Waikato Business News | June 5, 2024

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2 JUNE 2024 Editor Roy Pilott 027 450 0115 News Mary Anne Gill 021 705 213 Viv Posselt 027 233 7686 CONTACTS editor@goodlocal.nz maryanne@goodlocal.nz viv@goodlocal.nz Advertising Director Janine Davy janine@goodlocal.nz 027 287 0005 Owner David Mackenzie david@goodlocal.nz Office 07 827 0005 admin@goodlocal.nz Website 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 when accompanied by the author’s full name, residential address, and telephone number. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers. Waikato Business News is published by Good Local Media Limited. Also publishers of wbn.co.nz This newspaper is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must first be directed in writing, within one month of publication, to the editor’s email address. If not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council P O Box 10- 879, The Terrace, Wellington 6143. Or use the online complaint form at www.mediacouncil.org.nz Please include copies of the article and all correspondence with the publication. Bowlers take cover Mergers, whether it’s a business or a sports club, are never easy but the Frankton Junction and Frankton Railway Bowling Clubs’ hit new heights. Now under the umbrella of the Hamilton Workingmen’s Club, the new look Frankton Junction Bowling Club also has a PVC canopy roof over half of its outdoor bowling rinks. The Dome, as it is known as, reaches as high as six metres, over more than 1100 square metres covering eight bowling rinks. It covers a newly carpeted green which was part of the $1.5 million merger development. It was not all plain sailing once the merger between the clubs was completed. In late 2022, prior to the development They’ve got it covered – Hamilton Workingmen’s Club manager Ken Marcum, city mayor Paula Southgate, bowls club president Brian Osmond and Bowls New Zealand chief Mark Cameron. getting underway, Hamilton City Council asked for $236,000 in development “There were the problems with the council, contributions before the canopy was even prior to the build, then when Cyclone started. Gabrielle came through things changed and Development contributions are usually council requirements changed regarding paid by property developers to help cover storm water requirements, which required costs for any infrastructure that supports us to install massive water retention tanks developments. underground, which escalated the costs Roll the kitty forward and after plenty of further. reports from both sides the council dropped He quips “that’s water under the bridge”. their fees drastically to $18,600. Local Iwi carried out a dawn blessing “Building the roof has been far from of the venue before the revamped facility easy,” says Frankton Junction Bowling Club was opened in March by Hamilton mayor President Brian (Oz) Osmond. Paula Southgate, with Workingmen’s Club Economic voice silenced By Chris Gardner The outgoing chief executive of Waikato economic development agency Te Waka has deflected questions on its achievements. Fiona Carrick, who was appointed less than two years ago from Fonterra, stood by a statement released by the Te Waka board last month which said it would close down on June 30 after six years due to a lack of collective regional commitment and inadequate resources. Independent chair Hamish Bell said the agency no longer had the collective mandate or resource to continue in an impactful way after the region’s 11 mayors had rejected plans to scale up its activity. “In terms of the collective voice we’ve represented for the region and the value we’ve delivered; I would refer you to this statement for that. I’m happy to directly engage you with the chair if you’ve got specific queries,” said Cambridge-based Carrick. Bell was unavailable for an interview. Te Waka had summarised its achievements in its submission to Waikato Regional Council, he said. “Over the last six years we have met all of the KPIs and accountability measures set by the councils that fund us, and we have delivered a wide range of activity for the region, which we are proud of. “The focus for the next six weeks is on concluding the activity in our current workplan. Some programmes of work could be ongoing, and we would welcome discussions with councils about how these could continue.” Te Waka received funding from Waikato Regional, Hamilton City, Hauraki, Matamata- Piako, Ōtorohanga, South Waikato, Taupō, Thames Coromandel, Waikato, Waipā and Waitomo. Te Waka’s swansong was the Waikato Regional Business Sentiment Survey in April. It surveyed the region about the economic challenges. Results reflected a more positive outlook than might have been expected, Te Waka said. “While overall confidence levels are down, our region‘s businesses are maintaining a level of pragmatic optimism, with 43% stating confidence in their own business performance and 48% expecting the Waikato regional economy to improve over the next 12 months,” the executive summary said. “The biggest surprise would be the drop in confidence in Māori businesses,” Carrick added. Te Waka general manager of economic development Rosie Spragg said it was a significant drop. “We think in part it will reflect the nature of the industries that are made-up in the Māori economy. There was a high level of construction businesses in particular, as well as primary sector businesses that we know have been particularly hard hit over the past 12 months. There may also be other factors at play - obviously the political environment around Māori economy. president Brian Simpson, former Frankton Railway Bowling Club president Doug O’Brien and Bowls New Zealand chief Mark Cameron present. Pat Weekes, another Frankton Junction past president threw down the first jack. The club is the first in the country to have a dome style roof style. Brian Osmond says the facilities, including the bar and kitchen which make up The Pavilion, are in demand. “The centre already has bookings for conferences, along with two other businesses booking out both centres for “team building” days, as we co-manage the facility alongside the Hamilton Workingmen’s Club and that works brilliantly. “We have this going on, along with our usual bowl days and evenings so the place is humming.” Getting Bowls New Zealand to bring a national tournament to the club is the next hope. Tim van de Molen Your MP for Waikato Backing Waikato Businesses Tim.vandeMolenMP@parliament.govt.nz 0800 GET TIM (0800 438 846) Elevate Your Workspace with Sparkling Cleanliness! Hallmark Services offers excellent Commercial Cleaning services that are designed to exceed your expectations and leave a lasting impression. Authorised by Tim van de Molen, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. For enquiries, please contact us: 0800 101 216 | sarah@hallmarkservices.co.nz www.hallmarkservices.co.nz
JUNE 2024 Briefs… Company merger Hamilton-based TMG Cloudland has merged with Primary IT (Wellington), making it the largest provider of IT services to primary healthcare in New Zealand. Primary IT chief Matthew Leahy said joining TMG Cloudland “allows us to offer our clients a broader range of services and advanced technologies”. Grant chance Applications for Callaghan Innovation’s R&D Experience Grant open on 4 June. The grant funds work experience for tertiary students. Hospice changes Hospice Waikato chief executive Craig Tamblyn and board chair Margaret Devlin have left the community palliative care charitable trust. Former Hamilton Boys’ High School headmaster Susan Hassall is acting chief executive while Hamilton eye surgeon Stephen Ng is acting chair. Superhub gets Luxon tick Prime Minister Chris Luxon paid a whistle stop visit to Hamilton’s inland port and spoke to Waikato Business News writer Chris Gardner about the port, progress on the Medical School, science, technology and the rural sector. 3 Gascoigne moves Paul Gascoigne has joined the ranks of Harkness Henry. Gascoigne has more than 20 years of experience in commercial matters, property, farming and rural law, relationship property and estate planning. Choir returns The Christs College Chapel Choir from Cambridge, England, will sing in Hamilton’s Waikato Anglican Cathedral and St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Cambridge next month. Christ’s College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge and has had a chapel choir since its foundation in 1505. Rotary visit Rotary International president Gordon McInally of Scotland will visit Waikato this week and Rotarians will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with him on Thursday (June 6) at Novotel Tainui in Hamilton. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon inspects a model of Tainui Group Holdings’ Ruakura Superhub while chief executive Chris Joblin looks on. Tainui Group Holding’s Ruakura Superhub in Hamilton has been described by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as “a great example of what we want to see a lot more of in this country”. The commercial arm of the tribe is building New Zealand’s largest integrated commercial hub: a 30ha inland port operated in a joint venture with Port of Tauranga Ltd, surrounded by a 263ha industrial and logistics park. “What we need to do is build modern, reliable infrastructure that has economic, social and environmental benefits,” the Prime Minister told the Waikato Business News after a visit to the Superhub last month. “It’s critical for us to upgrade our economic productivity and when we do that, we get a higher quality of living for everybody.” He described the facility as a fantastic facility that connected the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga. “There’s work that we need to do around infrastructure. A big part of it is making sure that we have a good clear 30-year pipeline of projects rather than just ideas. “We want to have a 10-year focus around city and regional deals and we also want to build out a national infrastructure agency that actually can get the right funding and financing in place to do more infrastructure. Waikato’s tech sector is worth more than $1.15 billion, with the Cultivate Trust in the midst of a Tech in the Tron campaign to attract 500 workers and their families to the region. So, what’s the Government doing to help the sector? “We’ve got to embrace science, technology, innovation, a lot more,” Luxon said. “We have to make sure we better educate our kids, get rid of red tape, and obviously have stronger international connections. So those are the five things that will create more economic productivity and more prosperity for New Zealand. “When you look at the tech ecosystem in Hamilton, it’s incredibly diverse and it’s something that’s incredibly exciting when you think about the quality of life, the affordability, location, lifestyle. You know, Hamilton is a pretty attractive place to live. We are very, very interested in making sure we can accelerate tech and innovation.” It was important, he said, for businesses to invest in research and development to compete on a world stage. What about the rural sector? The Government was doing everything it could to encourage businesses, including the rural sector, he said. “The previous administration went to war with farmers. It loaded up a huge amount of regulations and as a result, farmers ended up spending 25 per cent to 30 per cent of their week Photo: Erica Sinclair. doing paperwork rather than farming. We’re working our way through getting rid of the red and green tape that’s getting in the way of farming.” The Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Waikato in February 2024 to develop a third New Zealand medical school in the Waikato They are working on a business case with a view to the first intake of 120 students starting in early 2027. Asked whether there was anything the Government could to speed the process up, Luxon said the business case and feasibility study was well underway. “We need to look at the cost benefit analysis and make sure that we’ve got a very good robust financial case for progressing further. So that’s really the focus of the Government right now. Once we’re in agreement that a cost benefit analysis has been delivered and it makes sense then we can progress on the medical school.” Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture 07 839 6521 www.pauaarchitects.co.nz “ Architecture takes you to a place you are unlikely to arrive at on your own. It is the ultimate opportunity to make your home or work environment personal and purposeful.
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Waikato Business News | June 5, 2024

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