BB#77-Jul-Aug-2024

HASTINGS CITY

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Thursday 29th August 2024

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77

BayBuzz

July + August 2024

Running the planet’s hottest marathon. Meet HB’s top developers (Part 1). Councils struggle forward. Local educators tackle school attendance. Insiders differ on our wool woes. Sports facilities becoming more user friendly. Sustainable practices a good business for WineWorks. Terrific coffee press made in HB. Two regional agencies help drive HB forward. Arts Festival empresario Pitsch Leiser moves on. The Wardinis have written a book, together. Two stalwarts share 50 years of HB wine history. Women can’t neglect strength. Experts don’t dictate taste. Jessica learns to pack.

Winemakers Peter Robertson and Paul Mooney . Photo: Florence Charvin

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Cover story

Mark Sweet does coffee with Hawke’s Bay property developers

Rob and Barb Hansen, Warren Ladbrook and Jonathan Wallace.

Cover photo: Rob Hansen by Florence Charvin

BayBuzz team

EDITOR: Tom Belford

DEPUTY EDITOR: Lizzie Russell

SENIOR WRITERS: Tom Belford; Abby Beswick; Hamish Bidwell; Rosheen FitzGerald; Damon Harvey; Mark Sweet

COLUMNISTS: Andrew Frame; Yvonne Lorkin; Kate McLeay; Paul Paynter; Lizzie Russell; Dominic Salmon; Simon Shattky; Jess Soutar Barron; Ian Thomas

BUSINESS WRITER: Brenda Newth

VIDEOGRAPHER: Patrick O'Sullivan

EDITOR’S RIGHT HAND: Brooks Belford

PHOTOGRAPHY: Florence Charvin

ILLUSTRATION: Ruth Mitchener; Brett Monteith

DESIGN: Unit Design - Max Parkes; Giselle Reid

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Giselle Reid

PROOFREADER: Jenny Elliott

ONLINE: Lee Tong

BUSINESS MANAGER: Steph Lowry

PRINTING: Blue Star Group

ISSN 2253-2625 (Print)

ISSN 2253-2633 (Online)

This document is printed on an environmentally responsible paper produced using Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp sourced from Sustainable & Legally Harvested Farmed Trees, and manufactured under the strict ISO14001 Environmental Management System.

Lizzie Russell, Deputy editor

A BayBuzzer since 2012 (those heady days of mono-colour covers and staple binding), Lizzie took a step away for the last couple of years but is now back in the role of Deputy Editor. She’s usually found at her central Napier spot Tennyson Gallery, when she’s not roaming around the region with photographer Florence for BayBuzz, or frequenting the Bay’s hospo, arts and events scenes.

How can we keep kids in school?

Abby Beswick

Local educators say solutions are complex.

Sport + Fitness

The developers

Mark Sweet

The people whose buildings put a face on HB.

26 Local government stocktake

Tom Belford

With rates set, the region moves forward.

32 Wool’s future woolly

Hamish Bidwell

Is our wool business struggling ... or not?

44 Sport and recreation for all abilities

Damon Harvey

Important progress made to improve facilities access to disabled.

BayBiz

50 WineWorks: adding value sustainably

Brenda Newth

Proving sustainable practices are good business.

56 Under pressure Simon Shattky

Local duo create innovative coffee press.

58 Some, for all, forever Alasdair MacLeod, REDA

Water allocation issues tough, but must be resolved.

60 Progress in the region’s recovery – working together with an eye on resilience

Blair O’Keeffe, HBRRA

The last 18 months have seen a newfound level of regional collaboration.

62 Festival empresario reflects Jamie Macphail

An inside look at the Arts Festival’s evolution.

66 Gareth & Louise Ward, now co-authors Rosheen FitzGerald

How this dynamic duo has written a book.

70 Women need muscle Janine Couchman

Strength is key as women age.

72 No definitive magic formula for flavour

Ian Thomas

Forget the experts, taste is personal.

74 Peter Robertson and Paul Mooney: A century of wine experience Yvonne Lorkin

Two lions of HB winemaking reminisce.

80 Jetset! Wanna bet?

Jess Soutar Barron

It’s a job to holiday!

62: Pitsch Leiser and Jamie Macphail talk HB Arts Festival.

Photo: Florence Charvin

As I write on June 23rd, I’ve just read that according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the past week has seen more than 1,400 high temperature records fall around the globe. For some 80% of the world’s population — 6.5 billion people — the heat of the past week was twice as likely to occur because humans started burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Stats like these prompted me, as you’ll read elsewhere in this magazine, to now put our reporting of climate issues in the context of ‘climate crisis’ ... sounds extreme, but that’s the reality.

Our local council rates reflect yet another looming crisis – the unsustainability of our local government funding arrangements. Ratepayers face significantly higher district council average increases – residents in Havelock North, $955; Parklands, $934; Waipukurau, $847; Flaxmere, $708. Rural rates –Ruataniwha, $3,227; Hastings, $2,431. Commercial rates – Hastings CBD, $2,543; Napier CBD, $3,065.

Then add the Regional Council’s hike. Much less in dollar terms, but still unwelcome – $150 more for Havelock North, $96 for Bluff Hill, $444 for Hastings rural.

[All of the above will be slightly lower when final lowered rates are calculated.]

Again, those are average increases, total amounts are much higher, with many ‘outliers’ facing much greater increases. Each council has ‘remissions’ policies that will be put to the test in the months ahead. HBRC is expecting three times the previous number, which could amount to 1,000 ratepayers requesting relief – itself a potential revenue loss and administrative cost.

Although Cyclone Gabrielle – wishfully thought of as an anomaly from which we have ten years to recover – has certainly driven some of the increases, that’s not the entire story.

From the editor Tom Belford

For example, of its 19% increase for 2024/24, HDC attributes 42% of its hike directly to recovery; Wairoa says 30% of its 2024/25 hike will be spent on recovery. Our other councils didn’t display such a breakdown in their consultation documents, although they made much of the disruption.

Setting aside recovery, what’s left as ‘baked in’ are normal operating costs for the services we still demand – be those ‘core’ or ‘nice to have’. And here the councils face severe inflation – material costs (related to ‘normal’ infrastructure maintenance), labour, insurance, interest rates. Plus a backlog of expense for long neglected water systems (a big driver for Napier, CHB and Wairoa).

So everyone is grouchy as councils now hunker down and get back to the business at hand.

In the face of this grumpiness, councils have pledged, with varying degrees of specificity, to find additional cost savings in the coming year. Otherwise the somewhat lower rates for 2025/26 won’t stand. Ratepayers will need to keep their eyes on these various internal reviews – none of which will be conducted or overseen by more independent and objective outside parties.

I’ve previously urged that Hawke’s Bay needs an auditor-general, our own watchdog.

longer term and implied Crown funding for local councils. But CRDs won’t come off the drawing board until 2025.

And the second re-think must be around – sorry to say – amalgamation. To my thinking, the price of any CRDs must be amalgamation.

Hawke’s Bay has been fortunate in recent times to have senior elected officials whose personal styles have been collaborative. But as welcome as those are, we cannot rely upon such relationships to always exist (especially when not crisis-imposed) or to delve into the myriad ways five bureaucracies embed the inefficiencies, redundancies and policy differences that generate 10% or so ‘normal’ rate increases year after year. To say nothing of the complete lack of transparency around how critical regional business gets done.

There, I’ve said it ... amalgamation. Stay tuned!

But don’t let my fulminations scare you off ... there’s plenty to celebrate and enjoy about Hawke’s Bay in this edition.

Cheers,

And we are yet to see what kind of regional entity will emerge to charge us for ‘3 Waters’ services. Or whether the Crown will help fund regional climate adaptation.

Ultimately, two re-thinks of local government will need to occur.

The first of these might happen as the Government comes forward with its so-called ‘City and Regional Deals’ (CRDs), as described in my article, Local government stocktake. These tout

Tom has been a two-term HB Regional Councillor. His past includes the Carter White House, building Ted Turner’s first philanthropic organisation, doing heaps of marketing consulting for major non-profits and corporates.

The Buzz Lizzie Russell

I MET YOU WHEN I WAS A FISH

A very special winter art moment is upon us as the Rabbit Room gallery in Napier hosts Asaki Kajima’s new exhibition I met you when I was a fish

Through Asaki’s inimitable mixed media sculptures, supported by her corresponding drawings, photographs by Florence Charvin and furniture from So Vintage, we’re invited to explore themes of memory,

familiarity, nostalgia, and the passage and elasticity of time.

Florence’s photographs of the furniture and sculpture in situ, then hung alongside these combinations elicit a sense of time travel, verging on déjà vu, and the combination of the French furniture and the sculptures influenced and informed by Asaki’s Japanese background encourage us to ponder place and history, the built and the organic.

“There are still a lot of things I don’t know in this world. I’m trying to make sense through my art works, but there are not answers, but maybe more questions,” Asaki says.

“One life is not enough time for me.”

The exhibition opens on July 19 and runs until August 24 at the Rabbit Room, which you’ll find in Tennyson Street, down the little alleyway between Mr D and the Daily Telegraph building.

In this series, we cast a little BayBuzz light on local treasures –spots you might need reminding about, places to explore in our own resilient, beautiful backyard. This issue, we’re at Napier’s Saturday morning Urban Farmer’s Market.

Photos by Florence Charvin

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

The aroma of coffee on a mild Napier winter morning mingles with the last falling leaves and a little busker music.

While the big one in Hastings on Sundays is nationally renowned, this smaller, more chilled-out Saturday market has a true neighbourhood feel. We see friends and familiar faces as we stroll the single strip, and Florence says it feels more like a village market back in France.

We have knives sharpened, fruit baskets filled, pat a pup or two and indulge in a pastry. Warming hands on flat whites, we chat weather and work and who’s heading away to warmer climes and who’s still winter swimming at Ahuriri. Then we head into the weekend. Best part is, we get to do it all again next week.

The Napier Urban Farmers’ Market runs every Saturday morning from 8:30am to 12:30pm in Clive Square.

The Buzz Lizzie Russell

The Buzz Damon Harvey

Stay hearty’ will be running through the mind of ultramarathon runner Andrew McCrory as he puts one white HOKA running shoe in front of the other for 217 kilometres as temperatures soar to over 50 degrees celsius.

Andrew is one of 100 runners lucky enough (some would disagree ...) to be selected to run in the world’s toughest ultramarathon, Badwater 135 held in Death Valley, US, in late July.

Andrew considers himself lucky to be selected on his first entry attempt.

Some runners are still trying for selection after many more attempts, but his no frills approach to running, his ‘stay hearty’ and no ego personality, along with his inspirational fundraising efforts for children with cerebral palsy have all helped him to tackle ultramarathon’s Mt Everest.

The 50 year old Eastern Institute of Technology tutor only took up running five years ago. But instead of aiming for a 5km jog or knocking off a popular marathon, he set his sights on running extraordinary distances for a good cause.

Since those early days of trudging his chunky thighs (not an ideal physical attribute for running) he’s used his running feats to raise money. So far, by running the length of New

ANDREW MCCRORY

STAYING HEARTY IN THE DESERT HEAT

Zealand, he’s raised over $90,000 to financially support 10 youngsters with cerebral palsy and contribute to their life changing surgery undertaken in a specialist hospital in St Louis in the US.

He’s also run 100 kilometres in a dark tunnel for mental health and from Napier’s Marine Parade to Waiouru for the Returned Services Association. He served 14 years in the NZ Army.

“This (Badwater) is all for the kids. That’s what keeps me going when I hit the 80 percent mark of any run.

When he’s tackling his super long distance running challenges Andrew wears a rubber bracelet, gifted to him by Reid, one of those he has helped with the $150,000 surgery.

“I always wear it and when the going gets tough, usually about 80 percent of the way in, I subconsciously pinch it, which takes my mind off quitting.”

Andrew also draws on another toughman David Goggin’s famous quote, “who’s going to carry the boats”, which means having the ability to step up and perform under pressure when faced with adversity.

Something that Andrew is familiar with personally, having gone through back surgery in 2017 and being told that he might not be able to enjoy his recreational pursuits such as hunting.

“That’s where I came up with my own Goggins-like saying ‘stay hearty’, which for me means keep doing what you do, be yourself and be a good bugger.”

Running Badwater is a huge commitment. He will spend three weeks in the US, one week more than his support crew of four and it will cost about $30,000 in flights, accommodation, and his entry fee.

Thanks to sponsors and fundraising, he’s surpassed the mark and he’s now focused on raising money to help more kids with cerebral palsy.

His support team includes wife Kath, who has been by his side throughout his other challenges, and coach Neil Wagstaff, who has experienced Badwater with legendary female runner Lisa Tamati.

The record for Badwater is 21 hours and 33 minutes set in 2019. Andrew has set his sights on finishing in around 40 hours in his first attempt.

“On average you need to run every kilometre in about 10 minutes, which sounds really achievable but then you have to factor in that the temperature will never drop below 30 degrees and will melt the soles of your running shoes if you step onto the black tarmac.

“They say stick to the white line or you won’t make it.”

Celebrating Napier Port’s 5-Year Anniversary on the NZX Stock Exchange

Since its successful listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) under the ticker symbol ‘NPH’ on August 20, 2019, Napier Port Holdings Limited has been a cornerstone of economic growth in the region.

Connecting Trade and Communities

As the gateway to our Hawke's Bay region, Napier Port plays a pivotal role in connecting our customers and community to the world. Here are some highlights from the past five years:

Supporting our Community: Hawke’s Bay locals, port employees, and Iwi were given preferential access to shares during the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process.

The NZX listing provided an alternative mechanism to fund Napier Port’s Te Whiti Wharf development instead of increasing rates for Hawke’s Bay ratepayers. This approach also provided the added benefit of commercial returns and dividends shared with shareholders, including the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Financial Benefits and Risk Reduction: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council received $108 million from selling a 45% shareholding of Napier Port to reinvest in a future fund. Following the sale, their remaining 55% holding was immediately valued at $320 million increasing the value of the regional council’s balance sheet and diversifing the council’s risk profile by reducing its reliance on the port as an income stream.

Infrastructure Expansion: The NZX listing raised NZ$234 million, allowing the repayment of debt and subsequent investment in critical infrastructure.

Te Whiti Wharf, completed ahead of schedule and on budget, was backed by a robust commercial business case that passed the scrutiny of a rigorous IPO process to secure its funding. Moreover, we’ve upgraded container handling and bulk cargo facilities, and embraced technology to enhance operations and service offerings.

Trade Flourishes: Napier Port handles over 5 million tonnes of cargo annually, including logs, containers, and bulk goods. Our efficient operations contribute to the success of local businesses, especially exporters and importers. Recently, we’ve also established a successful supply chain division - Viewpoint Supply Chain to improve out of region connections to better serve our customers and partners.

Advancing Sustainability: Sustainability is a core foundation that shapes our actions, and our drive to embed sustainable practices throughout our operations is progressing well. From reducing emissions and protecting marine life to being a good neighbour and supporting authentic partnerships in our communities, Napier Port actively contributes to leaving a positive legacy for future generations, while delivering for our customers, community and wider regional economy.

Napier Port’s performance adheres to the disciplines required of a listed company, ensuring heightened commercial focus, discipline, and transparency for our listed company. The involvement of commercial investors and analysts further drives our commitment to growth, efficiency, and innovation.

Supporting Regional Growth:

Napier Port has been pivotal in helping our region recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle, while also fostering global trade. Investments in critical infrastructure, such as Te Whiti Wharf, have increased our capacity to handle more cargo, increase tourism and visitor numbers, and improve the operational efficiency of both Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand’s supply chain. These efforts have bolstered our regional economy by keeping cargo flowing, creating jobs and supporting local businesses, positioning Napier Port as a key driver of regional growth and future development.

$234m

Raised by the IPO, allowing investment in critical infrastructure 5m

Tonnes of cargo handled by Napier Port annually

Celebrating Our People

Behind every container lifted and every ship berthed, there’s a dedicated team. Our employees, shareholders, and stakeholders have been instrumental in our growth. Thank you for being part of our journey.

Public Port Bus Tours

To celebrate the occasion, Napier Port will be offering a limited series of public port bus tours in August. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for details closer to the time.

CLIMATE CRISIS

I have chosen the word ‘crisis’ deliberately.

For quite a while now it has been inappropriate to talk about ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’. These have become almost benign terms, inadequate in describing the severity of the threat to the planet now upon us, the fact that is gaining momentum and reaching irreversible tipping points, and the reality that our political systems are not doing nearly enough to change course.

Here are some ‘authoritative’ definitions of ‘crisis’:

• a time of great danger, difficulty or doubt when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made

• a difficult or dangerous time in which a solution is needed – and quickly

• a situation that has reached a critical phase

• any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society.

A recent communications study by Yale University found that ‘global warming’ became the term of choice for mainstream media around 1989. By 2009 it was surpassed in media use by ‘climate change’ (leading 16% more US Republicans to accept the phenomenon according to another study). But not unti 2015 did Google searches for ‘climate change’ outpace those for ‘global warming’.

Then in 2018 ‘climate crisis’ appeared in the media. The Yale folks cite as an example Greta Thunberg in her December 2018 COP24 speech, “We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis.” And finally by 2019 the Guardian changed its house style guide to favour ‘climate crisis’. I’m embarrassed that BayBuzz has been such a laggard!

So yes, there’s no avoiding using terms like global warming and climate change to describe the natural processes at work, but only climate crisis conveys the actual state of affairs. Here’s what that state looks like ...

• The world’s oceans have broken temperature records every single day over the past year – threatening the marine food chain, bringing coral reefs to the point of extinction,

super-moisturising the air above and energising storms;

• Global air temperatures have broken each month’s previous records for the last twelve months – persisting heat domes are deadly; temperatures recently reached 52.3C in New Delhi, with temperatures exceeding 40C for weeks in some Indian states.

• The summer of 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere since systematic temperature recordings began around 1850; analysis using tree rings tells us it was the hottest year in 2000 years.

As these patterns emerge, what is now worrying scientists is that they might have underestimated the rate of temperature change. The Guardian recently polled climate scientists globally, with 80% foreseeing 2.5C of global heating, and half anticipating at least 3.5C. Our governments are on a path that experts say put us on track for a 2.7C rise.

As the Guardian summarised: “Many of the scientists envisage a ‘semi-dystopian’ future, with famines, conflicts and mass migration, driven by heatwaves, wildfires, floods and storms of an intensity and frequency far beyond those that have already struck.”

Here are the ‘tipping points’ that are rapidly approaching: Range: Min Max Central estimate

THE RISK OF CLIMATE TIPPING POINTS IS RISING RAPIDLY AS THE WORLD HEATS UP

Greenland ice sheet collapse

West Antarctic ice sheet collapse

Tropical coral reef die-off

Northern permafrost abrupt thaw

Barents Sea ice loss

Labrador Sea current collapse

Mountain glaciers loss

West African monsoon shift

East Antarctic glacier collapse

Amazon rainforest dieback

Northern permafrost collapse

Atlantic current collapse

Northern forests dieback – south

Northern forests expansion – north

Artic winter sea ice collapse

East Antarctic ice sheet collapse

Guardian graphic. Source: Armstrong McKay et al, Science, 2022

Ironically, the word crisis derives from the Greek verb κρίνω or krinō, which means ‘decide’. Which of course is what our governments are not doing.

In the face of a mounting array of natural events presenting evidence that crisis is upon us, our governments are procrastinating, as if time was on their/our side. Instead of the climate crisis driving every public policy decision, the situation is treated as slowly unfolding, meaning we can have the luxury of still clinging to antiquated, even stupidly harmful, pathways ... like in New Zealand’s case, resuming oil and gas exploration or delaying the pricing of methane.

There’s always some objective that’s just a little more important for now, than countering the climate crisis.

If that’s your belief, I’m surprised you made it this far into this article!

If there’s any good news on the science front, it is that some evidence suggests that globally emissions might be peaking, with rapid adoption of renewable energy sources the main reason. Even as governments are still approving new oil and gas projects, which will lock in additional emissions

for decades, the International Energy Agency projects that demand for oil and gas will peak by 2030. Someone should mention that to PM Luxon and Shayne Jones.

The only relevant political good news I can find in New Zealand is that cross-party support exists for investigating how we can prepare and adapt for the effects of the climate crisis. This inquiry, originally championed by the Green Party’s James Shaw, will be led by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee and report back in September.

Announcing the inquiry, Climate Minister Simon Watts said: “We haven’t got time to be starting from scratch. We need to take into account both the work that was gathered as part of the prior process but also other independent reviews that have been undertaken as well in the years leading up to this.”

The key word here is ‘adapt’ – reflecting political agreement that at least climate change is real and must be coped with, even if parties disagree over the ambitiousness of NZ’s efforts to actually reduce our global warming emissions.

PRINCIPAL

PARTNER

Government mitigation inaction aside, there’s also some good news from the business sector regarding action to address the climate crisis. Businesses increasingly realise their bottomlines will improve if they adopt sustainability measures, especially in their use of energy, recycled inputs and reduced packaging.

Elsewhere in this magazine, for example, we report on local company WineWorks’ impressive sustainability achievements and the prudent pro-active business thinking driving them. And for the slow learners, there are worried customers, investors and insurers to spur them on.

But back to the climate crisis politics, NZ (via our Zero Carbon Act) is committed to an emissions target of net zero by 2050. If there’s any sense of climate crisis in this government, it’s not apparent anywhere other than occasional rhetoric from Minister Watts. Most importantly, the deadline for dealing with farm emissions has been pushed ahead, with yet another advisory group set to re-plow the ground amply covered by the Climate Change Commission.

If the climate system unravels, it will be civilisation’s bedrock – agriculture – that will be the biggest casualty. In a slide deck he uses for climate crisis presentations, James Palmer, Secretary for the Environment (and former HBRC chief executive) makes this warning: “Anticipate and prepare for more worstcase scenarios of climate disruption.”

The government is required to present regularly updated Emissions Reduction Plans. This government’s plan is overdue as I write but expected shortly. The plan must spell out across all sectors how emissions reductions in line with the net zero mandate will be achieved.

This is not a requirement easily fudged. It will be the first comprehensive test of whether the coalition government accepts the reality that we face a climate crisis we must contend with urgently or, as Shane Jones would urge, damn the “climate fundamentalists” and opt for “balancing climate change shrillness and hysteria with rational economic decision-making”. Will the tail wag the dog?

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PRINCIPAL PARTNER

THE DEVELOPERS

Story by Mark Sweet

Photos by Florence Charvin

A small number of people own and control commercial property in Hawke’s Bay. Their choices in design and build impact the visual environment. Their success in attracting and maintaining tenants can determine the vibrancy of a whole block. Their neglect of property maintenance, and uncaring for tenant’s wellbeing, can seriously impact lives.

Who’s who

To confirm who’s who in Hawke’s Bay I meet a real estate agent friend for coffee at Albion Canteen in Napier. Cappuccino and flat white.

Perfect place he agrees. The cafe is on the ground floor of an office building constructed by Wallace Development Company Limited (WDCL) in 2013. Across the road is another of their builds. IRD is anchor tenant, along with Tremains and Macpac.

Nodding to the South my agent friend says WDCL are pouring a lot into the refit of Dalton Vautier House. He suggests it’s a good example of why they are so successful.

He’s pretty sure WDCL are the biggest commercial property developers in Hawke’s Bay.

Take the Expressway to Hastings you

OPPOSITE:

pass the Kmart complex. Shop at Queen Street Countdown, now Woolworths, or Farmers? And WDCL is lead partner in the Mission Hills subdivision, and my agent friend reminds me they’re building new offices for Bayleys Real Estate in Havelock North. Don’t forget the Quest Hotels. Hastings Quest was delivered in 2023 and Havelock’s is on the way. And there’s the Tech Collective in Ahuriri, to name just a few.

WDCL’s owner and sole director is Jonathan Wallace.

Who’s next?

My agent friend reckons David Mackersey. He owns half of Havelock, the Cinema Gold block in Joll Road, Village Court, the shops and offices wrapping Napier Road down Havelock Road to the service station. And across the road, the Mackersey family in partnership with the Lowe family own the whole block of retail and offices and Porters Hotel. The restaurant’s name Malo recognises the relationship. In Napier Mackersey developed The Crown and Navigate Hotels complex of accommodation, retail, and offices, and Globe Theatre. His latest project, his biggest so far, and nearing completion, is Customs Quay, a collection of shops, offices and apartments on the prime harbour site in Ahuriri.

Any others in that league? Hard to beat them.

Though two developers doing big things in different ways are Simon Tremain and Michael Whittaker. Whittaker has transformed Heretaunga Street East since buying the now demolished Albert Hotel in 2014. Matangi beef butchery is the latest outlet joining Ya Bon, Sazio, and Bambini. Currently being re-purposed

is the old Billys Bar block, and across the railway line he’s refurbishing Hastings’ highest office building, built in 1984 by David Mackersey’s father for Eastern and Central Savings Bank, who later merged with Westpac.

Of concern, same with developments in Havelock and Napier, is how the low revenue ‘labour of love’ specialist shops can survive in the gentrified hospitality zones. Many, be they selling clothing, antiques, or books, can’t afford the redeveloped rents.

Most relevant about Simon Tremain is his partnership with Cam Ward in forming TW Construction. They’ve formed a company with every element of specialist trades associated with building and development under one roof. They’ve grown really big really quickly. You see their vans, utes, now trucks, everywhere. And they’re building a massive new headquarters in Onekawa.

Importantly, in Havelock North, Simon Tremain and partners own the whole block of Te Mata Road shops from St Lukes to Joll Road tenanted by Westpac, Wardini, Paper Plus and others. Future plans are demolition and rebuild with ground floor retail, upper floor offices and apartments. The design will impact massively on the look of Havelock North.

Who else?

My agent friend says Warren Ladbrook. He’s developed property in Auckland, TaupŌ, and Hawke’s Bay. He’s supervising the Joll Road build for Jonathan and Cristina McHardy.

Any others?

Hansens, he says, Rob and Barb, who developed the Tribune Precinct from the bones of the old Herald Tribune buildings in Hastings.

Tribune

The Hansen family were holidaying in Vietnam when Rob got the call saying others were interested in the old HB Today premises. If they wanted it they should make a move. Quickly. “I worked into the night” shaping an offer. This was September 2018.

In 2013 HB Today had relocated to the old Hawke’s Bay Power Board building in Heretaunga Street, repurposed for them by WDCL, who also transformed the nearby 1912 Power Board building on Eastbourne Street into Opera Kitchen.

The site HB Today abandoned was where the Hawke’s Bay Tribune began in 1911. Amalgamating with its competitor the Hawke’s Bay Herald in 1937, the Herald-Tribune produced an evening newspaper uninterrupted until 1999 when it merged with Napier’s Daily Telegraph, rebranding as HB Today.

The 1911 corner frontage is a rare example of Edwardian architecture to survive the 1931 earthquake.

In the Hansen rebuild the first floor was demolished and the interior gutted so all that remained were the exterior walls, requiring steel bracing reinforced

with roof beams. The result is preservation of heritage appearance coupled with current needs, a large open space supporting showroom and cafe.

The space is occupied by Kindred Road. A bit freaky is that two of owner Alice Sip’s great-grandfathers worked at the Hawke’s Bay Tribune a hundred years ago.

That fits with the Tribune Precinct vibe, part synchronicity, mostly design.

I coffee with Barb and Rob Hansen in the landscaped courtyard linking ground floor hospitality tenants, Kindred Road, Brave Brewers, OMGoodness, Tu Meke Don. In the centre is Atrium, a large open space available for functions. Enormous roller doors were imported from Denmark. An elegant spiral staircase leads to upper floor offices.

A major undertaking was partial demolition of a 1960s four story office building. The top two floors were removed, skeletal reinforced concrete pillars and beams on the lower levels remain, cracked in places with steel exposed.

Distressed meets modern is most visible in hairdresser Morgan Lane. Barb tells how they secured the

tenancy. “Friends had their hair done by Josh at Fergus George in Napier, so I went over and asked him if he’d think about coming to Hastings. Josh is so cool. He said, yeah.”

Morgan Lane fit-out was designed by James Davy. “We realised how talented he was,” and “he’s been super involved, helping with other fit-outs, designing the gardens,” and Rob points to big metal gates. “James designed them. See the pattern. He’s replicated the (sawtooth) gable roof look.”

Another tenant enticed to Tribune by Barb is Te Muke Don. “Gemma from Brave told me they had a cult following in Napier.”

I was one of Tim and Junko Karauria’s followers often enjoying their superb Karaage chicken and carefully constructed sushi. Their outlet was in the inner courtyard of Ocean Boulevard which lost more and more tenants over the years from maintenance neglect.

Barb says, “I went over, had sushi and started talking to Tim and Junko. I asked, what about coming to Hastings? They were like, no way. It took me a year to persuade them.”

Attracting complimentary tenants,

twenty-eight in total, and creating atmosphere is a developer’s skill the Hansen’s have well achieved with Tribune.

Joll Road

I meet Warren Ladbrook at 8.30am on a Tuesday in Workroom, the minimal industrial style cafe in the Joll Road hospitality cluster. Two flat whites.

I googled him, as you do. He’s a lawyer with pages and pages of director/ shareholder entries on the Companies Office register.

“I’ve been a trustee on many companies; most of them are now deregistered.”

And Google tells me he was involved in the Nelson Park mega-store development in Hastings at one stage, describing Council’s shop size rules as “pre-historic”.

“We picked up the residual land post GFC” and built new for “Noel Leeming, Petstock, Briscoes, Rebel.”

Relocating tenants requires deft negotiation, and along with ability to change course, are major skills of successful developers. “We bought the old Briscoes and Rebel buildings,” on the corner of Heretaunga and Hastings

streets opposite New World. “We were trying to get Countdown to do a new supermarket. They were too slow. They came back to us, but it was too late.”

Instead, “City Fitness went into the old Rebel, and Briscoes went to MTG.”

Later council bought the City Fitness building, future proofing the cultural zone linkages. As for Briscoes? “We thought it was for MTG storage, and offered to upgrade, but it went to a whole different level.”

Architects for the MTG build are RTA Studio, Auckland headquartered, now with an office in Joll Road. They’ve been busy with projects at Woodford House, the Food Hub in Tomoana Road, Tribune, and Mackersey’s Custom Quay in Ahuriri.

Founder of RTA is Richard Naish, old friend of Warren Ladbrook. “We flatted together in London.” He introduced RTA to Joll Road investor, Jonathan McHardy. “I met Jonathan and offered to give them a hand.”

Andy Coltart was originally involved, but “he sold to concentrate on the bigger and better things he was doing in the Valley.”

The brief to RTA was to “shake the

tree a little bit and see what could be done for The Village.”

The result is imposing. Road view is four tall thin three-story structures, three pitched roofs, one flat. Facia signage is Craigs, Colliers, Alma, Forsyth Barr. Ground level are restaurants and bars, upper floors are offices.

Architect’s notes say the design employs the typology of the barn with a contemporary twist.

“We originally thought of cladding in ship lap vertical timber, like Andy Coltart’s barn style, to have this gradual change from rural to village, but that was just after Grenfell Tower fire in London.” Regulations changed in response, “so we couldn’t use timber cladding over two levels.”

Are fire regulations really that strict?

“They’re an absolute regime of terror. Don’t get me started.” He has already. “Fire rules are so complicated they’re impossible to understand.” He

LEFT TO RIGHT: Atrium at Tribune is a contemporary venue for function hire; Ben Simcox, barista, Kindred Road cafe; spiral staircase in Atrium; Tim and Junko Karauria, Te Muke Don Japanese restaurant at Tribune.

points to exposed steel beams. “They required three coats of intumescent paint which is so heavy it strips itself. It’s meant to stand for 90 minutes in a fire. What do you do when there’s a fire? Wait to finish your coffee because you’ve got 90 minutes? Why 90? Why not 30?” He’s asked fire engineers to explain the reasoning, “but they can’t. It’s made-up science.”

Is it the same with earthquake codes?

“That’s another regime of terror. Earthquake rules are destroying heritage in New Zealand. Every time there’s a major earthquake they change the rules.” He tells me even though the land beneath us is “some of the most stable in Hawke’s Bay,” the earthquake engineering is way over prescribed. “There’s a kilometre of concrete and steel under this building. It’s crazy.”

In case readers think Warren Ladbrook’s opinion of earthquake and fire regulations are over the top. They’re not.

When I passed on Warren’s term “regime of terror” to Jonathon Wallace, he said, “totally agree,” adding rules were so strict new builds shouldn’t have to pay the Fire and Emergency levy.

WDCL

I had messaged Jonathan Wallace asking for an interview. He replied. “I’m not particularly interested in featuring personally, but it could be okay for WDCL. Perhaps we could have a preliminary chat?”

We meet at Hawthorne in Havelock North. Two flat whites. WDLC head office is next door. Unsurprisingly he owns most of the block. He’s working on how to redevelop the area. Planning is in the early stages. Something about using timber. We talk about excessive earthquake compliance, climate change, the effect of a tsunami on Napier, Havelock’s awful architecture, Donald Trump, and vehicle access on Waimārama beach. Without recording or notes, I can’t remember in which order. He agrees to an interview.

In the meantime, I meet Ryan Schnell at Raffles Cafe. His coffee is Americano. South African accent. I have to ask. “Kiwi Mum,” he says. “Mostly educated in New Zealand.” He’s WDCL Development Manager/Facilitator. Noise from construction next door makes hearing testing at times. A 1960s build for solicitors Langley Twigg and Doole is stripped to a skeleton and being recreated as apartments. The developer has a reputation. I tell Ryan it wouldn’t be smart to buy off plans. He’s

too circumspect to comment.

I’m interested to hear about Dalton Vautier House. We can see its enormous bulk across the road partially wrapped in scaffolding. Built by the Ministry of Works in 1984, it was their last construction in Hawke’s Bay before state sector reforms saw contracting out of Government property needs to the private sector.

“Our strategy at present is around acquiring existing assets.” Reasons include, “the sheer cost of current building, and the sustainability factor of imbedded carbon within existing buildings.” Smart to consolidate existing building stock, environmental plus, and can be bigger bang for the buck than building new.

WDCL keeps a sharp eye on properties “where an owner doesn’t keep up with repairs and maintenance. They can’t attract tenants because of the quality of the asset, and the building loses value.”

Dalton Vautier is a good example. So too is nearby Ocean Boulevard, owned by absentee landlords, allowed to deteriorate, with many vacant shops. Of course WDCL are interested, as others are, but the asking price is too high. Patience. “I know Jonathan waited a long time before making the successful offer here.”

A great advantage of Dalton Vautier is, “there’s no asbestos and it’s 100% of earthquake code.” And an interesting aspect of the renovation is the enclosing of over 1000 square metres of balconies making a total of 8400 square metres of lettable area, more than Tribune and Joll Road developments combined. We assume “the balconies were for smokers,” and share memory of international air travel in the 1980s when the back rows of planes had dedicated smoking seats.

Dalton Vautier House is nearly fully let with some prime tenants on long term leases.

The Boss

When next I meet Jonathan Wallace, my iPhone Voice is on. I ask him. How did it all start? He’s developed over 400 commercial properties and he’s on the NBR Rich List.

He says he was brought up with the expectation he would own a business. “My father owned a trucking business.” He could have taken over, “but to me it wasn’t a good business model at all. You’re dealing with small accounts, with unreliable workers, and trucks are depreciating assets.”

At Massey he studied accounting

and finance. “Looking back, my peers expected to get a job, I knew I wanted to own my own business.” And he knew he wanted that business “to have some scale with appreciating assets.” Real estate was the perfect fit.

“Naively I stumbled into buying three houses, borrowing and scrounging money where I could and by the end of twelve months did quite well.” But residential real estate didn’t appeal.

“I’d just end up owning a whole lot of shoddy houses.” Scale was in commercial. “I bought a factory warehouse,” in Whanganui developing it into small units. This was 1983.

So how did he structure his business?

“I’ve always run two companies, an asset holding company which owns and manages rental properties, and a development company building new or refurbishing, keeping some properties as income assets, selling as required to release capital for new projects. Fundamentally that model hasn’t changed for forty odd years.”

What makes him so successful? He has many repeat clients with multiple builds for Quest hotels, ASB bank, BP, Government Departments and more.

“The first one takes ages because there’s no trust in the room. You haven’t got a relationship. You have to rely on documentation because the people we’re dealing with don’t want to make a mistake. They’re terrified of getting fired so everything’s checked, checked and rechecked.”

So trust is key?

“There’s a contract. Once we’ve done one and delivered, in the future they’re more likely to deal with us, because they know we do what we say we are going to do.”

An advantage is much of the building specifications, documentation, and legality is tweak and repeat. “Just change the address and the lease specifics to the job.”

He makes it sound simple. It’s not. There’s considerable risk. Many have tried and failed.

“There’ve been two huge down cycles since I’ve been in the business. At least eighty percent of my competitors got wiped out in the ’87 crash,

CLOCKWISE FORM TOP LEFT: Al Borrie and Ben Sutcliffe of Firsthand coffee roasters at Workroom cafe in Joll Road; courtyard at Joll Road; profile from Joll Road.

same with the GFC of 2008.”

How about the current economic situation?

“I knew a downturn was coming, I just didn’t know when. It’s certainly a moderate downturn so far and I don’t know where it ends to be honest. My job is to manage the risk. In good times you don’t have to be very smart. You just have to own something. Everything goes up. The tide rises for everyone. It’s easy. It’s the bad times when people get cleaned out.”

How does he manage the risk when he sees bad times coming?

“We get rid of properties that aren’t matched with revenue. We stress test our tenants and try and get rid of the ones that I don’t think are going to last.

Some tenants will survive anything, like government departments and banks, then there are ones that struggle in the middle, then there are ones that clearly won’t last. We lock in our funding at cheapest rates so we’re not vulnerable to that.”

What does he think has caused the downturn? Australia and the US aren’t so stressed.

“We put far too much cheap money into the economy.”

Government’s Covid response? Printing virtual money by borrowing cheap?

“It started before Covid. Borrowing was as low as 2.8%, now it’s around 7.5%. What that does is change

(decrease) the value of property which is based on the capitalisation rate.”

I checked. The Official Cash Rate in December 2016 was 1.75%. Previous National Government. Today it’s 5.5%.

“If you’ve got debt the difference can put you outside the banking covenants.”

Bank covenants are twofold when lending on commercial property. One is loan to value ratio, generally around 50:50, and the other is rental income being at least double the interest paid on the loan. Decrease in property value and loss of tenants will see some commercial property owners fail banking requirements.

“Scale is not a fortress,” says Jonathan Wallace. He’s done as much as he can to mitigate the effects of the downturn on WDCL.

Obvious toughness is required. I have to ask. You don’t get to be a mega wealthy developer by being kind, do you?

“No, hey.” He’s firm. “I don’t agree with that.” And he tells me the attitude of a property owner ‘lording’ it over tenant has changed dramatically.

“We have a tenant first approach. In my mind it’s the person who pays the money who should have the power. Simplistically we look after the people who pay us money (tenants) and we’re civil to people we pay money to, but we don’t have to look after them.”

So how does he treat a tenant whose business fails two years into a ten year lease?

Vautier House, Napier.

“First thing to remember, there’s a contract. We’ve had many cases where we’ve let tenants off. We don’t want to ruin people’s lives. But if they’re belligerent, got attitude, or a Corporate, we’ll keep them to contract. We’ve both signed the same bit of paper and agreed.”

And he points out it’s more likely IRD and trade creditors will take a failed business to liquidation before the property owner.

An exciting development in Jonathan Wallace’s business career is his partnership with son Tom in Re-Leased, a commercial property management software

company with over 1300 clients, supported by over 170 employees in NZ, Australia, USA, and UK.

Who’s idea was it?

He laughs. “We argue about who had the idea first. We both claim it.” He credits Tom with seeking the help of Xero accounting software founder Rod Drury. “He had a beach place near ours and was very generous with his knowledge and time.”

He says Re-Leased “has been a difficult but a rewarding journey. So different than my day job.” And he reflects. “In Dad’s generation business

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was people intensive. In mine it’s been about building capital assets.” But with Re-Leased, “Your dealing with a product, software, you can’t see.” Wealth without real estate.

“It’s been refreshing for me seeing how you can do business in this brave new world.”

I message Jonathan Wallace to arrange a photograph. He declines.

More influential developers to come in our next installment.

July begins a new fiscal and political year for our councils. Taking stock of the current local government landscape in Hawke’s Bay takes in our new rates, the prospects of any further funding support from the Government, recovery efforts (including civil defence improvements) and planning for the region’s longer term.

Story by Tom Belford

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STOCK TAKE

Rates

With the dust barely settled on dramatic rate increases decided by all Hawke’s Bay councils for the next three years, ratepayers will be feeling the aftershock in July, when they actually begin receiving their first rates invoices for 2024/25!

The bill due will be for one-fourth the total owed, but staring in our faces will be the total amount as well. And of course we’ll get a bill from each of the two councils that serve us.

Here’s where the rates landed:

2024/25 2025/26 2026/27

* Still consulting; final decision 8 August

Averages like those above by definition hide all sorts of heavier hits on some individual ratepayers and councils might find themselves facing an unusual number of hardship cases seeking rates remissions. Tensions likely requiring caring management.

A year from now, candidates for our various councils will declare, and it will be fascinating to see how much unhappiness with incumbent councillors lingers and what challengers choose to say about rates decision-making. But staying in the present ...

With LTPs and rates decided, our councils are now in full spending mode. Given the sheer volume of dollars committed to restoring the local roading network, drivers anywhere in the region should not go far without encountering road repairs.

Probably the next biggest spend to get underway will be flood protection, but as I write, beyond plans for risk mitigation for remaining Category 2 homes, that overall strategy has not yet materialized (due in July).

Down in the weeds, councils will be implementing the cuts, efficiency measures and deferrals they have promised to ‘business-as-usual’ practices and programmes. ‘Levels of service’ will be reduced, from refurbishments delayed in Hastings (e.g. Splash Planet, Tomoana Showgrounds) to fresh assessment of council funding support for ‘commercial’ enterprises in the case of Napier (e.g., the aquarium, Ocean Spa, Faraday Centre).

One critical cross-council initiative to get underway is urgent and substantial improvement to Hawke’s Bay’s civil defence structure and readiness. The exhaustive review with 75 recommendations prepared for our councils by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush and released in March was compelling and detailed.

A statement by our CDEM Joint Committee (our mayors, Regional Council chair and Iwi leaders) delivered all the expected rhetoric.

“What is clear is that as a region we need to be prepared to undertake a

“You as councils spend a lot of time lobbying your local MPs and Ministers about ever increasing buckets of Crown money. This avoids the real issues.”

Chris Bishop

complete overhaul of our approach to civil defence to ensure that our communities are better prepared to manage or mitigate the devastating impacts of an event like Cyclone Gabrielle.

“To be clear, this is not about incremental change – we see this as a complete overhaul of how we approach emergency management in Hawke’s Bay, and we intend to establish a dedicated workstream to ensure this important mahi is fully resourced with the support and expertise needed to deliver meaningful change for all of our communities for the future.”

So now it’s time to deliver the goods. The mayors were emphatic that the overhaul would be directed by an independent and highly qualified leader. That has morphed (reduced?!) into recruiting an independent member to sit on the Joint Committee. The recruitment process has yielded a short list awaiting interviews. Meantime, HBRC’s LTP will add $661k to bolster capability and capacity in the CDEM Group.

But other than ‘community hubs’ being established in a few dozen locations, implementation of ‘transformational’ change appears to await adoption of an overall operational workplan at the Joint Committee’s next meeting ... July 29th. Sound like ‘urgent’ to you?

Meantime, the resilience work residents and land-based businesses probably most care about – future flood protection – awaits a series of scheme reviews also due in July.

Such business aside, our councils will also continue their advocacy for additional funding support from the Government. But that doesn’t look promising in 2024/25.

Government support

More central government funds will certainly flow into Hawke’s Bay as ministries begin to allocate their new budgets, announced May 30, to specific local projects and programmes.

Only some of this – chiefly roading,

possibly flood protection, housing –will directly provide financial relief to our councils. More of it will be spent on and through the region’s health, education and social welfare facilities and services.

When it comes to major infrastructure projects, the Government has clearly signaled an approach that will disfavour outright grant funding. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop recently admonished Local Government NZ: “You as councils spend a lot of time lobbying your local MPs and Ministers about ever increasing buckets of Crown money. This avoids the real issues.”

He added: “Decades of underinvestment in maintenance, poor use of pricing, an unwillingness to use private capital, and lack of desire to use new tools has really caught up with us.” His alternative: “Rather than defaulting to the use of grants, our expectation is that every significant infrastructure project that seeks support from the Crown will consider opportunities for user-pays funding and private financing.” His Cabinet paper on this subject also indicates a belief that councils have been too reluctant to utilise greater levels of sustainable debt.

Bishop gave two examples of relevance to Hawke’s Bay, both aimed at both reducing demand for services and installing a user-pays approach – water metering (think residential) and road tolls (think HB Expressway).

This stance will presumably affect how our region pursues Crown funding for some of its recovery and growth objectives, particularly with respect to water security, housing, transport and adaptation to climate change.

As expected, no funding support is coming for ‘3 Waters’ – local drinking water, stormwater, wastewater – infrastructure. Instead, the Government has introduced legislation that would enable our local councils to shift their direct responsibility for water services to new separate entities, getting the funding problem off the councils’ balance sheets.

The Bill would require territorial authorities to submit water services delivery plans. The plans would set out a strategy for delivering financially sustainable water services and meeting regulatory standards. The expectation is that a region like ours will create a new councils-controlled water services organisation, as our four mayors have advocated.

This arrangement is designed to give

councils more headroom to borrow for things like roading, flood protection, facilities and other infrastructure. At some point in the future here in Hawke’s Bay we will get three rates bills instead of two, from:

1. Your friendly Hastings, Napier, Wairoa or CHB Council

2. Your friendly Regional Council

3. Your friendly new Water Services Provider

Any Government money in other areas will not flow quickly. While the ‘signals’ are clear, the detail work required to develop guidance and criteria for applying for these major funding supports will not be available until after September.

Housing might be the exception as the Government is quite bullish about this sector. Bishop says “we are looking at direct financial incentives for councils who facilitate housing growth. We have a coalition commitment to look at ACT’s idea of GST sharing.” This involves consideration of sharing with councils a portion of GST collected on residential builds.

The same schedule applies to installing the ‘Fast Track’ scheme for approving major projects “with significant regional or national benefits”. The Select Committee preparing this controversial legislation isn’t due to report until September.

Arguably the big payday for our local councils involves ‘City and Regional Deals’ (CRDs). Although these are under the purview of Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, Minister Bishop described the thinking to Local Government NZ as follows: “I view City and Regional Deals as about the Crown and councils sharing their aspirations, agreeing on shared objectives, and looking at long-term funding and financing arrangements centred on economic growth, productivity and housing. We can build on some of the existing urban growth and spatial planning partnerships already in existence.”

Preparations for this innovative approach seem slow. Bishop’s Cabinet paper indicates that the Crown’s plans for CRDs will be set out by Brown and Bishop in a Cabinet paper in late July 2024 “seeking endorsement of framework, governance of CRDs, and next steps. Report back to Cabinet by end of 2024 to seek agreement to initiate negotiations. First CRDs to be formalised in 2025.” Another waiting game.

It’s not clear how environmental and

On the environmental side, Upton is concerned about methane from agriculture (sheep and cattle) and loss of indigenous species. Methane accounts for twice as much of New Zealand’s total contribution to warming as fossil fuels. And more than 75% of indigenous species are threatened with extinction or are at risk of becoming threatened. They include 94% of reptiles, 82% of birds, 80% of bats and 76% of freshwater fish.

So, if only to remain viable food exporters, we need to clean up our act. But Upton notes our predicament: “As a country we have few tools for

and driving peer-to-peer the land uses changes that must be made, reinforcing a direction Hawke’s Bay is already taking. Abetted by HBRC, our region has 38 of these farmer-led planning and educational groups now, with 5 more in formation. Their benefits, as Upton sees them:

• improve community understanding of the problem

• build a common understanding of and buy-in to the potential solutions (which will often require collective action)

• share good practice across peer groups

• engage with hapū and support them to act as empowered kaitiaki

• help balance cultural, social, environmental and economic impacts to prioritise the most

• effective actions in the catchment

• inspire action.

Upton is a supporter of water storage “in principle, but there need to be strong environmental limits in place within a catchment before investment in water infrastructure occurs. Ideally, water storage should be used to provide security of supply to high-value uses, rather than to increase water use per se.” He continues, “we lack the tools to enforce such [environmental] limits effectively at the farm scale, and therefore great caution is needed when considering the use of public money for water storage schemes.”

Controversially, he supports water pricing. “A price on water would act as a resource rental, recognising both the damage to the environment of taking water and its value as an input into a commercial undertaking (residential use could be exempt). This would provide an incentive to ensure that water is allocated to its highest value use. A charge could also provide revenue to safeguard the future of that resource. In terms of Te Mana o te Wai, this is making sure that we look after the river first.”

Upton’s report is provocative, but fair to both environmental and economic aspirations. Policy conflict over these has generated major political and legal battle in Hawke’s Bay ... and this will re-surface in the months ahead. It

might help if all protagonists gave an ear to Going with the grain.

Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA)

Finally, looking further ahead at future resilience, our new Regional Economic Development Agency is gaining traction as its work programme unfolds.

REDA is jointly funded by our five councils to the tune of about $1.7m per year. Whereas the Crown-funded Regional Recovery Agency is (currently) supposed to focus narrowly on near-term recovery matters, REDA is charged with taking a longer view, providing the necessary regional economic data and analysis to shape longer term decision-making.

Reporting to the Matariki Governance Group, REDA is expected to be “a voice of authority on our local economy, supporting the region’s vision for every whānau and every household being actively engaged in and benefiting from a thriving economy. This may involve the identification of gaps and barriers to sustainable growth, advocacy for particular regional priorities, investments and initiatives, or challenges to current thinking.”

See, for example, the column by REDA Chair Alasdair MacLeod on p58, which speaks to the water security issue. Hmmm ... I sense an ensuing debate over investing in dams versus

agritech in HB. The latest ‘Letter of Expectations’ from Matariki identifies several nearterm projects which should provoke thinking regarding the future direction of Hawke’s Bay:

• A foundational analysis of the HB economy – “This piece of research will provide an overview of Hawke’s Bay’s economy with a particular focus on performance of each sector within the wider national and international context. This will give us a view on the strengths and weaknesses of our economy at sector level and the types and levels of investment or interventions that are required to maximise sustainable growth.”

• A factual, quantitative analysis of the Māori economy in Hawke’s Bay.

• Analysis of what sectors are missing in Hawke’s Bay – “This piece of research will explore opportunities to grow industries in Hawke’s Bay or attract industries to HB that are currently not present or strong – what are the industries, what are the barriers to investment in HB, what could the potential economic benefit be, and what could be done to attract or grow them?

One can only be perplexed that such “foundational” work has not been completed by any of REDA’s several predecessors. Reflecting the fresh vigour and ambition of all involved this time around, the Matariki Group expects each of these pieces of analysis to be completed by year’s end. What great debates this work should stimulate!

Just some of the things we do day in, and day out

We measure rainfall and river flows

We manage marine safety and rules

We manage buses and trails

We educate about the environment

Find out more about how your rates fund important work across the region

We monitor climate and air quality

We advise on land use

We manage Pekapeka Regional Park

We monitor marine and coastal health

WOOL’S FUTURE WOOLLY?

Story by Hamish Bidwell

by Florence Charvin

WoolWorks has placed a $50 million bet on the future of wool, not just in Hawke’s Bay, but New Zealand as well. Yet the wool industry is not in great shape right now. Arguably, it hasn’t been since the 1950s. From 70 million in the 1980s, sheep numbers are now about 24 million.

So what does the future hold?

In researching and talking to people about wool in recent weeks, the boom times of the Korean War come up regularly. People accept those times won’t come again, but they have more trouble defining why.

For some, it’s the supply chain that takes wool from the farmgate through to consumers that’s broken. Others believe wool is not being marketed well enough. Apparently there are consumers in the Northern Hemisphere who can save the New Zealand wool industry. Only people have trouble identifying exactly who those potential consumers are and how to sell wool to them.

By ‘wool’ it’s important to note we’re talking about strong wool. It’s

sometimes referred to as coarse wool as well. It’s your common variety wool, which New Zealand has been renowned for, rather than your finer merino clip. That’s a whole other ball of yarn in itself.

Who’s clipping the wool coupon?

Strong wool prices went up in the last few weeks, to $3.37 a kilo.That’s up from $2.58 in June 2022 and $2.76 in June 2023.

“But it costs around $6 to shear a ewe, so you don’t even cover your costs,’’ says Anthea Yule, Hawke’s Bay provincial chair of Federated Farmers meat and wool industry group.

She’s been farming in this region since 1987 and says farmers are largely shearing for animal health reasons, given there’s no money to be made from the clip.

However, at the other end of the supply chain, wool has increasingly become a luxury item.

“If you want to buy your child a singlet, you’ve got a choice between a pack of four made of synthetic and plastic for $20 or you can buy one woollen one for $30. That’s the reality on the ground,’’ Yule says.

Kara Biggs accepts that. She’s general manager of the Campaign for Wool, that’s emerged in the vacuum created by the disestablishment of the old New

“If you want to buy your child a singlet, you’ve got a choice between a pack of four made of synthetic and plastic for $20 or you can buy one woollen one for $30. That’s the reality on the ground.’’ Anthea Yule

Zealand Wool Board.

The Campaign for Wool is about education, advocacy and marketing on behalf of wool growers. “We need to make sure we’re talking to the right people,’’ Biggs says.

“Within New Zealand wool, we are not talking to the people who go and spend their money at Kmart. We’re just not. I get it that some people need to shop at Kmart. We all do from time to time, but wool actually isn’t for everybody and we need to be really clear about that.’’

So who is the industry aiming to reach and what are the obstacles?

Different views of the challenge

WoolWorks, which operates a scouring business from premises in Awatoto, Clive, Timaru and Australia, seems to have some idea of its audience and market.

Photos

ABOVE: Kara Biggs, Campaign for Wool.

Photo: Florence Charvin

“We’ve spent the last 20 years right-sizing and getting the early stage wool processing in New Zealand into a restricted model that’s actually globally competitive so, without what we do, there would be no wool industry in New Zealand,’’ says Nigel Hales, WoolWorks president.

“Growers obviously made a decision a few years back to dissolve the Wool Board, but there’s been no grower input of any substantial nature since then and we could all have an opinion on that. But while some parts of the sector were going backwards, we read the tea leaves quite correctly and have right-sized the industry now to less sheep numbers so we can compete internationally.

“What that means for the farmers is that if they want to set up doing other things and adding value to their wool clip, then they’ve got the most perfect opportunity to do so.’’

Hales and chief executive of WoolWorks’ new venture division, Rosstan Mazey, spoke to BayBuzz from Santa Monica. From there, the pair were going to Uruguay and Chicago, meeting with industry partners, assessing equipment and trying to add strings to the bow of a business that already washes 80% of New Zealand’s wool.

Hales says WoolWorks intends to always stick to its knitting, which is scouring wool. But they are forever on the lookout for alternative methods of using the fibre, whether that’s as wool grease or in the building or

furniture industries.

There’s a view that not all growers recognise the part they need to be playing in all this.

For wool to have a future, the consensus is that it needs to be a premium product that garners premium prices. But if growers keep blithely doing things the way they’ve always done, then that won’t happen.

“No, I don’t agree with that. Not at all,’’ Yule says. “I can see how some farmers have got fed up with it. You know, when something’s worth nothing it’s very hard to rally round and present it correctly. I think there will be some farmers who’ve taken their eye off the ball because it’s not worth as much, but it’s not correct to blame farmers.

“We feed our sheep well to grow good wool. The marketing of it has been terrible and the auction system. People have gotten away with paying very little for years and I think some of our wool brokers, our wool buyers, they have their fixed costs but they’re actually taking more than they used to. They have their fixed costs, but wool’s worth less. So they’re not getting as much, but they’re still taking more off the farmer.’’

Not surprisingly, independent wool broker Phillipa Wright is not of the same opinion.

“I’ve heard that comment – and I’ve probably made it myself at times of frustration – but it’s a terribly naive and simplistic statement,’’ she says. “At the

moment the exporter, which we call the buyer, they’re traders. Yes, they’re buying it as cheaply as they can and they’re trying to sell it for as much as they can.

“But, at the moment, the auction system is actually financing the industry. There’s no other commodity that I know of that is guaranteed payment within a fortnight of sale.’’

The supply chain

Tim Deane, owner and managing director of Norsewear, and Progressive Meats founder, Craig Hickson, each have stories that exemplify some of the supply chain issues that appear to be hampering the industry.

Deane bought Norsewear in 2023, having been a senior executive at ASB Bank, Goodman Fielder and Fonterra. He had an idea how commodities were produced and sold but found wool a bit of a surprise.

“My first step was understanding where the wool came from for my work socks, because I have to buy worsted spun yarn,’’ Deane says. “Because we don’t have any worsted mills at scale left in New Zealand, the NZ wool has to be shipped to Asia or India, scoured, turned into tops, turned into yarn and then I have to buy the yarn back in US dollars.’’

Hickson has worked in the meat industry since 1981, but is also a director of Wools of New Zealand.

“In my own case, I grew my own wool. Well, a farmer had the sheep

and they were a Poll Dorset-type cross, they had a bulky nature to them and it was in the low 30s in its microns and it was suitable for carpet and I had to re-carpet my house,’’ Hickson says.

“So I had it shipped to Timaru to be scoured and then it went to Christchurch to be spun into yarn and then it went to Melbourne to be made into a carpet. Then it came back to Auckland via ship and then it was trucked to Hastings and laid in my house.

“It cost me, in the end, about the same amount as if I’d bought the carpet, except I got a heavier weight. I got in the 70-ounce range, as opposed to what I probably would’ve bought in the 50, 60 range. I did it for educational reasons, just to try and understand what the steps were and also what the costs were of going through that value chain.’’

At the end of it, Hickson came to a pretty clear conclusion. “At the farmgate, you’re pretty much a price taker and the negotiating power rests with the parties in the layers beyond that.’’

In other words, the grower is paid a pittance and the end consumer is charged a fortune because of all the people clipping the ticket in between. If you got rid of wool brokers, and the whole auction process, and could contract directly to, say, Norsewear, growers would get a fairer price. That’s certainly the model Deane is in favour of.

“They’re not going to cut my side out,’’ says Wright. She’s run Wright

Wool for decades, but done plenty else in the industry besides.

“I’m a service, so wherever the wool goes it has to be weighed, it has to be tested and the ownership has to be registered back to the grower who supplied it. The system that we’re using from farm to boat has got no consequences to the price at the other end. The farmer gets 80% of the value of their wool.

“When they talk about ‘clipping the ticket’ that’s after it leaves our shores, because then it’s really processed. Here nothing happens to it, it just gets prepared for sale and washed.

“It’s very simplistic to say everything we’re doing here is wrong. Changing what we do from farm to boat isn’t going to make any difference to the price of New Zealand wool.’’

That’s a vexed issue in itself.

Both Yule and Hales believe that if farmers got 2018 prices of $6 or $6.50 a kilo for their wool they’d, in Hales’ words, be “in the pink”.

But Wright sounds a note of caution there. Home insulation is seen as something of a silver bullet, with wool increasingly being used in that regard. “But they’ve never been able to get wool for as cheap as it is. So, at the moment, they’re getting it for less than $2,’’ she says. What happens when it goes to $12? How are you going to compare to Pink Batts then? If it succeeds, it’s going to be that you and me won’t be able to afford to buy it.’’

Better marketing needed?

In the end, New Zealand isn’t the market for this country’s wool.

Strong wool across the globe, Wright says, is struggling. In the United Kingdom, for instance, she says growers get a lower price for their wool than ours do.

But she’s adamant New Zealand’s strong wool is by far the best and that it just needs to be sold better. Lots of people talk about “the New Zealand wool story’’ and how it’s not being told properly or by the right people.

“All of a sudden it’s become my job and the scourer’s job and the exporter’s job and the merchant’s job; everyone’s expecting us to be these grand marketers,’’ says Wright. “We’re not marketers, we’re service operators.’’

That’s where the Campaign for Wool comes in.

Until now, it’s concentrated on initiatives such as Wool in Schools and educating people on the benefits of wool as clothing, carpet and as a building material. Actor Sam Neill, complete with his 625,000 Instagram followers. has come on as a brand ambassador for the Campaign for Wool, in an effort to sell our wool story to a global audience.

Wine and increasingly whisky market the notion of terroir or provenance

ABOVE – LEFT TO RIGHT: ‘The Wool Shed’ container travels around NZ schools as an educational resource; Tim Deane at Norsewear (photo supplied); brand ambassador for the Campaign for Wool, Sam Neill (photo supplied).

”We think it’s really important to give all New Zealand wool the opportunity to go through our scour and get into those value chains with a zerocarbon start to its life.”

Rosstan Mazey

to consumers. Here’s where these grapes or this barley were grown, here’s the people who grew it, these are the natural ingredients that go into our clean, zero-carbon, ethical and sustainable product.

“If we position our wool properly, New Zealand’s unique selling proposition is the incredible quality of our wool,’’ says Biggs. The hope is that Neill then helps nudge the overseas target market in the right direction. “We can try and convert people who are never going to buy wool, but that’s actually really costly. So what we’re better to do is to convert

people to buy wool who are already tuned into it and are what we call ‘considerers’,’’ Biggs says.

It all makes sense but still we end up back at the issue of price in a New Zealand context.

So growers will continue to do the best they can in the belief that things will improve eventually.

“This is a passion industry and you’ve got to love it and you’ve got to love your sheep, but I think people are being really tested at the moment. Really tested, especially if you’re at that retirement age,’’ says Yule. “Not everyone will throw the towel in. You can’t afford to. But it’s pretty tough at the moment. A lot of farmers live on very little and farming is a long haul. Your return on investment is very low. You’re doing well to make 4% on the value of your assets and that’s with a tailwind.’’

The most positive note struck in all this is coming from Woolworks’ Hales and Mazey. Part of their trip to North and South America was about sourcing equipment they believe can return

a degree of manufacturing to the local sector, meaning people like Deane don’t have to buy back New Zealand yarn from overseas.

Then there’s the sustainability angle. At a cost of $12 million, WoolWorks has also fully electrified its Timaru site, which previously had its hot water and steam generated by coal.

“That’s the commitment we’ve made, not only to our business, but also the sector because we think it’s really important to give all New Zealand wool the opportunity to go through our scour and get into those value chains with a zero-carbon start to its life,’’ Mazey says.

“We’re very committed to making that work and building that demand for the farmers and, in time, building up that price.’’

Whether it is adding more value in the production chain here in New Zealand, or building higher demand from discerning, well-paying consumers overseas, it is clear that business as usual is not a viable path forward for our wool growers.

WoolWorks. Photo: Tom Allan

HOW CAN WE KEEP KIDS IN SCHOOL?

Story by Abby Beswick

The level of a child’s school attendance is linked to their achievement, wellbeing and lifelong outcomes. The more often they’re in the classroom, the higher their performance. So why are more and more Hawke’s Bay kids absent from school?

Non-attendance is a huge issue for many schools around the country. Short-term illness and medical absences remain the main reasons for non-attendance, according to the Ministry of Education. However, there are many other underlying causes of non-attendance, which are varied and complex, as the educators BayBuzz talked to here in the Bay make clear.

Attendance categories are defined as regular attendance, where a student is at school at least 90% of the time, irregular absence, students attend 80%-90%, moderate absence, students attend 70%-80% and chronic absence, students attend 70% or less.

Evidence suggests there is no ‘safe’ level of non-attendance. Each additional half day of absence from school is associated with a consistent reduction in the number of NCEA credits gained, according to recent research from the Ministry of Education.

New Zealand attendance rates are poor by international standards. Regular attendance has dropped from 69.5% in Term 2 of 2015 to 39.9% in Term 2 of 2022. Latest figures show regular attendance has improved since then, reaching 53.6% in Term 4 of 2023. However, our ongoing trends and international comparisons are concerning. England’s attendance rates in 2022 were 75.1% and the United States was 70.3%. Australia is similar to New Zealand at 49.9%.

In April the Government announced a high-priority plan to address student non-attendance and has started implementing changes. These include publishing weekly attendance data, a campaign to improve awareness, and updating public health guidelines to help schools and parents decide if a student is well enough to go to school. The aim is to get 80% of students attending schools more than 90% of the time by 2030.

How does Hawke’s Bay compare? Hawke’s Bay Tairāwhiti has one of the lowest levels of attendance in the country. In Term 4 of 2023, 50.1% of Hawke’s Bay students attended school more than 90% of the time. Bay of Plenty Waiariki had the same attendance level, and only two other regions had lower attendance: Tai Tokerau 41.4% and South and South-west Auckland 40.9%.

Otago/Southland region had the highest level of regular attendance in

Term 4 2023 at 60.9%, followed by central and East Auckland 59.1%.

A snapshot of attendance numbers in our region from the Ministry of Education shows how it has declined in recent years. In the wider Heretaunga area 218 students were chronically absent in Term 2 in 2015. Eight years later, in Term 2 of 2023, the number of chronically absent students was 774. In Napier the figure jumped from 70 to 477 over the same period. This upward trend of chronic attendance is the same across the region.

A complex issue

Illness, chronic medical conditions, anxiety, poverty, disengagement, and perhaps most surprisingly, changing parental views towards education are among the reasons for the shift in school attendance.

The barriers that prevent kids from coming to school have always been there but they’re getting worse, says Ministry of Education director of

OPPOSITE: Ministry of Education director of education for Hawke’s Bay Tairāwhiti, Daniel Murfitt. THIS PAGE: Hastings Intermediate students particpate in a recent attendance awareness workshop held by MoE. Photos: Tom Allan

“School is a decision between ‘do I want to have an education or do I go out and work and support my family to put food on the table?’ I think it’s so hard for young people to do that.” Chris Proctor

education for Hawke’s Bay Tairāwhiti, Daniel Murfitt. “There seems to be a greater acceptance by individuals and families that it’s OK for their child to not be at school, whereas 20-30 years ago the common value was that your child goes to school every single day,” he says.

While data shows students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to miss school, the rise in non-attendance is being seen across all regions, communities and family backgrounds.

And poor attendance is not just a teenage problem. Educators say years 1-6 are the biggest concern, as young children can develop poor attendance habits that continue throughout their school life.

Covid and Cyclone Gabrielle have put more financial pressure on Hawke’s Bay families already grappling with the cost of living. Heightened awareness about illness since Covid-19

has also caused more parents to keep children at home for very mild sickness. Attendance figures were declining in the five years before Covid, but the disruption of the pandemic and a cyclone have steepened the trend.

For many students these events have forced a change in priorities. In 2020 after the first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, schools reported students leaving and taking up jobs to financially support their families. Now, more than 15,000 teenagers are working up to 50 hours a week on top of studying to support their families, according to a Child Poverty Action Group report released in February. It’s hugely concerning that some young people are in this situation, says Hastings Youth Council chair, Chris Proctor. “School is a decision between ‘do I want to have an education or do I go out and work and support my family to put food on the table?’ I think it’s

so hard for young people to do that.”

Local government has an important role to play in addressing some of the underlying causes of non-attendance through providing support services to students and families, says Proctor.

Students need support, not sanctions

Attendance is a “huge issue”, says Hastings Girls’ High School/Ngā Rau Huia O Ākina principal Catherine Bentley. “Like any other school across the country, it’s been on the radar for some time.” Before Covid they weren’t proud of their attendance, “And then when Covid hit, the bottom just fell off.”

During that time their focus was around soft rather than hard caring, says Bentley. “That was not a time to be punishing kids for not coming to school. That to us became a time of embracing the fact that they had come to school when they could.”

Chris Proctor, Hastings Youth Council chair. Photo: Florence Charvin

Staff phoned families every day to see how they were and what they could do to help. During this time the school fed 150 families with repurposed food from the Healthy School Lunches programme. Soft caring, like this, builds trust and community, she says.

Then the cyclone hit, forcing a lot of senior students to leave school, says Bentley. “There was no choice: it was either go to school and learn or go and provide for your family.” At the end of last year staff reconnected with every student who left to see if they needed help finding further paid work, study options or to transition back to school.

The school now employs two youth workers who have become their attendance team. Their role includes building relationships with students, visiting families, and providing support. And it’s working. Attendance at the school has improved 20% since it was at its lowest.

Over at Bledisloe School, a primary school in Taradale, most of the students are at school 90% or more of the time. For the small number of children who have issues with attendance, staff work closely with them and their families, says principal Carol Bevis. “It’s about relationships and understanding what might be causing absenteeism,” she says.

When students are absent, the

reasons include food poverty, transport costs, anxiety, illness and family circumstances. “Very rarely it’s just because parents can’t be bothered. “For our families, they want their children to be at school generally,” says Bevis. If a student is refusing to come to school, staff visit the student personally to persuade them back. “Often it does work because it’s someone that’s not your mum telling you that actually you do have to get out of the bed and come to school.”

It takes compassion and relationship-building to interpret and act upon attendance data, says Bevis. If a child is regularly absent, it’s the school’s job to find out what’s happening and how they can help – this can come in the form of food parcels, counselling and connecting them with other support services. Schools are working hard to do this, using every tool at their disposal, says Bevis, who doesn’t support punitive measures for non-attendance. “A child can’t necessarily be held to account for this because they have to have their parents’ support to get to school.”

Every day counts

Attendance has been a topic of conversation for local principals, says Bevis, who is secretary for Hawke’s Bay Primary Principals Association, as they will be the frontline for the new

It takes compassion and relationship-building to interpret and act upon attendance data.

Carol Bevis

Government mandates. “No one in teaching or principalship would argue that being at school every day is not a good thing.”

The statistics show regular attendance lifts academic achievement. Missing a lesson can mean a child struggles to keep up when they do return to school. But it’s more than that. Schools are social environments, and long-term absences can impact a student’s friendship groups and their ability to build connections with their classmates and teachers.

Building good attendance at a young age and making parents understand the lost opportunities is key to a positive shift, says Murfitt. “The longer you’re at school, the better labour market outcomes, the better health outcomes, the better social wellbeing outcomes.”

Parents and families have the greatest impact on getting students to attend school. For parents, this means making sure their child goes to school every day and calling the school to explain the reason they’re away.

Short term illness and medical reasons are the main reasons for non-attendance, the Ministry of Education tells us, but unjustified absences, such as a family holiday to Fiji or frequent long weekends, have been creeping up since Covid-19.

It’s this mindset Murfitt wants to see change. “What I’d love to see is everyone in the community really understanding the value of education. Schools need to drive the importance of regular attendance and reinforce with parents their legal obligations,” he says.

Getting back on track

Murfitt, alongside Te Puni Kōkiri senior advisor Jamie Mitchell, is leading a multi-agency group in Hawke’s Bay to find solutions to attendance and engagement issues. Tēnei Tamaiti, Tēnei Whānau (3TW) works with schools to remove or reduce barriers to attendance. As part of this, last month they launched a public campaign to raise awareness and promote the value of attending school. The campaign has a strong Hawke’s Bay focus – featuring local principals, personalities and students – so young people can see themselves reflected in their community, says Murfitt.

At a national level, under the Government’s action plan are nine targets, with the ultimate aim of getting 80% of students in class for more than 90% of the term by 2030. The plan has

four key points:

• Weekly attendance reporting by the Ministry of Education

• A national marketing campaign about the importance of attending school

• Clarifying expectations on attendance to school boards

• Updating public health guidance to be more specific about the symptoms of illness and when it’s safe for students to come to school

Educators spoken to for this article were pleased attendance was a focus for the Government and said it was a good first step. However, there were concerns the action plan leaned towards punishment rather than addressing underlying issues. “My worry is if we’re doing punitive, who’s holding the stick? I can’t do that to my community”, says Bentley.

Attendance is a measure of engagement. Therefore, making school feel relevant and relatable is a top priority, so students can feel a deep sense of belonging, says Bentley. As part of this, staff work hard to create a curriculum that engages students and whanau, “where they can see themselves reflected back”.

Proctor agrees school doesn’t feel relevant for a lot of students. He wants to see the education system evolve to teach more life skills, such as writing a CV, applying for a job, and getting a loan to buy a car. “It all boils down to youth engagement. That’s the question we need to address. If school becomes a lot more relevant to real life, that’s a key driving factor.”

Every child deserves a quality education and those who regularly miss school are being robbed of future opportunities. For too long, the number of kids attending school has not been good enough. Getting kids to school and keeping them there requires meaningful action by the Government, schools, and communities.

Schools work incredibly hard alongside families to identify and address underlying issues that are barriers to attendance. But they can’t do it alone. Children need their parents’ support to go to school. To tackle our poor attendance rates we need a shift around expectations and the way we value education so our kids don’t pay the price.

CASE STUDY

When Mia* started school, she loved it. Passionate about music, sport and connecting with her Māori culture, school was a place for fun, learning and friends for the Hastings girl. However, after suffering a family death at a young age, school started to become a struggle: “It was a really hard time for me.”

At Intermediate Mia learnt more Māori language and culture. As a result she developed a deeper connection to her heritage and her learning flourished.

Life took another turn however, when Mia transitioned to high school as family and personal issues started to have a major impact on her schooling. She moved in with a family member, but with little support around her, Mia lost interest in learning and her attendance suffered.

At her lowest, she was barely showing up for any classes, and if she did make it to class she would find an excuse to leave halfway through. She also started making choices she now regrets. “I was doing stuff that I wasn’t supposed to do like smoking dope, like vaping – all of the above in school, until I got snapped.”

When Mia reached the threshold of 20 days’ absence, she was taken off the school roll. She left and switched to another school. But struggling with the same issues, her attendance remained low. After three months she left and last year spent six months not going to school at all.

During that time Mia decided she wanted to turn things around. “I realised who I really wanted to be. I didn’t want to do that kind of stuff that I was doing. I don’t want to smoke dope, I don’t want to drink, I don’t want to do none (sic) of that.” Her biggest motivation though, was being a better role model for her younger sister, who was starting high school. “I really want a better life than I have now and I really want my sister to grow up knowing that I did good (sic) and looking up to me.”

This year Mia re-enrolled herself at her original high school. She was grateful to get a lot of encouragement and help from the school for her and her sister, including uniforms and stationery. Feeling supported and connected to school have been the key to her engagement, she says.

Now 15, Mia is taking her education seriously. “I came back and proved to them that I would do better and I would be better.” True to her word, her attendance is now 83% and she’s considering future study options.

*[not her real name]

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Sport + Fitness Damon Harvey

SPORT AND RECREATION FOR ALL ABILITIES

Making sure disabled people get greater opportunities to be more active

Enjoying a swim at a local community pool, having fun in a local playground or exploring our walkways and cycleways has been a challenge in the past for disabled residents in Hawke’s Bay.

The region doesn’t rank too highly in the provision of accessible sport and recreation amenities and facilities, but there’s greater emphasis now that an organisation like Sport Hawke’s Bay has a dedicated resource that keeps on the case of facility providers, including local councils and private providers.

Sport Hawke’s Bay disability advisor Blanche Paewai-Ashcroft says there are some standout facilities such as the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, which has a pool pod that enables disabled users to get in and out of the 50 metre pool easily, while the Napier Aquatics Centre, a much older facility, is “doing amazing mahi through providing inclusive programmes and updating amenities where they can.

“I wouldn’t rate Hawke’s Bay on a whole on accessibility, but I do think that we are progressing in the right direction and seeing more and more facilities, clubs and groups showing interest in providing a more accessible environment.

“We do have some stand out facilities in Hawke’s Bay, like the Regional Aquatics Centre, which as a new build started with a blank canvas and was able to design the facility with an all-abilities lens.

“We also have facilities that are in the process of upgrading and are

A recent Sport New Zealand survey revealed that 65% of sports clubs say they provide opportunities for disabled people to engage alongside non-disabled people.

mindful of providing a more inclusive environment, but have to work around the current standing facility.”

Hastings District Council upgraded its community building (tea kiosk) in 2023 and used the opportunity to invest in a ‘Changing Places’ bathroom which is regarded as a game changer for people with multiple or complex disabilities, where they can get changed in a safe and clean environment with multiple aides to make it easy for themselves and carers.

Cornwall Park is one of only six parks in New Zealand with a ‘Changing Places’ bathroom and Blanche says that families with a disabled member are now staying longer to enjoy the park and its playground. The playground also offers a number of play opportunities for disabled users with ramps, ground level interactive panels, use of high contrast colours for low vision users, high backed swings, a wheelchair swing, carousels that are directly accessible by wheelchair or transfer.

“Before the upgrade a visit to the park would be a quick 20-30 minutes. But since the upgrade, feedback from the Disability Resource Centre, who will take groups out to the park and spend

OPPOSITE: Cornwall Park wheelchair swing.

ABOVE: Blanch Paewai-Ashcroft, Sport Hawke’s Bay disability advisor.

the day there enjoying the environment, says the bathroom has played the biggest role for this group. Also, having play equipment available means they can play and enjoy the park for extended periods of time.”

It’s time for Hawke’s Bay to step up though, both in amenities, programmes and sport and recreation activities for the disabled community. The statistics show 1.1 million (24%) of New Zealand adults identify as disabled, while there’s 95,000 children under the age of 15 (11 percent) with a disability – with half having a condition since birth.

Evidence says that being disabled has a negative impact on participation in play, active recreation and sport.

Disabled people are less likely to participate in any given week. They also participate in fewer sports and activities than non-disabled. Their appetite to participate more, compared with non-disabled, is highest among disabled adults age 25-plus. This is the age when participation among disabled adults begins its steady decline.

But as Blanche explains there is a greater focus than ever before with councils, sport codes and clubs looking to be more inclusive. A recent Sport New Zealand survey revealed that 65% of sports clubs say they provide opportunities for disabled people to engage alongside non-disabled people.

Disability programmes enhance movement and confidence

Hastings District Council offers two programmes aimed at improving activity and movement for young children and teenagers with physical and/or intellectual disabilities at the Hastings Sports Centre.

The Inclusive Active Movement (IAM) programme is designed for Year 9 to 13 students with physical, intellectual and/or behavioural disabilities, with students participating in games, activities and challenges aligned to a different basic movement skill. The course also helps students gain confidence and interpersonal skills.

The Fundamental Skills programme is specifically designed for young children with physical and/or learning disabilities, with participants completing circuits and stations specifically designed to stimulate motor development and fundamental brain patterning, which helps children gain confidence and self-reliance.

www.hastingsdc.govt.nz

Blanche says it’s important that there are plenty of accessible facilities and amenities for young tamariki, as that improves the chances of life long enjoyment of being active, just the same as able bodied children.

Sport Hawke’s Bay has taken a lead role in this space since 2019 when its board made the call to use its financial reserves to fund a dedicated Disability and Inclusion Advisor role.

Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive Ryan Hambleton said they could see a benefit in bringing together those from across the disability sector and plan for the future. It was a New Zealand first and a governance group was established to support the development of a regional disability plan.

Sport New Zealand then stepped up to provide funding for the position until this year. When it made the call to pull funding, Sport Hawke’s Bay decided it didn’t want to lose any momentum, so has again decided to dig into its reserves.

“The role has ensured disability and inclusion is embedded throughout all Sport Hawke’s Bay programmes as well as with other major key regional partners such as councils, educators,

members from the disability community and sports organisations,” Ryan says.

“While we have some dedicated, passionate and very capable people and organisations in the Bay, this role is an independent voice that can advocate across councils, sports organisations, funders, physical activity providers and back to Sport NZ.”

Sport HB has been able to provide training to develop a regional workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments.

“We continue to advocate for fit for purpose and accessible playgrounds and parks and continue to work to ensure a more inclusive approach to strategy, policy and communication within our partner organisations is in place.

“We want to ensure disabled people throughout Hawke’s Bay can be just as active as non-disabled people,” he says.

Sport HB is committed to funding the role for the next 12 months while looking for alternative funding channels long term.

“We hope this role can be centrally funded in the future. The benefits to the wider community are far greater

Napier park an award winner

Napier’s Anderson Park Destination Playground, opened in 2018, includes accessible and imaginative structures for climbing and sliding, flying foxes, swings, water play, and functional artwork with messages in braille and interactive elements, including a xylophone, musical bridge and drums.

The playground won the 2018 New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) Outstanding Park Award.

NCC has also enabled enhanced access to the Marine Parade pathway with a new ramp at Tom Parker fountain.

The ramp was a key action in Napier’s Disability Action Plan and council is also installing a ramp at the Sunken Gardens, which will provide even more opportunities for people with limited mobility to enjoy the beauty of the area.

Local disability portal

Disability Sport and Recreation

Hawke’s Bay aims to enhance the lives of disabled people through sport and recreation.

www.disabilitysporthb.co.nz

than what is reported on and as a result we truly believe disabled people in Hawke’s Bay have more opportunities to be more physically active than ever.”

Blanche says the local territorial authorities are committed to the journey, something which is demonstrated by their investment in facilities at Cornwall Park and Anderson Park in Napier. In Central Hawke’s Bay the council has provided an accessible area/bathroom at Pourerere beach, paired with an All-Terrain Wheelchair that can be hired for free through the council and used in rough terrain.

Blanche and other organisations aligned to the disability kaupapa are keeping a close watch on ‘spaces and places’ plans and ensuring they have input.

The development of a regional spaces and places strategy will include a collaborative regional approach for providing an accessible, fit-for purpose regional network of quality spaces and places that support and encourage physical activity (play, active recreation, sport). Regional leadership organisations are working towards achieving a network of facilities that fall within a recognised hierarchy, providing the context for local planning and to guide decision-making about local facilities.

LEFT: Central Football at Hastings Sports Centre. RIGHT: Functional artwork at Anderson Park.

Blanche also sits on three disability reference groups within Hawke’s Bay, in CHB, Hastings and Napier.

“Napier City Council is doing some awesome mahi at the moment where they are working with Lifemark Assessor Ben Hasselman.”

Ben works alongside disability support organisations such as CCS Disability Action and Barrierfree to provide accessibility guidelines for residential housing and retirement complexes. He is examining past builds and evaluating future builds, using examples by Thames Council and Wellington Council. They have

introduced incentives like offering a larger build footprint if universal design standards are adhered to, as well as developer funds and reimbursements if universal design standards are used.

With just 12 months of funding remaining Blanche is keen to find ways for the role to continue.

“We have set the standard nationally for creating opportunities for disabled people to participate in sport and recreational pursuits and breaking down any barriers, and we have seen a 25% increase in opportunities for the disabled community.”

Leading surgical care in Hawke’s Bay

Kaweka Hospital has changed over 3000 lives in Hawke’s Bay by delivering surgery in ENT (ear, nose and throat), general surgery, gynaecology, urology and ophthalmology.

Kaweka Hospital is pleased to sponsor BayBuzz coverage of sport and wellness in Hawke’s Bay.

www.kawekahospital.nz

209 Canning Road, Hastings

LEFT: Cornwall Park is one of only six parks in New Zealand with a ‘Changing Places’ bathroom. RIGHT: The Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre is a standout ‘all accessible’ facility.

Kaweka Hospital, established by Hawke’s Bay clinicians for the people of Hawke’s Bay. Ask your GP for a referral to one of our specialists or visit our website.

Te taumata tautiaki pokanga hou The new standard in surgical care

Kaweka Hospital spreads its wings

A group of local medical specialists and investors are focused on creating better health outcomes for Hawke’s Bay.

In 2019 Dr Colin Hutchison along with a group of local Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists started talking about creating a new private hospital.

Colin, a kidney specialist, had spent several years working in the public health system and wanted to expand healthcare access in the region.

As wait lists grew and the public hospital on Canning Road got older and busier by the day, Colin and the likes of ENT specialists Stephen Toynton and Andrew Dowley started sharing a vision for a new modern approach to private hospital provisions that would benefit Hawke’s Bay residents. The vision was contagious and quickly more surgeons and anaesthetists joined the team.

“There’s been a need for quite a long time, particularly a lack of surgical facilities in Hawke’s Bay, so a number of us got together to look at delivering new surgical theatres within the private sector.

“As a group of senior doctors in Hawke’s Bay we thought outside of the box to solve the problem and set about designing and raising money to build a new private hospital,” Colin said.

Building a multi-million-dollar hospital is a big financial proposition that usually appeals only to corporate private equity firms, but the team of doctors had a different driver, that wasn’t only the bottom line.

They wanted a locally led hospital with investment from local families vested in the health and wellbeing of their fellow Hawke’s Bay residents.

“Many private hospitals are owned by private equity groups, largely out of Sydney, and as a result they predominantly focused on the finances.

“Our surgeons and anesthetists wanted to guide this project for the future of Hawke’s Bay and that is

easier by keeping the hospital in local ownership and governance and enable the local priorities to be met rather than just the bottom line being the most important thing.

“We now have some incredible Hawke’s Bay families that have backed the project financially and have largely done it because they see the great need for more healthcare facilities to benefit the community.”

Colin says the early conversations focused on a desire to provide more acute services and outpatient rooms, but it quickly became apparent that there was a need for more operating rooms, evolving into the fully functioning private hospital, that has become Kaweka.

“The patient experience is really important to us… the whole journey is an experience that relaxes you, so that your healthcare recovery goes better.”

By mid-2025 a 16,000m² health campus under the wings of Kaweka Hospital will open with the likes of TRG Imaging, Cancer Canopy Care, G&H Cardiovascular, and the Eye Institute also on the campus, just across the road from the Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital. Colin says they couldn’t have picked a more suitable location.

“Private hospitals work really well when they are close to a public hospital because the majority of specialists can split their week and work across the two organisations and the closer the better.

“It was fortuitous to find 16,000m² of light industrial land across the road from the DHB.

“We were also very aware of the to expand healthcare provisions within Hawke’s Bay, some of which haven’t been available before, therefore we started very early on speaking to groups like TRG Imaging about radiology facilities and Canopy Cancer about private offerings for oncology patients as well.

Over 6000 ENT (ear, nose, and throat), general surgery, gynaecology, urology, ophthalmology, and gastroenterology procedures have been undertaken since Stage 1 opened in September 2022 and when fully up and running the hospital will treat over 10,000 patients a year.

The 7400m² stage 2 complex features 31 patient rooms, a cardiac catheterisation lab, and a full-service imaging, consultation and oncology treatment centre offering state-ofthe-art MRI and CT scanning technology and specialist oncology treatment.

Other facilities include a pharmacy, café with full commercial kitchen, a procedure suite as well as a training and administration suite and numerous specialist clinician consult spaces. The building features the latest seismic design and earthquake proofing –using base isolation technology, a first for Hawke’s Bay, enabling the facility to remain fully functional following a large earthquake.

The campus will have over 200 surgical and non-surgical specialists, technicians, nurses, support, and administration staff.

“The patient experience has been really important to us. Often the delivery of healthcare is in an unpleasant environment that’s very clinical which makes it a more stressful experience for a patient to go through.

The design brief was to create a state-of-the-art environment that improves the health and well-being of patients, visitors, and staff based on human’s innate biological connection with nature, which is achieved through physical and visual connections.

An example is the use of Hawke’s

Bay landmarks like Te Mata Peak on feature walls in operating theatres as well as optimal flow from a warm welcoming entrance foyer to comfortable overnight patient rooms and excellence in care.

“Our team wants to make sure that we are very warm and welcoming, are great communicators with our patients and that the whole journey is an experience that relaxes you and

makes you feel comfortable, so that your healthcare recovery goes better.

“We have a wonderful management team that makes sure that we’ve got a really robust professional group of nurses and technicians and allied health professionals that look after the patients as they come through the front door.”

www.kawekahospital.nz

Artist’s impression

LEFT: Stage 2 will open mid-2025. RIGHT: Anaesthetist Dr Allanah Scott and ENT specialist Mr Stephen Toynton.

“Many of my clients say that their business couldn’t exist without us. That really gives me the warm fuzzies inside. After all, it’s not WineWork’s growth, it’s the wine industry’s growth.”

Tim Nowell-Usticke

WINEWORKS: ADDING VALUE SUSTAINABLY

BayBiz Brenda Newth

WineWorks has an impressive sustainability story to tell. But unlike the first company covered in our sustainable companies series – Napier Port – WineWorks doesn’t have a high profile with the general public. In fact, WineWorks might be one of the biggest companies in Hawke’s Bay that no-one has ever heard of.

Before we get to its sustainability programmes, let’s take a step back and talk about WineWorks and how things got started nearly thirty years ago.

WineWorks is a contract bottling, warehousing and distribution company that serves New Zealand’s winegrowers. With sites in Auckland, Marlborough and Hastings it employs around 500 people and currently bottles for 400 of the country’s 700 wineries, producing 140,000 cases per day at peak production, with 85% of it exported. That makes WineWorks New Zealand’s leading contract bottler of any beverage or liquid.

Tim Nowell-Usticke founded the company in 1995, on his return to New Zealand after seven years working in Australia’s fast moving consumer goods sector. He was looking for a local opportunity in the food sector, and in particular what low value food could be turned into a high value product.

“I was thinking in terms of a Watties or a McCain, or an organic baby food company, but actually the latest crop to hit Hawke’s Bay had been grapes. And I thought, grapes can turn into high value wine.

“That got me really excited, and I started going around the wineries asking

what services they needed to turn their grapes into high value product. The answer came back: storage and bottling.”

And that’s where it all started in Hastings in 1995. WineWorks Marlborough came three years later, with Auckland following in 2013. Today WineWorks Hastings has a workforce of around 100.

WineWorks is a big enterprise. It has enough capacity to fill and pack a container every 10 minutes, meaning that a significant part of its operation is running supply chains. Trucks are arriving every 15 minutes from the glass plants, the mills that make the pallets, the cardboard plants, and the label printers, as well as trucks departing to load ships in the ports of Napier, Nelson, and Tauranga.

WineWorks is an integral part of its customers’ businesses, says Nowell-Usticke.

“Many of my clients say that their business couldn’t exist without us. That really gives me the warm fuzzies inside. After all, it’s not WineWorks’ growth, it’s the wine industry’s growth.”

WineWorks is the tool that wineries need to convert their product into high value wine, he says.

What other tools do they need? These days they need a good carbon footprint story.”

Adding value through sustainability WineWorks’ sustainability journey began in 2019. The company knew it had to take a leadership position, and become carbon zero so that clients selling into carbon conscious markets like Scandinavia and the United Kingdom could secure listings.

Nowell-Usticke says it was the right thing to do.

“We also had several clients who had decided to be leaders in the field.

WIneWorks founder, Tim Nowell-Usticke.

Photo: Florence Charvin

Yealands Estate in Marlborough was one of those. They said: ‘We’re going to be the world’s first carbon zero winery’, and they couldn’t become carbon zero without help from us.”

The service that WineWorks provides to customers is a large part of the customers’ supply chain. NowellUsticke knew if WineWorks was to make the change for one customer, it made sense to do it for all, so the rest of the client base was asked if WineWorks going carbon zero would be of interest. The answer was an overwhelming yes, he says.

“I knew that our clients couldn’t claim to have a carbon free supply chain, if WineWorks wasn’t carbon free. That’s when we got involved with Toitū.”

Toitū Envirocare is a business specialising in carbon management and carbon neutral certification, helping businesses to realise efficiencies, reduce their carbon footprint, and be more sustainable.

These days WineWorks is New Zealand’s only net carbon zero wine bottling facility, achieving this milestone in December 2023.

Net carbon zero for WineWorks means the company has reduced or eliminated emissions, wherever possible, and purchased carbon offsets for any remaining emissions.

Starting out, WineWorks pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 30%,

by 2023. It began by tackling the low hanging fruit: waste going to landfill, recycling, and electricity.

Nowell-Usticke says the first moves on the sustainability journey are the easiest.

“We changed to a fully regenerative electricity company. We get supplied by Meridian from the dams, so there’s no Huntly power station component to the energy. That’s a big tick…saving us a good 20% of our previous carbon footprint.”

WineWorks’ North Island sites are powered by Ecotricity: the country’s only Toitū climate positive electricity provider. WineWorks Marlborough partners with Meridian and offsets emissions through carbon credits. Other electricity related initiatives include upgrading lighting to LED, installing timed motion sensors, and modifying high energy use machinery and/or changing how it was used.

WineWorks says the key takeaway from the energy part of its sustainability journey is that the changes made were simple, at the ready, impactful, and accessible for anyone to achieve.

Industrial scale recycling

Recycling is another area where WineWorks has made good progress.

“Four years ago we started recycling everything: plastic, paper, polystyrene, aluminium screwcaps, and put in

pretty good systems around that.”

All waste glass is returned to the Visy glass furnace, and re-melted into new containers, minimising the energy required to convert beach sand into new bottles. Glass from Visy (NZ’s only glass furnace) is made of 70% recycled glass from New Zealand’s recycling process.

“It’s one of the best recycling stories in the world,” he says.

Plastic from packaging materials is sent to Replas, a plastic recycler, and made into slip-sheets that WineWorks puts under product when it packs containers.

“These are made from 100% recycled plastic. It is very satisfying for us to receive back these products that are made from our own waste stream,” says Nowell-Usticke.

All aluminium waste (screwcaps etc) are collected and sent back to the aluminium recyclers and made into screwcaps.

Next, we’re reducing waste, says Nowell-Usticke.

“One of the first things you do, is take the rubbish bins away, which is very difficult to start with. And suddenly you get used to not having a place to put rubbish, and then you start not wanting to order things because they come with a whole lot of packaging.”

As a proof point the volume of waste going to landfill at WineWorks Marlborough has halved in the last 12 months.

Other areas of focus include reducing the use of CO2 gas for wine protection and carbonation. Local shortages of CO2 forced innovation, with WineWorks Marlborough no longer using carbon dioxide, and instead using nitrogen to blanket tanks.

On the transport front, staff are permitted to travel between sites if essential, and truck movements at WineWorks Marlborough have been replaced by an electric tug, cutting 4 tonnes of emissions.

Carbon report card

WineWorks smashed its December 2023 30% emissions reduction target, achieving a 45% reduction in baseline emissions. Quite impressive, but dig a little deeper and the achievement is even better.

Nowell-Usticke explains: “Not only have we reduced total tonnage (of carbon emissions) by 45%, we did it while increasing production. Once you take in the reduced tonnage over a larger volume, it’s actually a 58% reduction in carbon tonnage, on a case of wine.

Photo: Florence Charvin

“Our trick, and we’ve done this much to my surprise, is to get bigger, and reduce carbon.”

Currently WineWorks is offsetting, buying carbon credits to compensate for the carbon emissions it can‘t eliminate from the business. It invests the offsets in New Zealand projects, with the balance in high quality international initiatives.

Current New Zealand offsets are Spray Point Station carbon sequestration (40% of WW offsets), Native Forest Restoration Trust’s Puhoi Far North regeneration project, one of the largest privately protected bush areas in the Far North, boasting an array of recognised special biological values (40% of WW offsets).

“If WineWorks didn’t tick that sustainability box, probably a lot of his wine customers couldn’t promote themselves as fully sustainable.”

Jo Pearson

What an expert says

Jo Pearson has deep experience in New Zealand’s wine industry, across sales, marketing and operations. In 2022 she established The Collective Impact, a sustainability consultancy, after becoming certified with the Global Reporting Initiative, provider of the world’s most widely used standards for sustainability reporting.

Sustainability, championed by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ, a world-leading, industry-wide certification programme led by New Zealand Winegrowers), has been a way for the New Zealand wine industry to stand out from the crowd in export markets, differentiate and support the premium positioning of New Zealand

wine, she says.

“Tim has got in behind that with his business, with the bottling being a really key part of it … he is aligned with the wine industry in terms of being sustainable, and is helping to link the end-to-end journey from the soil to the consumer. WineWorks has got a part to play in that supply chain.

“He’s supporting the greater vision of the wine industry – the sustainable wine growing part – really well, and taken it even further and incorporated that into his own business strategy.

“If WineWorks didn’t tick that sustainability box, probably a lot of his wine customers couldn’t promote themselves as fully sustainable,” says Pearson.

What a customer says

Michael Ivicevich is the Group Technical Manager, Viticulture and Winemaking at Delegat Limited, that self describes as a leading global super premium wine company. Delegat has had a relationship with WineWorks since the early 2010s, when WineWorks started bottling Oyster Bay sparkling wine in Hastings.

Ivicevich explains: “We were wanting to do a Charmat sparkling wine, where the secondary fermentation

From humble Hawke’s Bay beginnings, to nationwide coverage

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takes place in a pressure tank rather than in bottles like a traditional champagne method. That required some extra infrastructure and some extra skills, so we brought the skills and WineWorks brought the infrastructure.

“We are currently at capacity at our Auckland winery, so rather than expand that site, additional volumes of still wine…are done by WineWorks.”

Delegat has been a member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand for the past 20 years. All of its vineyards, wineries, and bottling lines are accredited to SWNZ; it’s something that Delegat makes mandatory.

“As a founding member of SWNZ, we are quite keen to support the industry, improving sustainability and be able to share learnings along the way. Working with people who have similar goals is really important. As a contract bottler, WineWorks is working towards the same goals as we are.

“What’s great about WineWorks is that they’re very active in the sustainability space, and they’re leading. They got out there first, they talk about it. To have a supplier that’s active, engaged, and a great communicator about opportunities, I think that’s really great.

“We work with WineWorks sharing data, sharing ideas, and trying to help the New Zealand wine industry, which is actually very collegial,” says Ivicevich.

What’s next? Scope Three emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions are categorised into three scopes. Scope 1 are emissions directly related to the reporting company’s facilities, including company vehicles. Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy from a utility provider. Where it starts to get really hard is with Scope 3, which is all indirect emissions in the value chain of a company.

“For us, the next thing is Scope 3,” says Nowell-Usticke . “The glass bottle, the truck to the port, the shipping container from Napier to San Francisco.

“We’ve done our own processes, the

“What’s great about WineWorks is that they’re very active in the (sustainability) space, and they’re leading… to have a supplier that’s active, engaged, and a great communicator about opportunities, I think that’s really great.”

Michael Ivicevich

things we can control. With Scope 3, you’ve got to go and talk to trucking companies (for example) and say ‘when are you going to convert to hydrogen?’

“It’s important to identify, and say there is two kgs (of carbon) per case of wine to get it to the port and another three to get it to San Francisco. And that’s the winery’s job to do, but we’re going to help.”

Harnessing the sun

With nearly 60% reduction in carbon emissions per case already achieved, there’s not a lot to go, says Nowell-Usticke.

“It’s the hard part. Each gain we make from here is going to be small. As soon as we start putting solar panels on, that will make a difference.”

With sites in two of New Zealand’s sunniest regions, installing solar panels is one of the next things that WineWorks will do.

Nowell-Usticke says the company has 28 acres of roofing, and a director on its board with experience in solar hot water generation.

“The economics of solar are (now) worthwhile, and it is the only way we can ever get to carbon zero without offsetting.

“I think we’ll probably start doing that (solar) within a year.”

After 28 years at the helm, NowellUsticke retired in 2022, leaving the running of WineWorks to his senior management team. Despite its founder stepping away, WineWorks’ founding ethos of adding value to New Zealand’s wine industry is stronger than ever, with sustainability now being a key part of the value creation story. Or as Nowell-Usticke puts it: “Creating the value here in Hawke’s Bay so that we can employ local families, and make brand owners wealthy rather than the Shanghai supermarkets or the London supermarkets.”

Not bad for a company that practically no-one has ever heard of. www.wineworks.co.nz

“Our trick, and we’ve done this much to my surprise, is to get bigger, and reduce carbon.”

Tim Nowell-Usticke

WINEWORKS

• Established 1995

• Contract bottler, packer and logistics service to NZ wine industry

• Owned by Tim Nowell-Usticke and the Williams family

• Three sites: Auckland, Hastings, Marlborough

• Produces 140,000 cases per day at peak

• 500 staff, including 100 in Hastings

• Sustainability fully embedded in the business

• NZ’s only net carbon zero wine bottling facility

• Reduced baseline carbon emissions by 45% in three years

• Reduced emissions per case by 58% in three years

• Volume of waste to landfill from WW Marlborough down 50%

• Recycles glass, cardboard, paper, plastic, metals, and wooden pallets

• Works with neighbouring businesses to improve sustainability outcomes by sharing knowledge

• Plans within the next year for solar panels across its warehouses

BayBuzz energy and climate reporting is sponsored by Unison in support of independent local journalism. PRINCIPAL

Celebrating 40 years of

Celebrating 40 years of

In 1984 Richie Richards decided to take his future into his own hands.

In 1984 Richie Richards decided to take his future into his own hands.

Taking over the family Holden station wagon and packing it with tools and equipment, he set about plying his trade to earn a dollar, in the hope of bigger things.

Taking over the family Holden station wagon and packing it with tools and equipment, he set about plying his trade to earn a dollar, in the hope of bigger things.

Richie loves technology, ensuring it’s user-friendly for his growing client base which started with Electrotech in the early days through to ambitious expansion and business acquisitions.

Richie loves technology, ensuring it’s user-friendly for his growing client base which started with Electrotech in the early days through to ambitious expansion and business acquisitions.

The early days

The early days

Richie’s first workshop in 1984 was his home garage He also used the family Holden as his work vehicle.

Richie’s first workshop in 1984 was his home garage He also used the family Holden as his work vehicle.

Expansion

Expansion

Electrotech moved from the home garage to an office and workspace in Niven Street.

Electrotech moved from the home garage to an office and workspace in Niven Street.

Later Electrotech moved to the larger premises in Kennedy Road (above).

Later Electrotech moved to the larger premises in Kennedy Road (above).

Richie

Today

Today

Electrotech, Fire Tech and Tech Group’s premises today in Sheffield Place, Onekawa.

Electrotech, Fire Tech and Tech Group’s premises today in Sheffield Place, Onekawa.

Today Electrotech is one of three specialist and complimentary businesses sitting alongside Tech Mechanical and Fire Tech under the umbrella of Tech Group.

Today Electrotech is one of three specialist and complimentary businesses sitting alongside Tech Mechanical and Fire Tech under the umbrella of Tech Group.

Celebrating success and milestones with family, staff and clients has been a hallmark of Richie’s approach to business as well as building Tech Group’s reputation as a leader in electrical, security, data, calibration, fire,  air-conditioning, fencing, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying, sheetmetal and engineering needs.

www.techgroup.co.nz

Celebrating success and milestones with family, staff and clients has been a hallmark of Richie’s approach to business as well as building Tech Group’s reputation as a leader in electrical, security, data, calibration, fire,  air-conditioning, fencing, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying, sheetmetal and engineering needs.

www.techgroup.co.nz

Community involvement

Community involvement

The Electrotech Dancers became a popular drawcard at HB Magpie

standing

The Electrotech Dancers became a popular drawcard at HB Magpie rugby games. Long standing staff member and current shareholder, Brad Ellison, enjoys celebrations in 2007.

and

Celebrating Tech Rugby’s centenary in 2020-21. Tech Group has been a sponsor for over 20 years.

Family involvement

Family involvement

Richie’s children Kim and Glenn have worked alongside him over the years. Kim’s role as Group HR and Glenn as Electrotech Electrical Manager.

Richie’s children Kim and Glenn have worked alongside him over the years. Kim’s role as Group HR and Glenn as Electrotech Electrical Manager.

Richie’s love of BMWs

Richie pictured outside the Kennedy Rd premises with his BMW X6M – celebrating 30 years (above).

Richie’s love of BMWs

pictured outside the Kennedy Rd premises with his BMW X6M – celebrating 30 years (above).

rugby games. Long

staff member

current shareholder, Brad Ellison, enjoys celebrations in 2007.

Celebrating Tech Rugby’s centenary in 2020-21. Tech Group has been a sponsor for over 20 years.

UNDER PRESSURE

A cyclone, a baby, and the story of Newton Espresso.

BayBiz Innovators Simon Shattky

“You want about 9 or 10 bars for a good espresso,” Alan informs me.

Coffee has a culture, and its own language. I drink but don’t speak it, whereas Alan and Hayden are fluent. Hayden Maunsell and Alan Neilson are the inventors of the Newton Espresso, a manual – non-electric – lever coffee machine they invented here in the Bay.

The ‘bars’ Alan is referring to are a measure of pressure, with one bar equalling 14.5psi. That’s about 150psi per cup, which as I watch Alan pulling the piston rod lever to make me a perfect long black, looks like a bit of effort, but it’s nothing to a true aficionado for whom nothing appears too much trouble in search of the perfect brew.

The discussion moves onto grind sizes and weight, and coffee crema which has a pattern that looks a little bit like a Cheetah’s coat if you get it just right.

It’s all quite technical and I wish I had paid more attention in physics. But temperature and pressure over time is how you build a coffee profile, and it’s not to be taken lightly if you like your coffee. Hayden’s bringing me up to speed on the Ross droplet technique, a trick that was unveiled at the world Barista champs, where the beans are sprayed with a fine water mist before being ground so as to stop the particles sticking with static electricity, which would reduce the amount of coffee in each dose.

The ideal temperature for a great espresso is between 92 - 96 degrees, and anything under makes the coffee bitter. Although, somewhat conspiratorially Hayden mentions there’s talk doing the rounds of a new technique for a low temperature espresso under 90 degrees. Scandalous.

And, like I said, quite technical. Hayden very much likes his coffee which is how the Newton came to pass. After completing a design degree at EIT and adding a masters at AUT, he ended up working for Alan who was in charge of tech at the EIT School of Design.

Hayden’s role at EIT was to maintain machinery like pottery kilns, and the wood and metal shop tools. It didn’t pay that well, and one day he found himself in the cafeteria with enough change in his pocket for either coffee or lunch, but not both. He went for the coffee.

Back in the class he asked Alan if they could make their own coffee machine, and Alan reckoned ‘we could give it a go’. So they did. A kickstarter campaign to launch the Newton reached its $50k goal in an hour, a testament to the craftsmanship and no doubt to the passion of their customers.

“Simple is hard,” says Hayden about design. “It’s easy to add things, much harder to take them away.”

The first Newton, named after the measure of force, went through about ten or twelve iterations before Alan and Hayden were satisfied with the result. Although you get the sense that neither of them are truly satisfied, always on the lookout for improvement.

“You obsess over the details when you design something yourself,” says Hayden, who then gets immediately distracted from the photoshoot to discuss a further refinement with Alan, unwittingly proving the point.

That was back in 2017 and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. No more so than last February when Gabrielle popped her head in.

“The water was chest height in the workshop,” explains Alan at the considerably drier Twyford facility. “Well waist height on Hayden,” he adds, who

is a good head or so taller than his business partner.

Fortunately, while they lost momentum in the cyclone, they were at the end of a sales cycle – making the Newton machine in batches of 50 or 100 – so they managed to relocate to Hayden’s home, out of harm’s way and count themselves amongst the lucky ones. Gabrielle interrupted their flow but gave them breathing room to develop a new product, the Brua 3, which will be in pre-order phase as you read this. Or sold out if history repeats. It’s a slightly bigger machine and comes with bigger plans.

The immediate goal is to find an Australian distributor for the machine, as they are quite big coffee fans across the ditch. They’ll do this at places like MICE which stands for the Melbourne International Coffee Expo. The Newton already has a strong international base, with nearly 20% of the machines being sold in the US, and thanks to a strong social media presence, about 25 other countries.

Online shopping does have its drawbacks though, and one machine was purchased with deliberate intent to rip off the design. It doesn’t seem to have fazed them. These two look forwards not backwards.

The new model has a bigger basket –a whole extra 7mm in diameter – which I’m assured is quite a big deal, and will be available in bigger numbers due to how the parts are made. They’re in the final phase of manufacture and while Hayden and Alan are gearing up for launch, the pressure is on in other ways too.

As I’m writing this, there’s a newborn son on the way for Hayden and his wife, and no doubt more than a few sleepless nights ahead.

But it won’t be from the caffeine.

OPPOSITE: Hayden Maunsell and Alan Neilson.

BayBiz

Alasdair MacLeod, Chair, REDA

Some, for all, forever

‘Some, for all, forever.’ Four simple words that redefined South Africa’s approach to water in the late 1990s, leading to an egalitarian model that took a long-term view of the management of a precious resource that had previously been allocated to meet the immediate needs of a small portion of the total population.

A similar philosophy, even if not the same four words, could be used to summarise the challenge faced by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council as it redefines the processes and quantum of water allocation in Hawke’s Bay for a sustainable future for our rivers, our whānau, and our economy.

It is a formidable challenge, exacerbated by a changing climate. The current freshwater consents have overallocated the resource, the demand for freshwater will continue to rise, and the region is predicted to get drier and hotter. It will inevitably drive the need for significant changes in the way in which we harvest, use, and then reuse this scarce and valuable

resource. In the words of the Regional Water Assessment, “We need to pull every lever we have to radically reduce our demand for freshwater – through technology, behaviour, and allocation.”

The notion of ‘some, for all, forever’ resonated with me as I recently facilitated, at the request of Horticulture New Zealand, two meetings with growers keen to hear where things were at in the context of the impending plan change, and to voice their views. I listened to growers explaining the challenges they faced with the impending plan change and consequent reduction in water consents, their frustrations with the limitations of the current system of allocation, and their fears for the future.

There is clearly a tension between the perceived needs of growers, the needs of our growing urban communities, and the desperate need to look after our rivers and our aquifer.

In terms of priorities, the previous Government water framework, Te Mana o te Wai, put the health of the aquatic ecosystem – our rivers and aquifer - first, then the health of

the community and, finally, when the first two needs are met, it was open to consider other uses. Through the proposed amendments to the Resource Management Act the current Government has promised to remove the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations. The Minister for Agriculture, Todd McClay, has stated that these proposed changes ‘’reflect the interests of all water users’’ though clearly not ‘’all users’’ are quite on the same page.

There are some things that seem to have widespread acceptance across the grower groups that I listened to:

• The current ‘paper’ allocation of water has overallocated the existing resource, and reduction of the allocation is inevitable over time;

• The current system has incentivised poor behaviour and penalised those who sought to do the right thing (something is very wrong when some growers have reportedly left everything running whether they needed it or not to support their argument for a high allocation of water and others have lost their

Photo: Florence Charvin

allocation because they tried to responsibly conserve when they didn’t require it);

• Storage on a large scale is inevitable – as will be the arguments over who funds it and who is allowed to benefit from it;

• There is a need for stronger incentives to encourage municipal users to better conserve water, and

• We collectively need to get much smarter in how we use, and re-use, this precious resource.

There was also a strong sense that the current allocation system is fundamentally flawed – in the medium term, it will have to be re-designed. There were many suggestions on what could be done better, from being able to share allocations more effectively to meet varying peak demands (as currently happens in the Twyford area), through to a complete reallocation of water on a global basis, with freely tradeable rights.

Why, as Chair of HBREDA, am I concerned about this?

The horticulture sector is vitally important to the Hawke’s Bay economy. It is also clearly struggling after the repeated hammer-blows of Covidrelated lockdowns and border closures, drought, Cyclone Gabrielle, and an environment where their costs are rising significantly faster than their returns. While the needs of this sector clearly can’t over-ride the needs of our environment and the health of our whānau, perhaps there is scope for a better balance in the short term? Is there scope for a breathing space to enable a better transition from the current approach to allocation, as clearly signalled by the current

“It is clear that we are going to have to rely on horticulture as a significant contributor to our economy in this region for some time. It is also clear that practices within that sector have to change in order to meet the new realities we are facing.”

Alasdair MacLeod

Government’s approach?

It is clear that we are going to have to rely on horticulture as a significant contributor to our economy in this region for some time. It is also clear that practices within that sector have to change in order to meet the new realities we are facing.

It is also increasingly clear that some diversification from our current over-reliance on our sunshine and rain economy is inevitable. At HBREDA we are in the process of commissioning some research that will shine a light on pockets of the regional economy that have the potential to grow and shoulder some of the load that is currently carried by horticulture. We already have pockets of brilliance scattered thoughout the region that were largely unheralded until the Hawke’s Bay Exporter of the Year awards were introduced 10 years ago. Finding other areas of potential that are scaleable will be a real challenge, but it is one we have to embrace. Ultimately, we want an environment where everyone can participate in a thriving regional economy and benefit from it, while protecting our aquatic systems and our biodiversity. Having started by quoting the aspirational four-word vision from South Africa, I’d like to close with a warning quote from a gentleman called Thom as Fuller: “We never know the worth of water till the well is dry”.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Economic Development Agency is hosting a regular column to stimulate conversation about our economy. We will share pieces of work and research that we are involved in and at times will open up this column space for guest writers.

BayBiz Blair O’Keeffe, Chairperson HBRRA Oversight Board

Progress in the region’s recovery – working together with an eye on resilience

More than 18 months down the track, the journey to recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle goes on for Hawke’s Bay – a reality that will continue for years to come.

Much has been achieved over this period to set the region on a path forward. Positive progress has been made to support affected property owners and the wider local economy, to progress flood resilience projects and to sustain momentum in the rebuilding of badly damaged infrastructure.

Various tranches of initial Government support have been committed to facilitate the region’s recovery, with the most significant to date being via the North Island Weather Event (NIWE) Hawke’s Bay Crown Funding Agreement targeted at Category 3 voluntary buyouts, flood protection and local road transport rebuilds. There has been significant other recovery funding allocated into a range of activities over the past 14 months (e.g., silt and debris removal, primary producer support, State Highway repairs), with a further $91 million for local roads signalled in 2024/25.

The last month has seen further key milestones reached, including what appears to be some positive news for Hawke’s Bay in the 2024 Government Budget as well as the completion and imminent release of Recovery Plan 2.0.

Budget 2024 – what’s in it for Hawke’s Bay

In recognising the current economic climate and the fiscal constraints of Government, the recent Budget announcement includes positive news for the region’s recovery. With funding provided towards the region’s

2024/25 local roading recovery programme, a process has been set out for Hawke’s Bay to cost and submit funding requests for future years’ work. This is being taken as a positive indicator that Central Government understands the work needed to restore the region’s local roading network in full will extend well beyond one year, with further support required.

Whilst there is concern round the initial lack of funding for work to improve resilience of our State Highways, we recognise that recovery work is not a one year effort. As a region, we will continue to advocate strongly for rebuild projects on our State Highways to be funded as a priority in New Zealand Transport Agency’s State Highway Investment programme. There is no question that for many in our region, state highways are their ‘local roads’ and play a critical role in both the social and the economic welfare of Hawke’s Bay.

It was heartening to see an appropriation in the Budget targeting funding to speed up support for Category 3 land in the Whenua Māori/Kaupapa Māori pathway. This pathway and

associated support was supposed to proceed in parallel with the Voluntary Buyout programme for general land but had fallen behind. Whilst negotiation and valuation processes still need to be worked through, we remain hopeful the funding provided will bring Māori landowners back to parity with the wider affected landowner group. Other immediate wins in the Budget for Hawke’s Bay include additional funding for silt and debris removal, provision for ongoing Temporary Accommodation Service support and a contestable $20m set aside to help speed up delivery of existing and already funded recovery projects.

Recovery Plan 2.0

Developed by the RRA, on behalf of Councils, Post Settlement Government Entities (PSGEs) and Matariki, Recovery Plan 2.0 (Plan 2.0) looks to the medium and long-term recovery priorities. The Plan outlines a longer-term framework to deliver greater resilience, prosperity and equity across the region, with a focus on infrastructure, economic and community systems.

There is a unique opportunity for the region to unite and work together to upgrade productivity, equity and overall outlook for the future.

Having a vision is one thing, but delivering on this is where the value is realised. With this in mind, whilst recognising the progress already made and the work currently in motion, Plan 2.0 sets out the regional recovery goals for the future and programmes required to deliver on these. It has been designed to facilitate ongoing advocacy work with Government and other partners, so the region can enlist support where needed.

Lastly, certain elements of the plan extend beyond the scope of pure ‘recovery’ and this is intentional. We are seeking a more resilient and successful region as we recover from Cyclone Gabrielle. The drivers for recovery, resilience and regional success are highly inter-connected, and there is a unique opportunity for the region to unite and work together to upgrade productivity, equity and overall outlook for the future.

Plan 2.0 will be available on the RRA website early to mid-July.

An eye on resilience

Resilience is a word we hear frequently in the context of our recovery journey, but what does that mean? In the context of rebuilding damaged infrastructure, it is about ensuring we don’t narrow our sights to just putting things back the way they were. Such an approach would mean we were no further ahead if and when future severe weather events strike.

One of our mantras of the RRA is “if it happens again, we need our infrastructure and systems to cope better.” At every step of recovery we need to be asking ourselves, could we do things differently? Are we making the most of this opportunity to build back better and smarter?

Of course we know there are factors at play we need to balance here: Do resilience improvements significantly slow the pace of getting back up and running? Are the costs of resilience improvements palatable in the currently constrained fiscal environment? Have we got the knowledge to deter-

mine what ‘resilience’ looks like in the face of a constantly evolving hazard landscape? In some areas of recovery, we are waiting on independent reviews to help us understand what we can reasonably expect in terms of impacts from future weather events and therefore what the region’s infrastructure needs are to better cope with these impacts. These are complex matters that demand our attention.

It is pleasing to see the Regional Infrastructure Fund coming to fruition in the Budget. We hope this will enable broader notions of resilience to be considered in developing the nation’s infrastructure. For Hawke’s Bay, this could come in the form of a much-needed investment into our water security or further upgrades to flood protection. Water security in particular represents a pivotal issue in the region’s prosperity and community/whānau and environmental health as we look to the decades ahead.

A unified region

Throughout the response and recovery to date, working together has been a key contributor to the region’s success in securing Government support. Whilst the struggles associated with ongoing personal recovery and increasing bills are still a daily reality for many people and communities, the region’s longer-term recovery actions are getting positive traction. Councils and PSGEs, working with business and the community sector, have joined together to coordinate these efforts and provide a united voice for Hawke’s Bay, particularly in dealing with Government. We have heard from the Prime Minister that he wants to work with joined up regions, not individual district councils, and that he holds Hawke’s Bay up as an example.

The journey to full recovery is long and there is no quick fix. With that said, the last 18 months has seen a newfound level of regional collaboration, driven by the common goal of building back what was lost and supporting communities to recover. If we can continue to harness this way of working together, the future potential for Hawke’s Bay is an exciting prospect.

www.hbrecovery.nz

The HB Regional Recovery Agency is charged with coordinating a recovery that is locally-led, regionally coordinated and government supported.

FESTIVAL EMPRESARIO REFLECTS

With the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival paused for 2024 and the position of Arts Inc

Heretaunga’s Community Arts Development Manager & Arts Festival director Pitsch Leiser made redundant, we asked friend and colleague of Pitsch’s, Jamie Macphail, to have a chat with Pitsch.

Photo Florence Charvin

Life Jamie Macphail

Why establish an Arts Festival?

When Pitsch first arrived in Hawke’s Bay, he quickly noticed a vibrant interest in the arts among its residents.

Many locals had enjoyed national and international experiences in music, theatre, and the arts. Despite the popularity of events like the ballet and performances by the NZSO, the closure of the Opera House left a significant cultural void. Pitsch saw an opportunity to create something new – a regional arts festival that would resonate deeply with the community.

“I saw that there was an audience for the arts here,” Pitsch explains. “People in Hawke’s Bay are passionate about culture, but there was a lack of consistent, high-quality arts programming. I wanted to fill that gap and bring something truly special to the region.”

His idea was to bring the Famous Spiegeltent, a charming and intimate venue, to Hawke’s Bay. The Famous Spiegeltent, with its unique style and ambiance, provided the perfect setting to start a boutique arts festival. Pitsch conducted research and found that while Creative New Zealand didn’t spend much money in Hawke’s Bay, the locals’ support for the arts was higher than in many other regions. This indicated a strong potential audience for a festival.

“I thought, why not create a festival that would not only entertain but also unite the community?” says Pitsch. “The Spiegeltent was the perfect catalyst for this vision, offering an extraordinary experience that people would remember.”

What made you the right person for the job?

Pitsch’s journey in the arts began long before the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival. In Auckland, he founded and managed the Galaxy Theatre, and ran

some significant events, including the Pasifika Festival, the largest Polynesian festival in the world, as well as overseeing the delivery of the Lantern Festival, Diwali and the Auckland International Cultural Festival. Pitsch also started Auckland’s now iconic Music in Parks summer series. His role in these largescale community festivals gave him invaluable experience in managing and programming major events.

“I’ve always been drawn to events that bring people together,” Pitsch shares. “The International Street Entertainers Festival, which I started in 1990, was a game-changer for me. It showed me the power of arts and culture to transform spaces and engage communities.”

His extensive network within the arts community, built through years of experience and collaboration, gave him the confidence to take on the challenge of starting a new festival in Hawke’s Bay. Pitsch’s ability to connect with artists, council members, funders and audiences alike, coupled with his unwavering enthusiasm, positioned him perfectly to spearhead this initiative.

“My time at the Galaxy Theatre in Auckland was also pivotal,” Pitsch recalls. “It was a hub for all sorts of performances – dance, music, theatre, comedy. Founding and managing that venue honed my skills and prepared me for the multifaceted demands of running a festival.”

How did the Festival evolve over the nine years?

The Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival began with a season of shows in the Famous Spiegeltent, creating a magical, popup experience that captivated the local audience. The tent, with its authentic 1920s design, provided an intimate and enchanting setting that became a hallmark of the festival’s early years. Over time, the festival grew in scale and ambition, attracting more significant acts and larger audiences.

“In our first year, we sold out 95%

of our shows,” Pitsch proudly states. “We had this big display board of the whole programme out in front of the tent, and seeing the Sold Out stickers gradually cover almost the whole thing was such a thrill. That kind of response was overwhelming and showed us that there was a real hunger for this kind of event in Hawke’s Bay.”

The festival’s evolution was marked by its ability to adapt and innovate. Each year, new elements were introduced, from unique, unexpected performance spaces to diverse artistic genres. By the ninth year, the festival had become a staple in the region’s cultural calendar, known for its eclectic mix of local, national, and international acts.

“We started small but always had big dreams,” Pitsch says. “Expanding into new venues allowed us to reach more people and offer a wider range of performances. We always aimed to surprise and delight our audiences.”

“In that first year, we reached between 6-7,000 people, all at ticketed shows. By the 9th year we reached over 32,000 people experiencing the festival, mainly through reaching out into the community and providing as many free shows as we possibly could.”

“That’s evolution!”

Tell me about your personal highlights?

For Pitsch, the festival’s highlights are deeply personal and varied. One of the most memorable moments was the performance of “Limbo,” a show that blended circus, theatre, and music in a way that left audiences spellbound. The show’s success, with people still talking about it years later, epitomized the festival’s impact.

“Limbo was a game-changer, it attracted a broader audience than previously seen at the Festival “ Pitsch recalls. “The audience’s reaction was phenomenal. People came back night after night, which was incredibly gratifying.”

Another standout moment was

OPPOSITE: Pitsch Leiser (left) and Jamie Macphail

“We

had this big display board of the whole programme out in front of the tent, and seeing the Sold Out stickers gradually cover almost the whole thing was such a thrill. That kind of response was overwhelming and showed us that there was a real hunger for this kind of event in Hawke’s Bay.”

Pitsch Leiser

working so closely with the late Puti Lancaster on five works over the years. “The Contours of Heaven,” a powerful solo performance by Ana Chaya Scotney, then a young graduate actor from Toi Whakaari, that explored themes of identity, culture, and belonging through the stories of six local youth. The show was commissioned by us for our festival and went on to win four awards at the Auckland Fringe Festival and as a result was picked up for performances at the Soho Theatre in New York, where it received critical acclaim and touched many audience members deeply.

It was particularly meaningful for Pitsch to see such a profound and original work retelling the stories of six local rangatahi from Hastings, highlighting the talent and creativity present in Hawke’s Bay, performing in New York and absolutely worthy of a world stage.” It affirmed that we were not just bringing in talent but also fostering it right here at home.”

The sense of community the festival fostered was another highlight for Pitsch. Seeing diverse groups of people come together, share experiences, and celebrate the arts was profoundly rewarding. The festival’s ability to create shared moments and memories for the community was a constant source of joy for Pitsch.

“The Spiegeltent itself became a symbol of the festival’s magic,” Pitsch says. “Watching it come to life each year was a moment filled with anticipation and excitement.”

“In terms of shows, it’s impossible to even make a short list of my favourites, we had so many extraordinary moments. I think, at the end of the day, my greatest thrills came from standing outside the Spiegeltent, or the Opera

House, or in fact any venue, and seeing the looks on the faces as people poured out after a show. Awe. Wonder. Confusion. Absolute joy. Seeing those faces, hearing their comments … the best reward for me!”

Integral to the festival’s success was the team that Pitsch built around him. The remarkable partnership with Andy Heast and the dedicated group of individuals who worked tirelessly to bring the festival to life each year.

“Andy was way more than my righthand man,” Pitsch reminisces. “His passion and commitment were invaluable. We built a team that was not just professional but also deeply connected to the festival’s mission and to each other. It was a family, and that camaraderie made the hard work so rewarding for us all.”

The team’s dedication and shared vision were critical to overcoming the challenges that came with organizing the festival. “We not only survived through Covid, we were the only region that managed to have two festivals during all the lockdowns and restrictions. And then, last year, navigating how best to go ahead following the cyclone. The collaborative spirit and support within the team created an environment where creativity and innovation could thrive.

“Every member of the team brought something unique to the table,” Pitsch says. “Their energy and enthusiasm were contagious. Together, we navigated obstacles and celebrated successes, always with the goal of delivering an unforgettable experience for our audience.

Your thoughts on the state of the Arts scene in Hawke’s Bay?

Pitsch expresses both optimism and concern. While there is a rich tapestry of artistic talent and a strong community,

interest in the arts, challenges remain.

“Hawke’s Bay has an incredible pool of talent,” he notes. “The community’s passion for the arts is evident in the support we’ve seen for the festival and other events. However, there are still hurdles to overcome, especially in securing consistent funding and maintaining adequate venues.”

The reopening of the Opera House and development of the Toitoi complex has been a significant boost for the arts in the region, providing a high-quality venue for a wide range of performances. Pitsch is hopeful that this will help elevate the local arts scene even further.

However, Pitsch emphasizes the importance of continued support from both the community and funding bodies to sustain and grow the arts scene. He believes that collaborative efforts between artists, local government, and patrons are crucial for the future.

“It’s essential that we keep pushing for more investment in the arts,” Pitsch stresses. “Collaboration and community involvement are key. We need to ensure that the arts remain a vibrant and integral part of Hawke’s Bay’s identity.”

Pitsch’s dedication to the arts is unwavering, and his vision for a thriving, inclusive arts community in Hawke’s Bay remains a guiding light.

“I may be stepping back from the festival, but my passion for the arts and my belief in their power to transform lives will never fade,” Pitsch says with conviction. “Hawke’s Bay has a bright future, and I’m excited to see where the arts will take us next.”

“Of course it’s a bittersweet time for me, but I am so immensely proud of what we have created.”

I ask “And for you, Pitsch, what’s next?” All I get is a wink and “Watch this space!”

RIGHT: The 2015 Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival team

Pulling levers, pushing buttons and making machines work - kids and adults alike love the fascinating Faraday experience. A biplane hanging from the ceiling Old school arcade games you can play Plus loads more! A Tesla Coil that lights up the atmosphere Booths with old working phones A vintage car that you can sit inside

Story by Rosheen FitzGerald

Photos by Florence Charvin

GARETH & LOUISE WARD, NOW COAUTHORS

Bookshops, like the environment and civil discourse, are under threat.

Unable to compete with the prices and range of the proliferation of online booksellers, the slow death of the high street sounds a knell for many. Yet, in the digital age, there is something wonderful about the tactile experience of rifling through pages, of walking into a bricks and mortar shop.

Louise and Gareth Ward banked on this magic when they took a gamble on Havelock North’s then failing Janeff Books and transformed it into a hub of community; a thriving, much beloved celebration of the written word.

“It seemed like a silly idea not to, although everybody said it was a silly idea to do it,” remembers Gareth, “even the owner said ‘Don’t buy it, it’s a dog,’ but we turned it around.” So naturally, when they decided to write a book together they took the shop as their setting.

They met in their native England at central police training. On the job experiences inspired the book’s plot, and their characters. “They say write what you know. We know about running a bookshop and being coppers,” Gareth remarks.

After they’d served a stint on the force, and had two kids, they came to New Zealand, around 18 years ago. Louise’s brother lived here, and they loved their holidays so much they moved permanently – on the children’s condition that they brought their cats.

A family of animal lovers, they now have three shop dogs – Finian, Gus, and their own Stevie – a timid rescue who features in the book, and gets to keep his name. Business and character names were changed at the publisher’s request, though remain recognisable.

In the book, Garth and Eloise run Sherlock Tomes, a riff on their fictional last name. Keen to extol the virtues of their adopted home, Havelock North and

“Even the owner said ‘Don’t buy it, it’s a dog,’ but we turned it around.” So naturally, when they decided to write a book together they took the shop as their setting.

Hawke’s Bay stay the same. Though readers may think they recognise themselves in the pages, other than bookshop staff, characters are amalgams of the vast tapestry of people they have met in the course of their colourful careers.

Before the bookshop, Louise was using her English degree teaching, as an Intermediate vice-principal. Gareth was working in IT with a side hustle as a magician. At the now defunct Amaze ‘n’ Maize’s Corn Evil show, guests were chased through cornrows by a variety of creepy characters. With a penchant for magic and the macabre that can be seen in his writing, Gareth became the Great Wardini, a hypnotic character whose fear factor could be toned down for children’s parties.

It was a natural name for their new business, soon to be infused with magic – metamorphosed into the heart of the village. From the start they said yes to everything, becoming the go-to book launch shop, strengthening their relationship with publishers. Events were a loss leader. For Gareth, “It’s about the community. It pays dividends in the long run.”

They set about consciously creating community, with after-hours book clubs and pyjama storytime in the school holidays. Today they have a multitude of book clubs, including ones for sci-fi enthusiasts, young adults and teens. The annual Battle of the Book Clubs sees teams compete in a book-themed quiz, raising funds for youth cancer.

With a pair of comfy chairs and a children’s play corner, the shop is intentionally inviting – an oasis of calm in a busy world. The elderly are welcome to take a break there. It’s become a meeting place for kids and their parents. There’s no expectation to purchase; it’s not that kind of shop. The Wards are proud of the safe

ABOVE: Gareth and Louise Ward, owners of Wardini Books in Havelock North and Napier.

space they’ve created. “The people that come in end up being your friends, or it’s their sanctuary. That’s been the really nice part,” professes Louise.

The Wardini magic is propagated by their staff – diverse, warm and knowledgeable. A tightly knit crew united by their love of books, their personalities inform each shop’s atmosphere. Handwritten staff recommendations are one of Wardini’s endearingly unique features. Each staff member is encouraged to follow their passions, some spawning book clubs. Others are authors in their own right.

The Wards have resisted the temptation to franchise, both to retain what makes their shops special and to safeguard their staff in a shaky economy. “We take that responsibility very seriously,” says Louise. “We love our staff. They’re brilliant. We want to look after them.”

“Opening the second shop nearly killed me,” recalls Gareth. Its launch coincided with his first book taking off. The Traitor and the Thief won the Tessa Duder Award, catapulting him into a whirlwind of promotion that included

by a pair of Rise of the Remarkables novels cemented his place as a young adult author.

He branched into the adult market in his third series. Featuring Tarquin the Honest, it delved into the world of Dungeons and Dragons – an immersive role-playing tabletop game. In real life, Gareth is a Dungeon Master – leading thrill-seekers on a fantasy quest, recorded for their podcast Kiwis and Dragons. They’ve made it into a live theatre show, and held D&D themed launches for the Tarquin books.

Louise, too, is no stranger to the stage. An accomplished fiddle player, she performs with Celtic session band, McRag, as well as with Ish – traditional fusion acoustic music made for dancing. They’ve played to acclaim at a range of Hawke’s Bay venues and festivals, and have plans to tour.

Louise also reviews books. The Wonderful World of Wardini Books airs weekly on Radio Hawke’s Bay, and she’s a regular guest on RNZ. Her written reviews are legion.

With such a wealth of literary activity behind them, a co-authored book was

plotted the narrative arc, then each wrote alternate chapters in their corresponding character’s voice. “We’d just bitch about each other in our chapter then send it back. It was really cathartic, surprisingly fun,” Gareth laughs.

Good natured comedic banter frames a tale of murder, intrigue and literary clues, populated by the kind of community Wardini Books fosters. This, their passion, shines through the prose. The novel is an anthem for the potential of independent booksellers, for what will be lost should it all migrate online. “They’re not just somewhere that sells books,” asserts Gareth. “It’s part of your socialisation,” agrees Louise, “If it all goes out to shopping malls that doesn’t happen.”

Wardini’s will continue their mission of bringing people together over books with a mystery themed book launch for Dead Girl Gone – the first of at least two in The Bookshop Detectives series. “There won’t be any murders at the party,” assures Gareth, although they do need material for their next book.

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl

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Choose from our extensive fabric selection to create perfectly curated cushions & stylish squabs for your home.

SPICE AND WINE: CATHERINE ROBERTSON

Catherine Robertson always worked with words, on the periphery of literature. When the dotcom crash saw

her with time on her hands in her California home, she took up her pen in earnest, honing her craft.

In the two decades since, she’s moved home and published seven novels – each one a New Zealand number one. Her award-winning books have been translated into German, Italian and French.

Centred around friends and communities, her first two series contained laughter and love, but in her latest she dives head first into the rom-com genre. “Romance is so huge right now. When the world’s a dumpster fire everybody wants light, entertaining, hopeful, kind, escapist work,” she muses.

Capital R romance rules dictate a couple at the centre of the plot and a happy ending, but within these constraints Robertson is free to play. She dives into the psychology of her characters, knowing them so well, she says, they practically write themselves.

Living on the edge of a vineyard, she was inspired by the world of wine. The Flora Valley series is set in California’s wine country, close to her old home, featuring a variety of characters from vintners to coopers, discovering love amongst the vines.

Punny titles hint at the comedy within, and the ‘enemies to lovers’ plotlines. Corkscrew You and You’re So Vine are released in tandem on 4 July, with Kiss My Glass to follow. A four chilli spice rating and Robertson’s warm writing style bring much needed heat to a winter read.

Nimble thinking nursing

At Royston Hospital, we couldn’t be prouder of our exceptionally talented team – and the backbone of that team is our wonderful nurses.

Like us, they are committed to continuing excellence in the health and wellbeing of the people in our care. That’s why we’d like to introduce you to Rochelle “Rocky” Holder, the operating-theatre coordinator at Royston Hospital, who shares how she balances her nursing duties in such a high-pressure environment.

royston.co.nz

Evolution Helathcare

“Thinking outside the box is a massive part of my role as Theatre Coordinator – operating schedules and patient conditions don’t always go to plan, so it’s up to me to adapt and accommodate things to ensure patients get their surgery when they need it.”

Rochelle Holder Royston Hospital Nurse

Life Wellbeing / Janine Couchman

Women need muscle

In the realm of fitness, stereotypes often shape our perceptions.

Think of a meditative yoga class, a serene Pilates session, or an energetic cardio-based fitness class, and you’re likely picturing a predominantly female group. On the other hand, envision the weights section of a gym, and the mental image tends to skew toward a male-dominated space.

While these are generalisations, they reflect an historic trend: women have often gravitated towards cardio and bodyweight exercise options while shying away from strength training. This reluctance, particularly among women over 40, is rooted in societal conditioning that for generations has equated thinness with health. However, this mindset comes at a significant cost to our long-term wellbeing. As we age, especially during our perimenopause years (the decade or so before menopause), prioritising strength training becomes not just beneficial but essential.

Why do we need to change our approach?

As women approach perimenopause, hormonal fluctuations introduce a host of physiological changes that impact metabolism, muscle synthesis and fat distribution. Declining estrogen and progesterone levels slow metabolism, increase insulin resistance, and elevate inflammation, making weight management more challenging.

Furthermore, these hormonal shifts can lead to elevated cortisol which predisposes women to store fat, especially around the abdomen, exacerbating the risk of metabolic disorders, and often making us feel confused and frustrated about our changing bodies.

Strength training builds resilience and vitality

This is where strength training comes

in. Because the most critical part of this change – the catalyst to this whole potential midlife chaos – is muscle loss. After the age of 30, women experience a gradual decline in muscle mass, averaging between 3-8% per decade, but this decline accelerates during perimenopause.

Muscle drives our metabolism, meaning it determines how many calories we burn at rest. Unlike cardio exercises, which primarily burn calories during the activity, strength training stimulates muscle growth so we can burn calories constantly. This boost to our metabolism enhances fat loss and improves overall body composition.

Muscle is the currency of ageing well. The 70 or 80 year old women who looks and feels at least a decade younger doesn’t achieve this by being thin. She does this by building muscle. And odds are that she is able to live her life with greater energy and functionality than many people younger than her.

Osteoporosis poses a significant risk for women post-menopause, with declining estrogen levels accelerating bone loss alongside muscle loss. Around 40% of women will have an osteoporatic fracture post-menopause. Hip fractures are associated with a 15-20% increased mortality rate. Incorporating weight-bearing exercises into your fitness regime increases bone density, reducing this risk of fractures and promoting skeletal strength.

Your brain gets a boost too! There is a growing body of evidence showing that strength training has profound effects on cognitive health, including enhanced cognitive function (reduced brain-fog!), memory retention and overall brain health, offering protection against age-related cognitive decline.

Perhaps most notably for many women, strength training boosts confidence and fosters a positive body image. By challenging societal norms and rebuking smallness as the primary

goal of exercise, women who intentionally grow their muscle cultivate a sense of empowerment and self-assurance that has to be experienced rather than described.

What can I do now?

• Embrace strength training: This is a must! If you aren’t doing this already start today. No matter what age you are – it is never too late to improve and no matter what your limitations are, there is something you can do.

For beginners, bodyweight exercises such as push ups, squats, lunges and hovers in your living room can be a great place to start. Stand up out of a chair without using your hands. If this is easy, try it on one leg. Mastering functional bodyweight movements can be a great start before moving on to lifting heavier weights.

• Prioritize nutrition and eat enough: Nourish your body with adequate protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates to support muscle growth and recovery. Focus on getting good nutrition before and after workouts to optimise performance and recovery. Ditch dieting for good. Restricting food will slow your metabolism further, increase stress, kill your energy and make building that precious muscle impossible.

• Manage stress and inflammation: Implement stress management techniques, such as meditation, yoga or deep breathing exercises, to reduce cortisol levels and mitigate inflammation. Prioritise quality sleep to support muscle repair and recovery. With the right approach you really can build muscle while you sleep!

• Reframe your mindset: This one is huge! By this stage of life many women feel like they have ‘tried it all’, and deep down don’t see themselves

Muscle is the currency of ageing well. The 70 or 80 year old women who looks and feels at least a decade younger doesn’t achieve this by being thin. She does this by building muscle.

as someone who is able to master their health and fitness. It is time to challenge any limiting beliefs you have about your body and your ability, and recognise that there is a pathway to vitality for you. This can be deep work. Having the right people around you is crucial. Seek out a supportive community that celebrates strength and inspires you.

• Seek professional guidance: It can be so helpful to consult with a qualified professional who specialises in the unique needs of women at different life stages.

When it comes to information on health and exercise there is a lot of advice based on research done using male data, as women are often

excluded from studies due to our beautifully complex and fluctuating hormones. Hence, the available research does not always translate to the best advice for women. Gender differences in response to fasting is just one great example of this, but there are many others. Seek advice from people who are invested in staying informed about the latest research and best practices for women.

Time for a new narrative

As women, our journey through life’s different stages is multifaceted and unique, encompassing physical, mental and emotional dimensions. By understanding the changes occurring in our bodies as we age, embracing the transformative power of strength training, and taking proactive steps to prioritize our health and well-being, we can navigate every life stage with vitality, resilience and unwavering confidence. Women are strong. We have been doing hard things throughout the entire course of history. We don’t need to settle for outdated ideas connecting ageing with weakness. We don’t need to settle for incomplete information based on a

male-dominated research landscape. Let’s redefine the narrative of ageing as the opportunity it is. Each decade we are here gives us the gift of becoming more fully ourselves. Let’s use this gift to empower ourselves and each other to embrace our inherent strength, celebrating every milestone along the way.

Janine Couchman is a personal trainer and fitness coach specialising in strength training women of all ages and stages. As well as private coaching, she delivers an eight week group programme at Peak Fitness and Health. She can be found at janinecouchman.com and @JaninecouchmanPT

Royston Hospital is pleased to sponsor robust examination of health issues in Hawke’s Bay. This reporting is prepared by BayBuzz. Any editorial views expressed are those of the BayBuzz team.

Janine Couchman. Photo: Florence Charvin

Life Food / Ian Thomas

No definitive magic formula for flavour

The straightforward question: “What do you think of when tasting food or developing a dish?” is actually pretty complex. So complex that the answers I received were long, intricate, and enmeshed with the cook’s own existential story. In search of clarity, my questioning has opened a box of further questions and intrigue.

My hope of discovering some mathematical formula whereby the zenith of taste and flavour combinations is (u+v) - w(2yx) where u,v,w,x and y are salt, umami, a pinch of paprika, zest of a lime have been dashed. I was naive. There is no definite formula.

What is apparent is that salt is actually many salts and umami is even more umamis. Sweet, bitter and sour clearly come in a plethora of possibilities as well and the combinations are endless. Literally.

The goal to find that harmonious combination is only one side of this dodecahedron-shaped story.

I asked three cooking professionals (myself included – I told you this was existential) the same question. Like a chef de cuisine seasoning the soup de jour, I’ve combined what they said and extrapolated on the best bits.

Kent Baddeley, chef, artist, revolutionary, provocateur, and friend, has been a cooking professional for about fifty years. His back-catalogue is vast and has won him many awards. He now cooks for private functions.

“In terms of the dish. It depends on the objective, so it’s too hard to answer. For example, sometimes flavours are to complement, as much as sometimes they are expected to jar! Taste, in my opinion, refers to my brain’s data handling and it’s unique to me. It’s a part of my DNA.”

Kent tells me, “The one objective of each dish is to delight. But a principle remains: I want to show the hero of the dish in its best clothes on a night out,

and its accompanying friends are there to support and nourish it.”

Mike Moloney, caterer, charcoal king, champion of good produce, (and friend!) is the brains and the passion behind Silence of The Lambs Catering, specialising in spit roasting over lump charcoal.

“The charcoal, rubs, and dressings impart a flavour that should enhance rather than over-power the meat. Honest – sometimes simple and sometimes complex – flavours, which are clearly discernible, are at the essence of what we do.”

Flavour then needs to be honest, and it’s innate and unique to us. We need to trust our palate and not be thrown by what other people say tastes good or by flavour enhancers that get in the way and disrupt our intuitive knowledge of what we like, want and need.

I’ve been catering for seventeen years and prior to that I’ve been involved in the food industry and farming food for forty years. Taste and flavour to me is about balance, whether a seamless mesh or an opposing balance like raw fish and wasabi, salt and vinegar crisps, apricot chicken, lemon sorbet. Some folks might like a cheesy bechamel on their pad thai!

It is quite literally a matter of individual taste. We all have a unique perspective. In the same way that you and I may agree that a fence is painted green we have no way of establishing that we see that green in the same way. Likewise a sour drink, or a sweet dessert, or a salty bacon rasher will be perceived by each of us in slightly different ways. Coriander is an excellent example, for some it makes the dish, for others it ruins it.

The third element in the mix is texture. I love peanuts. I do not enjoy peanut butter. Same ingredients, but the texture impacts the mouth-feel and flavour. Texture plays a big part in our enjoyment of flavour. Our mouths are

A sour drink, or a sweet dessert, or a salty bacon rasher will be perceived by each of us in slightly different ways. Coriander is an excellent example, for some it makes the dish, for others it ruins it.

curious and our eyes are superficial –we like looking at pretty, or interesting or intriguing food and then we want it to entertain our taste buds ... we like variety and surprise. So those elements are at play before we even scoff the banoffee. If it looks yum and the texture is unctuous then we’re into it even before it hits our tongue.

The problem with lots of food that’s easy to eat and bad for us, is that it’s got crunch and it looks attractive. The flavour is faked so it’s tricking our brains. And we’re dumbing down that inherent knowledge humans have for knowing if something is nutritious and safe to eat.

As I said, there’s no secret magic formula for flavour. Kent says he must have made 100,000 unique dishes in 50 years, and that’s because there are untold combinations of a whole world of ingredients and no one is the same as the next. The staples we all lean on – salt, citrus, spice – bring out the best in other ingredients, they are our helpmates when it comes to cooking.

But the best way to find out the flavours you – personally and individually – love is to try a lot of them and to not be swayed by the so-called experts among us.

Ian Thomas is a caterer and formerly free range egg farmer, cooking demonstrator, and manager of a commercial food production business. He specialises in cooking paella. paellaagogo.com

Photo: Florence Charvin

Peter Robertson & Paul Mooney

A CENTURY OF WINE EXPERIENCE

Life Wine / Yvonne Lorkin

“We’re in here Paul!” Peter Robertson bellows. The cellar door at Brookfields squeaks open and someone scuffles around outside while Peter and I chat beside the spitting fireplace in the room next door.

Paul Mooney, senior winemaker at Mission Estate has just journeyed across from Taradale, post-lunch with Oz Clark, one of the world’s most famous wine writers.

Peter (72) bought Brookfields in 1977, 47 years ago. And when I sat down with these two old mates, Paul (69) was about to launch into an historic 45th vintage for Mission Estate, New Zealand’s oldest winery. Together they’ve racked up close to a century in wine experience.

“We actually had the same mentor,” blurts Paul. Peter looks at him quizzically, “My old boss, Brother John!” Paul reminds him. The penny drops, Peter nods, “Ahh true!”

Brother John Cuttance (he died in 2021 at the age of 95) was a handsome ex-pharmacist working at the Mission in 1954 under their winemaker Brother Basil. It was the beginning of a long, largely unsung but unspeakably influential career in winemaking. Together with the late Brother Joe Lamb he studied viticulture and winemaking in France and brought new ideas and techniques, one of which, the méthode traditionelle, resulted in New Zealand’s first champagne-type wine.

Named Fontanella (Italian for ‘Little Fountain’), it was made from pinot meunier that grew in what’s now the

‘concert paddock’. “He had to build the gear to make it himself because there was no equipment, which was amazing really,” reminisced Paul. “You couldn’t just go down the shops and buy sparkling wine machinery. Fontanella was a pretty good wine and it was allocated to just two bottles per person, so it was the height of cool and sophistication to own. And it sold for four bucks!” Paul laughs. “Back in the 1960s four bucks was probably the equivalent of fifty or eighty bucks today!” (Reader, actually $99). “Brother John also had all the winemaking textbooks of the time and I’ve still got them,” shrugs Paul. “Huge tomes they were. I was incredibly lucky to have all those resources available to me way back then.”

Paul met Cuttance in 1979 when he started winemaking at the Mission at the age of 24. Born and raised in Alexandra, he graduated from Otago Uni and worked for a year as a DSIR ionosonde technician on Campbell Island in the sub-Antarctic. “I was allowed to take two dozen bottles of wine to the island, so I took a case each of cabernet from McWilliam’s and Nobilo. I’ve always really liked wine, even as a kid,” muses Paul. “My father was mates with Paul Hitchcock, who ran the wine research station at Te Kauwhata and I remember visiting there with Dad.”

Paul went from electrophysics in the sub-Antarctic to a short stint as an oil and gas engineer before hearing about a winemaking job in Hawke’s Bay. “I thought, shit that’d be cool! My brother in law, Ian Clark was the manager at Mission so there was a bit of nepotism happening,” Paul laughs. “Winemaking was way more fun than geophysics,” he laughs. “As soon as I stepped into that

Winemakers Peter Robertson (left) and Paul Mooney reminisce. Photos: Florence Charvin

winery I fell in love. Working in the cellar captivated me and I immediately clicked with the brothers. They were huge, salt-of-the-earth characters.”

Born into a family of West Otago racehorse trainers, Peter also came to Hawke’s Bay after studying sciences at Otago. “I’d been keen on wine since discovering it at university, and I used a connection with the Barker family in Geraldine to get a holiday job at their fruit wine company before heading to Lincoln to do post-grad wine training.” That’s where Peter met the now-renowned wine consultant Danny Schuster, spending a year making wine with him and flatting in the same house as the famous Wizard of Christchurch. Australia and South Africa beckoned and Peter found himself stopping in Hawke’s Bay mid-transit. “I needed money to travel overseas and someone told me to phone this man called Mr McDonald for a job. We argued on the phone because he wanted me to start immediately, whereas I wanted some time to have a look around.” ‘Look around’ is dude-code for ‘find pubs and meet girls’. “So anyway the next day I began working at McWilliams under the legendary Tom McDonald,” Peter laughs. It was McDonald who told Peter that Brookfields was for sale. Word around the traps is that he was a tough taskmaster and Peter doesn’t disagree. “But he was extremely fair. Nineteen, twenty stone, a hard man with massive wrists and very physically imposing. But he was very good to me and I learned an enormous amount from

him. At the end of vintage he’d say “Peter! There’s a box at the door for you, grab it on the way out.” And it’d be wines from the cellar that were absolute treasures. And equally he was amazingly generous with his own wines that you’d never get to taste otherwise. After Tom retired I’d go see him on a Sunday morning and we’d knock off a bottle of Burgundy,” he chuckles.

Speaking of knocking things off, winery health and safety back in those days wasn’t really a thing as Peter found out when he fell 14ft onto concrete. “I was up a ladder on a 40,000 gallon tank with no safety chain. Somebody yelled “Smoko!” and in the excitement the ladder got kicked out and smash! I woke up in hospital the next day”. Legislative compliance might be a grind, but it’s essential. “It’s so different from the old days,” shrugs Paul, “I mean if there was a problem with an electrical fitting I’d just fix it myself, but if you did that now you’d be toast.”

For young men in their twenties, making wine in the 70s was clearly a heck of a time. “The atmosphere at Mission was classic,” grins Paul. “The brothers were hilarious,” laughs Peter. “I never actually worked at Mission but I spent a LOT of time there. When I bought Brookfields in 1977, my first customers were actually a car-load of brothers! John, Joe, Mark and James.”

“Back then all us winegrowers made up a good fraternity,” added Peter. “Without the support of the local winemaking community I mightn’t have made it”. And that Hawke’s Bay community consisted of Mission, Brookfields, Glenvale, Te Mata, Eskdale Winegrowers, McWilliams and Vidal’s, nothing compared to the 26 cellar doors we have in 2024.”

Theoretically Brookfields vineyards has been operating since 1937, but Peter reckons it was probably long before that. Regardless, it’s Hawke’s Bay’s oldest ‘boutique’ winery and Paul was a happy regular. “Pete held these tastings and local winemakers would each bring along a bottle in a paper bag for everyone to taste. There were about ten of us. Kim Salonius, a couple of guys from McWilliams, Alwyn Corbyn from Ngatarawa and Evan Ward from Morton. We used to have a great time,” says Paul.

The famous Brookfields blind tastings still happen every week, making it one of the oldest continual wine tasting groups in the country. “They sort of grew from Tom McDonald’s Thursday tastings,” adds Peter. They were also an excellent

way for winemakers to expand their tastes and avoid getting a ‘cellar palate’.

“And speaking of cellars, wine tech today is so different,” muses Paul. “Back then we needed about seven or eight people to make the wine because the gear was so primitive.” “God wasn’t it!” agrees Peter. “Now you can do three or four times the volume with only three or four people.” Crossflow filtration came along which absolutely improved the wine and definitely the types of presses has improved dramatically,” adds Paul. “The crushing and pressing gear back in our early days were pretty rough. Yet the biggest change was when we were able to start buying new French oak barrels,” he adds. “Before that, all our wines were made in these ancient foudres and our cabernet was matured in old whisky or brandy barrels which weren’t great for making wine. We got our first new barrel in 1981 I think.” “And from memory the initial barrels came from France unassembled,” added Peter. “Which was a bit tricky.”

Back then the grapes in the ground were also very different and very average. But the government vine-pull scheme of 1986 allowed growers like Peter to get rid of their Muller Thurgau, Chasselas, Folle Blanc and inferior hybrid stuff and replace them with classics like pinot gris.

You wouldn’t know it now, but one grape that was really hard to source 40 years ago was chardonnay. “Hardly anyone was growing it,” shrugs Paul. “We’d get a tonne or two off Chris Pask’s block at Korokipo, but that was it. Chardonnay’s amazing because you can grow it anywhere and on heavier soils where you don’t need irrigation, chardonnay just thrives,” he adds.

“Drip irrigation was an Israeli innovation introduced to Hawke’s Bay in the early 80s which finally made growing grapes out in the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa Triangle possible,” adds Paul. “Really?” I ask. “Yep, I’m pretty sure it was developed in Israel. But you should probably check that.” “No. I’m not going to check it,” I say. Peter laughs, “I wouldn’t either, who cares, it’s a good story.”

Like the story of Chris Pask buying 40ha in the Gimblett Gravels in 1981 and planting Bordeaux-style reds which, when they were released in ’85 and ’86, took the wine show scene by storm and spotlit Hawke’s Bay. “There were other pioneers growing grapes out there like John Kenderdine, David Irving, Gavin Yortt and Alan Limmer.

“Back then all us winegrowers made up a good fraternity. Without the support of the local winemaking community I mightn’t have made it.”

Peter Robertson

But when Chris started producing reds from the Gravels they were transformative,” says Paul. “We were trying to grow cabernet in Taradale and Meeanee but the soils were so heavy and the vines so vigorous, that the wines came out light, weak and green in comparison. Chris’s wines from the gravels tasted so good and I was so jealous!” he laughs.

“The other major development was finally being able to improve the clonal selection of our plantings,” adds Peter. “For decades we had plant material which didn’t suit our sites. Now there’s an amazing array and you can pick and choose anything you want.”

Paul agrees. “Shit it made a massive difference when we were able to move from our old merlot clones to the new ones. We called those old clones ‘Balloons’. “That’s right!” laughs Peter.

“The berries were SO huge! When I went to Bordeaux and saw their merlot, I couldn’t believe the berries were so tiny! And we had these bloody huge Muscat Hamburgs that’d been called ‘merlot’ and it was just ridiculous.”

And of course, EIT becoming a major wine science training provider was a major plus for Hawke’s Bay wine and the collective expertise without question,” adds Peter.

Do they still buzz about making wine? “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t still get a rush with every vintage,” shrugs Peter. “The wonderful thing about working in a winery is every day’s different and I never feel down about going to work. I wake up excited about what the day will bring and that’s a blessing. I mean I could’ve been a horse trainer or a high school teacher instead, but I have no regrets and I’d do the same again.”

“Yep, totally,” agrees Paul. “If I hadn’t gone into wine, I could’ve continued studying physics or kept working as a technician. Wouldn’t go back to Campbell Island though, hell no! But it was an amazing place. Wildlife like albatross, petrels, penguins, seals and elephant seals.”

Peter’s eyes light up “They’re marvelous!” “They’re big boys eh,” says

Paul. “Oh heck yes,” agrees Peter. “Ever come across one?” Paul asks. “I used to go down to Paterson inlet on Ulva Island” says Peter. “Once we were out on these 26 ft boats and found ourselves in the middle of a school of them. If one had come up under the boat, it would have easily tipped us. They were enormous!”

This prompts Paul to get up and demonstrate, using tables and chairs, just how large the creatures are. “We used to tease them. You’d see a 2-3 tonne bull on the beach, and you’d make them chase after you and they’d look really funny. You’d always outrun them, but shit if one caught you, you’d be history.” Peter agrees. “There was once a sea lion that I thought I’d outrun, but I turned around and it was right behind me! He’d accelerated. They’re quite devious.”

And that’s where I leave them, just two legends of Hawke’s Bay wine talking about teasing seals.

Yvonne Lorkin is a wine writer, the Co-Founder and CTO of WineFriend (NZ’s No.1 personalised wine subscription service) and she’s a proud, born and bred Hawkesbaylien. winefriend.co.nz or yvonnelorkin.com

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Celebrating Skin Confidence!

Caci have been on a mission to help New Zealander’s feel great in the skin they’re in for over 30 years specialising in advanced skin treatments, laser and injectables. We’re lucky to have three local clinics in the Hawkes Bay. We sat down with Penny Chapman, the brand new owner of Caci Hastings, Havelock North and Napier!

Tell us all about being a Caci clinic owner. I started with Caci as the National Sales Manager in 2009 when we first introduced memberships. It was a very exciting time, as Caci was changing the way you have treatments and helping people to improve their appearance so they would look and feel more confident. I was so passionate about seeing our customer’s results I knew I wanted to own my own clinic. I opened Caci New Plymouth in 2011 and purchased Caci Taupo in 2016, before returning to Support Office in 2018 to work in a number of roles, most recently as the General Manager of Caci NZ.

“I am very proud to be the owner of Caci Hastings, Havelock North and Napier. The team and I are excited to be delivering skin confidence to all our customers.”

What can locals expect when visiting Caci? At Caci we’re all about the results that we deliver and in particular, the experience that you will have. When you visit you’ll walk away with the info about what is right for you, and to feel welcome in an environment that feels comfortable and safe. You might be having laser hair removal, skin or injectable treatments. We make it easy for you to have your regular treatments and love the results too!

We all have things we would like to work on with our appearance and helping customers achieve those results, is the reason I choose to own Caci clinics and strive towards that every day.

Give us your top tips for taking care of your skin?

• Having a skincare regime daily and revisiting the products you use. What you used 5 years ago, might not suit you anymore. Talk to an expert about what would be right for you.

• Wearing an SPF every day!

• Get your skin checked! We love skin and we’ll take care of it with you, but we’ll also tell you when we see something that might need looking at. Checking these spots out early, does make all the difference.

• Definitely visit an expert team! Treatments in clinic, deliver results that skincare cannot. If its simply to have brighter skin for a special event. Or to reduce redness or pigmentation, or maybe those little lines between your brows – talk to us about your options and see what results you might achieve. It will be worth it!

Every consultation, treatment enjoyed or skincare purchased at Caci in the Hawkes Bay between July 10 - August 8 puts you in the draw.*

Join in on celebrating 30 years of Caci and New Ownership of Caci Hastings, Havelock North and Napier! Winners will be drawn weekly, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Do you have great work stories? The best part of working at Caci is the people. For me, it is working so closely with a wonderful team of women who are trained to deliver results through safe treatments proven to work. It is also about customers and making them feel welcome. At Caci we don’t judge.

The motto at Caci is all about feeling confident in your skin. What does skin confidence mean to you?

We can be judged for looking after our skin and we can be judged for not looking after our skin. For me skin confidence is healthy skin. Skin that looks good with or without makeup.

caci.co.nz

Penny Chapman

Life Mouthy Broad / Jess Soutar Barron

Jetset! Wanna bet?

I am over these mountains of wet winter washing. And I can’t stand, for a minute more, the freezing cold of the driftwood shack in which I live. I’m off to Europe for the summer. I’m in the mood to coddiwomple.

Half of Havelock, most of the Hill and the best bits of Haumoana have cleared out already. The Kellys are in Spain. Flo and her toy boy have gone to France. Dave’s back in Bali. Skipping off to finer climes is just the ticket. Footloose and fancy free, an exodus across the equator, with no worries to hold you back. The sticker slapped across my pack reads, “It’s the journey not the destination”.

All I need to do before heading out is sling a few necessaries in my ole’ kit bag, check my pockets for cell phone and money card, and activate my outof-office, automatic email reply. For that, I quote Emerson, telling my colleagues I have gone to “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”

It’s not quite that easy.

The menagerie can’t be left without a caretaker – five chickens and two guinea pigs won’t feed themselves – so I solicit the services of a sitter. I now need to set aside a fat week to spring-clean, change the beds, tackle the fridge, and write an instruction manual for the dishwasher, airfryer, coffee-machine, heat-pump, TV. Of course, before the sitter settles in I must have a meet-and-greet. And non-negotiable is a how-to folder of each pet’s needs, with a trouble-shooting decision-making flowchart in case things go pear-shaped.

Which reminds me, I need travel insurance.

And I must work out how to get that cell phone and that money card to work overseas. I’m told too that if I’m contemplating taking cash, I better sort it quick because only Westpac does foreign exchange nowadays.

My passport is current, so tick that off the list. I found out it was current when I sent it to the passport office

Packing light is important when it comes to itchy feet. It starts with the bag. My first pre-packing packing exercise brought my luggage in at 11kg … mainly because my bag weighed 4kg.

subtitles, language transference podcasts on the way to work, casual conversation intensives on a Friday.

with $260 and a new pic only to be asked “Why?” because it was still valid. A case of mis-placed over-organisation on my part. I also sent off the children’s documentation and pictures (and fees) because theirs actually were past the best-before dates. Nothing brings a bragging parent down quicker than having your child’s photograph returned because their “head is too big” or their eyes are “too closed”. So I factored in time to get validated (them), and validation (me).

Then there are visas and vaxes. Both are tests to ensure only people who can handle complex conundrums and bureaucratic rigmarole get to go abroad. I should’ve started this process ages ago because now I’ve left it so late I’m getting hives just thinking about it, trying to sort my ETA from my ESTA.

It’s hard to keep track so I’d better start a blog … and an Instagram solely focused on travel exploits. We’ve been through a substantial period of travel starvation where anyone who escaped needed to feed the vicarious hunger of those left behind by posting to socials. Now, we’re addicted. I have a duty to feed my po-co-fomo followers.

First, I’ll need some followers. I’ll start posting before I go to build up a solid fan base. Why visit anything unless there’s someone online rewarding me with a carefully considered emoticon?

And I must have a smattering of whatever lingua franca I’m heading towards. I’ll double-down on duolingo downloads before I execute my evacuation plan. Couple that with late-night sessions watching foreign films sans

I’ll probably need a phrase book. But not a heavy one because I’m intrepid and I can’t be hung about with excess baggage. I don’t think I can get away with an app on a phone because just as I’m stumbling through dov’e il bagno the wifi will go down and I’ll be stuck needing to go with no way to tell anyone.

Packing light is important when it comes to itchy feet. It starts with the bag. My first pre-packing packing exercise brought my luggage in at 11kg … mainly because my bag weighed 4kg. Finding the perfect bag takes time so I started the auditioning process early.

I’ve auditioned my travelling garb too. I’m not taking anything too heavy … no leather, no denim, no sequins. And to make the cut, every item will be versatile, and potentially reversible, and disposable so I can replace all of it with lovely schmutter from ‘overseas’.

The theory is five tops, four bottoms, three pairs of shoes, two dresses and a hat. But no matter how long my sojourn, I’m taking just enough for a week. I may have to spend an afternoon in a laundromat, but there’s nothing more intrepid than stripping to your smalls in a semi-public place.

National Geographic’s Golden Rule is: “take half of the clothes you were planning to bring and twice the money.”

Twice the money!? I need to travel back in time, stop spending, start saving. There’s so much prep ahead of being a carefree jetsetter it’s a wonder anyone gets to wanderlust! This is not a holiday, it’s a job.

Maybe I’ll put on a cardi instead and weather the weather. Maybe a winter staycation is just the ticket after all.

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