme measures how airports
manage and reduce carbon
emissions.
Hamilton is one of only a
handful of New Zealand airports to
reach Level 4 -but chief executive
Mark Morgan said it was just one
initiative in WRAL’s sustainability
agenda.
WRAL established a formal
carbon and sustainability
programme in 2021 based on its
three-pillar strategy – people,
profit and planet, he said.
“We’re aiming for net zero
carbon emissions by 2050 – that is
a very clear goal, set by our board
with our emissions calculated and
reported annually. We’ve seen a
20 per cent reduction in emissions
since 2019 and we’re aiming for
a 46 per cent reduction by 2030.
We’re on the right track but we
don’t underestimate how much
more we can and should do.”
He was proud to lead an
organisation that sought
sustainability, “rather than just
tinkering around the edges”.
“We’re absolutely committed
to this from the board down and
that’s reflected in our priorities
and investments.”
One of those investments was
a $1.5 million solar energy farm,
We factor carbon
emissions reduction into
all our planning and
the refurbishment of
our terminal building in
2022 is a good example
of that.”
commissioned before Christmas.
The solar farm powers the airport
terminal and ancillary buildings
during the day. It has provided
immediate energy savings of about
$100,000 a year and that will
ramp up when the next stage is
completed over the next two to
four years. Stage two will enable
solar powering of EVs plus more
energy.
Other sustainability initiatives
go right across WRAL, Morgan
said. Jet Park Hamilton Airport
hotel, part of the group, has a
silver environmental accreditation
from Qualmark, New Zealand’s
tourism accreditation scheme, and
is working towards gold.
“We factor carbon emissions
reduction into all our planning and
the refurbishment of our terminal
building in 2022 is a good example
of that.”
“Sustainability was a key driver
for decision-making on that
project. Energy saving measures
have driven a five per cent
reduction in energy use. During
the build itself, 45 per cent of
demolition materials were recycled
and readied for reuse. Those were
Mark Morgan pictured with WRAL board chair Barry Harris (right).
deliberate choices.”
WRAL was “laser-focused” on
spotting opportunities thanks to
in-house sustainability champions
whose role is to drive and
implement green initiatives.
“Our café, for example, uses
local Kaipaki Dairies milk on tap.
We’re supporting a local business
and we’re cutting back on plastic,
so everyone wins.”
If you’re going to be committed,
you must walk the talk every
day, Morgan said. The aviation
industry, often criticised for its
carbon emissions, had even greater
responsibility to act.
“I think as a publicly owned
regional airport company, we
should show some leadership
- fiscally, socially and
environmentally. Some initiatives
like the solar farm will have a
financial payback and others will
provide different benefits over the
long-term,” he said.
“Fundamentally however,
our driver is that reducing
carbon is the right thing to do.
We are kaitiaki and we have a
responsibility to play our part in
protecting our environment for
future generations.”
As part of Level 4 accreditation,
WRAL is now required to work
with other stakeholders to help
support their own emissions
initiatives.
“We’ve got some other projects
in the pipeline alongside partners
which are really exciting. We have
a long-term commitment to a very
clear goal and while we’re making
progress, there’s a lot of work to
do yet.”
Waikato and Bay of Plenty’s
growing tech sector draws
international experts’ home.
ADVERTORIAL
Graham Howard
The Waikato and
Bay of Plenty’s
burgeoning startup
tech sector and
lifestyle is drawing
international experts back
to the Waikato. Grayson
Clements’ newest lawyer
Graham Howard is the
latest to make the move.
Graham, who started
his New Zealand career
working as legal counsel
at Buddle Findlay and
then WaikatoLink as their
general counsel, has been
working in the United
Kingdom and counts
Fortune 500 companies,
Barclays Bank and Saudi
Aramco as previous
clients.
With a special interest in
intellectual property and
growing start-ups, he says
he was drawn back to the
Waikato by the growing
start-up tech sector,
the entrepreneurs and
innovators based in the
Waikato and Bay of Plenty
and the region’s enviable
lifestyle.
The Technology
Investment Network’s
annual TIN200 survey
of New Zealand’s 200
largest and fastestgrowing
tech exporters
shows nationally the total
revenue in the sector
increased 11.8 per cent to
$17.1 billion in the 2023
financial year. Export
receipts jumped 13.1 per
cent to $13.05 billion.
“From my time at
WaikatoLink I know the
business landscape in
the Waikato and Bay of
Plenty reasonably well.
The region has always
been known for its tech
and start-up landscape,
we have a huge number
of entrepreneurs and
innovators and working
with them is something I
love,” says Graham.
Returning to New
Zealand, Graham says
he sees tremendous
potential to support
the local ecosystem,
leveraging his skill set to
aid entrepreneurs and
innovators in navigating
legal challenges to help
them drive growth.
“I’m not just about
drafting documents; I’m
about understanding
the DNA of my clients’
businesses. Whether it’s
a joint venture between a
Kiwi firm and an overseas
entity or aiding local
ventures in international
markets, I want to be
the trusted advisor who
foresees the opportunities
and the pitfalls.”
During his time overseas
Graham also worked for
a leading private equity
firm and family office
based in Dubai and says
his move back to the
Waikato was driven by
a desire to move away
from big law and wrap
his experience as a total
service around businesses
in New Zealand hunting
for growth both nationally
and internationally.
“Over my career I’ve
had the privilege of
working with businesses
in diverse formats,
from commercialising
Intellectual Property
to joint ventures and
complex mergers and
acquisitions and I’m keen
to bring that experience
to the fore for our clients
at Grayson Clements,” he
says.
“We want to provide
useful solutions for
clients. I’m very keen
to help clients build
relationships not only
in New Zealand, but out
of New Zealand, so the
joint venture side of my
experience is important
too,” says Graham.
His interest areas focus
on intellectual property,
commercialisation
strategies, mergers,
acquisitions, and
international joint
ventures and he
has a proven track
record of shepherding
businesses through the
intricate landscapes
Grayson Clements – Design, Deliver, Protect
Grayson Clements was established in 2008 by lawyers Michael Grayson and
Andrew Clements, who both had a desire to grow a firm that focused on designing
solutions, delivering results and protecting people. Their work and reputation have
gained traction and their client base has grown organically to a point where they
now have a team of 28 staff across a range of practice areas.
of international
collaborations and
challenging regulatory
compliance.
“My focus is always
on relationships. I
want to understand
a client’s ambitions,
their challenges, and
aspirations, providing
personalised guidance
tailored to each client’s
unique journey.”
“My career has been
about understanding
business and how it deals
with modern risk. And
that’s not just a question
of a checklist, it’s just
about experience and
I’m excited to offer that
to Grayson Clements’
clients,” he says.

8 FEBRUARY 2024
The immigration
challenges with
labour hire companies
The news of the ELE Group
receivership just before Xmas
came as an untimely shock to the
1,000 or so workers employed
through the various ELE companies,
many of whom were migrant workers
from the Philippines. ELE was a major,
and well established, labour hire and
recruitment firm which contracted
workers to the construction,
manufacturing, healthcare and other
sectors.
The receivership and the subsequent
plight of these migrant workers has
prompted a call for a government
review of the practices of labour hire
companies. Such companies have
grown significantly over the last few
years due to the challenging and
uncertain economic times faced
by employers, and contracting
workers on and as-required basis
from a labour hire company made
commercial sense. The previous
Government overturning of the 90
day trial period may also have played
a part in the decision to outsource
some employment roles. Given that
construction sector work is very
much project-related, it also made
sense for such employers to contract
their labour requirements in line with
project requirements.
The continuing economic uncertainty
and cash flow difficulties impact
across the all businesses and this,
most probably, contributed in part to
the ELE collapse. The reality is that
the labour hire option has made it
easier for employers to have access
to a pool of suitable workers and,
as a consequence, it is the labour
hire companies who carry all of the
employee risk. This is a particularly
high risk when it involves migrant
workers as the conditions of their
work visas require that they be
employed, and paid, on an ongoing
basis - whereas New Zealand
workers can be employed on a casual
basis. The logistical and cash flow
challenges involved in managing a
significant workforce across multiple
worksites with dynamic and everchanging
demands is not for the
faint-hearted!
Advertorial
The ELE migrant workers, as with
other redundant migrant workers,
have no choice but to quickly find
replacement jobs and to change
their visas in order to begin work
again. It is this process which carries
uncertainty, takes time, and incurs
costs - and could be avoided if work
visas were not issued specific to
employers as some organisations are
now calling for. However, we cannot
see this happening. Many employers
make a significant investment in their
workforce and without having this
employer linkage there is no ability
for Immigration New Zealand to check
if workers are actually working in
accordance with their visa conditions.
A possible short- term option may be
something like a “redundancy visa”
which could be a 3 month open work
visa to provide time to find a new job
and obtain a replacement visa.
Perhaps the best approach, and
what INZ is now finally looking to do,
is to ensure accredited employers
are, from the outset, appropriately
credentialled and capable of fulfilling
their employment and accreditation
obligations. The accreditation process
has simply been too much of a “tickbox”
exercise with very little rigour at
all.
Since the middle of last year INZ has
received 1800 complaints against
accredited employers, and some
200 employers have had their
accreditation revoked or suspended,
or such action is in process. INZ is
also actively undertaking audit checks
of accredited employers (including
all labour hire employers) with some
3,100 checks completed or underway
to date. We are seeing INZ being
much more active and rigorous
with these checks which, while it
is a hassle for employers, is to be
welcomed.
Should INZ request to audit your
business Pathways is available to
provide you guidance.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
The time looks
right By PHIL MACKAY
Midway through last year I wrote about
some of the market conditions and suggested
that it was a good time to initiate a new
building project at that time.
This month I’ve reviewed the factors at play
that reinforce my previous conclusion – if
you’re looking to build, now is a great time
to start planning and design with a view to
building in late 2024 or 2025.
The latest inflation figures from Stats
NZ show that inflation for the year ending
December 2023 was 4.7 per cent, down from
5.6 per cent the previous quarter and the peak
of 7.3 per cent in the June quarter 2022. This
is still far too high and some way from the
Reserve Bank’s target bracket, but moving in
the right direction at least.
According to Interest.co.nz, advertised
interest rates for two years-plus peaked in
December. While advertised rates for shorter
terms have yet to fall, my personal experience
has been that the six month rate my bank
has offered me has fallen by nearly a full
percentage point over the past two months.
Construction costs are growing at the
slowest rate since 2016. Corelogic recently
reported an increase in their construction cost
index of 2.4 per cent in 2023, down from 10.4
per cent in 2022, and significantly lower than
the average for the last decade of 4.5 per cent.
Demand and building activity have also
dropped. A total of 38,209 building consents
were issued in the year to November 2023,
down 24 per cent from the 50,209 issued in
the previous 12 months, and from a peak of
51,015 in the year ended May 2022 according
Depending on who you talk to, this year
is going to be a cracker, wobbly or terrible.
More so, depending on what industry you’re
working in.
The reality is that every year brings
challenges, some exceptionally rewarding and
others exceptionally heartbreaking. As people
and culture specialists, we are immersed in the
ups and downs of workplace change, growth
and contraction, and we are fortunate enough
to take the pulse of a wide range of businesses
across New Zealand. Market information
helps us form trends and themes which help
us story tell other businesses.
The Everest People team have combined
their thinking about the key people topics that
business owners need to be vigilant about this
year.
Here’s their top tips:
• Retention – it’s easy to lose sight of your
key talent when you’re going through change.
We often focus on cost savings and shaving
headcount, increasing sales and process
improvements - but remember to protect the
nest – engage with your stars, find out their
needs and wants, understand their hearts and
minds and don’t punish their hard work by
giving them more work.
• Cashflow management – keep on top of
those late payers and be the squeaky wheel.
Money does make the world go around. Don’t
forget to tap into your trusted advisors before
matters get worse and focus on the bottom
line.
• Wellbeing – a word of caution here –
many employers still need to truly embrace
wellbeing in the workplace as it just makes
good business sense. However in some cases
we’re seeing the pendulum swing too far the
other way. A small minority of employees
to Stats NZ. Consent numbers in the Waikato
were down 26 per cent for the same period.
Builders and tradespeople are looking for
work. Suppliers are needing sales.
Going by the conversations we are having
with others in the industry, builders and
tradespeople, and consultants are actively
looking for work and willing to price potential
jobs competitively. A recent development is
the addition of material suppliers to that list,
which suggests margins throughout the supply
chain are now being trimmed to secure work.
Construction costs may not actually drop, but
it’s likely that the next year or so represents the
best opportunity to get competitive pricing.
House prices are also rising again. QV’s
house price index suggests house prices are
now recovering from the low-point in May
2023, though they remain approximately 15
per cent down from the previous peak at the
end of 2021. While house prices don’t directly
affect building costs, rising values may provide
confidence in future resale values.
Putting all of these factors together, as
I suggested last year, the next 12 months
look to be a great time to build. By the time
you’ve worked with an architect to design
your house or project there ought to be plenty
of contractors eager to provide competitive
pricing for you.
Naturally, your first steps should be to talk
with your accountant, mortgage broker, and a
Registered Architect.
• Phil Mackay is Business Development
Manager for Paua Architects
THE JOB MARKET
What’s the
focus in 2024?
By SENGA ALLEN
are using “wellbeing” as a reason for their
unacceptable behaviour which may not be
entirely truthful.
• Behaviour in the workplace – this is an
extension of my point above. Workplace
relationships need to be mutually beneficial
to both parties and good faith means being
open and transparent in your communication.
Some employers are avoiding dealing with
poor performance and behaviours because
they don’t have the skillset to hold people
to account and some employees are taking
advantage of that.
• Workplace – where is that these days? Office,
work from home, hybrid? Every workplace
will be determined on the most productive
environment for that business but remember,
no matter your communication preferences,
humans thrive on connections. Are you a
transactional workplace or a relationship
based workplace?
• Candidate expectations – is it a buyer or
seller marketplace yet? Do we have a talent
shortage or not? What will unemployment do
this year? Again, this really depends on who
you talk to, but our take is that yes, there are
more people coming to the market, but make
sure you carry out your due diligence to hire
the best talent for you team. Unemployment
is expected to peak around 5 per cent, which
will have a knock on effect on the talent
pipeline.
• AI – it’s not going away. Learn more about
it – do you research – seek advice – give it
a go (but please don’t write your cover letter
solely with AI tools as we can tell), embrace
it, manage it and protect your business from
it if needed.
• Senga Allen is Managing Director for
Everest

FEBRUARY 2024
Data for dummies and the dodgy data dilemma
BUSINESS SHOWCASE
9
By Damian Bartolomucci
Data is the new global
currency. Infinite in its
scale and application and
priceless in its value. Done
right, it’s more influential
to businesses and markets
than gold or oil.
A
handful of datapoints can help
leaders form a hypothesis on the
current state of business affairs,
but expanded exponentially, you can
predict and influence a future that would
make you the envy of Nostradamus and
Marty McFly.
Understanding Data
Data, in its simplest form, is a singular
point of information captured in a large
storage space known as a database. To
quote Sting from The Police…
“Every breath you take
(tracked by your heart rate app),
Every move you make
(tracked on your maps
application),
Every bond you break
(tracked via your social media
unfriend or unfollow actions),
Every step you take
(tracked via your smartwatch),
[someone] is watching you
(tracked across millions of
databases)”…and trying to predict
or influence what you’ll do, say, or
purchase next.
For data newbies, the response to this
realisation is usually a mix of “how do I
protect myself?” and “how can I use this
to my advantage?”.
Data Gone Bad
For New Zealand’s $13.6 billion dollar
agricultural, forestry, and fishing industry,
good data can mean the difference
between a bountiful harvest profit and a
poor harvest peril.
In 2012 the United States witnessed
one of the worst droughts in 50 years.
One third of US counties across 29 states Stage 1: Data generation
were considered disaster areas.
Figure out what data is important to
Water reservoirs were barren.
help you make decisions right now, what
The farming models didn’t anticipate will help make decisions later, and what
the severity of the drought and
data will only lead to analysis paralysis
farmers who followed the model’s
because it adds no value. If you have it
recommendations were left with
already, great!
drastically reduced yields exacerbated
by planted crops that were less drought Stage 2: Data collection
resistant.
Now that you know what you want, work
Navigate
with a partner or on your
the
own to find Opportunities in data
best way to collect it. This can be done
While the drought may be an extreme through hardware (physical systems
example, Kiwis are neither immune to like point-of-sale devices), or software
the detrimental impacts of bad data or (programs).
the financial opportunities of good data.
In
digital
manufacturing, a customised
Stage
landscape
3: Data processing
digital twin – aka a virtual copy that To use the sheep example, in data
Stage 8: Data interpretation
takes the data from the physical world processing, you can check the total The final stage is the piece that assigns
and simulates it in a virtual one – can be number of sheep herded by the
meaning to it all. It combines the
used to predict when machines might fail chihuahua (validation), herd those
subjective with the objective.
or need maintenance, when to change
inventory levels, and how to train staff
us
on
using complex machinery without risking
breaking the machine, the person, or
disrupting the supply chain.
In agriculture, data can predict the
best planting seasons, identify the most
suitable crop varieties, and mitigate risks
associated with the poor application of
environmental data that leads to issues
with water quality.
In healthcare, the data opportunities
are endless with automated and
equalized resource allocation for
rostering schedules, improved tracking
of disease outbreaks across the system,
and enhanced electronic health records
to improve hospital triaging and urgent
care wait times. The opportunities
are limited only by the few resources
required and a little bit of imagination to
see the potential outside of the routine.
8 Steps to good data management:
Data Lifecycle 101
Navigating data management can feel
like herding sheep with a chihuahua.
Many organisations with a bit of
legacy behind them are often herding
that data via dozens of Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets sitting across multiple
Windows folders with very little
connectivity between them.
Now imagine if, instead of using
a chihuahua, you could quickly build
a pathway where every data point
constantly evolves and gets properly
positioned without the need of a yappy
dog or a manager asking you where it is.
That pathway is the data lifecycle and
it consists of 8 stages.
sheep into their appropriate pens
(sorting), wash the sheep to clear out
the dirt you don’t need (data cleaning),
shear the sheep to make it presentable
(transformation), and finally drop all the
good looking sheep wool together to
create a fashionable cashmere sweater
(aggregation).
Stage 4: Data storage
Simply put, it’s where it all gets saved.
Best to have a backup in case you lose
the key to the barn.
Stage 5: Data management
This is the governance portion. It deals
with who has access, how they access,
how thick the lock has to be, and how
to continually ensure that the data you
need is the data you’re getting.
Stage 6: Data analysis
Data analysis is about processing the
data to look for patterns, correlations,
anomalies, or trends.
It has a quantitative focus centred around
structure and exploration.
This can be automated through
iterations and machine learning (AI), or
done manually with independent models.
Stage 7: Data visualisation
Data visualisation is the “user
experience” side of the data lifecycle.
It allows the decision maker to quickly
visualize and communicate what is
happening often in real time.
The goal here is to translate the
findings and create actionable insights,
conclusions, and decisions based on
expertise, data, and external factors like
domain knowledge (and sometimes
politics).
There’s no doubt that “data”, “machine
learning”, and “artificial intelligence”
are highly complex subjects that have
created an industry out of the world’s
most brilliant minds including those
at Company-X. It doesn’t have to be
complicated. You can work with people
that make it simple.
Good data creates an environment
for informed decisions, more time to
focus, and the ability to run the world
better and it all begins with a single cell.
Managed correctly, you’ll find yourself
unlocking a priceless value that takes you
back to a profitable, predictable future.
Interested in learning more about data?
Contact damian.bartolomucci@
companyx.nz and let’s have a chat.
About Company-X
Data is the leading global currency
and leadership belongs to those
that can unlock the greatest value
from it. At Company-X, we exist to
empower those visionary leaders
who want to run the world better.
We create the software that
enables change through datadriven
insights and automation.
For defence, manufacturing
contractors, infrastructure asset
managers, and CTOs, we integrate
complex systems, advance safety
through simulation training, and
enhance efficiency with AI. Our
exclusively senior level expertise
works alongside your teams to
code and design your next great
innovation. But we don’t just deliver
software. We forge paths to digital
transformation and operational
efficiencies that run the world
better.

Rodney Stirling
10 FEBRUARY 2024
MORTGAGE ADVICE
TOURISM
The tide is
Walking on
turning
Rodney Stirling
By CLAIRE WILLIAMSON
sunshine
By NICOLA GREENWELL
The housing market is a very cyclical
Stirling
Rodney
beast. It rises and falls as economic,
social and political factors change, and
just like the tides, over the last few years
we’ve experienced some of the highs and
lows.
In 2023, it felt like we were in a bit of
a holding pattern. There was uncertainty
about interest rates, banks competed but
no one was ever sure when that was
going to happen, and property sales were
slower than we had seen in several years.
That’s all tipped to change in 2024, for
several reasons.
Interest rates have likely peaked, and
there are cuts on their way.
Even the most bearish of commentators
are now in agreement that before the end
of 2024, we’ll likely have lower rates than
those we’re seeing now.
That’s building confidence into the
market and those who were worried
about how they might maintain an 8-9
per cent interest rate are becoming more
likely to make a property decision.
The political changes following the
formation of Government in late 2023
EXPERT CONCRETE GRINDING, POLISHING & SEALANTS / COATINGS FOR FLOORS & WALLS
EXPERT CONCRETE GRINDING, POLISHING & SEALANTS / COATINGS FOR FLOORS & WALLS
have now started to bring more investors
and developers back into the market, a
segment which has largely lain dormant
for at least 18 months as they stared
down the barrel of the removal of interest
deductibility and a five-year Brightline
test. Both of these things have now been
reversed, and are likely to come into
play mid-2024, which will pump more
demand into the market.
Considerate
&
Professional
Considerate
is Consistent, Reliable,
&
Professional
Our team
Our team
is Consistent, Reliable,
First home buyers have enjoyed
minimal competition for properties in
2022 and 2023 and will now start to face
rising prices.
But assistance tools like the First Home
Grant, KiwiSaver and the likelihood of
banks opening up more lower deposit
lending (to over 20 per cent of their
overall lending) is going to assist those
buyers into homes and set them up at
a time when interest rates will start
dropping and lending will become more
affordable.
My advice to those who are in a position
to buy is to take action in the first half of
the year if they can.
Prices will start to rise this year and
with that brings challenges of deposit
savings not keeping up with increasing
costs of buying a home.
In the lending world, it’s about
understanding various policy and
ensuring every client has the right fit for
them.
With bank policy and appetite for
lending, especially for business owners,
constantly changing, having the best
options on the table is key.
We’ve been here before when the tide
has come in, and we’ll be here again when
it goes out.
It’s about finding the nuggets of gold in
a sea of sand and having the right people
around you to achieve your property
goals.
• Claire Williamson is a mortgage
advisor for My Mortgage
I love summer in the Waikato and this year
has been particularly good.
The region has benefited from better weather
and more international and domestic visitors
Contractor
Certified
than last year, which, in addition to providing biggest barbeque festival, Meatstock, or the
a boost to local tourism operators, adds extra New Zealand Cheese Festival; while families
vibrancy to our towns and city.
might like to check out Wharenui Harikoa – a
We were already seeing evidence of a great meeting house entirely crocheted by hand – at
summer for tourism back in October, with Waikato Museum. There’s also the Hamilton
visitors spending $148 million across the Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa, 10 days
region during the month.
filled with performing arts from music to
While we don’t yet have the figures for theatre to comedy and cabaret.
November or December at the time of writing, The Balloons over Waikato festival is coming
the momentum appears to have continued to up too and sports fans are also well catered
build, with tourism operators reporting strong for, with international cricket and polo, Waka
numbers and a diverse range of visitors. Ama, showjumping and the Z Manu World
Some attractions say they have exceeded daily Champs being held in the region in February,
visitation records, while others are operating while March sees events like Motofest and the
at capacity and many more reporting strong Middle-Earth Halfling Marathon.
bookings through to the end of the month. Each event contributes economically and
Many Waikato tourism operators also report socially to the community it takes place in – the
that more locals than usual are enjoying dollars spent directly at the event, or pre and
‘staycations’ this year, making the most of our post on the likes of accommodation and eateries,
activities and experiences, as well as enjoying help provide business income and employment
the natural attractions, cycling and walking for our people with flow-on of expenditure
trails we have across the region.
going into our wider communities. Events also
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism’s upcoming build local pride, develop legacy benefits and
campaign encourages domestic travellers to help promote our region’s brand while media
make the most of the magic of the Waikato by opportunities presented by key events help
extending their summer holidays into autumn to shine a light Certified Contractorthe region as an attractive
and right up to Easter and the April
Superfloor
school
TM
destination for potential visitors and drive
HTC
holidays. It targets people from some of our future travel.
key drive and fly markets, focusing on the wide I’m looking forward to getting along to as
range of things to Superfloor
see and do in the region and many of these events as possible and hope to
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see many of you there.
HTC
aims to help lengthen the summer season for
operators.
Events are an important driver for visitation
to our region and a strong events line-up
through until the end of March is adding to
Waikato’s magic.
Foodies can head along New Zealand’s
• Nicole Greenwell is the Chief Executive of
Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
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is Consistent, Our
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200433AA 200433AA

FEBRUARY 2024
11
If you’re developing
Hamilton’s potential.
We must say you’re doing a fine
job, and it’s a fine place to do
it. With improved transport
links, abundant employment
opportunities, and plenty of room
to grow, it’s little wonder Hamilton
is welcoming more new residents
than ever before. The work you’re
doing is enabling our city to
flourish, and our people to thrive.
If you need a hand we’d love to
help.
You
belong
here.

12 FEBRUARY 2024
ADVERTORIAL
Becoming A Commercial
Agent – What A Career
Looks Like Today
Education through
business
By Penny Thompson
I
am often asked what being a
commercial agent looks like today,
as opposed to what it was like when I
started in the mid 2000’s.
While some aspects are significantly
different, many fundamentals haven’t
changed at all.
For those that have an interest
and pondering a potential career in
commercial real estate, I have one
comment – it can fundamentally
change yours and your families’ lives,
as it has with mine.
Occasionally I cast my mind back
to how my life used to be – I don’t
regret my 10 years at Telecom, but
the leap of faith from a salaried role
to an independent contractor where
I get paid for my effectiveness, was
very scary, but mind-blowing the
transformation that has taken place.
Commercial real estate is a
competitive industry, so it’s important
wherever you may choose to go, that
you get genuine support and resources
in order to succeed.
For new agents it can often be a
daunting process initially, hence the
reason we like to get new agents
working alongside experienced agents
from day one.
Being included on listings from the
very outset and working as part of a
team, befitting from its knowledge and
experience, is critical to future success.
The Best Bits:
• You get to meet and work with an
amazing array of people from all
walks of life. Clients and customers
are looking for good credible
advice and assistance from you in
achieving their business and real
estate goals.
• Your time is completely flexible, but
it must be used wisely. Effective
and efficient use of time will ensure
you get more completed each day
than others around you.
• You learn new skills, improve others
and gain cutting edge market intel,
every day. Every time you talk to
someone you learn something you
didn’t know before. The challenge
is to talk to more people, ask more
questions and then do something
with that information, much like
putting a jigsaw together.
What we do is actually quite simple,
but it certainly isn’t easy.
On our wall in the office, we have
“10 Things That Require Zero Talent”.
1. Being on Time
2. Work Ethic
3. Effort
4. Body Language
5. Energy
6. Attitude
7. Passion
8. Being Coachable
9. Doing Extra
10. Being Prepared
The Hardest Bits:
• Making mistakes
and learning from
them. My first
boss said to me
on day one – “there is no issue with
mistakes, we all make them, but
if you continue to make the same
mistakes, we both have a problem”.
• Every day looking to improve what
you do and how you do it, from the
quality of photos, to wording of
agreements and put simply, being
able to find ways to make things
happen.
• Changing how you deal with
people. Everyone is different and
we need to be like a chameleon, to
deal with them the way they need
to be dealt with, not the way we
want to be dealt with.
• Delivering bad news. This is
undoubtedly the one in life that
people struggle with the most.
None of us like doing it, but our
ability to deliver bad news the right
way, is often the very thing that
sets the top performers apart from
the rest. Don’t procrastinate and do
it face to face, if at all possible.
“Success Leaves Clues,
and if you sow the same
seeds, you’ll reap the same
rewards” – Brad Thor
Commercial and industrial real estate is
a very broad field and we decided early
on that having specialist knowledge
about a specific market segment or
geographical area, might be a smart
way to deal with this issue.
Every agency is different, some
agents like to cover retail, office,
industrial and land all over the city and
region.
I work with two other agents within
the CBD (we have others that cover
the various industrial markets and
suburban areas) and the amount of
knowledge to do this well is significant
– it’s an information game.
We feel, and others may disagree,
that having a team of specialists
working together, gives us the
opportunity to provide our clients
and customers with the best possible
advice.
In summary, if you are enthusiastic
and motivated, then a career in
commercial real estate could be for
you. Working hard, being focussed and
keen to learn provides a unique career
opportunity.
Take the opportunity to talk to
several different agencies, to see where
you could fit in and how they will assist
you. It’s very much a relationship game,
so the longer you are doing it, the
greater the number of relationships
you have the opportunity to build.
You definitely wont be bored and
there’s always something to do.
A group of students who participate in the programme - from left, Anna Miles, Emma Sherburn,
Helen de Vries, head girl Kate Monsma, Isabella McClean, Ashleigh Smith, Ella Tunnell, Kayla
Westgate.
When four French nuns travelled to
New Zealand from Lyon, France in
1884 and purchased two acres of
land in Hamilton East, Catholic education in
the Waikato was born.
Today Sacred Heart Girls’ College staff and
students are showing the same pioneering
spirit on the land the four women bought
by cultivating a relationships’ first approach
with the community.
Instead of spending time in the classrooms
for the first week back at school, all 940
students and staff will challenge ‘educational
norms’ by putting curriculum learning on
hold and develop meaningful relationships
with students, teachers and their whānau.
Whanaungatanga, building relationships,
starts with a whole of school p pōwhiri and
continues with student mentoring activities,
guest speakers, goal setting and learning
conversations.
It wraps up with competitive house events
to lay the foundation for a supportive and
nurturing environment.
The school actively seeks opportunities
to engage with local businesses to provide
students with opportunities to transfer these
skills beyond the school gates.
Programmes like Gateway allow students
to experience potential career pathways
and through Smart Waikato Secondary
School Employer Partnerships the school
collaborates with Three Peaks Honey, Paua
Architects, BCD Group, HD GEO, and
Hamilton City Council.
School principal Catherine Gunn said the
nuns’ passion for education developed into
the charism of communion, contemplation
and mission is still prevalent in the school
community today.
Those manākitanga principles – showing
respect, generosity and care for the people
who are part of the greater school community
– are at the heart of the initiative.
“We are not like other schools because of
our Catholic character. Building community
and nurturing positive connections is a core
aspect of our faith formation and our culture
of care.
“The global skills students learn from
a ‘relationships-first’ approach mean we
are supporting our students to develop the
confidence in our young women,” she said.
“No robot or AI can do caring like we can.”
Paua Architects business development
manager Phil Mackay said his practice
valued the opportunity to engage with the
school and see students provided with realworld
examples of the concepts they are
learning.
“They’re engaged and enthusiastic and are
learning to build meaningful relationships;
we value this as a business.”
Deputy principal Caroline Gill, who leads
the project, said research showed that
strong relationships provided a foundation
for student engagement, belonging and
learning.
“The more high-quality relationships
students have with their peers and teachers,
the better their engagement is in school.”
The school will create space and
opportunity to practice a radical
inclusiveness which benefits everyone in the
community, she said.
Parent Abbie McCall of Te Awamutu
supports the programme and working with
businesses.
“Our young wahine love building
relationships with their teachers and
community.
“If the foundations of a sense of belonging
and care are strong, this only builds them up
and forward in their education.”
Sisters of Our Lady of the Mission standing outside the old Convent in Hamilton East in 1943.

FEBRUARY 2024
13
BUSINESS SHOWCASE
CooperAitken: A Century-Strong Legacy of Excellence in Chartered
Accounting and Business Advisory in the Waikato Region
CooperAitken Partners from Left to Right: Grant Eddy, Carissa Cressy, Gavin Haddon, Amy Coombes, Rory Noorland,
Deborah Hollands (CEO), Peter Hexter, Coral Phillips, Gerrie Jacobs, Anna Bennett, Megan Potter Absent: Rachel Robb
Bottom Left: Rory Noorland | Bottom Right: Amy Coombes
CooperAitken are well-established Chartered Accountants & Business
Advisors in the Waikato region, boasting a legacy spanning over a century
and a proud tradition of community support. With 12 partners contributing a
cumulative experience of over 200 years, our strength lies in our diversity,
industry expertise, and specialised skills across various business facets.
Our dynamic team of over 90 professionals, based across our four Waikato
offices, represents a wealth of knowledge, diverse backgrounds, and
unparalleled expertise. While accounting remains at our core, the evolving
business landscape has expanded our focus to include business advisory
services, ensuring that we assist our clients in navigating the future of their
business. Complementing accounting & advisory, we offer a wide range of
specialised services, which we believe form a seamless support system for
our clients & their business journeys.
These wrap-around services include dedicated teams such as Business
Software Support, ACC Risk Management, Governance, Payroll, Trust
Administration & Trusteeships, and our newest addition, Agri-compliance.
With our clients needs at the forefront, these services have been crafted to
alleviate the administrative burdens and complexities associated with
various aspects of business operations.
In addition to our services, CooperAitken specialises in succession and
estate planning, specialist tax advice, handling complex tax issues, business
training, and Waikato Dairy Farming benchmarking. Our commitment is
evident – we want to support our clients with their business burdens and
administrative hassles, allowing them more time to focus on the things they
love doing.
With our history spanning over a century, CooperAitken has grown through
mergers and extensions, from it’s inception in Morrinsville to expanding to
Matamata in 2009, Thames in 2014, and Hamilton, where we established an
office in 2022.
While we are known for our involvement in the rural agri-sector, our focus on
the commercial landscape is robust. The establishment of our office in
Innovation Park in Hamilton is a testament to our dedication to this focus.
With 8 team members now situated in Hamilton, we are in a position to
expand as a firm, and to collaborate closely with both new and existing
Hamilton clients along with like-minded professionals in the area.
Our Hamilton-based partners, Rory Noorland and Amy Coombes, bring years
of experience and a strong commercial focus to the firm.
Helping you find your
time, mind, and
financial freedoms.
Rory, a member of the Chartered Accountants National Tax Liaison
Committee, specialises in complex and intricate tax issues, offering solutions
and outcomes to help them prosper.
He believes his role is first to provide services so clients can focus on what
they’re passionate about, rather than carrying out core compliance
activities. He also aims to give them knowledge about where their business is
going, what they want to achieve, and how to get there.
Amy brings a broad approach to working with her clients and as a member of
the Institute of Directors, she has good experience in helping clients
implement good governance practices.
Having had previous ownership interests in Dairy Farming, Amy has a deep
understanding of the agri-sector and the complexities of running a dairy
farm. This first-hand experience combined with a drive to educate clients on
the story their numbers are telling makes Amy a valuable advisor on her
client’s team.
Our core values—Progressive, Driven, Empathy, Community, and
Approachable—reflect the deep pride we take in embodying these actions.
They steer our efforts when collaborating with clients and as a team.
In the realm of business advisory and support, consider us part of your team.
Fueled by the mission of helping our clients reach their business success –
however that looks to them – we dedicate ourselves to aiding clients reach
their goals and objectives.
If you’re looking for a dedicated team to support you on your business
journey, give us a call.
We would love to work alongside you & your business journey, to help you
find your time, mind, and financial freedoms!
HELPING BUSINESSES THRIVE FOR OVER 100 YEARS
p: 0800 866 191 | e: mail@cooperaitken.co.nz | www.cooperaitken.co.nz

14 FEBRUARY 2024
Paving the way
Advertorial
FAMILY-BASED
RECRUITMENT AGENCY IS ONE OF A KIND
Work is underway on apartments at the Hamilton East site.
Photo: Catherine Gunn.
An apartment development in central Heritage site investigation and discovery
Hamilton will come with improved protocols are in place during works, mana
public footpaths.
whenua input during the design phase will
Waikato-based building company Engas be reflected in a design on a retaining wall,
Development is building 27 apartments and a plaque on the existing wall will be
on the corner of Anzac Parade, Memorial saved. The new, wider, footpath will open
Drive and Puutikitiki Street – formerly Von in May.
Tempsky St - in Hamilton East.
Last year Engas completed the threestorey
Lakewood Townhouses in Cambridge
Hamilton City Council is taking a one-off
opportunity to widen an existing footpath and townhouses in Hukanui Road, Hamilton
outside the site.
last year.
The current footpath is as little as 1.3m Chris Allen, Hamilton City Council’s
wide and close to a traffic lane. As a result of Executive Director Development, said one
a co-operative approach between Engas and of the biggest benefits of doing the footpath
the council, the footpath will be widened as work as part of the development will be the
part of the development.
reduction in disruption for traffic.
The corner site was sold for $2.4 million “This is one of our busiest central city
as a potential site for high density housing in intersections, beside one of our highesttraffic
bridges. By doing the footpaths before
December 2021. At the time it was the site of
a 100-year-old character home.
the apartments are built, construction
It is near the Te Tara-ahi pā site of Ngāti equipment can work from the development
Pakekirangi which was abandoned after site, rather than from the road. This was
Ngapuhi raids in the late 1700s and Moule’s a one-off opportunity as widening the
Redoubt, the first European settlement in footpaths once development is complete
the Waikato. It also overlooks the Union would have caused far more disruption and
Bridge built in 1878.
may have been economically unfeasible.”
Room to grow
Industrial businesses in Waipā have more
land to call home following a decision to
rezone additional land for development
earlier than expected.
The land was originally zoned rural but
some consents had been granted for industrial
activities. The rezoning to industrial became
operative last month.
The new industrial zone covers around
75ha and sits north and south of Hautapu
Road and was originally set to become
available after 2035. Strong growth over the
past 10 years has created a demand for
industrial land and driven the change.
Group manager district growth and
regulatory Wayne Allan said the council
was paving the way for industry growth by
opening the land up for businesses to operate
from.
“This is a positive outcome and better
reflects what the area is used for. Hautapu
will provide more options for businesses
to relocate from Carters Flat, as that area
changes from industrial to commercial.”
“We’ve heard the calls from businesses
and are making changes now. This is just
one way that we’re creating opportunities for
businesses to thrive in Waipā.”
The site has the potential to cater for
two of the district’s top industry sectors,
construction and manufacturing.
“We need to strike a balance between the
infrastructure required and the need to open
up more land for these types of activities, and
we think we’ve got the balance right with this
zone in Hautapu,” Allan said.
Cambridge family-owned business, BO &
CO Electrical have called Hautapu home for
Economic development advisor Joy Mickleson
with BO & CO Electrical owner Sam Bryant,
whose business is reaping the rewards of
Hautapu’s industrial zone. Photo: Supplied.
the past year.
Business owner Sam Bryant said Hautapu
is the ideal place to do business.
“The location, being just out of Cambridge
but close enough to rural areas and the
city, means business operations are easier to
achieve than we could have imagined. We’ve
saved on overhead costs like transportation,
as we’re now so close to the Waikato
Expressway.”
“The land size here and proximity to other
services and our clients is unmatched. We’ve
been able to grow without the pressures of
limited space and resources. There just isn’t a
lot of land that is this central to everything we
need, and that is so accessible for our clients
and staff as well,” Bryant said.
A blend of personal experience
and genuine concern for migrant
workers has steered Hamilton-based
Need4Skills to its current position as
one of the country’s most diversitysensitive
recruitment agencies.
Managing director Karen Tan’s story
gives a clear insight as to why.
Six years have passed since Karen started
her then home-based agency to provide
an integrated recruitment ‘bridge’ between
employers and internationally based
employees.
Her focus was predominantly on workers
coming in from the Philippines, not only
because she knew they were a proven asset
to any team, but also because Karen is
herself a migrant from that part of the world.
She and her mother arrived in New Zealand
from the Philippines in 1993.
In the years that followed, Karen worked
across various sales, account management
and business development sectors as well
as in the NGO environment. “At one stage
I was managing a staff of 50 for a software
company. It didn’t take long for me to
notice that a lot of New Zealand companies
experienced challenges around diversity in
the workplace. I wanted to find a way to
help.”
That rare mix of personal and professional
experience as well as hands-on exposure
to the Kiwi work environment provided her
with a unique insight on how to optimise
the experience for everyone involved in the
recruitment process, both employers and
migrant workers, and enhance retention
levels.
“It is important for us to make our employers
feel valued as well ... to make both parties
happy,” Karen says. “Our employers go way
beyond what is expected of them, and this
is vital for our workers. We are very grateful
for their patience and understanding.”
Today Need4Skills operates from the heart of
Hamilton. It now draws its quality candidates
from the Philippines and beyond, including
the Gulf countries, Japan, Saipan, Singapore
and Europe. Most have established skills
of five years or more, and by working in
alignment with New Zealand immigration
requirements, the agency has earned a
trusted reputation among local companies.
It is now the ‘go-to’ agency for many top
companies across the Waikato, in Auckland
and in the South Island, predominantly
across sectors that include fabrication and
welding, painting, construction, mechanical
engineering and early childhood teaching.
The fact that 80 percent of those recruited
through the agency have become residents is
powerful testimony to Karen and her team’s
efforts, but she is mindful that such success
comes only when workers feel secure in their
employment and settle with their families
into Kiwi life.
To that end, Karen and Rommel organises
English classes for the workers and together,
they established The Filipino Connection,
a not-for-profit outreach that is all about
INFORMATION-INTEGRATION-IMMERSION.
Aimed at smoothing to path for migrant
workers, that arm of the operation delivers
personalised ongoing care for incoming
workers. They are given an initial settlement
plan, pre-organised accommodation,
orientation sessions around banking,
Karen Tan, managing director at Need4Skills,
works out of a welcoming space in the heart of
Hamilton.
Karen Tan with her husband Rommel, left, and
son Elijah.
shopping, utilities, rules and regulations,
and mentoring around how the Kiwi culture
operates. They help bring workers’ families
in and keep the lines of communication open
as a conduit to avoiding potential pitfalls.
The family-owned character of Need4Skills
is other major advantage. Karen is
managing director; her husband Rommel,
is an operations director, left a corporate
role of 26 years to come on board to help
settle and mentor workers. Quite a bit of
heavy work happens behind the scenes and
Rommel pours relentless hours into this part.
Their son Elijah works for the business too
assisting his dad since he was 16, helping set
up workers’ homes, utilities and furniture
as well as airport pickups from any airport
point. He often works nights and weekends
and has become a permanent staff member.
Their daughter Alpha, as well as other family
members who works elsewhere, dips in and
out when it gets very busy and for short-term
projects needed. Karen’s Philippines-based
sister, Khristine Narciso, co-ordinates things
from that end.
A valued part of Khristine’s function is
running a comprehensive pre-departure
course for migrating workers aimed at
teaching them the basics of Kiwi life. It
covers things such as understanding
contracts and the New Zealand working
culture, what is and isn’t appropriate,
and coordinates applicant’s necessary
documents for a smoother process. She
coordinates with the visa team and local
agencies in the Philippines. During the predeparture
course, Rommel also shares his
working knowledge and provides essential
information around driving rules and other
regulations that will seem foreign to them.
“We understand the cultural differences and
the difficulties workers might find here,”
Karen says. “But I feel our responsibility goes
beyond just finding and providing workers for
New Zealand companies. By also ensuring
that those workers settle well, we are not
only helping them and their families, but we
are making sure those companies get the
very best from the workers they employ.”
For more information,
visit www.needforskills.co.nz

FEATURE
FEBRUARY 2024
Human Resources and Recruitment
15
New HR/recruitments present challenges
The employment landscape is
constantly evolving – you need to
look no further than the changes
brought about by the Covid
pandemic to see just how much.
Terms like hybrid working (splitting
work time between the office and home),
diversity and wellbeing are much more
common today than they were in the
pre-pandemic era. More consideration is
given to encouraging a balance between
work and lifestyle, promoting mental and
physical wellbeing among employees,
and creating a culture of trust and
inclusion for everyone in the workplace.
Recruitment has always been a
key responsibility area of any human
resources (HR) operation, but it is no
longer simply a case of matching a job
seeker with a suitable vacancy, or filling
a client’s wish-list of requirements by
finding an individual who might be a
good fit.
Today, sourcing talent comes with a
raft of other considerations.
Whether it’s done internally or
externally, HR professionals must first
identify and fully understand the needs
of their client company and then craft an
appropriate job description. Decisions
are then made around the sort of
advertising medium most likely to attract
the best candidates, how to process
applicants then narrow them down to a
short-list, and then conduct interviews.
At any stage, there are more options
There are more options than ever before – just one example is the interview process, which could be face-to-face, or via phone or video calls
than ever before – just one example is the
interview process, which could be faceto-face,
or via phone or video calls.
Nor does a successful recruitment
exercise end by ticking off the tasklist.
Once an employee is selected, HR
departments within companies remain
engaged for as long as that individual is
employed. They’re the ones negotiating
contracts, dealing with workplace
orientation, relevant health and safety
requirements, learning and development
opportunities, performance and rewards,
training processes, payroll matters, and
more.
The sweeping changes initiated by
people working from home during long
Covid lockdowns brought a suite of
challenges that demanded adaptation
from both employers and employees.
Both sides have found that the
flexibility it demanded came with a new
set of advantages that is benefiting
both parties – making the role of HR
professionals all the more important in a
post-Covid working world.

16 FEBRUARY 2024
Your guide to: Conference, V
How to avoid the pitfalls of
conference and event planning
Thinking about hosting a
conference or organising a
special event? Why not?
After all, they’re great for
corporate networking or
professional development
for businesses of all shapes
and sizes, and they can turn
shindigs of a more personal
nature into truly memorable
occasions.
Whatever your reason for
considering it, the key to
success is always going to
be in the planning. There
are a host of moving parts to organising
a smooth operation, and how you drive
those parts is key.
The first step is to decide what sort
of event you want, what size and scale
you’re looking at. Start a comprehensive
checklist that begins with a
well-considered timeline and ticks every
box along the way … anything less could
mean costly mistakes and end up with
you wearing egg on your face, and no-one
wants that.
Here’s how to go about avoiding those
pesky pitfalls. Whether you’re planning a
corporate function, business conference
or seminar, a wedding or a family soiree,
the rules are pretty much the same.
• Establish the purpose, anticipated
numbers and costings for your
conference or event, then visit
venue options that could be a
good fit in the area you are looking
at. When there, check for breakout
areas or rooms you might
want to use if you are planning
different conference sessions or
workshops.
• Key in your date, but make sure
it doesn’t clash with another
industry conference or event that
might negatively affect yours.
• Know your baseline needs in
terms of technology, sound
systems, live-streaming facilities,
screens, graphics, Wi-Fi, music,
bar and kitchen facilities. If they’re
not offered as part of the venue
booking deal, find out if they
arrange for those requirements to

FEBRUARY 2024
, Venues and Events
FEATURE
WE WOULD LOVE TO HOST
YOU FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT
17
be covered from outside, and how
it might change costings.
• Factor in nearby accommodation,
transport links and/or parking for
those attending, and book ahead if
you know your numbers.
Assuming all the in-house planning
is already in hand – speakers, staff,
volunteers and the like – create a
schedule and then a programme to be
handed out to attendees or invitations
for guests. If you want to include things
like goodie-bags, or have sponsored or
promotional material available, make sure
they’re ordered well in advance of the
event.
Keep a check on logistics – things
like catering plans, meal or break times
and places – and remember, everyone’s
view on the success or otherwise of a
conference or event will depend on how
seamlessly it went off.
That comes down to how well you
planned every step of it. If you feel
insecure about doing it all yourself, there
are tried and tested conference and event
organisers out there who have it down
pat.
Lily Pad
Cafe
At the Lily Pad we love
to cater to your needs
whether that be a
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18 FEBRUARY 2024
Covid’s disabling sting
Disappearing work contracts spell tough times for disability employment
agencies. Viv Posselt talks to one of them, Achievement House in Cambridge.
Ideally,
however, we
would like to
have enough
regular
incoming work
to ensure
everyone is
busy and
engaged all
day…able
to feel that
they are
contributing
members
of the
community.”
Achievement House manager Neil Fynn and his assistant Shelby McClelland hope
2024 bring more work contracts.
Jeremy Piercy of Hamilton seals metal rods into plastic tubes.
Achievement House is
feeling the post-Covid
pinch as a drop in the
number of contracts impact
on its ability to provide a
steady level of employment
for people with disabilities.
It has always been
something of a struggle, says
manager Neil Fynn, but the
post-pandemic disruptions
has exacerbated the problem.
He said several contracts
had ended in the past few
years, and he wants to make
2024 all about bringing new
ones on board. The reasons
they fall away are not always
made clear, he added. They
lost a major contract in 2022
as a firm was bought out by
an international player who
closed it and moved offshore,
while others were lost to
post-pandemic changes
made to the way companies
operate.
Whatever the reason,
the result for Achievement
House, and for other facilities
like it, is a shrinking and
unpredictable workload with
which to keep their staff fully
occupied on a regular basis.
Fynn said Achievement
House has more than 40
people on its books.
“Between 23 to 25 are
here on any given day, but
we now find there are times
when there is simply not
enough work for them to do.
When that happens, they can
choose to either stay here
and do something of their
own, or they can go home,”
he said.
“Ideally, however, we
would like to have enough
regular incoming work to
ensure everyone is busy and
engaged all day…able to feel
that they are contributing
members of the community.”
Achievement House is
one of nine New Zealand
disability enterprises
that offer employment
opportunities to people
with a range of disabilities.
They come from around the
region, choosing to work
the days and hours that best
align with their lifestyle.
Because of the range of
disabilities they have, the
tasks they do are varied, with
some being understandably
limited, Fynn said.
They specialise in the
assembly, collation, labelling
and packaging of small,
lightweight components
for various industries, and
contract arrangements can
either be for one-offs or longterm.
“Where the rest of the
working world increases its
use of mechanisation, we
are exactly the opposite. We
need tasks that are as labour
intensive as possible…
our aim is to provide our
staff with work they can
do within their abilities.
They do hand-assembled,
repetitive tasks that fulfil
a crucial component in the
manufacturing process, with
minimal use of machinery.
“We don’t operate as
your standard commercial
workplace. We must
accommodate the different
requirements our staff
bring, which means we
are very time-tolerant
with our workforce. Our
quality control, however, is
extremely rigid… there is no
leeway given because we are
a disability organisation.”
Much of the short-term
work they have done over the
years has segued into larger
contracts, some of them for
well-known companies with
international links.
They do work for awardwinning
company Shoof
International, working on
components for animal
husbandry products such
as leg straps and the like.
Other projects have come
from Houston-based MRC
Global, a leading global
distributor of pipes, vales,
PVC fittings and the like that
has a presence in Hamilton.
Also on board is Holdfast
in Hamilton, now operating
under Soudal ownership,
as well as Rukuhia-based
Smiths Elements & Controls,
and NZ Industrial Fittings
out of Rotorua.
The advantages to
companies are many, Fynn
said. By outsourcing to
Achievement House the sort
of work that would normally
be done using a costly
robotic system or a workers’
production line, companies
can avoid having to factor
in recruitment and training,
or HR issues. Plus, many of
today’s firms seek a strategic
‘add-on’ that reflects a
philanthropic side – it is
an arrangement of mutual
benefit and one he hopes to
tap into.
“What is often not
recognised in our case is
that we are a serious notfor-profit
enterprise whose
sole purpose is to create and
provide work for disabled
persons. We fill an important
function for all sorts of
industries and can be utilised
far more than at present,”
Fynn said. “Much of our
work comes via word of
mouth, and I’m hoping that
with the growth in industry
in the Waikato, we will be
able to find new contracts to
take us into the future.”
Hamilton’s Hone Paki adds new taps to plumbing fittings.
John Fayerman of Cambridge counts and packages plastic
bottles.
Cambridge duo Jenna Tutbury and Carl Smith adding labels to
bottles.

FEBRUARY 2024
Out and about…
Send us your contributions to Out and about – editor@goodlocal.nz
19
NZ National Fieldays Society volunteer Sandra Wrigley receives the
2023 John Kneebone Volunteer of the Year Award from life member
Peter Carr.
Photo: Stephen Barker.
Celebration time for Linda Jones Retirement Village in Hamilton which was named Ryman’s fittest village for 2023. The 11
medallists in the Walking for Wellness event were honoured at a special ceremony, from left Les Christopher, Norma Kerr, Terry
Brighouse, Dick Coventry, Susan Harper, village manager Neville Parkinson, chief experience and engagement officer Mary-Anne
Stone, resident experience coordinator Kate Terry, Tony Watson, Anne Welsh, Birger Kirsten, Noreen Parsons, David Parsons.
Turning the sod at the Piarere roundabout, from left Sam Uffindell, Louise Upston, Transport minister Simeon Brown, Tim van de
Molen, Tom Rutherford, Ryan Hamilton, Adrienne Wilcock and Susan O’Regan.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Te Radar, regarded as the face and voice of Fieldays receives the
2023 Rimmington Award for services to Fieldays from life member
Barry Quayle.
Photo: Stephen Barker.
New Zealand Defence Force petty officer Glen Hayes, left, and sergeant Texas Prima went to the
Waka Ama champs at Karāpiro to discuss Defence careers.
Photo: Jeremy Smith.
Te Toki Voyaging Trust - Waka Hourua members Kiriwehi Grant, front, Hinemanu Barclay-Kerr, Te
Ohomairangi-Putiputi Matakātea, Reiata Huata, Paige Rameka, Tevarn Mylove Bennion-Lindsay
and Khloe Simon at Lake Karāpiro for the Waka Ama champs.
Photo: Jeremy Smith.

20 FEBRUARY 2024
This expansion recognises
our communities need for
quality affordable housing
delivered at scale, and
Fosters desire to contribute
to this need.
Fosters CEO Nigel Sun with GM Foster Residential Douw van der Merwe, who is a great fit for the
Foster team, adding in-depth knowledge of the industry, and the supply chain and is a good fit for
delivering ‘the Fosters way’.
Nigel Sun, Fosters CEO
Photo Credit: Waikato Times
FOSTERS GOES RESIDENTIAL!
April 1, 2024 will see the launch of Foster Residential Limited. Adding
to Fosters’ core offering of develop, construction, engineering and
maintain, the new residential arm is both an opportunity to expand
the business and do more for the community.
Fosters CEO Nigel Sun says this development is significant to the Fosters
business, but well aligned with the Fosters purpose of ‘great communities
through strong foundations’.
“This expansion recognises our communities need for quality affordable
housing delivered at scale, and Fosters desire to contribute to this need”
he said.
“We have several quality residential building companies in the Waikato,
and many are doing it tough in the current market.
“Leveraging our size and strengths, Fosters’ focus is on delivering
residential projects at scale. That being a minimum of 10 houses in one
location and concentrating on social, tribal, community and affordable
housing.
“We aim to add to the residential construction markets capacity to deliver
the number of houses needed to address the current housing deficit and
support the growing population in the coming years.”
Foster Residential will focus on B2B partners, recognising the needs
of organisations like Kainga Ora, Iwi, Community Housing Providers,
retirement village operators and similar commercial residential developers.
As members of the New Zealand Construction Alliance, Fosters have
already secured their first residential project – 10 new units for Kainga
Ora on Hukanui Road. Several other housing projects of scale are in the
pipeline.
To find out more about Foster Residential, call Douw on 027 250 0104.