BBNOVDEC14_BayBuzz_LoRes

Issue No.20 • NOV/DEC 2014 • $8.00 Including GST

Little Punjab

Diversity in Hawke’s Bay Brain Drain: Where are our ‘best and brightest’?

9 772253 262016

06

Hastings CBD Needs Love Homes of Straw • Health Inequity Taste Tukituki • Cider Capital Cadmium • Green Amalgamation

“Tally ho, let’s get to The Emporium for a Long Island Iced Tea with our new friend Fernando from Dilmah!”

Gemco is proud to be the associate sponsor of the Tremains Art Deco Weekend 2015

Issue No.20 • NOV/DEC 2014

THIS MONTH Sikhs illustrate Hawke’s Bay diversity. Where have our ‘best and brightest’ students gone? Strawbale homeowners have passion. Is Hastings CBD a lost cause? Winners and losers in HB politics. Plus food & lifestyle, the arts, and Brendan’s humour.

FEATURES

20 LITTLE PUNJAB Mark Sweet

Meet Hawke’s Bay’s Sikh community.

30 CADMIUM CAUTION Bridget Freeman-Rock Dangerous heavy metal in our soil.

34 BRAIN DRAIN Jessica Soutar Barron

Where have our ‘best and brightest’ students gone?

44 HASTINGS’ BROKEN HEART NEEDS LOVE Keith Newman What will it take to mend the CBD?

54

POLITICAL BUZZ? Tom Belford Post-election, which causes and politicians come out ahead?

58 HOMES OF STRAW Bridget Freeman-Rock

Soft and solid … unique … with passionate owners.

Page 1 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Issue No.20 • NOV/DEC 2014

JESS SOUTAR BARRON Jess is a wordsmith and project manager whose past gigs have included time with Sky TV, Hastings District Council and Band, as well as three years as a communications managerwith the Metropolitan Police Service.

She also produces Fruit Bowl Craft Jam.

KEITH NEWMAN Keith is a journo with nearly 40-years’ experience across mainstream and trade media.

He’s won awards for writing about hi-tech, produces Musical Chairs programmes for Radio NZ and has published four books, one on the internet in New Zealand and three others on New Zealand history.

BEE in the KNOW

MARK SWEET Napier-born, Mark worked overseas in Hong Kong and Scotland, before returning to Hawke’s Bay, and establishing Pacifica restaurant.

Re-creating himself as a writer, Mark’s first novel Zhu Mao was published in 2011; an extract from his next novel, Of Good and Evil, has been short-listed for the Pikihuia Awards, will be published soon.

08 Oenophile returns. Hawke’s Bay Wellness Index. Dogged watchdog.

Bees. ‘Aggressive’ girls. CHB water treatment. Don’t plant trees!

New arrival. Clifton cricket. Women’s Refuge. Heap of winners.

Peak Trail Blazing. Nature porn. Online shopping. Events not to miss.

IDEAS & OPINIONS 82 OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT Lawrence Yule 84 HEALTH EQUITY Dr Kevin Snee

TOM BELFORD Tom’s past includes the Carter White House, building Ted Turner’s first philanthropic organization, doing heaps of marketing consulting for major nonprofits and corporates.

Tom publishes BayBuzz, writes an acclaimed blog for professional NGO fundraisers and communicators in North America and Europe, and is a HB Regional Councillor.

86 TOMORROW’S FARMS TODAY Dr Alison Dewes 90 AN EDUCATION PATHWAY THAT WORKS Claire Hague 94 IS AMALGAMATION GREEN? Tom Belford CULTURE & LIFESTYLE 68 ARTS Jessica Soutar Barron Needed: inspirational vision. Christmas craft shopping. Winning WOW. Book reviews. Writing awards. Maraekakaho Station. Knowledge Bank.

MANDY JENSEN Mandy Jensen manages advertising and store sales for BayBuzz. She’s worked in print media in the Bay for 20 years or so (Wow!). In her leisure you can spot Mandy walking or cycling one of the numerous tracks throughout Hawke’s Bay or sipping hot chocolates in any number of cafes. 027 593 5575

Singing School. Hui Hui Ono opens. Kent Baddeley. EAST 2014. Nathanael Skelton.

76 TASTE TUKITUKI Prue Barton 80 ON THE ROAD: GUANXI … DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA Rex Graham 88 A TOAST TO CIDER Paul Paynter 92 SAVOURING THE SHIELD Damon Harvey 96 THE DOLTUS DECLARATION Brendan Webb BayBuzz articles are archived 30 days after publication at: WWW.BAYBUZZ.CO.NZ For editorial enquiries:editors@baybuzz.co.nz For advertising enquiries:mandy@baybuzz.co.nz

ISSN 2253-2625 (PrINt) ISSN 2253-2633 (ONlINe)

THE BAYBUZZ TEAM EDITOR: Tom Belford. ASSISTANT EDITOR: Jessica Soutar Barron. SENIOR wRITERS: Bridget Freeman-Rock; Jessica Soutar Barron; Keith Newman; Mark Sweet; Tom Belford. cOluMNISTS: Brendan webb; claire Hague; Damon Harvey; David Trubridge; Paul Paynter; Phyllis Tichinin; Prue Barton; Roy Dunningham; Sarah cates. EDITOR’S RIgHT HAND: Brooks Belford.

PHOTOgRAPHy: Tim whittaker; Sarah cates. IlluSTRATION: Brett Monteith. cREATIvE, DESIgN & PRODucTION: Empire Design; coast & co.

ADvERTISINg SAlES & DISTRIBuTION: Mandy Jensen. ONlINE: Mogul. BuSINESS MANAgER: Bernadette Magee. PRINTINg: Format Print.

Page 2 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

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

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FROM THE EDITOR TOm BElfOrd

Complacency I’d like to draw your attention to a particular article in this edition of BayBuzz – the column by Hawke’s Bay DHB chief executive Dr Kevin Snee, on page 84.

He summarises the findings of a newly completed DHB study titled Health Equity in Hawke’s Bay. The study is mischievously named, because what it describes are the appalling inequities in health amongst our local Maori and Pasifika populations as against the rest in our community.

You might already sense this inequality in general terms, but Health Equity bares the facts in disquieting detail. I leave it to Dr Snee to preview some of those details, and hope you will be concerned enough to read the entire report, available at www.hawkesbay.health.nz Dr Snee emphasizes that the underlying causes of this situation – poverty and inadequate education – require a multi-faceted response from the entire community, not just the health system. He concludes: “Inequities affect us all – this is not someone else’s problem. If we want to prosper in Hawke’s Bay then we all need to resolve to do something about this.”

Perhaps Health Equity will shake us out of complacency.

Complacency is a troubling state.

The Oxford dictionary defines it as “smug or uncritical satisfaction with the way things are and a feeling that no change or action is necessary”.

Complacency is not just smug satisfaction with one’s own situation.

In isolation, that sort of complacency might be relatively harmless to the outside world. But there’s a public dimension too.

Page 4 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

In Hawke’s Bay, it manifests in all sorts of situations – from the very serious, like our toleration of health inequity, or our willingness to accept shoddy work or domestic violence, to our mundane silent disappointment with poor service.

HB Today deputy editor, Mark Story, recently flogged himself for mutely accepting a lousy cup of coffee – “my flat white had all the attributes of water, just with less flavor and viscosity”.

He editorialized: “We accept our fare, whatever its shortcomings … It’s the Kiwi way – it’s holding us back.”

In the public domain, anyone in Hawke’s Bay who complains about the way things are does so at great risk. If you’re a female candidate, you’re too aggressive. If you’re pro-amalgamation, you’re too negative, tearing down our great region. If you challenge a grand proposal like the dam, you “should be ashamed of yourself”.

There’s a catch-all for all such challengers of the status quo, the party line, the prevailing wisdom: shit-stirrer.

So, if one is not going to be complacent, one first needs a thick skin.

And then – countering the charges of being negative – one needs to offer solutions or alternatives to that about which they complain.

Often that amounts to pushing a gigantic boulder up a steep hill. So persistence is also required.

The problem with the complacent is that they’re not entirely asleep. If they were in deep enough sleep, the shit-stirrers might win the day by stealth.

No, the complacent are just napping. And they easily awake with a start to protect themselves against the threat of change.

Interesting how the complacent can so quickly become the fiercely resistant.

“We accept our fare, whatever its shortcomings …

It’s the Kiwi way – it’s holding us back.”

MARK STORY There’s another aspect to complacency – acceptance, even worse, celebration of the ‘average’. We see it in our various prize-givings and awards competitions, where no one seems be left behind. I know you’ve been there!

Hawke’s Bay consumers, patients, ratepayers, parents, stakeholders, customers – whoever you are – shake off the complacency. Put up a fight … about something, anything, even this column!

Or is Mark Story right? We accept our fare, and it’s holding us back.

Maybe that TV ad has it right: We’ll settle for the Pineapple Lumps!

coloured background reverse version

white background version

Issue No.20 • NOV/DEC 2014

LETTERS We encourage readers to criticize, expand upon or applaud our articles as they see fit. All of our magazine articles are published online – www.baybuzz.co.nz – where you can always comment … at any length and as often as you like.

But we are also happy to publish a limited number of readers’ letters here.

You can email us at editors@baybuzz.co.nz or mail us at BayBuzz, PO Box 8322, Havelock North.

who owns us?

‘Who Owns Us’, in the last issue of BayBuzz, takes me back to my original arrival with my parents in Hawke’s Bay in 1959. On the day that year that I started at the very new Te Mata School in Havelock North, I met Mark Sweet, the writer of the article. Also in that class with Mark and me, and subsequently with us at Hereworth, was Sam Orton. Sam has made a substantial contribution to this region in food, tourism and education, and like Mark and me left the region in the 70s and returned in the 80s.

Three little 5-yr-olds are now three recently orphaned 61-yr-olds, but we are still here.

I came here because my father was transferred from Christchurch by his employer, Birds-Eye Foods, because that British-owned company had decided that Hastings was a better place than Christchurch to have a food processing factory. Back then, Taradale and Havelock North were the fastest growing areas of New Zealand.

Mark accurately outlines the present ownership of many of the biggest businesses in our region and points out that not so long ago these businesses were owned locally.

Also locally owned were three stock and station firms – Williams & Kettle, DePelichet McLeod, and Hawkes Bay Farmers.

Each owned substantial real estate in the middle of the towns and cities, and each were bankers and retailers in conjunction with their other functions. They each employed hundreds at all levels of the economic scale, although I remember that even the lowliest workers got well looked after by their employer. Now they have all gone, as has a large brewery; Morrisons, making mowers and bikes; and Whakatu, once the largest freezing works in the Southern Hemisphere.

And worst of all, most of them went for nothing, in some crazy corporate deals for which, years later, there do not seem to be any obvious beneficiaries.

We literally gave away the industrial and commercial might that we once had.

Businesses have to rationalise,

Page 6 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

shareholders should be free to trade their shares, financial priorities change. However, we once had it all in Hawke’s Bay and we shared a place on the economic ladder with Switzerland and California, whereas now, we are struggling even by New Zealand standards and measurements.

We cannot expect the Government to help us, nor our councils, however many we may have or should have. We are reliant on our business leaders, making some good decisions.

We still have some wonderful businesses owned and run here in the Bay. We need to identify them, motivate their current owners not to sell, and to look to the long term, not just some short term benefit, which in fact is probably not a benefit anyway.

Guy Wellwood, Partner, Langley Twigg Law

women of influence Congratulations to BayBuzz, and to Jess Soutar Barron in particular, for your ‘Women of Influence’ article which I felt was a refreshing take on what can be a clicheridden subject. Thankfully there was only one mention of the ‘glass ceiling’, and no reference at all to ‘bra burning’.

I have been working in the field of leadership development for both men and women for twelve years, and my passion for working with women and their particular challenges has been re-ignited in the last 12 months. This is partly due to recent research that sheds new light on why inequalities still exist, and what we can do about them. But more importantly, I am excited by what seems to be a growing willingness among women to step up, be seen, speak out.

We know for a fact that one of the key factors influencing a woman’s decisions about her own career and leadership journey is having positive female role models. That doesn’t just mean the likes of Helen Clark and Theresa Gattung. For some women, that sort of role model can be too far removed from what they aspire to and therefore offputting. They don’t want to be like that. They don’t want to have to sacrifice family and lifestyle, for example, in order to be a leader.

I thought the great strength of Jess’ article was that she portrayed the many ways in which leadership can be expressed.

It was inspiring to see such a range of women featured – people that ‘ordinary’ women can relate to, and might actually want to be like.

I would love to see, in a future issue, an expose of some of the leadership development options available in Hawke’s Bay. To quote Glen Manahi in the same BayBuzz, edition, “There’s a lack of really good proactive, productive, focused leaders and managers.

They’re very few and far between.”

Let’s show people how they can develop the leader within! Meantime, we would welcome inquiries about our two day Leadership for Women course happening right here in Hawke’s Bay on November 20-21.

Robyn Wynne-Lewis Co-owner and founder of Core Consulting

mysteries of the mausoleum I’ve been back in Hastings five years now after 30 years away, mostly abroad, and I often feel let down by some folks’ lack of a sense of humour and also not getting ironies or tongue in cheek comments.

So it was with immense joy that I read Brendan Webb’s hilarious tale in BayBuzz, (Issue 18) on ‘Mysteries of the Mausoleum’. A journo had stepped up to the plate and satirised a real situation on a current topic that has a lot of local and national interest both for and against it.

Very clever and so well written.

So I was amazed to read a correspondent’s letter dissing the piece.

Obviously there was a personal element to him as his partner was mentioned in the article but that is all. As for the homophobia, please, I’ve read and reread the column and just can’t see how any of it could be construed to be homophobic.

The provinces can be claustrophobic, but since discovering BayBuzz, and a limited number of other media, it’s heartening to see a lot of wide-eyed thinking exists and is to be encouraged.

Regards, Margo

PROPERTY SHOWCASE

Whanarua Bay, East Cape Designing any home, work place or retreat is a combination of creativity and human need, while incorporating practicality and environmental considerations. These are the founding principles of Pete Pask and his team at Vertical Limit Architectural Design.

which lead to use of approved Puriri (milled and seasoned on site), Canadian Western Red Cedar for joinery and soffits, American Knotty Oak flooring and shadow clad Radiata Pine ply on the exterior, all of which give the holiday home a natural feeling in the surrounding environment.

While Vertical Limit call Hawke’s Bay home, they undertake projects around New Zealand and internationally. One of their most recent projects saw them travelling to remote Whanarua Bay in East Cape.

“Our clients were delighted with the result”, says Pete, “We really made the most of the site, also allowing space for future additions as the family grows”. The design and quality was also recognised with the property

“The result, a retreat nestled amongst lush native bush on a beachfront site providing stunning elevated views of the bay.”

The brief for this feature property was to create a comfortable and relaxed 3 bedroom family holiday home for a budget of $650,000. The result, a retreat nestled amongst lush native bush on a beachfront site providing stunning elevated views of the bay.

A key request of the client was that timber be incorporated throughout,

taking out one of the top New Zealand building awards.

Choosing the right architectural partner is paramount to a successful build, so give Pete and the team at Vertical Limit a call for your free initial consultation.

Call Vertical Limit today on 06 870 4009.

www.verticallimit.co.nz

BEE in the KNOW

Photo by Sarah Cates

They're Back Away for three years, Yvonne Lorkin has taken her broadcasting background and her obsession with wine and made a name for herself as New Zealand's oenophile du jour.

Now she’s back.

“It is so gorgeous to be home. I feel energized being back here.”

It was half a bottle of Te Mata Coleraine '89, left by diners on a table at the restaurant where she worked, that first ignited Yvonne's passion. She was eighteen.

Page 8 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Yvonne Lorkin

“I still remember how it smelled, how it tasted. I thought one day I'd love to work in this business.”

Back home since July, Yvonne is writing a weekly wine column that runs in nine newspapers, writing also for Dish magazine, editing a craft beer blogsite, appearing on Radio NZ's Afternoons programme, judging at numerous wine shows, and planning further series of her Food TV show, Thirsty Work.

“A lot of people see wine as being elitist and untouchable. It's a shame because

the people who make it are not like that,” says Yvonne. “I get to meet the people behind the bottles, and they are not precious, they are genuine, salt of the earth, hard case, real people.”

Although she loves being back in the Bay, Yvonne laments the lack of infrastructure.

“The only downside of doing what I do from Hawke's Bay is the sheer expense of air travel and ultra fast broadband. The costs are crippling. Those are the two things that could really elevate Hawke's Bay into the business hub I know it can be.”

BEE in the KNOW

Hawke's Bay Wellness Index Jobs on Seek.co.nz

Homes For Sale

[October 20, 2014]

[Realestate.co.nz]

224 26,492

Discharges from HB Hospital, year to 16 October [Down 715 from same period, 2013]

October 20, 2014

1,825 $791.67 Total Guest Nights [Year end July 2014]

107.4 Million September 2014 [Paymark]

Visitors to MTG

Paid admissions, Sep

2,252 (down 287 from July)

[October 13]

128 192

in August 2014 [Up 31 from August 2013] Burglaries [August 2014]

Commercial Accommodation

947,272 2,769,493 Private Households

56

$106.56 [Family violence indicator]

[Average]

[Up 3.8% over September 2013]

AVERAGE

Dwelling Assualts

Prime Heifer price at Stortford Lodge

Monthly Retail Spending

$

Lamb price at Stortford

Down 30 from August 2013

Megabytes of data downloaded in Sep by average NOW GB residential customers.

National average is 45GB.

Bay Espresso coffee sold [Sep 2014]

929

(up 84 kg from July 2014)

kg

Hawke's Bay Median Income [15 years old +]

26,100

$

What's Hot

What's Not

Robotic Milking

Filipino Milking

Hastings Women's Refuge

Hastings Dog Pound

Bees

Cockroaches

Beef Prices

Milk Prices

Stuart Nash

Rob Johnson

Icebreaker

Xero

Security Council Seat

Soldiers in Iraq/Syria

Cruise Ships

Deco Buses

Humus

Cadmium

Page 9 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

DON’T MISS THE BUZZ!

Watchdog!

Dogged Determination The photographer arrives first, and activist Jessica Maxwell is ready. “I’ll put on some lippy... and if I put on lippy, I mean business!” she tells us.

Last time the lipstick came out Jessica was presenting to Hastings District Council on conditions in the animal pound. The pound has been in her sights since she found, in July this year, that friendly sociable dogs were being euthanised rather than rehomed.

The first step in her fight was a petition, Save Our Lovely Dogs. It received 3,500 signatures, no mean feat. When out collecting names, Jessica says she had to get over a natural instinct not to bother people.

“If you've got a passion you go out and make it happen. I had to make myself approach people,” she says. “You go that extra mile when you believe in something, and you put yourself out of your comfort zone.”

Jessica has worked alongside animal protection for many years, principally as a fundraiser.

“I have an ability to draught people in to my little ventures and my enthusiasms.”

Jessica's passion is contagious and alongside the signatures, she has also garnered support from like-minded

“I would describe myself as Lawrence Yule's worse nightmare.

I'm not going away.”

“If I see something's not right I will speak up about it,” she tells me in her lilting Irish accent. “All I want to do is live quietly and mind my own business, but other people behave badly.”

She has now set forth on a campaign against the council, including Mayor Lawrence Yule, other councillors, acting CEO John O'Shaunessey and council officers, namely current and former pound managers, respectively, Malcolm Hart and Phil Evans.

“They have been running the pound as a canine concentration camp,” she says.

“How have councillors allowed this to pass? They are asleep at the wheel and council officers rule the roost. And if you give them a title or a badge, the 'Hitler' gene comes out.”

Page 10 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

people keen to see changes at the pound.

“Over a big pot of Irish stew we decided things were so bad we should come up with a way to fix them.” From there they formed Watchdog! (The exclamation mark is important). “It says 'We're alert'.”

Jessica wants to see the district pound turn from “one of the worst, to one of the best.” She also wants a complete change in staff, to “qualified, well- trained staff with an empathy for dogs”.

She is determined to see change and committed to the cause, despite a tough battle with Mayor Lawrence Yule. “I would describe myself as Lawrence Yule's worse nightmare. I'm not going away,” she says.

“I'm like a feisty Jack Russell.”

It's an extraordinary thing for one woman to battle so hard with a local authority. It takes pluck, energy, time and money. Jessica Maxwell has certainly put her money where her mouth is, placing a number of high profile ads in Hawke's Bay's newspapers.

“I will never give up. If you see something's not right, then do something about it,” she says. “I'm not taking no for an answer - it's my dogged determination!”

Bee-cause we care!

3,330,666 people have signed a petition to save the humble honey bee by banning toxic pesticides. Jump online quick and yours could be the 4 millionth signature!

The petition calls for action in the US after a similar campaign in the EU saw certain bee-killing pesticides banned.

Organisers say if the US makes a change it will “set in motion a ripple effect on the rest of the world”.

Remember, bees make honey AND pollinate 75% of growing plants. No bees … no us! Sign for the bees: bit.ly/Z6RaUu

Aggressive girls on their way up

Local wannabe MP Anna Lorck was described as "aggressive", "undignified" and "graceless" while on the campaign trail. Are the personal slights because she is woman? Maybe, if a new Fortune.com study is anything to go by.

The study says 76% of negative feedback given to women contains a personal slight.

The same study found only 2% of men's critical reviews contained personal comments.

Linguist and tech entrepreneur Kieran Snyder looked at 248 performance reviews from 28 companies, and found managers (men and women) gave female employees more negative feedback than they gave men, and that the majority included negative personal comments.

Words used in women's reviews include: bossy, abrasive, strident, and aggressive when describing leadership style. Words like emotional and irrational are used to describe their behaviours when they object. Of these, only aggressive shows up in men’s reviews and often it's followed by a call to be more so.

Women are finding they need to walk the fine line between being in charge and being nice, or they have to grow a thick 'don't give a damn' skin. Is this your experience? How important is being liked to being the boss?

You can read the full story here: bit.ly/1nxej8n and there is an interesting commentary on the study here: nyti.ms/1rcDgX

Hold Your Breath On October 1st, new tougher water quality standards went into effect with respect to effluent from the wastewater treatment ponds servicing Waipawa and Waipukurau. These standards, amongst other requirements, limit ammoniacal nitrogen, phosphorus, suspended solids and E Coli discharges into the Tukituki River. Heavy metals like Cadmium will also be monitored.

BEE in the KNOW

CHBDC rejected that plan at the eleventh hour, to the dismay of the Regional Council. However, CHBDC says its testing during the pre-deadline period indicates the system is indeed working to meet requirements.

Under the Environment Court conditions, CHBDC must take water samples at 14 days intervals, which are to be independently

Will floating wetlands clean Tuki?

tim.co.nz

It is noteworthy that these tougher standards are the result of appeals to the Environment Court initiated by two individual water quality activists, Bill Dodds and David Renouf. Committing their own time and money, they had to overcome the opposition, eight years ago, of both the CHB District Council (CHBDC) and the Regional Council. Hat’s off to Bill and David … we owe them.

To meet the new standards, CHBDC has installed a ‘floating wetlands’ scheme, as well as ultraviolet treatment. This approach was adopted after the Regional Council purchased land and planted trees in CHB expecting to convince the CHBDC to discharge its effluent onto that land instead of into the waterway.

Don't Plant Trees!?

analysed, and then reviewed by the Regional Council. The conditions are breached if more than five high-level exceedances occur, or 16 lower-level exceedances, within 12 months.

Monitoring results are in the public domain. Environmentalists will be watching and holding their breath as they assess the effectiveness of the CHBDC wastewater treatment scheme, given its importance to cleaning up water in the lower reaches of the Tukituki catchment.

And of course that role takes even greater importance if the Ruataniwha Dam is approved, with its consequent intensified farming in the upper Tukituki catchment.

What’s a conservationist to do?!

We know there’s heaps of cause for planting trees – from curbing soil erosion to timber harvesting to promoting biodiversity to pure amenity reasons.

And more lately, with large-scale afforestation, to combat global warming.

The planet’s forests soak in about 25% of the world’s carbon emission every year.

But hold on there …

A key factor affecting the planet’s temperature is how much of the sun’s energy is absorbed by the earth as opposed to being reflected back. The hitch is, the dark colour of trees mean they absorb more of the sun’s energy, raising surface temperatures, than non-treed areas. And of course trees die, releasing their carbon.

A recent NY Times column (19 Sep 2014), written by a professor of atmospheric chemistry at Yale University’s renowned School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (and there is no more ‘blue chip’ proenvironment academic institution), observes: “Climate scientists have calculated the effect of increasing forest cover on surface temperature. Their conclusion is that planting trees in the tropics would lead to cooling, but in colder regions, it would cause warming.

In order to grow food, humans have changed about 50 percent of the earth’s surface area from native forests and grasslands to crops, pasture and wood harvest. Unfortunately, there is no scientific consensus on whether this land use has caused overall global warming or cooling. Since we don’t know that, we can’t reliably predict whether large-scale forestation would help to control the earth’s rising temperatures.”

The author’s conclusion: “Planting trees and avoiding deforestation do offer unambiguous benefits to biodiversity and many forms of life. But relying on forestry to slow or reverse global warming is another matter entirely.

The science says that spending precious dollars for climate change mitigation on forestry is high-risk: We don’t know that it would cool the planet, and we have good reason to fear it might have precisely the opposite effect.”

Now what?! nyti.ms/1tyvHC4

Page 11 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

DON’T MISS THE BUZZ!

Arrival Lounge

Robert Achten After ten years with lovemark Icebreaker, running product design and branding, Robert Achten has just landed in Hawke's Bay from Portland, Oregon. He’s set to make some big changes to small business. Robert has brought his family to live in the Bay. He's frequently on a plane – work takes him all over the country – but now when he does touchdown it's to the slow-paced sanctuary of Te Awanga.

Now that he's here, Robert wants to bring together his design nous with his business brain to help businesses make their good idea a product, then take that product to market.

“I'm really keen to find businesses that have big ambitions and big dreams and want to put those on the world stage,” he explains.

Robert has always enjoyed life outdoors and he and his family have frequently holidayed in Hawke's Bay. They bought their place here three years ago and came to stay in July. “I think of Hawke's Bay as an interesting area because it is a really fertile ground in terms of growing small business,” says Robert.

Robert Achten is speaking on his experiences with design in business at an ExportNZ event on 13 November. For more: hawkesbay.exportnz.org.nz

Clifton County Cricket Club Hitting a six for conservation The Clifton County Cricket Club in Te Awanga is a quality mix of good old fashioned leather on willow and familyfriendly fun, but there's also a serious side to the club. They are keen to get some runs on the board for conservation thanks to funding from DOC and HBRC. Ten hectares of farm owned by the Nilsson family has been retired and will now be planted up in a way that's welcoming to native birds flying from Cape Sanctuary to the Ranges.

Families of humans are also being encouraged to touch down at the grounds for recreation and conservation activities, with a spot of cricket thrown in. The CCCC Christmas bash will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 14 December and is open to all.

The club was established in the 1980s but disappeared for a few decades before

being resurrected three years ago by the children of the original thirty members.

Sam Howard is the club chair. Childhood friend Matt Nilsson runs the farm on which the club sits.

"The core part of the club is our families, and our kids being part of every aspect of it," says Sam who has three young children.

“Unlike the 80’s version, we are building it for the long term. That means we don’t overly focus on the cricket, but all the other aspects that give it relevance: community, family and conservation," says Sam, adding: "Our kids get a low-tech, rural experience which has become more foreign to many of them.”

Two hundred families are part of the CCCC and the club is keen to sign up new members. For a map and contact details visit cliftoncricket.co.nz

Give Refuge Hastings Women's Refuge is short of money and helpers. They've launched a campaign to raise funds and they're calling on the community to sign up as volunteers (full training provided).

Shortfalls have come about because government funds the refuge for only half the people the organisation helps.

Contracted to accommodate 27 women last year, HWR found beds for 82.

Page 12 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Contracted to give community support to 84, actually it was 118. Funded to assist women named in 49 police reports, in reality it was 571. Paid for 417 crisis calls, they received 2,314. HWR gives a lot to our community so let's give back.

More: bit.ly/1FalWwM

DON’T MISS THE BUZZ!

KUDOS

A Grand Old Winner Napier's Masonic Hotel has been crowned the country's Best New/ Redeveloped Accommodation Hotel at the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence.

Owner Neil Barber says, “After pouring everything into this place through the accommodation redevelopment, the establishment of Emporium Eatery & Bar, working to re-ignite this area of the city, it’s a great honour. We feel like we’ve really worked for it.”

The national recognition is sweet reward for three years of hard work to bring the ‘grand old dame’ back to her former glory.

The Masonic was up against Rydges Latimer Christchurch and Stony River Hotel Taranaki.

Viticulturalist of the Year EIT graduate Paul Robinson is officially New Zealand’s Young Viticulturist of the Year, winning the wine industry’s prestigious Bragato Award.

The 27 year old is assistant vineyard manager of Villa Maria’s Joseph Soler and Te Awa blocks, west of Hastings.

2014 was Paul's fourth shot at the title and he's “over the moon” about the win, which saw him compete against 45 other budding viticulturists.

This is the third time in consecutive years that EIT graduates have taken the title. Paul moved to Hawke's Bay from Taranaki specifically for the region's wine growing industry.

Art Deco Trust Awarded Art Deco Trust has taken out three of the four 2014 Hawke's Bay Tourism Awards: the Visitor Attraction Award, People's Choice Award and the Supreme Award. The Crown Hotel won the Accommodation Award.

The award night also honoured Sam Orton, who was instrumental in setting up the tourism association and has now stepped down after five years as chair.

Hawke's Bay Tourism's Annie Dundas: “Without Sam's energy and deep concern about the future of the industry we wouldn't be where we are today.” Well done, Sam!

Page 14 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

The Peak Trail Blazer

BEE in the KNOW

Jo Throp's enthusiasm for the crosscountry running race she pulls together is palpable.

“I get goosies just talking about the turn! You can tell how crazy I am about this!”she says.

The race, which started as a Havelock North Primary fundraiser, celebrates five years in 2014. It's 12.8 kilometres from the school's playing field, up Te Mata Peak and back again. There are kids of five and adults in their mid-80s doing the race. It's become the little race that roared, attracting top runners, and donating excess funds to charities: $17,000 to date.

“Our starting point was to get kids enthused, we knew that if we got that right we'd have a winner,” explains Jo. All the super-fast runners, those who like the ‘short sharp sprint’ of the race, want their place on the Hall of Flames. That's where runners who have completed the route in under an hour have their names. It's at PTB HQ, aka Hawthorne's coffee shop in Havelock.

The record is 50'.54", set by Graham Bee in 2012. This year's hot competition is between Kristian Day and Lucas Duross, both Hall of Flames inductees.

“People come to Hawke's Bay simply for this race now. For the top runners the idea they can roll out of bed and make $500 before smoko is very attractive,” says Jo. “It's a good fun challenge.”

Te Mata has always been a turangawaewae for Jo who grew up on its doorstep.

“That was our playground,” Jo says. “It's a big old place that swallows you up. You can really get lost up there – in a good way.

It's grounding and accessible, and gives you good thinking time.”

The race is set to get bigger and better over the coming years, and already attracts 700 competitors. It takes place every November at Te Mata Peak.

Nature Porn Every year NIWA scientists show off their 'typical day at the office' through a photography competition. Scenic shots, rare animals and strange natural phenomena are all targets for the snap happy boffins.

The scientists cover everything from deep diving and biosecurity to mountain ranges and Antarctica, and their images illustrate another side of the science in New Zealand story. The stunning photographs are available to view online at bit.ly/1o4bodM Page 15 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

DON’T MISS THE BUZZ!

SUBSCRIBE NOW& SAVE! Be sure to ‘bee in the know’ by getting Hawke's Bay’s hottest magazine delivered straight to your door… and save money too!

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Plus, we add two bonuses: 1. You’ll receive a gift pack of merchant vouchers worth well over $50 – from Ten24 Restaurant and Mahia St Kitchen, Poppies and Beattie & Forbes booksellers, plus healthy foodstores Cornucopia and Chantal. Use the vouchers and you’re getting BayBuzz for free!

2. We’ll give one BayBuzz Gift Subscription in your name to anyone you choose to reward. [be sure to fill out the adjoining Gift Form.]

Just want to gift a BayBuzz subscription?

Gift subscriptions are a terrific way to help your friends understand the issues challenging our region and stay abreast of the ‘buzz’ around Hawke’s Bay. For $25 you can give a gift subscription for our new, bigger and better BayBuzz magazine.

Just fill out the adjoining Gift Form.

Why not take the easy option and subscribe online? Just go to www.baybuzz.co.nz/subscribe

BEE in the KNOW

FeeLING CLUeD UP BY BAYBUZZ? Now prove it! Answer these 12 questions (reading the magazine will help!). Then send your answers by 31 December to: editors@baybuzz.co.nz or PO Box 8322, Havelock North 4157. Or enter online at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/BaybuzzQuiz Answer each of the 12 questions correctly, and you’ll go in the draw to win a $100 dining voucher, courtesy of Ten Twenty Four Restaurant, Pakowhai Road, Hastings.

Online Shopping Bazaar If you’re a Hawke’s Bay business looking to sell to overseas customers, or just an average consumer looking for choice, odds are you’re in e-commerce mode.

According to Nielsen research conducted in 60 countries, consumer online shopping will reach US$1.5 trillion in 2014, increasing nearly 20% over 2013.

Nielson reports that Asia-Pacific is farthest down the “e-commerce maturity curve”. Globally, Millennials (age 21-34) are the most avid online shoppers (53% intend to buy online in next six months), followed

by Gen X (age 35-49 at 28%) and Boomers (age 50-64 at 10%).

80% of global online shoppers use a computer to buy, but 44% use a mobile device and 31% a tablet.

Here are the most popular e-commerce categories.

From which of these ‘Top 10’ categories have you purchased online?

Rural Bytes:

[Percentages of people who intend to buy online in next six months] 48% Airplane tickets & reservations

QUIZ 1

What sport prize HB will hold all summer?

2

Which vineyard has John Miles captured in From Bud to Bottle?

3

Name of China’s equivalent of Google?

46% Clothing, accessories, shoes

4

How many international students at EIT?

44% Tours & hotel reservations

5

What is the current guideline value for Cadmium in NZ soil?

41% Event tickets

6

Who lived her early childhood in Natal, South Africa?

7

Winner of the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award for short fiction?

8

What is a kirpan?

9

How old is Hastings' Albert Hotel?

39% Hardcopy books 34% Electronic equipment 34% E-Books 33% Mobile phone

10 Where’s the cider capital of New Zealand?

31% Cosmetics

11 Which 2004 Hawke's Bay high school grad is now a professional dancer?

31% Sporting goods

12 Which award has Paul Robinson won?

Know your modem from your cursor?

Keyboard

Where you hang the ute keys

Windows

What you shut when it's cold

Screen

What you shut in mozzie season

Byte

What mozzies do

Chip

A pub snack

Microchip

What's left in the bag when you've eaten all the chips

Modem

What you did to the lawns

Laptop

Where the cat sits

Search engine

What you do when the ute won't start

Cursor

What you say when the ute won't start

User

The neighbour who keeps borrowing things

Online

Where you hang the washing

Offline

Where the washing goes when the pegs aren't strong enough

Upgrade

A steep hill

Hard Drive

The trip back home without a cold beer

Page 17 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

The BUZZ around the BAY Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan exhibition events at MTG November & September There's more events ahead to support the ‘Whetu's Frocks’ exhibit at MTG. Aroha and Friends will hold a screenprinting workshop at the MTG on 16 November. Chanel Clarke, curator at Auckland Museum and specialist in Maori dress textiles, will hold a floor talk on 7 December.

Taikura Steiner School Fete 16 November

Off the Radar Kereru Garden Tour 22 November

Traditional crafts, wholesome foods, holistic health stalls, and a massive range of activities for kids, the Taikura Fete is a great start to the festive season.

Kereru locals invite garden enthusiasts to share their rural paradise. A day out exploring a diverse selection of country grounds. The garden walk showcases seven stunning properties in the Kereru district, each with its own unique character. Gardens range from traditional, well-established grounds with historic homesteads over 100 years old, to modern and developing ones with contemporary homes, one of which is eco-friendly. The walk also includes a house designed by John Scott. The event is hosted

by Kereru School, runs from 10am to 4pm and costs $25 a ticket.

Selected works at Hastings Community Arts Centre 3-15 November A number of artists are taking over the Creative Hastings gallery with a collection of rich and multi-faceted works. A feast for the eyes.

Artists include: Anna Maria Gori, Toni Marie Matich, Dali Susanto and Patrick Tyman, as well as the White Ribbon Art Exhibition.

east 2014 opens 15 November Hawke’s Bay’s biennial regional contemporary art exhibition says it “highlights the unique creative capital of our province, and challenges the audience to consider new perspectives on the familiar”.

This show, at Hastings City Art Gallery until Feb, has had a long history in the Bay but it's been refreshed and refocused since a shake up and name change in 2012. The theme this time around is ‘Home’. Curator Linda Tyler presents a floor talk on 15 Nov at 11am.

Peak Trail Blazer 16 November A short sharp sprint on a Sunday morning for some and for others an annual goal to get up the Peak and back, and survive! A great run for everyone from 5 to 85. This year there's $500 up for grabs for the King and the Queen of the Peak.

Page 18 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at MTG 25 November ‘Show Me Shorts’ Film Festival at Cinema Gold 16, 19 and 23 November New Zealand's annual festival of short films includes shorts from here and overseas. This is the ninth outing for the festival, which takes place in 20 cinemas throughout the country.

NZSO 2014 Tuscan Summer 21 November A wonderful opportunity to see some firstclass classical musicians in action including violinist Stefan Jackiw, described by the Washington Post as a ‘talent that’s off the scale’. Tuscan Summer includes works from Rossini's Barber Seville, Mendelssohn's violin concerto and symphony No.4 and Britten's Soirees Musicales. The venue is Napier's Municipal Theatre.

Music-comedy powerhouse Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra take their instant party on the road to celebrate their long-anticipated new album, Be Mine Tonight, a winning collection of beloved Kiwi tunes made even more singalongable thanks to the band’s uniquely irresistible ukulele style. The show features sublime musicality and hilarious audience participation.

Kevin Bloody Wilson at the Municipal Theatre 26 November Funny man Kevin Bloody Wilson is touring New Zealand with his signature style of Aussie humour.

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra

The Pretty Things Peepshow

The BUZZ around the BAY Fruit Bowl Craft Jam 6-7 December

Fiesta of Lights opens 13 December

The HB Opera Plaza hosts 50+ craft stalls over two days. Do your Christmas shopping in style.

Held at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds, this event gets bigger and brighter every year.

Magical and very special, you'll never look at the Showgrounds the same way again!

Billed as 'a million watts of family fun', it's a great night time activity for the kids, and has become a Christmas tradition for many Hawke's Bay families.

Black Barn Open Air Cinema Season starts 27 December Some films on this year's schedule: The Book Thief, The Grand Budapest Hotel and the HB premiere of 2 Degrees, a docudrama on climate change.

'The Pretty Things Peepshow’ at the Cabana 26 November Here from Hollywood this vintage burlesque circus show combines the beautiful and the bizarre with sword swallowing, knife throwing and three dangerous dames!

Waipukurau Christmas at the Races 7 December

Theatre HB's ‘Murder at Rutherford House’ at The Playhouse 27 November-6 December

A true country racing experience, with the added charm of Christmas at the Races, makes this event one the whole community enjoys. With plenty of atmosphere, live entertainment, fashion in the field and up-close thoroughbred racing, it's the place to be.

A fun-filled event where the audience helps solve the mystery. Outrageous characters, hilarious performances, and the perfect way to end the year. This will please regular theatre goers and those looking for a great night out. Doors open at 5.45pm.

'A Christmas Carol’ 29 November The Royal New Zealand Ballet are touring this summer bringing us the Christmas classic, Dickens' Christmas Carol. A wonderful family opportunity to see the very best of New Zealand dancing.

Craft and Design Markets at Hawthorne, Havelock North 1, 6 & 13 December Boutique market of the finest handmade. Enjoy a cup of coffee, meet up with friends and savour the delicious handmade products on offer.

Sanctuary Sounds Music Festival at Pukehou 5 December Our very own music festival, Sanctuary Sounds is run as a not-for-profit and is only $95 for two nights camping and over 20 bands as well as fun activities for big kids and littlies. Orchestra of Spheres and Swamp Thing are headlining this year. For more: sanctuary-sounds.co.nz

Hastings Christmas at the Races 11 December Close the office early for twilight racing action. It's an occasion not-to-be-missed with live entertainment, fine food, thrilling thoroughbred action and all the joys of Christmas! Gates open at 2pm.

Christmas at the Park 13 December Anderson Park sees hordes enjoying a bright start to Christmas with Christmas carols, fireworks and pop star Daniel Bedingfield.

Porangahau Beach Polo 28 December A day at the beach like no other!

Argentinean BBQ, Beatgirls and polo ambience with a kick off at 1pm.

New Year's eve at Common Room 31 December What a way to see 2014 out and 2015 in!

Enjoy the charm and character of Common Room in Hastings with the pop/rock icon and X-Factor star Tom Batchelor.

NZ Singing School Concerts 9-17 January There are a range of opportunities for the public to hear from the talented participants of the 2015 Singing School.

A number of venues host the events, including intimate evening concerts at EIT. Full details can be found at: singingschool.org.nz

‘Painting with Light’ opens 13 December Hastings City Art Gallery features a solo exhibition of work from Israel Tangaroa Birch, Hastings-born and one of the country’s leading contemporary Maori artists.

Handel's ‘Messiah’, St Paul's Church, Napier 13-14 December One of the best known and most performed choral works in western music. Featuring guest soloists Carleen Ebbs, Frank Carter and the beautiful and talented Joel Amosa.

Page 19 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

tim.co.nz

Little Punjab STORY MARK SWEET

Jarnail Singh We meet in his dairy on Joll Road in Havelock North. Jarnail Singh took over last year, after being made redundant when Park Estate Winery went into receivership. He had worked there as a viticulturist for 22 years.

I suggest Ya Bon for coffee, and outside a shop being decorated, we pass a tradie smoking a cigarette. Jarnail turns to me and says, “Dirty cigarettes”.

His eyes are so piercing I wonder if he’s seeing fag butts hanging off my aura.

Later he tells me he could smell my smoke as soon as we met.

Jarnail insists on paying for coffee, and as soon as we sit down he tells me the DHB has told him he can no longer sell e-cigarettes. “They help people stop smoking. It’s crazy. I have customer who comes all the way from Dannevirke to buy from me and he said he saving hundreds of dollars.”

Jarnail is talking about a ‘cigarette’ that delivers nicotine as a vapour, without smoke. They were developed as an alternative to nicotine patches, and gum, to help smokers kick the tobacco habit, but the Ministry of Health banned their sale in August until more research is undertaken.

“It’s very bad habit,” says Jarnail, “and you think Health Board do everything they can to help people get off the smokes.” He shakes his head in frustration. “I just don’t understand.”

Jarnail Singh is a devout Sikh. He doesn’t drink alcohol, eat meat or eggs, and certainly wouldn’t smoke. In respect, tainted with apprehension from his ferocious dislike of cigarettes, my roll-your-own’s stay firmly in my pocket.

I ask about his wearing of a turban, and Jarnail explains that devoted Sikhs never cut their hair, which is one of “the Five K’s, Kesh”. The others are Kangha, a small wooden comb; Kara, an iron bracelet; Kacchera, special undergarment; and Kirpan, a short dagger. Jarnail lifts his shirt revealing a silver sheathed knife tucked into his belt, and he shows me a letter from Hon Christopher Finlayson confirming the right of Sikhs to wear the Kirpan in public. The Five K’s are symbols of the devotee’s commitment to the Sikh way of life.

“Every baptized Sikh man is called Singh and every woman name is Kaur. Kaur means princess.”

And what about the name Singh, I ask? “Singh means lion,” Jarnail says.

“Every baptized Sikh man is called Singh and every woman name is Kaur.

Kaur means princess.”

This practice was ordained by the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh (16661708). He was the last of an unbroken lineage that began in 1469 with Guru Nanak. The eleventh, perpetual living Guru, is the Holy Book of the Sikh religion, Guru Granth Sahib.

Taking the ubiquitous names, Singh or Kaur, is a demonstration of the rejection of the Hindu concept of caste. In Hinduism, one’s last name identifies class and rigidly determines one’s position in society. Caste is totally incompatible with Sikh belief in equality.

In Hawke’s Bay there are around 150 Sikh families who comprise the vast majority of the Indian community (around 85%). It seems hugely disproportionate considering Sikhs comprise less than 1% of India’s population.

“About 10-15 families came here in the early 1970’s,” says Jarnail. “Then from ‘87 to ‘95 lots more Sikhs come. Here we are free to work and live good life,” he says.

“In India we are suppressed.”

Sikh history is filled with conflict and epic battles as successive generations have defended their homeland and culture against both Hindu and Islamic invaders. The last major incident was in 1984 when Indian government troops stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site in Sikhism.

“In our history it says if someone makes attack on Golden Temple, then after 150 days, that person must die. Any attack on Golden Temple is revenged,” says Jarnail.

Indira Gandhi was the prime minister who ordered the attack, and 153 days later, she was shot dead by two of her Sikh bodyguards. Her assassination triggered mass anti-Sikh riots, where official figures estimate up to 3,000 Sikhs were killed in New Delhi alone.

But as Jarnail Singh says, “We lost heaps of lives you never hear about.”

Some estimates of reprisal deaths are as high as 30,000 killed throughout India.

On a lighter subject I ask about the tradition of arranged marriage. “Both parties must be happy,” Jarnail says. “If parents are happy, and the couple happy, then we get married.”

Before we part I ask Jarnail who I should talk to next to understand

Page 21 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

“When I first came in 1990 I wore a turban, but to fit in I cut my hair and took off the turban ... we eat meat and drink socially.

For me the main thing about Sikhism is honesty and service.”

KUlwAnt Singh

Sikhism in Hawke’s Bay. He kindly gives me names, and he invites me to the temple on Eastbourne Street, East, on Sunday night.

Harminder Singh At the Flaxmere New World I approach two turbaned young men stacking shelves. I assume their names are Singh, but one, standing on a ladder with a packet in his hand, says he is not Singh.

I’m confused. He tells me he is not yet baptized, so, he’s not yet a Singh.

So what determines when you get baptized?

The young man looks at me with a very sure gaze, and says, “I’ll know when I’m ready.”

We are joined by another turbaned young man who seems to have picked up our conversation by osmosis. “We know when God tells us,” he says. “I knew in my mind and heart when I was ready, but my grandfather, he was 65 before he got baptized.”

I’d come to talk to their boss, Harminder Singh, but he’s away until Monday. I say, I’ll come back to talk to him, but I don’t.

Kulwant Singh On the way out of Flaxmere, along Henderson Road, I stop at Gagan’s Fruit and Vege Shop.

Kulwant Singh and his wife Sukhwinder Kaur own and operate a 40 hectare orchard and market garden,

Page 22 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

supplying to the local market, their gate sales shop, and the apple export market.

“I first came to Hawke’s Bay in 1990 to visit friends.” Having completed his Bachelors degree, Kulwant was in his first year of a Masters in political science at university in India, with the intention of being a lawyer. “But,” he tells me, “I was so impressed by the peaceful, nice country, I stayed.”

Kulwant comes from a farming family in the Punjab, croppers of mainly

“We sat down and talked. I told her what I wanted out of life, she told me what she wanted out of life, and we liked each other.” sweetcorn and sugar cane, so working on the land is in his blood. He first worked on an orchard and saved to buy a small stone fruit block in Bay View.

Five years later he bought the property in Henderson Road, and in 1998 he returned to India to marry.

“Our families know each family long, long time,” he says. “We sat down and talked. I told her what I wanted out of life, she told me what she wanted out of life, and we liked each other.”

And what about equality in Sikhism?

“Yes,” Kulwant says, “men and women are equal. There’s no barrier to women.

Traditionally men work outside and women work inside the home and look after children, but it’s not set in stone.”

Kulwant and Sukhwinder have two teenage children being educated at Woodford and Lindisfarne, and they have relaxed many of the traditions of Sikhism.

“When I first came in 1990 I wore a turban, but to fit in I cut my hair and took off the turban,” Kulwant says. “We eat meat and drink socially. For me the main thing about Sikhism is honesty and service.”

Kulwant is referring to the concepts of Kirat Karni – to live honestly and earn by one’s physical and mental effort, and, Vand Chakra – to share wealth within the community and practise charity wherever there is need.

Palwinder Singh One of the most successful Sikh businessmen in Hawke’s Bay, Palwinder Singh, is as elusive as he is entrepreneurial.

I called by Big Barrel’s head office in Tamatea to make an appointment, which his personal assistant said she would arrange. Several phone calls later and I was told Mr Singh was unavailable for interview because he was, “a very private person”.

Big Barrel’s first store opened in Marewa in 2003 and now, according to its website, has 24 stores nationwide.

Like many Bay ‘drinkers’ I shop at Big Barrel and am impressed by the quality of customer service delivered by the young men behind the counters.

traditional

comfort

contemporary

shade

“Yes, my parents have someone for me. I like him, and I’ll go back and marry and then come back here.”

MANMEET KAUR

Ranvin Singh

Manmeet Kaur

In Havelock North, Ranvin Singh, has slipped seamlessly into Kiwi culture since arriving from Punjab five years ago. He is married to a local Sikh girl, plays soccer for Hibernian and cricket for Celtic, and he cherishes the freedom of living in New Zealand.

“We can live independently here.

Nobody can hurt us.” And he says, although it isn’t so bad now, “Between ‘84 and ‘95 if you are a Sikh boy you get killed just because you are Sikh.”

However, discrimination is still rife, and Ranvin tells me he spent three years training to join the police in Punjab, along with other Sikh boys, none of whom were chosen, not for lack of merit, but sheer prejudice.

“In Punjab the Hindus think they’re better than anyone else,” and, he says, “Politics is dirty in India. Very corrupt.

If people have a political relationship and they want someone’s land they just grab the land.”

The conflict between Hinduism and Sikhism is ancient, and wasn’t helped by the founder of modern India, Mahatma Gandhi, insisting that Sikhs were a branch Hindu.

But as another Big Barrel boy, Ganesh Singh, from the Clive shop tells me, one of the reasons the first guru broke away from Hinduism was his disgust of Sati, the custom of a widow being burnt alive on her husband’s funeral pyre. Guru Nanak was insistent that men and women were equal and should be treated as such.

I’m twenty minutes late for my interview with Mohinder Singh, owner of the MP Food shops and Bollywood Restaurants, in Hastings and Gisborne.

He has a cigarette salesman with him, so I fill my time wandering around the shop, staggered at the variety of canned and packaged food products from all over Asia and the Pacific, stacked tightly in narrow aisles. Later I learn

Page 24 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

“Yes, I treat women equally.

Of course, some men want to control, and some women want to control, but with my wife, we talk about everything. Sometimes we disagree but we keep on talking.” there are over 3,000 separate items, and Mohinder tells me he is not comfortable selling cigarettes, but has conceded to customer demand.

In a back room three men and a woman are shelling onions, and I take the opportunity to ask if, in their experience, women and men are treated equally in Sikh society.

The men in turn affirm, that in Sikhism, women have the same rights as men.

The woman’s name is Manmeet Kaur and I ask her if she’d talk to me outside.

She explains, “Muslim woman are not equal, but women in my culture are equal. I have brothers and sisters and we were all bought up the same.”

And what about arranged marriage?

“Yes, my parents have someone for me. I like him, and I’ll go back and marry and then come back here.”

Mohinder Singh Arriving in New Zealand in 1989, Mohinder Singh recalls that planes were landing at Auckland airport every week, “…with up to 50 Sikh boys on one flight.”

For ten years he worked tirelessly in orchards, picking asparagus, driving taxis, and operating a food caravan, before accumulating enough capital to open his first Bollywood Restaurant in Whanganui in 1999.

That same year he returned to India to marry. “My mother helped find my wife, but if I didn’t like her, and she didn’t like me, then we can say no. Parents make good decisions, but it is up to us.” And Mohinder observes that the “success rates of arranged marriages very high, but success rate of love marriages, not so high.”

To my question he replies, “Yes, I treat women equally. Of course, some men want to control, and some women want to control, but with my wife, we talk about everything. Sometimes we disagree but we keep on talking.”

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tim.co.nz

Diwali: Festival of Lights At the Soundshell there’s a carnival atmosphere – food stalls with long queues, families with picnics sit on the grass in front of the stage, and hundreds of people cluster on the fringes enjoying the performances of Indian song and dance, but dark clouds muster in the south.

Lanterns are strung up to symbolise the ‘festival of lights’ that greeted Lord Rama when he returned home with his wife, Sita, after killing the demon god Ravana, who had kidnapped her. Rama is a one of the many mythical Hindu deities, and as such is incompatible with the essence of Sikhism. The first line of the Holy Book is, “Ik Onkar” … “There is only one God.” Sikhs do celebrate on the same day as Diwali, however, as it coincided with the release from prison of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind, in October 1619.

The Guru was imprisoned by the Emperor Jahangir along with 52 other high-ranking noblemen. In an act of clemency at Diwali the Emperor agreed to the Guru’s release and ordered that any other prisoners who could hold onto the Guru’s cloak be also freed.

Cleverly, Guru Hargobind had 52 tassels stitched onto his cloak, and ever since Sikhs have celebrated their release as the festival of Bandi Chhor Divas – “freedom day”.

Beside me stands a young man I assume is Indian and I ask him if he is Sikh. “No,” he says with a smile. “I’m Muslim from Bangladesh.”

And he tells me Muslims don’t celebrate Diwali, but he’s come because it’s fun and he likes fireworks.

The wind has picked up and a shower of rain dampens the proceedings. With many others I seek shelter, and miss the fireworks which conclude the celebrations.

Page 26 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Mohinder Singh

Ranvin Singh

Mohinder Singh is reluctant to talk about the political situation in Punjab after the 1984 Golden Temple incident.

His father was killed in the ensuing pogrom against Sikhs, and it is painful for him to recall those dark days.

“Being Sikh I have to go to the Temple but when I go the police say I must be a terrorist. You get picked up. They might shoot you. They wanted to kill all Sikhs in Punjab. Even if I go to another place in India and they find out my name is Singh, they say you’re a terrorist, and put you in jail.”

“My mother helped find my wife, but if I didn’t like her, and she didn’t like me, then we can say no. Parents make good decisions, but it is up to us ... success rates of arranged marriages very high, but success rate of love marriages, not so high.”

Mohinder was twenty-one when he came to New Zealand and was one of thousands of young Sikh men who found refuge in other countries, especially the UK and Canada. “Parents tried to save their kids from being killed and send them away,” he says.

Before we part, I ask Mohinder if he will be attending the Diwali celebrations at the Soundshell in Napier on Saturday night. He says he probably will. Even though Diwali is essentially a Hindu festival, it is also celebrated by Sikhs as it has significance in their history.

FESTIVAL OF SONG 9th - 17th Jan 2015

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Page 27 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

The Temple The outside of the Sikh temple in Eastbourne Street, Hastings, is concrete block and stucco, painted grey, and could be the front to a warehouse. Only a small sign gives a clue to what may lie behind the plain exterior.

Racks, stuffed with hundreds of shoes, line one wall of the entrance. Mine join them, but I don’t realise until later that everyone has bare feet, and I should have taken off my socks.

As it is, Jarnail has me retrace my steps when I walk through the swing doors without covering my head. He has a stash of orange scarves for feckless visitors like me.

The hall, around a thousand square meters in area, is divided in half by a glass partition, behind which is the temple.

There are dozens of people in the first room, some helping themselves to food from a servery, others sitting on the many cushions clustered in groups on the floor.

“When we go into temple,” Jarnail tells me, “follow me, and we bow, and we sit down. And you can take photos. Just follow me.”

Through thick glass doors we enter into another world and the feeling that immediately strikes my mood is reverence. Either side of the hall is filled with people sitting cross-legged on the

Page 28 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

floor. Women on one side, men on the other, all listening intently, to a man reading from the Holy Book of Sikhism.

The priest is speaking in Kulmaki, the language of Sikhism, similar to Punjabi, but not the same.

One universal creator God. Truth is the name. Creative being personified. No fear. No hatred. Image of the undying.

Beyond birth. Self-existent – is the first creed of morning prayers, which begin at 4:30 every morning. Another prayer session is held every evening.

But it is Sunday evening when the Sikh community gather en masse to celebrate their religion and culture, and while the adults listen to the readings and pray, children play in the hall and spill on to the pavement outside, yakking and chasing one another as happy kids do anywhere.

And as I leave the warmth of fellowship generated by the Sikh community, I think, “What a blessing all round it is, that Sikhs have found a ‘Little Punjab’ in Hawke’s Bay.”

Hastings City Hastings is the place to be this summer with exciting new season’s markets.

November marks the beginning of the summer produce season, and a great reason to celebrate the launch of some new and returning city markets.

Markets

Hastings City Night Market

The night market embraces key tourism and cultural events throughout the season. Some particular upcoming dates to note include the F.A.W.C Fiesta Night Market on Thursday 6 November and Christmas activities throughout December. We even have a New Years Day market so bring your family from out of town to share the fun.

A range of growers and producers will bring their freshly gathered goods into the city from 7am–11am on Saturday mornings to provide you with the freshest supplies for your pantry. Goods will be priced very competitively and you can be assured you will receive good quality locally grown and sourced produce every week.

The Hastings City Night Market has had a roaring start to the season. The weekly evening market runs every Thursday from 5-9pm.

The Night Market makes for a fabulous night out for the whole family, with nonstop free live entertainment, sights, scents and flavours.

The Growers Market will feature live music and entertainment for all to enjoy as well as kids activities.

Located in the Hastings city centre by the fountain, this event is a coming together of local colour including artists, artisans, musicians and an abundance of fresh produce. It also offers an exciting mix of ethnic street food, perfect for grabbing dinner on the fly, rounding off an evening of shopping or fuelling up pre cinema. www.hastingscitymarkets.co.nz

Hastings City Growers Market An exciting new initiative starting on November 22nd is the Hastings City Growers Market. Located on Heretaunga Street East, this weekly street market is the perfect place to grab some fresh produce for the week ahead.

Hastings City Night Market

After gathering your weekly supplies you can continue shopping in the local retail stores, or grab a coffee and bite to eat from the nearby cafĂŠs and restaurants.

There are so many fantastic reasons to visit the Hastings City Markets, making them perfect events for the whole family.

HCNightMarket

Dr Barry Lynch, Grenville principal Christie, land a critic scientist of the forRuataniwha the Hawke’sdam Bay Regional Council

Cadmium Caution STORY BRIDGET FREEMAN-ROCK PHOTOGRAPH SARAH CATES

Cadmium is a heavy metal, found naturally in minuscule amounts in soil, air and water, but at concentrated levels in phosphate, which is used in fertilisers. And we are a country driven by superphosphate. Every year roughly two million tonnes of the stuff is added to our land to boost agricultural productivity, leading to a ‘negative banking’ of cadmium (not to mention fluoride and uranium).

Page 30 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

W

hile some cadmium is assimilated – taken up by plants, ingested by animals – and leached into waterways, most accumulates in the soil year on year.

Cadmium (Cd) is toxic to kidneys, causes bone demineralisation and has been classified as carcinogenic to humans.

Due primarily to phosphate applications, it has become pervasive at elevated levels throughout our food chain, with starchy root vegetables, leafy greens and cereals, such as wheat, showing significant traces, through to meat, animal organs and shellfish.

In the past, New Zealand had access to relatively cheap and plentiful phosphate rock from Nauru, which also contained some of the highest rates of cadmium in the world. Since the alarm on cadmium was raised in the 90’s, we’ve been sourcing phosphate from places like Morocco, which has helped to lower cadmium quantities in superphosphates by 40%. But cadmium levels are still a worry, both here and overseas, due to historic accumulation and the ongoing use of fertiliser.

National cadmium strategy While the nationally formed Cadmium Working Group reported in 2008 that soil Cd levels in New Zealand posed no risk to health, the real concern was threat to international trade, with sensitive export markets, like the EU, setting lower levels of tolerability.

Other export markets, including China and the US, are also increasingly alarmed at cadmium absorption into food. In China, where the term ‘cadmium rice’ has arisen, a recent report noted that cadmium levels had risen 50% in the southwest and coastal regions since studies in 1990; 10-40% elsewhere. In the US, cadmium is described as the ‘new lead’ because of its increasing presence in foods and studies linking cadmium to learning disabilities in children.

NZ’s Cadmium Working Group has given a guideline value of 1mg Cd per kilogram soil, down from the 3mg limit pre-2003; fertiliser companies have voluntarily lowered their cadmium concentrations; and there’s a national strategy now in place with a focus on monitoring and research.

The Cadmium Management Strategy aims “To ensure that cadmium in rural production poses minimal risks to health, trade, land use flexibility and the environment over the next 100 years”.

A food-monitoring programme has been established to manage health and trade risk, while environmental and land-use risks are addressed through soil and fertiliser monitoring, using a Tiered Fertiliser Management System (TFMS), with trigger parametres for

closer monitoring and remediation, from Tier 0 (0-0.6: five-yearly soil screening) to Tier 4 (>1.8: no further accumulation permissible). Regional councils and the fertiliser industry are responsible for regulating this. At present, cadmium in groundwater is an unknown quantum.

A governing Cadmium Management Group, comprising key stakeholders (including fertiliser companies and farmers), reports to the Ministry of Primary Industries. “There is no intention at this stage to undertake a broad scale education programme, but rather to target information to specific problem properties and products.”

HB soil monitoring Dr Barry Lynch, principal land scientist for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, is responsible for soil monitoring: “We measure more parametres than any other council”, including cadmium (not a requirement).

HBRC currently monitors 57 sites in Hawke’s Bay, with a further 30 to be added this year. Sites are revisited every 3-5 years

“If HBRC know already that we’ll be confronted with cadmium-contaminated soil in 55 years, they should be making clear to investors that there are limitations.” and provide a “snapshot in time of the soils”. Sites are not publically identified but farmers are sent a full soil report – valuable for their own farm management.

Barry says he has experienced “nothing but interest” and cooperation.

In the last analysis (to be included in the five-yearly HB State of the Environment report at the end of the year), 80% of sites met all, or all but one, of the target parametres, the rest all but two, an outcome Barry is happy with. HBRC was able to report in August that “We have no immediate concerns about the Cadmium levels in soils in Hawke’s Bay, however we are keen to continue to monitor it and look for solutions to reduce it in the future.”

The fertiliser companies also undertake their own soil testing. All now test for cadmium and have agreed to release their results (retaining farmer anonymity) to the Cadmium Management Group, “which will feed into our knowledge of what’s happening.”

Soil Cd levels in Hawke’s Bay sit below the national average (see table) and within the 1mg guideline (0.28). But our region has a different land-use ratio to most, with a diverse range of sheep and beef farming,

cropping, orchards and viticulture, and a small percentage dairy. Nicole Masters, a biological farming consultant in CHB, points out that Hawke’s Bay was built on diacalcic phosphates rather than superphosphates, so we’re not dealing with the same historic accumulation.

Soil Cd levels are influenced by land use (current and historical) and soil type (volcanic ash soils, for example, require higher doses of phosphate). Dairying has the highest land-use concentration (0.59mg), followed by orchards, particularly kiwifruit production (0.55mg), with dry stock and cropping lowest. This is reflected in the regional results, with Waikato, Taranaki and Bay of Plenty scoring the highest concentrations of cadmium in the country.

Longevity of dairying in question A 2006 HB Envirolink report raised concern about the future of dairying in Hawke’s Bay, due to the higher inputs of superphosphate and thus cadmium: “The longevity of dairy farming in the region is seriously questioned as at the lowest rate of maintenance P (35 kg/ha) the soil Cd limit of 1 mg/kg could be reached in 92 years. Applying higher maintenance fertiliser P rates (45 kg P/ha) would result in the timeframe before breaching the soil Cd limit decreasing to just 55years.” This is in contrast to sheep and beef, where cadmium levels are projected to breach the 1mg/kg guideline in 300 years, going by current rates of phosphate application.

Grenville Christie, a critic of the Ruataniwha dam, which will attract intensive dairying to the region, reads this report as further indictment: “If HBRC know already that we’ll be confronted with cadmium-contaminated soil in 55 years, they should be making clear to investors that there are limitations.”

He sees it as “irresponsible” to run land at an accelerated level without doing anything, aside from monitoring that acceleration, until cadmium saturation has been reached, effectively leaving it to the next generation to deal with.

Although the figures are correct, Barry Lynch finds the 55-year scenario “a tad misleading” – it’s a statistical probability, not a plausible reality, in his view; the extreme end of a bell curve. While a high-dose one-off capital dressing might be applied to boost soils, “no one would consistently apply those high levels – it wouldn’t make economic sense” as no additional productive benefit would be gained. He concedes that a more moderate 92-year frame is still not much in the grand scheme of things, but has faith that with “the way science and farming is progressing, solutions will come up. The good thing is, we are aware of it on a national platform, and we have a good head start.”

Page 31 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Cadmium-Soil Levels Guidelines Value: 1mg / kg dry soil

2007-2013 figures – 3,900 sites

Soil Cd mean mg/kg Waikato

0.74

Taranaki

0.70

Bay of Plenty

0.58

National

0.44

(includes all non-ag land)

Highest concentrations in NZ

(skewed by fact that 25% sites surveyed in Waikato – a 2007 figure puts 0.35)

Hawke’s Bay

0.28

Canterbury

0.17

Lowest regional concentration

Natural Level

0.16

‘Undisturbed’soil such as bush

On a regional level, Dr Lynch sees us “punching above our weight” when it comes to innovative land science. For instance, HBRC has committed resources to a national online soil-mapping programme (smap.landcareresearch.co.nz) that provides detailed soil information and site-specific analysis from “backyard to paddock”. Napier down to southern HB will be completed by the end of March, with another three years for the rest of the region.

While cadmium reduction is not the explicit aim of the map, this may be an offshoot, as it will assist farmers to tailor inputs more accurately to their land, potentially reducing phosphate applications.

Barry’s less concerned about cadmium here as he is about soil erosion – the East Coast has some of the highest erosion rates in the world. His view is that cadmium can be regulated and taken care of; it is being

taken seriously, and thus will be addressed.

Nicole Masters, however, is of the view we need to take more concerted action now. She takes as a case in point Waikato, where thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been “retired” due to contamination, and to the fact that offal from NZ animals older than 2.5 years is deemed unfit for human consumption due to the concentration of cadmium. “… no one questions it – it’s treated as if it’s normal and just something we have to put up with, but it’s not normal and we have the ability to deal with this today.”

Efficient, smarter use of phosphates Nicole sees phosphates as a necessary part of farming, as they stimulate biological activity in a way that’s hard to find an alternative. “It’s a pretty

Even Texans come to hear Nicole Masters talk soil science.

Page 32 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

outstanding farmer who can manage without phosphates at all.” But she believes we need to be efficient and smarter with how we use them. “Our current system is very wasteful – there’s an excess of phosphates being applied. We need to get away from a waste mentality and ‘we’ll think about it tomorrow’.”

It’s about putting people onto lower cadmium sources and changing farming practice, with a focus on building soils, using options such as active microbiological inputs (eg, fish, humates) to strengthen soil quality and reduce cadmium-uptake by plants. She recommends using citric-soluble phosphates (which are more efficient and effective) rather than water-soluble ones, such as superphosphate, a more inefficient form. “For instance, conventional farmers might use 250kg of superphosphates per hectare. With a biological approach, we can use half of that with phosphate products such as guano that have much lower levels of cadmium (12mg/kg as opposed to 45mg/ kg in superphosphate) and better uptake availability.”

Farmers who approach Nicole are often confused and express concern about cadmium and what this means for their practice. She sees a low-level of understanding and believes “farmers deserve to know what’s going on and what they can do about it.” It’s important not to scaremonger, but to empower farmers so they can be proactive in their choices, and ask the right questions of the fertiliser companies, such as where their phosphates are sourced.

But taking responsible action isn’t easy or always possible, as some of Nicole’s clients have found. “Banks drive this: they lend money for superphosphates but are less likely to lend for guano. So, either there’s a lack of understanding [about cadmium] from banks or good lobbying from the fertiliser companies. It’s frustrating and certainly hampers progress.”

While Hawke’s Bay’s cadmium picture is ok for now, it seems so much hangs in the balance (health, exports, our ‘clean, green image’, future land use) while we wait for science and innovation to solve the breakpoint up ahead. Cadmium-soil ratios (1mg/kg) are a guideline not a legislated limit; there are no penalties for breaching it or even a requirement to soil test.

Currently, we are not reversing cadmium accumulation, we are simply holding it back through the cooperation of farmers, fertiliser companies, and the safeguard of council monitoring. And the question remains whether a ‘holding’ strategy is pre-emptive and wide-ranging enough to ensure our health and that of the land, the health of future generations, and our export access to global food markets.

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Page 34 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Brain Drain

Where are our ‘best and brightest’?

As this year’s school leavers make decisions on the next step of their future, Jess Soutar Barron looks at what became of Hawke’s Bay’s ‘best and brightest’ leavers from ten years ago.

Every year about 2,000 Hawke’s Bay school leavers kiss goodbye to their secondary schools and head off to the real world in search of fame and fortune.

Anecdotally – no firm numbers are available – Hawke’s Bay suffers a ‘brain drain’ as many 18-year-olds leave the region, taking their NCEA (or equivalent) with them.

Some school leavers do a gap year, some a full scale OE, some study or work in bigger cities.

Over the following years a few come back, bringing qualifications, experience, a partner, a family, bright ideas, capital. Some come only to holiday, see family, enjoy the weather. Some never return at all.

Goodbye In some Hawke’s Bay leadership circles, this out-migration is nothing less than a social indictment of the region (“We must have a university!”), while to others it’s an entirely natural ‘tidal’ phenomenon.

Chris Collins, EIT’s chief executive, observes a number of reasons why people leave.

“There’re always students who need to leave to access specialised higher education programmes,” says Chris, whose 18-yearold will herself leave the area next year to study medicine in Auckland.“There are also students who want to experience the wider world. And sometimes parents want their kids to leave!” he says.

Brenda Chapman, marketing manager at EIT, commissions an annual survey of year 11, 12 and 13 students, asking them what they plan to do once they leave school.

“In the seven years we’ve been doing the survey, the single biggest change is the number of Don’t Knows,” says Brenda.

“High school students are becoming more undecided about what they want to study, and they are also more undecided about where they want to study.”

For their part, EIT is exploring ways to attract younger people to study locally by expanding their offering.“We have set a goal to provide a wide portfolio of options for vocational and career-focused study, foundation right through to higher education.”

Younger student body More students under 25 are choosing to go to EIT than did so ten years ago.

This may be because of an increase in degree courses available or a change in economic conditions. Student numbers at EIT fell between 2004 to 2007 due to a strong economy in the region and, as an extension, parents’ ability to fund their children’s study in other cities.

“We have certainly noticed, over the last five years, an increasingly younger age group at EIT. Predominantly, mature students (25+) are the typical polytech student population, but over the last five years there’s been a dramatic shift,” explains Chris. In 2014, 50% of students were under 25; in 2009 it was only 30%.

“We are getting a higher proportion of younger students, and young people attract young people,” Chris says, adding that he is beginning to see more of the ‘cool kid’ set selecting EIT, choosing to stay at home rather than study outside the area.

“The costs of study for someone going away from home is becoming eye watering,” he notes, quoting around $25,000 a year for fees and board.

The Top 5 things school leavers say influence their study decisions (source: EIT): 1. Has the programme of study I want 2. Good facilities 3. Good campus 4. Lifestyle 5. Can get away from home An ironic twist to the brain drain dilemma is the increase in international students coming to study in the Bay. EIT has 500 international students from 45 countries studying everything from nursing to viticulture to ICT. Chris Collins: “So we have these young people coming from overseas and then we have locals who feel they have to leave.”

Home and away So what does a ten-year review of the perceived brain drain tell us? Are our best and brightest leaving town and never looking back? Or are some choosing to stay and make the Bay their home?

To find out, BayBuzz tracked down high achieving school leavers from 2004. Ten years ago, each was dux or head prefect of their school, full of hope and promise.

Ten years is nothing for anyone over 45.

For those age 28, it’s the decade between adolescence and full blown adulthood. Here’s what six of Hawke’s Bay’s top 2004 graduates have accomplished in their transition decade – two in the Bay, four outside (London, Melbourne, Wellington, Mexico).

Page 35 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Albie Colvin Napier Boys’ High School, Head Boy, Graphic Designer

“I left the day after I finished at Boys’ High,” says Albie Colvin, who now lives in Melbourne.

He’s a graphic designer who has set up his own practice combining design with sustainability and social enterprise endeavours. He established Colour Me Safe, an art for children initiative in South East Asia, in 2013.

“I used art as a way to transition through teen years, and it stayed critical to my wellbeing,” he explains.

“Now I work with groups that bring creative arts opportunities to young people in disadvantaged areas.” He has partnered with Melbourne University, where he studied, and plans to make the initiative global.

“It gets me away from my desk. Going from high school to uni to work, this programme has given me back a balance.”

Albie is proud of the networks and collaborations he has been part of in Australia and is a big believer in getting involved with community.

“That was something that was instilled in us at Boys’ High: contribute and be an active part of life. That’s carried me through life.”

He hasn’t spent any real time in Hawke’s Bay since he left ten years ago.

“I’ve driven through twice on my way to Wellington,” he says. “We got fish ‘n’ chips.”

“I left as a child needing to get out into the world and explore and find my place in it. I don’t think I’ve seen enough to feel it’s time to come back.”

“That was something that was instilled in us at Boys’ High: contribute and be an active part of life. That’s carried me through life.”

“I could have gone on scholarship to a number of New Zealand universities, but I chose not to. There was a pressure that I didn’t want to have to live up to,” he explains.

“So I went away and I worked full time, studied full time, and I did it on my own terms. I achieved things for myself.”

Albie’s view on what Hawke’s Bay needs to grow is a philosophical one.

“Communities have to celebrate their differences, we need to celebrate who we are and what makes us unique and special. It’s about instilling pride in our beautiful weather, our beautiful architecture, our interlinking generations – the perception of young people to old is horrible and vice versa.

It’s not necessarily about things we need; it’s a collective thought. We need to make it a positive place to be and young people will benefit regardless. It’s a whole community thing.”

“We have young people coming [to EIT] from overseas and then we have locals who feel they have to leave.”

Chris Collins, EiT’s CEo

Photo by Sarah Cates

o

s a m t s r Chri

f t n a w I All is a G

r e h c ift Vou

Class of 2004 : Where are they now?

Central Hawke’s Bay College

Hillary Coraran, Dux George Smith, Head Boy - accountant in Queenstown Kate Harding, Head Girl - farmer in HB

Flaxmere College

Whitney Nohokau, Dux - childcare worker in HB Bohdeen Heather, Head Girl No head boy in that year

Hastings Boys’ High School

Jason Lambert, Dux - school teacher in the US Scott Nicol, Head Boy - plastic welder in HB

Hastings Christian School

Kirsten Ellis, Dux

Hastings Girls’ High School

Janine Chisnall, Dux Heather Christie, Head Girl - professional dancer en route to China

Havelock North High School

Claudia Beacham, Dux – therapeutic massage practice in HB John Scott, Head Boy Alice Stone , Head Girl

Iona College

Boomi Kwon, Dux Ashleigh Hill, Head Girl

Karamu High School

Paul Chote, Dux - PhD Physics in Wellington Daniel Priest, Head Boy Rachel Morley, Head Girl

Lindisfarne College

Ryan Harper, Dux Jay Sorensen, Head Boy - rural valuer in HB

Napier Boys’ High School

James Robb, Dux - BSC Biomedical Science, LLB. Working in Melbourne Albie Colvin, Head Boy - graphic designer in Melbourne

Napier Girls’ High School

Wei Chern Fan , Dux Emma Twigg, Head Girl - rower, FIFA Masters postgraduate course in Europe

Sacred Heart College

Abby Ward, Dux - medical doctor in Wellington Virginia Latrobe (nee Walsh), Head Girl - business analyst for Westpac in HB

St John’s College

Adam Roughton, Dux Brendan Soloman, Head Boy

St Joseph’s Maori Girls’ College

Kelly Ratana, Dux - Fullbright Scholar, teaching assistant at Hawaii Pacific University Anahera Jordan, Head Prefect Horowai Wetini, Head Prefect - teacher in Christchurch

Taikura Rudolf Steiner School

Zoe McGavock, Dux – arthritis educator in Wellington

Tamatea High School

Hayley Oates, Dux Rhys Fallen, Head Boy - sports coach in HB Phetmany Vong PhaChanhi, Head Girl

Taradale High School

Kate Roberts, Dux Toby Hunter, Head Boy - data specialist at Twitter in London Kimberly Savage, Head Girl - reporter with Q&A TVNZ in Auckland

Wairoa College

Deborah Ford, Dux - primary school teacher in Hamilton, on her way to living in Samoa Ngareta Barbarich, Head Girl Jacob Nash, Head Boy

William Colenso College

Jack Cheng, Dux Chelsea Willis, Matt Watkins, Bekki Abernethy and Paul Tozer, Student Leader Group Paul Tozer is a production co-ordinator at Toi Whakaari and Bekki Abernethy was last seen in 2010 during a rugby photo shoot as a lock (Google her).

Woodford House

Phillipa Brickell, Dux - dentist in Australia Briar Barry, Head Girl - logistics coordinator with Icebreaker

Hukarere Girls College

Unavailable

Te Aute College

Unavailable

Page 38 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Claudia Beacham Havelock North High School, Dux, Youth Counsellor/ Massage Therapist

From school Claudia did the first year of her psychology degree at EIT and then went to Palmerston North for two years. Her honours year was done extramurally from Hawke’s Bay. She came home for “family and the weather”.

When Claudia finished studying she looked for work in the psychology field, her one non-negotiable was Hawke’s Bay, she wanted to stay here and make it her base.

“I looked for anything: voluntary, paid, part time,” says Claudia. “In some ways, because I am aware of our brain drain, I thought it would be cool if some of us could stay.”

Being in Hawke’s Bay is not simply something Claudia feels dutiful about.“There’s a lot of diversity here. That’s a good thing for the general tapestry of the place: more services, leisure activities, diversity in the landscape even. There’s a real energy and it’s very life giving.”

In 2009 she became a trustee of Te Whakaritorito Trust, working with young people. “There’s a need to help here; to make a difference. We’ve got some really negative stats here in Hawke’s Bay in terms of mental health … What I have seen with some young people is that life hasn’t always been easy

Photo by Sarah Cates

and that effects them in different ways,” says Claudia. “If I can help then I will.”

Art was a big part of Claudia’s high school life and she believes it is a positive outlet for all young people.“For me it helped put things into perspective. Once it’s down on paper you can look at things in a way that you may not have considered before.”

“In some ways, because I am aware of our brain drain, I thought it would be cool if some of us could stay.”

“Mentoring youth is actually very enriching for me, I’ve learnt a lot from the people I work with.”

Claudia has strong opinions on the lot of young people in Hawke’s Bay. It comes from the experiences she’s had working for Directions Youth Services and for Te Whakaritorito. She has also

worked with Project K, CreaArts and with a number of other youth-based support groups in the Bay. “I tend to hear that young people are bored. There’s rural isolation, academic pressures, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, domestic violence.

Some young people may feel there’s no support,” she says. “Suicide is an issue here and there can be a flow-on effect even when they’ve seen the fall out it creates.

It happens so often they’re numb to it.

Also there’s a ‘best not to talk about it’ idea. But I believe it is better to talk about it, in a safe way.”

Recently Claudia has started her own therapeutic massage business, Mentha Massage, and is looking at the possibility of starting a PhD in the next few years. Claudia sees herself as a ‘social entrepreneur’ integrating ten years of study, exploration and experience into a future for herself. Alongside study and working, Claudia is an accomplished ballet dancer and a violinist.

Selling Hawke’s Bay Havelock North Hastings Clive Coastal

M: 027 704 8845 DDI: 06 872 7059 W: shanepugh.co.nz E: shane@propertybrokers.co.nz

Page 39 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Heather Christie Hastings Girls’ High School, Head Girl, Dancer

As soon as she finished school Heather Christie took up a scholarship at the Leicester College of Performing Arts in the UK. “I had always dreamed of pursuing a career in dance, but finishing my education was important, so when the offer came after high school I couldn’t turn it down.”

In 2008 she graduated and since then Heather has danced with various companies and choreographers travelling from Europe to North America. She is currently in Mexico working for a circus company, but will be on tour in China towards the end of this year.

Heather has found it hard spending so much time away from her family and it was

Jay Sorensen Lindisfarne College, Head Boy, Rural Valuer

Jay Sorensen went to university in Palmerston North straight after school, then returned to the Bay to work at Logan Stone.

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a bright moment when her mother flew to the UK to see her graduate.

“My parents supported me so much over the years and encouraged me to follow my dreams so I was happy to show them what their continued love and support helped me achieve,” she says.

Heather has been away for ten years, only returning home twice.

“I will always love Hawke’s Bay because of my family and memories, but I have found it difficult to go back,” she explains.“After experiencing so much I have become a lot more open-minded, and coming back to such a small place takes awhile to adjust back into.”

Heather does say she would consider settling in Hawke’s Bay. “I appreciate a lot more of its beauty and architecture. When I finally settle down I couldn’t imagine a better place to do it.”

“People take for granted what they have and are oblivious to what a life they are given.

After living in Mexico I realise how lucky we are in Hawke’s Bay: for the education, the clean environment, all the opportunities and most importantly the help we receive.”

Heather does feel that her opportunities in Hawke’s Bay were limited. “I think most people leave because they are looking for adventure and new experiences. It’s not because it’s a bad place, it’s because they need to expand their education and maturity.

The best thing is, it will always be there to come back too. It’ll always be home.”

He is part of its management team and has governance aspirations. He is also a member of the Young Leaders Committee for the Property Institute of New Zealand, and he and his wife of two years live on a lifestyle property near Hastings.

“Hawke’s Bay is a great place to live and work. Coming from a rural background I enjoy the level of diversity within the rural sector, and the opportunities that presents,” says Jay. Jay is loyal to Hawke’s Bay and is actively involved in helping it grow.

He co-founded Hawke’s Bay Young Professionals in 2009.

“I don’t see living in Hawke’s Bay as restrictive on my professional career; for some jobs that may be the case,” Jay says.

“Lifestyle, friends and family are the main drivers for living here, along with Logan Stone providing me with a good opportunity to work here.”

Jay believes young people head out of town to gain life skills and experience.

“I don’t have a problem with them leaving, as long as they come back,” he says.

“I don’t think you can stop young people leaving, however you can provide incentives or opportunities to ensure they return.

Often it’s difficult to gain employment in Hawke’s Bay straight out of university, and they turn to the larger centres or overseas for experience.”

Jay’s point of view comes from his social, but also his professional, observations: “In the current economic climate, young

professionals returning to the Bay are still finding it difficult to get work.” He does see the most entrepreneurial of these setting up their own businesses and doing well.

But he believes the region needs to think laterally about growth.

“Many successful operators have the ability to think outside the square and create a point of difference to ensure their business stands out from their competitors.

In Hawke’s Bay we need to promote this kind of thinking so the region grows.”

Keeping connected with the rest of the country, and not succumbing to its isolation is also vital for Hawke’s Bay. “We need regular, affordable flights so business people can travel to main centres and vice versa. This will make sure we continue to have high net worth individuals living here, and in turn make Hawke’s Bay a better place to set up business, and attract younger people back to the region.”

Jay sees two main drivers as attractive to young people: lifestyle and earning potential.

“Hawke’s Bay ticks the lifestyle box without a doubt, but earning potential is a struggle. To increase that we need a strong economy and to make that happen involves risk,” says Jay. “I believe to grow you need to take well-educated risks.

If you don’t it’s very difficult to move forward. Hawke’s Bay, as a region and as individuals, needs to carefully consider growth projects and ensure opportunities are captured when presented.”

Zoe McGavock Rudolf Taikura Steiner School, Dux, Arthritis Educator

“I decided quite young I would go to Otago to study. I was 14, on a family holiday, and I declared I was going there,” explains Zoe McGavock, based for now in Wellington.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school. After four years of study at Otago I discovered Health Psychology and I thought ‘Finally! Something that actual appeals’. I found my niche.”

After completing an honours year and later a masters, Zoe is now an arthritis educator with Arthritis NZ. Her years away at university also gave her the opportunity to connect with her heritage.

“I’m Ngaitahu on my Dad’s side and at uni I found other young pale-looking Ngaitahu! I hadn’t had access to that up here.” As part of that group Zoe got involved in cultural activities and projects, and connected with her marae.

“I guess if young people are leaving and upskilling, then coming back, that’s a good thing. Better than staying, but not upskilling!”

Photo by Sarah Cates Zoe now travels New Zealand-wide for her job. Her partner is still studying in Wellington, and both work and study keep them in the capital.

“I am definitely open to living in Hawke’s Bay in the future,” says Zoe, whose older brother is raising three sons in the Bay. “Wellington is a great place and it suits us, but we both had an idyllic, beachy upbringing and we’d like to give that to our future kids.”

“When I come back here I find it really quiet. Wellington’s busy, it’s all go. Walk down the main street here at 5pm and everything is shut. Picture tumbleweed!”

Zoe believes there is merit to leaving, for a short time at least, both for the individual and the region. “I guess if young people are leaving and upskilling, then coming back, that’s a good thing. Better than staying, but not upskilling!”

As for her visits home Zoe enjoys Hawke’s Bay for its wineries, cafes, beaches and rivers. “Although they’re not as clean as they were!” she adds.

“Home will always be where Mum and Dad are, and every now and then we jump on Trade Me and wistfully look at the houses we could afford if we lived here instead of in Wellington!” Zoe says.

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Top of the Class Kelly Ratana St Joseph’s Maori Girls’ College, Dux Kelly was awarded a Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Award in 2012 and the Rose Hellaby Graduate Award in 2013.

She holds a BA/BSc in Maori/Biology and Marine Science from the University of Auckland, and a Graduate Diploma in Marine Science from the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. Kelly has recently returned to New Zealand from Hawai’i where she completed a two year masters programme in Marine Science at Hawai’i Pacific University. Kelly is currently considering opportunities in the public sector in the mid-to-upper North Island.

Emma Twigg Napier Girls’ High School, Head Girl Emma is a rowing world champion bringing home the gold in the single sculls event in Amsterdam this year. She is the first New Zealand woman to win the single scull. Emma was Junior World Champion in 2005 and U23 World Champion in 2007. She is currently completing the prestigious FIFA Masters postgraduate course. This one-year masters programme in Management, Law & Humanities of Sport consists of three modules taught across three universities in Europe: De Montfort (Leicester), SDA Bocconi (Milan) and Université de Neuchâte (Switzerland).

Rowing NZ has chosen not to endorse Emma’s decision to take a year out to study.

Recently Emma wrote on her blog: “I’m ready to prove that a happy athlete is a fast athlete and that the quest for peace of mind and balance will not detract from my 2016 performance, rather it will add to it.”

Paul Chote Karamu High School, Dux Paul holds a BSc in Maths and Physics (1st class honours), an MSc (distinction) and a PhD (both in Physics) from Victoria University in Wellington. He has a particular interest in astronomy and capturing images of white dwarfs using photometry instruments (!). He is a game developer in his spare time. Paul is currently being interviewed by universities around the world for a postgraduate position in astrophysics.

Page 42 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Kelly Ratana, Fullbright Scholar

Toby Hunter

It’s such a great, friendly place. I love visiting my parents and miss the pace of life. It’s the opposite of London!

Taradale High School, Head Boy, Social Media Specialist

What are your memories of being here?

Toby is a data specialist with Twitter in London, so what better way to interview him than via tweets.

Where have you been for the last ten years?

Studied Marketing at Vic for three years. Lived and loved Wellington for eight years, now in Europe.

What’s been the best moment of the last ten years?

Building great friendships in university which I’ve carried to the other side of the world.

How do you feel about Hawke’s Bay?

Taradale High, of course, a good four years there. On top of that, playing my football with the HB team and my summers at Greendale Tennis Club. Loved my time on the courts!

Will you ever come back and live here?

Quite possibly when I’m older. Right now there’s too much of the world to see, and the job opportunity isn’t there for me.

Why do you think people leave?

Initially, university. After that, job potential, and the natural Kiwi urge to travel. Some return, some won’t.

What does Hawke’s Bay needs to help it grow?

Really sell its point of difference. Use the wineries, the coast, the beautiful rolling hills. Focus on making #TheBay as accessible as possible with a focus on locally-owned high-end tourism.

“Use the wineries, the coast, the beautiful rolling hills. Focus on making #TheBay as accessible as possible with a focus on locally-owned high-end tourism.”

The Gem of Hawke’s Bay… Monique Therese, tinkering away in her workshop in Havelock North creating Exquisite pieces of fine jewellery. Brightly coloured gemstones sit in little jars and sparkly diamonds surround her workspace. A creative haven and treasure chest of pretty things that would inspire the magpie within all jewellery lovers.

Luckily for Hawkes Bay this talent is not just a one facet wonder. This little gem specialises in antique restoration, fine jewellery repairs and custom bespoke jewellery and is about to celebrate a decade in Havelock North this jewel of jewellers is here to stay!

With 18 years in the jewellery trade Monique has a wealth of experience in all aspects of jewellery design, making and repairs.

“I am so lucky to have such an interesting profession.” says Monique.

“The best thing is that every day, every job, every challenge is different. It keeps me on my toes. It’s almost like being an engineer, panel beater and an artist all rolled into one. I have more tools than my husband! She laughs.” “But what really inspires me is my clients.

They don’t always realise just how much their thoughts and input send me on a journey of discovery and how a unique and personal piece of jewellery is created in my mind just from a chat about their likes and style direction. It is through listening to my clients and really understanding exactly what they want that I have such a successful business today. Over the years I have had many touching and special testimonials that echo the commitment I have to my clients and how I strive for perfection. There is one testimonial in particular that I wanted to share…”

“Dear Monique Therese, To accept a commission to design and craft a piece of personal jewellery requires a huge commitment from the artist. At all times as we worked together you showed me the greatest respect, you encouraged me to contribute my ideas, you gently coached me through some possible alternatives, you listened so carefully and we laughed a lot! You gave me far more than the most beautiful ring I have ever seen; you also gave me part of yourself as well.

I cannot thank you enough. The first sighting of the ring you so beautifully crafted for me reduced me to tears. You have truly designed and crafted a stunning family heirloom for me and the generations of women that will follow me. You are a very talented and gifted young woman and it has been an absolute privilege working with you. My very warmest wishes and heartfelt thanks, ND.” “The reward of having a letter like this not only gives me immense job satisfaction, it makes me feel all gooey on the inside!”

Designing and making beautiful jewellery is my passion. If you need someone who will take the time to create the statement piece you always wanted, come visit me at my workshop.”

To celebrate the finer things in life we're offering Bay Buzz readers an exclusive… a special gift to the first 20 people that bring in their copy of Bay buzz magazine.

(Limit one per person, conditions apply).

6 Havelock Road, Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand Phone: +64 6 877 9851 • Email: monique@creatifdesign.co.nz www.creatifdesign.co.nz

Hastings’ Broken Heart Needs Love Despite ongoing efforts to restore vitality to what aspires to be the heart of Hawke’s Bay, Hastings’ ageing CBD with encroaching ‘for lease’ signs, discount outlets and dozens of at-risk buildings is at the crossroads of viability. Hastings’ image problem is going to take a lot more than cosmetic changes and partisan efforts to fix.

STORY KEITH NEWMAN PHOTOGRAPHS TIM WHITTAKER Page 44 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Hastings is a city with a broken heart that desperately needs some love as it trends dangerously toward ‘zombie town’ status, as described by NZ Institute of Economic Research analyst Shamabeel Eaqab in his recent doomsaying tour of the provinces.

The once bustling central city, nostalgically conscious of former glory days when it sprawled out on either side of the railway, now struggles to attract and retain retailers, offices and people, reflecting a region performing near the bottom of the prosperity charts, with a shrinking and ageing population.

Despite the new catch cry ‘Good things grow here” there’s a conviction that Hastings District Council needs to shrink its CBD if it’s to restore vibrancy to the lonely streets it so desperately wants to celebrate.

Louise Thompson of Hastings-based valuers Logan Stone believes Hastings CBD needs to become tighter and more attractive with clustered activity, if it’s to differentiate itself from Napier and get buy in from locals.

“... we don’t think things are going to change in Hastings … it needs a strategic approach or it’s going to get worse.”

The six monthly Logan Stone ‘Retail Occupancy Survey’ to August 2014 showed Napier and Hastings CBD occupancy had dropped to 89.3%, the worst in a decade. The underperformance of Hastings is sending national retail

chains straight to Napier, even though the rents are higher.

“We’re normally very conservative when it comes to making predictions, but we’re saying we don’t think things are going to change in Hastings…It needs a strategic approach or it’s going to get worse,” says Thompson.

A quick BayBuzz survey in late September revealed 45 vacancies in Napier, which is currently rethinking its own CBD strategy, and 40 in Hastings, 27 on the west side including larger premises with multiple lease offerings.

Shopping habits have changed drastically. People are increasingly time poor through work and family pressures, preferring to drive to a one-stop outlet or big box retailers rather than traipsing around town.

Online retailing continues to have a

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Michael Whittaker, local developer and chairman of the Hastings City Business Association,

big impact with shoppers researching and comparing prices and increasingly purchasing online, which now accounts for just over 6% of this country’s overall retail spend.

Over $1 billion in sales was lost to overseas websites in 2013, and Thompson says most new businesses tend to test their market online before considering CBD tenancies.

Bolder, braver, smaller Michael Whittaker, local developer and chairman of the Hastings City Business Association, is challenging Hastings District Council (HDC) to make a “quantum shift” in its Central City Plan.

“They haven’t made the hard decisions… it’s not bold or brave enough.”

He claims too many grey areas have stifled development and innovation.

Building owners and retailers “need to be given the book of what to expect as part of the sell rather than it being a shock when they get here.”

Whittaker says radical change is needed, “a complete rewrite” based on one coordinated vision “not just tweaking around the edges”. A lot of what needs to happen won’t be popular so the council needs “as much support as it does courage.”

If the hard issues aren’t tackled, he warns we’ll end up with even more untenanted and rundown buildings.

“Get the vision right, get the town planning and consenting structure right so developers and landowners can

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make changes to their buildings and the market will take care of itself.”

Hasting mayor Lawrence Yule isn’t convinced. He wants a better understanding of the perceived

“Get the vision right, get the town planning and consenting structure right so developers and landowners can make changes to their buildings and the market will take care of itself.” regulatory constraints and whether or not HDC is “turning people off… I don’t know that’s the case”.

He concedes however that judgements will have be made about what is protected and what’s not. “We may have to give away some things in the interest of change, new development and growth.”

HDC floated its latest Central City Plan back in December 2011. It talked about protecting strengths, unlocking potential for growth and prosperity, pulling together different plans, centralising thinking and coordinating improvement efforts.

More PR words appeared in its vision statement: The CBD needs to be clearly defined as a “multi-faceted heart” acting as a civic centre and gathering place and “… defined by its vibrancy, amenity and

liveability, with a clear sense of place and identity as well as resilience to economic and lifestyle trends.”

This year, however, Council only put aside $3.2 million for CBD initiatives including enhancements to Civic Square’s library and art gallery and linking it more tightly with the evolving Heretaunga St East cultural, entertainment and hospitality cluster.

The grand old Opera House, now vacated and deemed an earthquake risk, despite earlier strengthening and modernising, was supposed to be at the hub of this activity.

News that compliance work may cost up to $10m was a real slap on the façade for HDC, particularly as the latest valuation has been more than halved to $6.16 million. Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule insists “we won’t walk away, we will fix it but that might mean we have to change some priorities.”

He hints that HDC’s proposed $5 million incentive for Scenic Hotel Group to build a $19 million, 100-bed inner city hotel to keep conference and event attendees in Hastings may no longer stack up.

Yule is more enthusiastic about the deal with Ngati Kahungunu to integrate its Innovation Centre, including performing arts and tourism opportunities, into the redevelopment of the art gallery and library in Civic Square.

“That will add a significant and powerful cultural dimension and bring the dreams and aspirations of Ngati Kahungunu right into the middle of Hastings.”

Hastings CBD By the Numbers 20 minutes walk from east to west 480 businesses

CBD Statistics Hastings GDP $3.2 billion (2013) Forecast economic growth 1.2% Hastings’ Mayor Lawrence Yule

Hastings population: 75,700

Shrinking the CBD Yule says the business hub of the region, surrounded by productive capacity, needs to be modernised and made more compact and concedes the current CBD plan may not be bold enough.

He says it’s time for a serious look at global trends and what the appropriate mix of retail and commercial might be for Hastings. He’s seeking advice with a view to getting stakeholders together with an independent party to break the problem down into chunks.

“What are the issues, what are the trends in retail and how to migrate to that brave new world incrementally but in a way that is visionary and futureproof.”

Although the council has spent a lot on ancillary work to upgrade the CBD, the next long-term plan (LTP) needs to consider whether it makes sense to continue investing in such things when there are so many empty shops.

22,150 aged 15-39 years

Demographics 25,000 aged 40-64 years Balance: 65 and over or under 15 years

High end: $250 per square metre per annum

Commercial Gross Rents

Average: $200 Low end: $150 Source: Hastings City Business Association

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Renovation or wrecking ball - a developer’s dilemma Changes to the Building Code in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake continue to create aftershocks in Hastings, where the wrecking ball can be more affordable than reinvestment or strengthening work on older buildings.

A cornucopia of consenting challenges and compliance costs face landlords and owners for earthquake strengthening or redeveloping retail or office spaces at a time when rents are low and vacancies are high and there’s little chance of a return on investment.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says earthquake strengthening and its impact on the occupation and vibrancy of the CBD, and the option that some owners may simply walk away, is a major issue that needs to be worked out at a national level.

“We’ve already done our desktop analysis and we know it effects hundreds of buildings here. We know the ones that need to come back with an engineer’s assessment showing they’re up to standard.”

In his role as chairman of Local Government New Zealand Yule is looking at the options, but says any relief could be around nine months away. One option could be to identify and prioritise risk, with elements such as parapets, verandas strengthened first and the rest over a longer period.

Louise Thompson of Logan Stone confirms the seismic ratings of many buildings in the Hastings CBD, and the fact many aren’t configured for current retail needs, is contributing to the low level of inquiries.

Albert Hotel developer Michael Whittaker says the choice of whether to strengthen, develop or demolish depends a lot on the regulatory, consenting and planning environment, which in many cases involves Heritage New Zealand.

The Historic Places Trust Act covers not only pre-19th century buildings but 1920s and 30s structures, particularly if there’s evidence of some prior activity on the ground. Even pulling a building

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down or cleaning up a site for future development involves strict compliance.

“It may mean a complete excavation of that site … by a qualified archaeologist and there are a limited supply of those in New Zealand.” Construction and demolition both require costly reports from structural engineers who are in high demand since the Christchurch earthquakes.

While developers may be tempted to simply throw their hands in the air and give up, Whittaker suggests resilience is required. “You just have to get in and solve the problem.”

Susan McDade, manager of the Hastings City Business Association is hopeful of legislation changes to assist with strengthening buildings of community importance.

She says everything possible needs to be done to save facades that are special to Hastings. “If we have a mass exodus of people walking out and just leaving their central city buildings to rot we’ve got a huge problem.”

He’s not ruling out a ‘big change’ CBD budget, but that has to be balanced with the need to manage a recessionary environment. “People are still struggling and we have to do what we can without putting undue pressure on rate increases.”

Michael Whittaker agrees the central city needs to be trimmed by a couple of blocks to promote density. “You’ve now got the worst of the worst, elongation and width and poor density and you haven’t actually got a CDB.” Whittaker’s solution? “You pull buildings down … you get rid of them … as part of a collective vision” with new boundaries for a reduced retail precinct.

That may require rezoning and “council buying up eight or nine buildings” to put in green spaces or car parks.

He recommends incentives to protect the most attractive and historical buildings along Heretaunga St East and West and its side streets and discouraging retail and office sprawl. “You force them back into the central city.”

That, says Whittaker, means office workers stay in town to shop, have lunch or go for coffee. “Once that capacity’s full, then let it creep out. But let’s give every retailer and every service supporting offices the chance to at least stay in business … to stay alive, and prosper.”

Fork in the road Susan McDade, manager of the Hastings City Business Association, suggests this is a “transitional phase”, the fork in the road where critical decisions must be made. “Are we going to have high expectations and do some very aspirational things or be reactionary and follow along and just see what happens?”

She also agrees the CBD must shrink, but dealing with different landlords and business owners will require a single strategic vision and strong leadership.

Pushing the rents up too high will only attract chain stores and franchises rather than the “mom and pop or boutiques” and start-ups that Hastings needs.

As part of any grand plan everyone needs to be kept in the loop to ensure collaboration on cost sharing, branding and advertising. “All the components … need to come together … we’re not there yet.”

McDade says those pushing for change need to be tenacious and not take no for an answer. “Passion is infectious. Hastings needs to back itself … it needs vibrancy and the general feeling that people are around and things are happening.”

Logan Stone’s Louise Thompson warns there’s a risk of devaluing property and increasing vacancies by rezoning or saying you don’t want certain types of businesses in some areas.

“Passion is infectious.

Hastings needs to back itself … it needs vibrancy and the general feeling that people are around and things are happening.”

SUSAN MCDADE

Inner city living is a key to encouraging density and creating safety and security. It fits well with the cycling culture and having people living and working and doing business in the CBD. She believes Hastings Council needs to look at zoning issues that might prevent residential growth in the CBD and like other opportunities, if there are “too many hoops” for landlords and retailers to jump through “people give up or their energy gets hand-braked”.

Compliance needs to be streamlined as much as possible, with one go-to person at Council like an account manager to work everything through with the business owner.

Eastern overhaul ahead Michael Whittaker has purchased many of the worse-for-wear buildings in Heretaunga East including the Little Red Bookshop, Image Trading Centre, the Vivid Shop and the former WINZ centre and is using council incentives to paint some of the fading facades.

With the arguments for saving the rotting 132-year-old Albert Hotel exhausted, he’s still finalising the complexities of Heritage New Zealand’s proscriptive rules for a preChristmas demolition.

Once the building and its illegal homeless tenants are removed, he estimates it’ll take nine months for a two-storey complex with several retail and hospitality sites and an open green space to take shape.

Plans are unclear until tenancy

Page 50 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

and compliance issues are sorted with the colourful and eclectic mix of existing retailers and cafes, faced with anticipating a mix of ancient and modern and hopeful their rents don’t skyrocket.

Whittaker would like to be much further ahead with his own plans, but there are always complications. “We need radical change… a complete step change of attitudes, and we need regulatory support to fix cities like Hastings.”

“Are we going to have high expectations and do some very aspirational things or be reactionary and follow along and just see what happens?”

He believes the state of the CBD is going to get worse before it gets better as more businesses leave, making it even more difficult to find tenants for new builds.

Theatre of engagement It’s an entertainment poor city that doesn’t have at least one movie theatre.

When Reading Cinemas walked away from Heretaunga St East in January 2012 it added to the fears of a mass exodus.

Within 18 months disappointment turned to elation for movie goers. New owners Matt and Julie Bell, having successfully converted aging cinema complexes in Feilding and Levin, made a “significant investment” in Hastings.

They partnered with the owners of the 1933 State Theatre Building who completed seismic strengthening work and a complete interior redesign for their Focal Point Cinema and Café, which re-opened in May with state-of-the-art digital equipment.

Matt Bell says the design of the auditorium was no longer relevant.

“35mm film had become obsolete, the audio equipment was clapped out, the screens were old, and a big thing we do is the licensed café so the whole experience can be so much greater.”

The growing number of shop vacancies doesn’t overly concern Bell. “That’s just the changing face of retail that’s happening nationwide. “I don’t see Hastings being any better or any worse than other similar cities and towns.”

He’s aware of clashing views on the future of the CBD. “It’s always hard to get 100% consensus on anything. Sometimes you just have to be entrepreneurial and have the backbone to follow through with your plans and ideas.”

East west divide You could be forgiven for thinking that all the attention for the Hastings CBD has jumped the rails from west to east, but the westside is still home for the bulk of traditional boutique and chain store retailing, and the business and banking sector.

Mayor Yule is aware that unless the retail mix changes, rents won’t be generated for a sustainable CBD,

Sense of safety restored Until recently the general perception has been Hastings CBD is unsafe even in the daytime.

You could experience intimidating language and behaviour, be accosted, bumped off the pavement by an overzealous skateboarder or return to find your car gone.

Louise Thompson, valuer at Logan Stone

“If the large formats hadn’t been accommodated where they are, they would have gone elsewhere and that could have been even worse for the CBD. The fact they are linking to the CBD is really important.” suggesting there’s currently too much retail on the west side. “We need to bring more people and jobs into the CBD.” Louise Thompson of Logan Stone

believes those in charge of the big picture need to “step outside of the square and be innovative” and ensure both sides of the railway work together.

She doesn’t buy the argument that big box retailers are responsible for fading CBD fortunes. “If the large formats hadn’t been accommodated where they are they would have gone elsewhere and that could have been even worse for the CBD. The fact they are linking to the CBD is really important.”

Susan McDade, of the Hastings City Business Association says some of the smaller operators feel a little left out with all the focus on the big operators. “We don’t need more big box developments.”

She’s wants to focus on helping

The arrival of the City Assist ambassadors in October 2013 has dramatically changed that and a commitment of $390,000 from Hastings District Council has ensured they’ll continue patrolling inner city streets for at least another year.

The six ambassadors in their purple teeshirts and brimmed hats have dramatically improved the sense of security for shoppers and retailers.

Not only do they settle disputes, liaise with Police and engage positively with those who might appear to be loitering, they help with directions and provide a friendly information service.

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What Hastings CBD needs

A bolder collaborative vision • • • • • •

All parties working together Think 21st century, not 1950 Differentiate from Napier Act on the best ideas Share resources, reduce the cost Improve customer service

Shrink the city sprawl • • • •

At least two blocks too long New parks, green spaces New car parking areas More offices & inner city living

Earthquake strengthening • Assistance to save key facades • Encourage re-designs • Creative use of empty windows

Streamline planning processes • Make it easier for new businesses • Council should help not hinder • Encourage new ideas

Get to grips with global trends • Make social media social • More than a shopping experience • A Hastings CBD web portal

Attract more foot traffic • • • •

Attractive office space Lure workers into town Encourage cyclists Buskers and mini concerts

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Julie & Matt Bell, owner-operators of the Focal Point Cinema and Café

existing smaller retailers survive by “fixing the environment and improving the experience … by lifting our brand so people want to come here.”

Although effort is going into the externals like upgraded paving, creating outdoor café seating and adding new lighting, she says not enough has gone into improving service, and ensuring shoppers have a range of different experiences.

Notably, some scoffed at the idea of Thursday Night Markets, but persistence paid off. The average attendance over the first 26-week period was 1,500 people between 5.30 to 9pm.

Few shopkeepers opened up to support it; one who did recorded the equivalent of a full day’s takings.

The CBD Night Market kicked off again in October and from November HCBA is planning a growers market on Saturday mornings where locals can buy their fruit and vegetables.

Differentiating the CBD Getting Kiwibank’s call centre into town was a collaborative effort between Council, Business HB, Food HB, EIT, Unison and others who completed due diligence around capacity, staff availability and real estate. That learning curve enabled the development of a resource package to help attract other businesses to Hastings.

Having at least 100 employees operating from the old Farmers building brings people back into the CBD and, according to Yule, other deals are on the boil including a relocation that’ll add 70 jobs. He’s encouraging other large employers in office, education and service industries to move closer.

McDade says she’s seeing greater collaboration during her weekly meetings with seven different council departments

“It’s always hard to get 100% consensus on anything.

Sometimes you just have to be entrepreneurial and have the backbone to follow through with your plans and ideas.” and a willingness to look at CBD ideas and listen to feedback from business owners.

She believes Hastings needs to differentiate itself by celebrating its talented, creative, artistic and passionate people. “We need to start selling our stories better and backing Hastings.”

Logan Stone’s Thompson believes the biggest idea killer is fear of change and people who keep harking back to an earlier era when Hastings was allegedly the fastest growing town in the country with a vibrant CBD. “That holds us up … it’s a different world now.”

Mayor Yule says all the Council can do is manage rates, maximise employment opportunities and create demand for space because many of Hastings’ problems are linked to wider global and provincial challenges.

At a time when central government is focusing on Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, the way forward will require strong leadership from his council and, he says, aggressively searching out employment and business opportunities that support the Hastings economy.

The alternative, says Yule, is more empty shops and the potential for housing values dropping. “Unless we keep up with times … we run the risk of getting some of the effects of zombie towns.”

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political buzz BY tom Belford

At the national level, more ‘election fallout’ analysis has focused on Labour’s meltdown than expectations regarding a third National Government. But National’s continuation in power has important implications for Hawke’s Bay. Election over, the Local Government Commission will press ahead on amalgamation. Most importantly, the process for local approval of any recommended reorganisation remains unchanged.

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– only a region-wide majority can block amalgamation, no local minority vetoes, assuming a referendum occurs next year.

S

tuart Nash, who has both fueled and ridden Napierites’ opposition to amalgamation, will remain at the forefront of the opposition campaign.

That’s probably best for the opposition, as even amalgamation foes find Mayor Dalton’s rants increasingly embarrassing.

Which one is the social activist here?

Nash needs to devote attention to shoring up his political base. Although in some commentary Nash is portrayed as the shining beacon in Labour’s thumping, in reality he won but 43% of the electorate vote, with ACT’s Garth McVicar pulling 7,603 votes, a significant majority of which would have been won

by National’s Wayne Walford.

Nash improved his vote by 1,707 votes over 2011 … arguably not a resounding

result given that he spent the last three years, non-stop, pushing every local hot button he could find. That said, Nash outpaced the Labour party vote in Napier by almost 6,000 votes, demonstrating the wisdom of the locally-focused campaign he ran. And he won’t relent over the next three years, realizing he might not luck into split opposition the next time!

Meantime, Craig Foss won slightly over 51% of the votes in his Tukituki constituency, about 800 fewer than 2011.

With 33% of the vote, Labour’s Anna Lorck won 2,329 more votes than Labour’s 2011 candidate.

More impressively, Lorck won almost 4,000 more votes than the Labour party vote in Tukituki. Like Nash, she proved the effectiveness of running hard on local issues.

Lorck the ‘loser’ is more the post-election story than Foss the winner. Foss has probably peaked, both in terms of Tukituki appeal and parliamentary standing. As would be true of anyone who won over 12,000 votes in Hawke’s Bay, Lorck is now a political force to be reckoned with, if she chooses to remain engaged.

Accused during the campaign of being a closet Nat, Lorck worked hard to establish herself as a champion of the people on issues like state housing. Was it shrewd posturing or heartfelt commitment? Now appointed as official spokesperson for the Tukituki constituency for the next three years, she has a platform. Watch this space.

W

hile the national outcome might advantage supporters of amalgamation, it carries mixed implications for other regional causes.

Supporters of restoring the NapierGisborne rail link cannot be celebrating, despite Simon Bridges replacing railroad foe Gerry Brownlee as Transportation Minister.

Supporters of the Ruantaniwha dam

are now assured that taxpayer money – in the realm of $100 million – will be readily available to subsidise the dam, but only if CHB farmers front up with the requisite volume of irrigation water purchases (more on that below).

Supporters of oil and gas development in the region can also rejoice, given that the National Government is unshakably determined to exploit this resource and has shown no commitment to ensuring adequate environmental protections are first in place. Yet to be tested is what happens if an aroused regional council adopts tough regulatory measures that oil companies regard as ‘too onerous’. Would Wellington allow regional values to prevail over National’s determination to drill?

“As would be true of anyone who won over 12,000 votes in Hawke’s Bay, Lorck is now a political force to be reckoned with, if she chooses to remain engaged.”

This same ‘local values versus National pre-emption’ scenario applies to whether Hawke’s Bay remains free of GMOs. Supporters of keeping Hawke’s Bay GMO-free, organized as Pure Hawke’s Bay, have begun to build a political base by winning support from the Hastings Council. Pure Hawke’s Bay is supported by a huge array of the region’s most prominent and successful growers and farmers. And polling in the region shows that the GMOfree proposition enjoys overwhelming public support. But as then-Environment Minister Amy Adams made plain while campaigning in Hawke’s Bay – National

is steadfastly opposed to local decisionmakers ‘interfering’ in this matter.

On other ‘green’ matters, to the region’s 6,276 Green Party voters (and their less bold sympathisers voting National and Labour), the National win spells trouble as well.

Most notably, the assault on the RMA will re-launch, with National holding the one ACT vote they need in Parliament to work their will, despite expected protests from Maori, United Future, Labour and Green MPs. The emasculation of DoC as a significant conservation advocate will continue. Marine sanctuaries will still be opened to oil and gas development; conservation land to logging and coal mining. In short, wherever environmental prudence might be warranted over economic development, expect the reverse.

A

dvocates of more central government support for regional economic development will be hamstrung by the region’s parliamentary voices being an out-of-Cabinet MP Foss and an opposition MP Nash. Nash says he wants to make Hawke’s Bay’s economic development his primary focus, but it is not yet clear what his programme would be or how he intends to make an impact.

Mayor Yule has been the most energetic local elected official in the economic development space, abetted in part by government access available through his Local Government New Zealand presidency.

In contrast, Mayor Dalton is likely to be less welcome in Wellington, doing no favours for his Napier constituency by having accused the Prime Minister of a “blatant lie” regarding amalgamation.

The Hastings Council (HDC) has committed the most resources to economic development in terms of staff and dollars, as well as ongoing support to Business Hawke’s Bay. And Councillor John Roil

Page 55 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Count on Nash to keep truckin’ serves as liaison to Business Hawke’s Bay. Mayor Yule has tasked HDC’s economic development unit with developing 1,000 jobs over five years. His latest project involves nurturing a relationship with the city of Dezhou in Shandong Province, billed as China’s ‘solar capital’. The goal is securing Chinese solar investment here in Hawke’s Bay; Dezhou’s mayor is visiting in November to progress a memorandum of understanding.

Prompted by a lack of promotional materials for overseas marketing, HDC stepped into vacant space with its ‘Great Things Grow Here’ marketing initiative, including videos and a website: (www. greatthingsgrowhere.co.nz). Of course controversy ensued. Napier accused Hastings of going it alone, with Hastings responding that Napier had been invited to participate, and that the materials were designed to be co-branded and used by any Hawke’s Bay council or commercial organization.

The whole kerfuffle underscores once again how local government fragmentation undermines Hawke’s Bay progress in so many areas – economic development, tourism, environmental protection, even development of our creative and sport sectors. To say nothing of adding duplication and waste.

C

oming back to amalgamation, the month of November should see release of a revised reorganisation proposal by the Local Government Commission.

One would expect the new proposal to take advantage of new legislation permitting more robust local boards to be created. Another possibility is expanding the number of councillors on the unitary authority, in response to concerns about numbers and representation during earlier public consultation.

With a final proposal soon to follow, advocate and opponents of amalgamation

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will take a deep breath over the holiday, and ready themselves for what promises to be an intense campaign over the first six months of the new year.

The next few months are also ‘do or die’ time for the Ruataniwha dam.

Appeals to the High Court regarding environmental issues affecting the dam will be heard in November. The Court’s decision (unless further appealed) would bring certainty to the environmental regulatory regime under which potential users of the dam’s irrigation water must operate. If the final regime is sufficiently conducive to the intensified land use on which the dam is predicated, then farmers

Solar installation in Dezhou, China’s ‘solar capital’

might be more inclined to purchase water.

If the Court sides with environmental groups who brought the appeals, the dam is effectively dead.

However, confident of the outcome it seeks in Court, HBRIC, the regional council’s holding company, is pressing ahead with efforts to secure firm water purchase agreements from CHB farmers. Purchase agreements for at least 40 million cubic metres of water annually (but perhaps 52 million in reality) must be in hand for the dam to be considered financially viable and for the project to proceed.

At its recent shareholders meeting, HBRIC said it had 12 million cubes “either signed up or at the point where it’s only a matter of signing the paperwork”, and another 23 million cubes “in the sales pipeline”.

However, because HBRIC refuses to disclose actual signers of these 35-year contracts, and none have publicly laid their agreements on the table, HBRIC’s claims cannot be confirmed.

HBRIC has also proposed selling 2 million cubes of its water annually, at rates no less than what farmers would pay (and an additional 2 million annually in the future), to CHB’s District Council for drinking water.

Currently that water is pumped directly from the river or groundwater. It’s not clear what CHB ratepayers think of this scheme. This follows an unsuccessful proposal to have CHBDC invest $5 million directly in the dam.

Currently, the Regional Council has given HBRIC until 30 March 2015 to meet all conditions upon which proceeding with the dam is contingent, although that ‘financial close’ date has been shifted a number of times.

Looking ahead on both amalgamation and the dam, the year-end, November and December, looks to be the calm before one hell of a political storm.

Homes of Straw STORY BRIDGET FREEMAN-ROCK PHOTOGRAPHS TIM WHITTAKER

Strawbalers Peter and Raewyn Howe, with grandson Samuel Mawson

Page 58 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

If you want to meet someone really passionate about their home, talk to the owners of a strawbale house, as BayBuzz recently did. Take Pen Robinson: “I can’t imagine not living in a strawbale house having lived in one. It just wraps itself around you.”

S

trawbale houses have been around in Hawke’s Bay for 18 years (and in countries such as the US, for centuries), so they’re not a new feature of our landscape. But they’re still something of a niche market and sit on the periphery as ‘alternative’.

When you combine strawbales with plaster cladding for the walls of your house, you achieve a wall-width half a metre thick with a high R-value, which means a comfortable, well-regulated inside temperature (warm in winter, cool in summer) without costing the earth.

People choose to build strawbale for a range of reasons, and there’s a huge variability in how they build. Everyone comes to the concept with a different hook-in: environmental consideration, solidity and warmth, health (less toxicity), or simply aesthetics. And whether your strawbale house is self-built on a shoestring, by local builders or by a specialist company from out of town, the result will be a highly individualised, handcrafted home.

Handcrafted homes Local builders, Nils Rock and Pat Mawson, are currently working on their fourth strawbale house in the Bay, with a fifth in the pipeline. They’re committed

advocates for more sustainable building materials and alternative methods, with an emphasis on quality. Nils is particularly interested in optimal low-energy design (‘direction passive housing’), while Pat has become a specialist in the clay plasters they use, which “regulate humidity, both absorbing and releasing moisture vapour, making for a really comfortable air quality.”

What they like about strawbale is its organic aesthetic, artistic potential and work satisfaction. Says Nils: “It’s challenging to do things differently – you’re not building to a standard model. Every house is unique, handcrafted, so it’s more interesting as a builder to work on.” And the job itself is diverse – from concrete, steel, timber work, strawbale in-fill and plastering to interior joinery and finishes.

“It’s challenging to do things differently – you’re not building to a standard model.

Every house is unique.”

“You’re going to spend more on structural elements, such as wide eaves and walls, than you would on a usual build, but then, you can’t compare a house with an R-value 3-4 times higher to a standard house,” he notes. Pat observes that strawbale houses tend to be high-spec homes. “If you’ve got beautiful insulated walls, you’re probably going to go better quality on the joinery, hardware and finishes. When people think it’s going to be cheap, they’re probably looking at an owner-built model where you can save on the labour costs.”

In the Christchurch earthquakes, strawbale houses all performed well, escaping

with only minor cosmetic damage, while the strawbale house in Pahiatua that collapsed in an earthquake this year had major design and construction issues to begin with.

As Pat points out, shoddy design and workmanship with any type of building will give you problems in the long-run.

Some of the older strawbale houses in the region are showing flaws, but even ten years ago there was a lot less information and understanding about strawbale structures.

Meanwhile technology and techniques for strawbale building is evolving around the world with increasing sophistication, while simultaneously methods are used that are hundreds of years old.

Solid and soft Pen Robinson spent her early childhood years in Natal, South Africa, in a wattle and daub house her father built, and lived later in England in a granite stone house. So she’s used to thick walls and finds the houses in New Zealand somewhat “flimsy”. It was always clear to her that the home she and husband Sam would build when they moved from their farm south of Waipukerau would be strawbale, as “it was the only real way to go to get the wraparound feel” she was after.

They used a Wanaka-based company, Strawmark, to design and build their large (420m2) Mediterranean-feel house with its use of indoor-outdoor flow and materials, set among vineyards overlooking the sea at Parkhill. There’s a lot of glass (all double glazed), and an interplay of horizontal and vertical planes (with sections of the house that can be shut off as required), creating a feeling of space within enclosure.

It’s not the ‘Hobbit house’ people expect when Pen and Sam say theirs is strawbale.

They’ve used a cavity system, so plaster only touches the straw on the interior walls.

Viewing the house front-on, it’s hard to

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Page 59 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

[of the plaster and hardwood beams] soften the house – some houses soften with age but this starts off that way. It’s a modern house, very functional and open, but with all the qualities of strawbale: solid, warm, very energy efficient – more than I thought it would be – and so quiet; there’s a stillness in the house I hadn’t expected, which is such a bonus.”

Built in 2011 by son-in-law Pat Mawson, theirs is a basic two-storey, pitched-roof cottage (80m2). It’s set up for solar, a wood stove heats water, and they have onsite grey and black water systems, with a wormerator (literally, worms) for processing sewerage. This was a rural decision as much as ecological. “Living rurally has given us opportunities to do things differently, and to think of the way we use resources,” says Pete.

“It was the first home in Hawke’s Bay to get Council consent to use natural lime and mud plasters externally. We didn’t use any cement or wire-mesh.

Old carpeting was used to line the inside on non-structure walls, such as the bedrooms upstairs, and plastered over.”

The wooden floors, beams, window fittings, etc, are all made from recycled timbers and finished with natural oils.

Using the resources at hand (such as clay from behind the house, sand from the river and timber from Waipukerau Hospital for the stairs) has given them a great sense of satisfaction. Pete: “We feel as though we haven’t taxed the earth too much by building our house.” Indeed, there’s a sense of symbiosis between house and land.

“It’s all in one – we go from working in the dirt in our garden into a dirt house. We couldn’t be happier!”

Symbiosis

DIY pragmatism

Peter and Raewyn Howe have always lived urban but had a “green outlook”.

Pete worked at an organic market in Brisbane for years and first found out about strawbale houses through some of his customers. They liked the “organised chaos” of the aesthetic they saw there, but the opportunity to build their own came when they moved to rural Hawke’s Bay to live with their daughter and her family.

Grenville Christie and Sharleen Baird moved up from Lyttleton, bought a paddock in Waipukerau and planted a native forest from seed. Grenville had done a “hell of a lot” of research, and the question he asked himself was “what’s really practical for me to build here?”

He came up with a ranch-style strawbale house, using a pole structure for the roof; a compacted aglime floor and a stone

Nils Rock and Pat Lawson

pick that interior or that the house holds 45 tonnes of plaster.

An advantage of strawbale is that “it sits well with old timbers – aesthetically it’s a lovely marriage of products,” a marriage the Robinsons have made the most of with an eclectic mix of timbers from heavy hardwood beams and handcrafted cedar doors to the stained white boards on the kitchen ceiling. Another feature is the personalising touches afforded by the use of plaster, such as the iron wagon wheel from the old farm, now embedded into the entrance wall as a ‘truth window’, and the alcove in the hallway for Pen’s collection of antique snuff bottles.

“We’ve ended up with a house we absolutely love living in,” says Pen. “It’s nice to be enclosed by solid walls. And the soft curves – it’s not just aesthetics, it creates a lovely feeling. The irregularities

Page 60 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Solid & Soft

THE ROBINSONS

“It’s nice to be enclosed by solid walls.

And the soft curves – it’s not just aesthetics, it creates a lovely feeling.”

Page 61 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Tradition

THE SMITHS

“From the foundations, toilet system, to finishes, we’ve tried to do everything as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible within a budget.”

Page 62 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

foundation wall for thermal mass. For the plaster: aglime with a little cement, whitewashed and coloured with lime flour.

Wooden sash windows and doors built from local farm-grade timbers, and salvaged materials for bathroom fittings. “I like the concept of using simple products to get a superior house, and a low carbon footprint was appealing. Pretty much everything except the ceiling has come out of CHB.” There’s “a bit of all the houses we’ve lived in”, such as the wood fretwork in the hallway, a concept from their villa in Lyttleton. Local history too – rimu shelves and cabinets from the old maternity hospital that was demolished have been incorporated (Sharleen, who bakes her own bread, still uses the original wooden flour bins). They like the “rustic charm, the character” of the materials themselves – the grain of wood, the imperfect plaster finish – and enjoy the ambience of the house: the even temperature and air quality.

Something as simple as orientation makes a huge difference. The house faces northwest and traps the sun in winter – a woodstove in the kitchen is all the heating Grenville and Sharleen need. They went away for three days during a winter snap when temperatures dropped to zero and when they returned the house was still a comfortable 15°C inside.

It took almost five years for Grenville to

build (2004-09), including all the wooden joinery. The result, a beautiful, spacious low-energy house, is an impressive feat of DIY craftsmanship and Kiwi ingenuity.

“We could never afford to have a house like this if we had to pay someone else to build it.

I also wanted to demonstrate that ordinary people can do this stuff with a bit of help and advice. We’re too often told we can’t do things for ourselves.”

“We were drawn primarily to strawbale by the eco factor and the rustic, old look of strawbale homes. And we liked the fact that houses were built like this for hundreds of years.”

Tradition Michelle and Phillip Smith are keen on “using nature and old wisdom”. Phillip is a traditional navigator, sailing Polynesianstyle waka, which incorporate modern ecotechnologies like solar, across the Pacific.

Similarly, their strawbale house (completed 18 months ago) brings together traditional proven techniques with contemporary materials and methods.

The house is orientated for optimum sun and privacy: ranch-slide doors and large windows in the open-plan living room face northeast, with smaller windows set in the southwest walls.

From the front the eaves have been shaped to resemble the wharenui on a marae. The entrance is a cob wall embedded with coloured glass bottles, letting light through in a stainedglass effect onto the polished coloured concrete floor. Inside there’s barely a straight line – the walls are artistically shaped and plastered with natural clay renders, complemented by stained macrocarpa doors and cupboards. The curves create a depth and complexity of perspective along with the height and angles of the ceiling.

Michelle explains: “We were drawn primarily to strawbale by the eco factor and the rustic, old look of strawbale homes.

And we liked the fact that houses were built like this for hundreds of years.” With two small children (Tainga and Marere), natural, healthy materials were important, and they also wanted a house that would blend in with the environment. They aim to be as self-sufficient as they can.

Phillip did some original plans for the house and then worked on the design together with Peter Le Bon (Create-AVision), who was contracted to build it.

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DIY Pragmatism GRENVILLE & SHARLEEN

“I like the concept of using simple products to get a superior house, and a low carbon footprint was appealing.”

Page 65 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Symbiosis “It’s all in one – we go from working in the dirt in our garden into a dirt house.

We couldn’t be happier!”

Page 66 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

THE HOWES

Building was a collaborative process, with Phillip working on the house whenever he could between sails.

“From the foundations, toilet system, to finishes, we’ve tried to do everything as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible within a budget. It’s a balance – for example, we would have preferred

Strawbale Lowdown In NZ strawbale houses usually have a timber-frame structure with strawbale in-fill – strawbale alone is rarely used for load-bearing structures.

Most strawbale houses use plaster for cladding: a cement or lime render externally, with a clay plaster or lime finish for internal walls. Though timber cladding can also be used.

Thick walls, with approx. half-metre width.

“You’re going to spend more on structural elements, such as wide eaves and walls, than you would on a usual build, but then, you can’t compare a house with an R-value 3-4 times higher to a standard house.” to use wood for the windows rather than aluminium, but it would have cost us two thirds more and we just couldn’t afford it.” Family and friends helped out on weekend working bees to do all the internal walls – hanging hessian and old carpet, staining wood, sponging walls.

“We saved heaps by doing as much as we could ourselves.”

Deep window sills due to width of walls – often used as window seats.

Usually (but not necessarily) the plaster goes with the curve of the strawbale, so not a ‘laser-straight’ finish. This creates the irregularity of the strawbale look.

The flexibility of straw and plasters lends itself to artistic and personal touches, such as in-built nooks and sculptured features.

Strawbale Advantages Warmth – the walls have a very high R-value. Strawbale makes excellent insulation, while thermal mass (through the use of plaster) retains heat.

An even, well-regulated temperature, with a consistent all-year range, 15˚C-24˚C. Quiet – the solid walls provide effective sound proof.

Low carbon emission – strawbales and plasters can be locally sourced, so less transportation, and low-energy production.

• • • •

Do-up’s Rentals Selling your house Refurbishment or refreshing • Adding value

Page 67 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

Hawke's Bay needs 'hum'

BY ROGER KING

For a long time now I have been fascinated by what makes some cities ‘hum’ with energy and success, and other places not.

Money, or in proper parlance, ‘strong and positive economic activity’, is a necessity.

And ensuring that those at the lower end of the economic spectrum at least have a reasonable standard of living, seems to me to be not just fair but sensible.

However a purely financial or economic reading of our existence is what I think of as ‘just getting by’.

It’s not what I want to live for … I make my income to keep the bills paid and put some away for that rapidly closing retirement time.

I support plans for growth because it’s necessary for the region to progress.

But what I live for is family, friends, and then my social activity, which tends to revolve around arts and cultural activities.

Many of my friends would say similar things, but with sport as their leisure; others fitness, reading, or a myriad of alternatives.

What I’m getting at is that most of us don’t live and breathe to make a load of dosh. We may dream about it occasionally, but most of the time it stays as a dream.

So then my mind asks what kind of community I would like to live in, and it’s all pretty simple. Public places for kids (and grandkids) to play, sports fields and facilities, theatres and galleries, parks and gardens. Places for noise, and places for reflection and solitude.

In Hawke’s Bay we’re very fortunate to have a wonderful natural environment – the coast in all its vibrancy, the Peak with its majesty and

Page 68 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

those almost overwhelming views, and inland the beauty and solitude of the bush.

It’s the human impact I’m not so sure about.

I was brought up in Taranaki and have spent large chunks of my life living in and around New Plymouth. We are told that Taranaki is a region at the forefront of economic growth (and high incomes) in New Zealand.

But that’s not what is making Taranaki an exciting place. All that economic activity is just an enabler for a whole raft of hugely exciting human activity which has transformed New Plymouth over the past 40 years from a very sleepy, inward looking ‘cow town’ to a city that, just a couple of years ago, was named one of the most liveable cities in the world.

What made the difference?

Put simply, it is vision. Or more accurately, a few visionary individuals who happened to live in the same city at the same time, and began that quite extraordinary transformation.

They created the world-renowned garden of Pukeiti, dreamed up and constructed the finest small art gallery in the country (and are now extending it with the extraordinary Len Lye Centre), designed and built a majestic coastal walkway which has won international awards for environmental sustainability, and supported a fledgling arts and cultural trust which back in 1990 could easily have been seen as ‘just a dream’ by decision-makers, and been batted away.

But they didn’t. Again there were enough leaders within the New Plymouth District Council who shared the dream, and had the foresight and the balls, to say ‘yes, let’s support this’.

That trust began, and still runs, a whole series of arts and cultural activities – the juggernaut world music festival of WOMAD, the Taranaki Festival of the Arts, Taranaki

Rhododendron & Garden Festival, TropFest, and Kinetika. They all grew and bloomed in a region which is still, at heart, cocky country.

And then I come back to where I now live, here in Hawke’s Bay. What else?

Where any attempt to curb wave action along the coast is met with the regional council’s response of ‘we mustn’t interfere with nature’. If New Plymouth had adopted that approach, much of the CBD would now be washed away!

Where the opportunity to build an outstanding new art gallery was, and will continue to be, ‘burdened’ by the blinkered horizons of the council at the time. And let’s start to be honest and agree that while Opus might be very fine engineers, they are not recognised for great architecture. And certainly not for MTG. Yes, we can celebrate the very fine cycleways around the region. I even use them occasionally (very occasionally says my better half).

And soon, hopefully, we can celebrate the proposed Te Mata Visitor Centre in the visionary space – great idea, wonderful location, and very good architect in Chris Kelly.

But I’m desperately trying to think ‘what else?’

All this is by way of a long story. What I’m hopeful can be encouraged in Hawke’s Bay is a vision for our region which is aspirational – but more importantly, inspirational!

That we encourage and then celebrate great leadership, both in commerce, sport, and the arts.

And that our region’s governance can speak with one clear and unequivocal voice – a proud and powerful voice – which can speak for all of us living here, and help us build a region to rival that other place over on that other coast.

In the market for a bit of Christmas shopping?

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

Photos courtesy of Florence Charvin Sunday 7 December in the Plaza of the Hawke's Bay Opera House (yes, really!).

Fifty crafty stalls with entertainment, a bake-off competition and the world's biggest pass the parcel to celebrate FBCJ's 5th birthday.

Also in Hastings, at the Community Arts Centre, is the Christmas Art and Craft Sale from 18 November to 24 December.

This is an Aladdin's cave of delights and a particularly good place to take the littlies to buy their Christmas gifts.

There's a plethora of crafty Christmas markets on in the Bay over the next few festive months. Locally made gifts, or handmade at the least, means you're giving something truly special. And being able to tell the story of where the item comes from adds to its uniqueness.

Christmas in Napier on Saturday 6 December is a new event and includes a market in Clive Square, a Christmas costume parade with prizes and Santa's grotto.

Poly Nation

Havelock's Kate MacKenzie has won the supreme award at World of Wearable Art for her Poly Nation creation of suitcased tourist, guide and waka.

Craft and Design Market at Hawthorne's in Havelock is having a string of events on 1, 6 and 13 December, so you won't miss out. This market is boutique bijoux at its best and has an amazing collection of some of the best the Bay has to offer. Look out for Perry Davies’ birdhouses. They make the perfect Big Gift for someone very special.

Fruit Bowl Craft Jam is a two-day event with a night market on Saturday 6 December and a day market on

Her way of working is low-tech and homegrown; as much about tinkering and hammering as it is about sewing. The process starts early, and takes all year, with Kate already planning her next outfit.

“I first started to think about what I wanted to do for 2014 when I was driving back from WOW 2013! And I knew it had to include suitcases.”

There are 14 suitcases in the costume and a graflex camera bought on Ebay.

“I was out on the concrete with a hammer and chisel deconstructing this amazing camera trying not to ruin it completely!”

Poly Nation is the culmination of months of toil; it is a combination of disciplined stitching and engineered construction with plenty of experimentation.

“WOW is an amazing platform for artists because your work gets seen by so many people. You look forward to it all year round,” Kate explains. “The real challenge is trying to create what's in your brain. You love the idea so much you want others to see it.”

Once Poly Nation was complete Kate

and husband Ian drove it to Wellington in their ute.

When Kate saw it again, four months later, it was on stage at WOW amidst all the glitz and glamour that entails.

As much as the win and the wow of WOW is exciting, Kate also loves the practical act of making a costume.

“I like it all: the hard work, the journey, the excitement, turning the corner and the anticipation. Poly Nation is a culmination of skills, history and experiences. It's a collaboration of everything I have done up until this point.”

Page 69 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

BOOK REVIEWS Hawke's Bay is such a focal point for spending time with friends and family. We have the perfect weather for socialising, especially al fresco. Early November sees the start of the season and from here on through the summer months food and wine will feature heavily. Be prepared by cramming before you have to throw open the doors to the rellies. Fodder for conversation and for celebration meals, these three books will get you started.

Title: From Bud to Bottle Author: John Miles The first thing that strikes you about John Miles’ photographic book, From Bud to Bottle, is the ‘Hawke’s Bay-ness’ of it.

Every page is a homage to the rolling hills, glorious blue skies and the rows of vines that make up so much of the Hawke’s Bay landscape. Moana Park makes a beautiful subject.

The book is broken down into seasons, the clarity of the photography evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the life of a winery. It offers an inside view into something most of us only experience as a finished result.

It’s a book of light, shadows, earth and dirt. There is sniffing, crushing, pruning, harvesting, people shots full of concentration, humour, camaraderie and sheer hard work. John goes much further

Page 70 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

than still life photography – the life of the winery is clearly depicted.

From Bud to Bottle makes an excellent coffee table book – it’s about wine of course, but also about seasons, weather, change, industry. If you’ve ever wondered about where your wine comes from, this book will intrigue you.

Title: The Unbakery: Raw Organic Goodness Author: Megan May. Beatnik.

This is a collection of recipes from Little Bird’s Unbakery Cafes. Megan May’s story is an inspiring one – plagued by a plethora of allergies and health disorders she decided to make herself well, turning to instinct and her own experiences growing up on an organic market garden. She eventually developed a way to stay well using organic, seasonal foods prepared beautifully, but left raw.

and caramel brownie is the one I’ll be trying first, followed by the blueberry cheesecake. There’s even a Christmas cake with a cashew nut frosting. Other chapters, complemented by beautiful food photography from Lottie Hedley, include the usual breakfast, lunch and dinner with the addition of drinks, salads and ‘the basics’ – the taco and corn chips look easy and delicious.

There are many sugar-free, raw cookbooks out there that have us stocking up on coconut oil, cocoa butter and almond milk – fortunately we have Cornucopia and Chantal’s in the Bay for the harder to source ingredients. The Unbakery is a welcome addition to the shelves of any health conscious chef.

Title: Mexico: The Cookbook Author: Margarita Carrilo Arronte. Phaidon.

This book is a big, thick, pink thing of beauty. Adorned by simple, colourful food and landscape photography it transplants the hot sun, piquant and spice of Mexico out of your head and into your kitchen.

690 pages, 12 chapters, a detailed introduction covering geography, history and the lowdown on the food of Mesoamerica – you don’t need to go to Mexico, you just need this book. www.wardini.co.nz

As with any cookbook I pick up, I turned to the back first – that’s where they keep the dessert recipes. Banana

Tobias Buck, winemaker, has won New Zealand’s top short fiction prize, the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award. His story was selected from 850 entries. At the same awards night, student Beth Rust won the Novice Writer category, beating more than 600 other entries. Both writers are from Hawke's Bay.

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

In conversation with

Tobias Buck: What inspires and informs your work?

Bad TV inspires me. It always makes me grumpy enough to start writing. Someone once said there's only really an 'archipelago of true readers' out there and I try and make something to satisfy those people – people who I'm sure are as critical and grumpy about bad TV as I can be.

Why short stories?

I enjoy short stories because of their compressed nature. They can be distilled versions of reality and in a small space evoke as much of the world as a novel or film. They're ‘digestible’ too and reward impatient readers like me. Often after finishing reading a good one, I can put the book down and just savour the story awhile before starting the next one. I also enjoy writing essays and am fond of writing postcards too – as antiquated as that sounds. There's still something enjoyable to me about getting real mail.

How does being in Hawke's Bay mpact your writing?

I love Hawke's Bay. After living overseas I appreciate the sun, sea, seasons and lifestyle

here even more. I've noticed more nature in my writing here, though it usually takes a pretty surreal turn. Also having the time and space to write at all is simply easier living here than in the city. I don't think Hawke's Bay is any kind of backwater, but I do generally think there's a lot to be said for

places in New Zealand that are a bit out of the way, in-between places that are just a little bit undiscovered. If you take the time you notice there's as much human drama in these places as anywhere else in the world.

words, and I think what appeals to me about this is that it's long enough that I can experiment and develop characters and so on, but short enough that I don't lose interest before the end!

But I'm not sure how much it does! I think probably most in scenery – there are some beautiful places in Hawke's Bay, which are useful to draw on sometimes when I'm thinking of where to place a scene.

How does being from Hawke's Bay impact your writing?

Beth Rust's award-winning story is available to read here: bit.ly/1vi4zHn

Tobias Buck's award-winning short story to available to read here: bit.ly/1C7LYg5

In conversation with

Beth Rust: What inspires you?

I am interested in people, and the ordinary day-to-day world. I like trying to find the extraordinary in the mundane. Quite often music inspires me. I listen to a lot of different music and sometimes listening to a song will set something off – some feeling or image or idea. I also tend to draw inspiration from things that are happening in my personal life, and lately in my writing I've been attempting to transform personal experiences into fictional narratives.

Why short stories?

In short stories, the challenge is to tell a complete and satisfying story in only a few thousand

Page 71 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

Alan Scarfe A second edition of Alan Scarfe's The Changing Land has now been printed after the first run, launched last year, was a sell out. The book is an account of the land of Maraekakaho Station, including its pre-European history. It represents eleven years of work for Alan, who is 83.

“It's a book about the way the land was used to live on and to make money, and how that changed over time. It's the story of the people who worked the land while (landowner) Sir Donald McLean was traipsing around the country on his horse!”

Born in Lower Hutt, Alan came to the Bay when he was 14. “This was known as the place where it only rained at night,” he says. “To me it's heaven.”

Alan was trained as a carpenter when hand tools were the only ones used. He worked on some of the biggest homesteads in Hawke's Bay. At age 60 he began his bachelor degree at Massey University. He now also holds a masters in History and Maori Studies. Alan is a volunteer at The Knowledge Bank in Hastings, where his book is available for purchase.

Knowledge Needs You The Knowledge Bank is looking for volunteers and no matter what your skill set, they have a job for YOU! Squirreled away in Stoneycroft on the edge of Hastings, Knowledge Bank volunteers are patiently working their way through the piles of letters, photographs, maps, minutes, records and reports – all about Hawke’s Bay – brought in by the public. As each piece is scanned or transcribed the digital historical record of the region grows.

The home itself is a piece of history.

Its last inhabitants were Dr Diamond and Mrs Joyce Ballantyne. One volunteer is currently transcribing the collection of 200 letters the two exchanged while Dr Ballantyne was a prisoner of war during World War II. Stoneycroft has undergone a stunning restoration since the building was

taken over by the Hastings District Council in 2003. The 21st century technology used for digitising the archives it holds are a strange but fascinating adjunct to the period features and fittings.

The Knowledge Bank is holding an Open Day on 29 November and is encouraging the public to come and see for themselves what goes on at Stoneycroft. The trust that runs the initiative is always hungry for volunteers and full training is given, making it a great place for people to learn new things as well as use the skills and experience they already have.

The Knowledge Bank is available at: knowledgebank.org.nz and facebook.com/hawkesbayknowledgebank Visitors are welcome weekdays from 10.30 to 5 at 901 Omahu Road.

NZ Singing School 7-14 January 2015

Photo courtesy of Hawke's Bay Today

Page 72 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Did you know Hawke's Bay is home to the largest singing school in the Southern Hemisphere? In January, every other year, singing students from all over the country come to Hawke's Bay for the residential programme. They study a range of singing genres, particularly classical and musical theatre.

For the next two seasons (2015 and 2017) the school will be sponsored by philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa, a colourful character who supports a number of arts, culture and sports endeavours around the world including Opera Australia.

The School is an opportunity for students to learn from some of the best in the business and the public can get involved as observers.

There are also a number of in-house and Festival of Song concerts from 11-17 January around the Bay. Details are online at singingschool.org.nz

Under The Radar Hui Hui Ono will be the first show in the Creative Arts Napier building (CAN), opening on Friday 12 December, on the same evening as the official CAN launch. The show is curated by Cat Haslem, who with partner Max Parkes has pulled together five earlier Hui Hui exhibitions. The goal of Hui Hui is "to give artists who fly under the radar a reason to exhibit, and beat procrastination."

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

absolute shoestring so we really have to think HBHOSPO HOSPOAWARD AWARDWINNERS WINNERS cleverly about how we do everything.”

HB HB HOSPO AWARD for 2014 WINNERS There are always eleven artists in the show for 2014 for 2014 including a student, a known artist and an OutstandingWinery Winery Restaurant Outstanding Restaurant Outstanding Winery Restaurant artist practising outside the region. It's a HB HOSPO Winery AWARD WINNERS Outstanding Winery Experience Outstanding Experience Outstanding Winery Experience HB HOSPOfor AWARD WINNERS strict format that allows for a great range of HB HOSPO AWARD WINNERS 2014 OutstandingSales Sales Rep - Lisa Clarke Outstanding Rep Lisa Clarke for 2014 Outstanding Sales Rep - Lisa Clarke for 2014 work on the walls when the show opens.

Outstanding Winery Restaurant Winery Restaurant “It's a creative outlet for me too and it Outstanding Outstanding Winery Experience HB HOSPO AWARD WINNERS Winery Experience Outstanding ticks all the things I am into,” Cat says. “I Outstanding Sales Rep --Lisa LisaClarke Clarke WINERY & RESTAURANT for 2014 WINERY & RESTAURANT Outstanding Sales Rep really enjoy doing it WINERY & RESTAURANT HB HOSPO AWARD WINNERS Outstanding Winery Restaurant th th open days from Oct open 7 7days from Oct 1616 simply because it's fun.” open 7 for days from Oct 16th 2014 CLEARVIEW ESTATE Outstanding Winery Experience Until this sixth Outstanding Winery Restaurant Outstanding Sales Rep Lisa Clarke WINERY & RESTAURANT RESTAURANT WINERY & WINERY & RESTAURANT incarnation, the Outstanding Winery Experience th open 7days days from Oct Oct 16 th open 7 Oct 16thClarke open 7 days from 16 CLEARVIEW show has been hung Outstanding Salesfrom RepESTATE - Lisa at 50A Ossian St, a WINERY & RESTAURANT CLEARVIEW ESTATE shared creative work open 7 days from Oct 16th WINERY & RESTAURANT space in Ahuriri. A open 7 days from Oct 16th change of venue brings challenges, but also fresh energy into an evolving concept.

“I don't think it necessarily has to go on forever in the same FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MIC NIGHTS FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MIC NIGHTS way. There's a natural FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN NIGHTS FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MICMIC NIGHTS last Friday night ~ monthly last Friday night ~ monthly evolution,” says Cat.“That's the nice thing last Friday night ~ monthly last Friday night ~ monthly FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MIClive NIGHTS wine ofofthe night ~ ~~beer &&& pizza, live music wine night beer pizza, live music about starting off something like this, it wine the night pizza, music wine ofofthe the night ~beer beer &monthly pizza, live music lastFRIDAY~ Friday night ~for FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MIC NIGHTS OPEN MIC NIGHTS ~FRIENDLY family & friends for the Te Awanga ~ join family & friends for the Te Awanga ~join join family & friends the Te Awanga starts a journey and you never know where ~wine joinoffamily & friends for the Te Awanga the night beer &~~-10.30 pizza, livepm music pm last Friday~ ~night night monthly pm experience ~5 -10.30 last Friday monthly pm pm experience experience ~~5pm5pmfor -10.30 it'll go next.” experience 5pm ~ join family & friends the-10.30 Te live Awanga wine ofthe the night ~ beer beer & pizza, music FRIENDLY FRIDAY~ OPEN MIC NIGHTS wine of night ~ & pizza, live music Hui Hui Ono opens on 12 December ~ join family & friends for -10.30 the Te pm Awanga experience ~ 5pm last Friday night ~ monthly ~ join family & friends for the Te Awanga pm pm at 6pm with a set from Revolutionary experience ~ 5 &-10.30 wine of experience the night ~ beer pizza, live pm music ~ 5pm -10.30 Arts Ensemble. ~ join family & friends for the Te Awanga experience ~ 5pm -10.30pm

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It is also a great place to see work you may not see anywhere else, and buy pieces by both established and emerging artists.

“I don't own a gallery and it's not my full-time job,” explains Cat, who is a web developer. “It's about the artists and what Hui Hui can do for them. We do it on an

Kent Baddeley “I'm a hospo baby, born in a hotel and raised in a hotel kitchen.”

Ten Twenty Four’s kitchen is too small to contain head chef Kent Baddeley. We hover in the doorway, mise en place prepared behind us – pickings from the pots in the courtyard: a dozen different pods, leaves, flowers and herbs.

“Every day is a freeform occasion. We look at what we have to work with and make some good food. It's about pleasing the people at my tables.”

He sips coffee, the large cup made tiny by his huge, gesticulating hands. He wipes crema from his moustache.

Ten Twenty Four is everyone's favourite secret hideout, particularly popular with the hospo crowd, looking for honest but thought provoking food. Fresh, clever, generous – like the man himself.

Is he a locavore? “Of course! We've got to honour our suppliers. It becomes a fiercely local product, and we love and respect that. All New Zealanders should be locavores.”

Tucked up the back of Hastings, it is an odd place to find a premium culinary establishment. But when you consider the roadside fruit and vege stalls and the vineyards next door, the hard-working kitchen and the open airy dining room sit perfectly in this context.

“We wanted this setting. We love this setting," says Kent. “With art, light is important; our lunch food particularly needs sunlight.”

Ten Twenty Four, Pakowhai Road, Hastings is open for lunch Tuesday to Thursday and dinner Friday and Saturday.

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RESERVATIONS are STRONGLY Page 73 • IssueRECOMMENDED 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

EAST 2014 Auckland University Associate Professor Linda Tyler is the curator of East 2014 at the Hastings City Art Gallery, opening 14 Nov and running through to mid Feb. It's the second time we're enjoying this fixture in its current guise, but it is an evolution of earlier shows such as the Invitational, the Norsewear and the HB Review.

Linda has curated the show a number of times over the years, including in the early 90s and in 2006. She grew up in Hawke's Bay and has been a curator in galleries and museums since '89.

As a curator Lynda is always searching for something distinctive: “Something that I have not seen before, that is excellent in its execution and original in its theme and content.”

The theme for East 2014 is ‘Home’. “The idea of home is something to conjure with, personally. I still think of Hawke's Bay as my home,” she says.

“It is the kind of place that leaves its mark. Home can be a comforting thought, and Hawke's Bay itself has particular qualities of landscape and climate. Or it can be a confrontational idea

with uncomfortable realities of inequality or violence.”

Linda sees Hawke's Bay's EIT as a crucial part of ensuring a vibrant arts community.

“Hawke's Bay has certain art stars associated with it, and there is a strong following for the students and staff associated with EIT. As long as there continues to be a high standard of teaching there, people will be attracted to Hawke's Bay as a place to study and work.”

There are a number of EIT tutors and graduates in this year's show.

Of particular interest for Linda is art that cosies up to the craft side of the divide.

“The handmade, human-scaled and intimate art works attract me and these are often craft pieces,” she explains.“I'm

Nathanael Skelton

interested to see the craft practitioners such as jewellers and potters. They are working within a tradition, but pushing at the definitions of function within craft.”

In EAST, Linda has included a number of works she calls “quirky”.

“They are helping to return personality and eccentricity to the contemplation of art.”

Linda's curating process puts excellence first and then groups works according to aspects of the theme.

“I tried to be as ecumenical as possible, including works from a range of media, so that the selection would work as an exhibition.

There is everything from video to furniture, and each piece has to work on its own merits – be well executed and maintain interest,” she says.

At St Georges, almost ninety percent of our produce is grown, nurtured, handpicked and creatively prepared by our award winning Chef, Francky Godinho.

When Royal New Zealand Ballet's A Christmas Carol tours here in November, it'll be a homecoming for a member of the corps de ballet. Nathanael Skelton was born in the Bay and spent childhood summer holidays with his grandparents here and on the East Coast, camping at the beach and surfing up the coast.

“It's my favourite place in the world,” he says.

After spending almost a decade in the UK dancing with the Birmingham Royal Ballet (formerly Sadlers Wells), Nathanael has been home since February. He's looking forward to being back in Hawke's Bay for the ballet on 29-30 November, but will also visit during the three-week break the company has over Christmas. With many family members still in Hawke's Bay Nathanael is sure to have strong support in the home crowd. A Christmas Carol is on at the Municipal Theatre, Napier with tickets available through Ticketek.

Page 74 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

452 St Georges Rd, Havelock North • 06 877 5356 info@stgeorgesrestaurant.co.nz • stgeorgesrestaurant.co.nz facebook.com/stgeorgesrestaurant

ADVERT

THE A+E GALLERY SUMMER SERIES ARTS and LIFESTYLE

During the quieter months of the Hawke’s Bay winter A+E Gallery in Napier is a hive of activity.

Behind the scenes the A+E team prepares and plans the series of solo exhibitions that will fill the gallery over the summer.

Seven artists exhibit at A+E in Napier for a period of three weeks each over the summer months. All showcasing new work that has been created specifically for the series.

The 2014-15 A+E Summer Series celebrates a line up of both established and emerging artists who come from far and wide.

Local Hawke’s Bay talent is well represented this year with exhibitions from Fane Flaws, Tish Scott, Paula Taaffe and Tony Harrington.

Others showing are Auckland artist and designer Gidon Bing, Wellingtonian Jane Blackmore and the Anne-Marie Jean, whose vibrant nature studies are celebrated both here and in Australia, where she is completing a PhD. Selecting the artists who will show each summer is a job in itself says gallery owner Annika Bennett.

‘We get approached by a so many extraordinary people, but we try to ensure local artists are fairly represented and that emerging talent gets a chance to shine also. Visitors to the bay over summer really appreciate having the opportunity to view locally produced work but our clients based in Hawke’s Bay want and deserve variety. So it’s a fine line we tread.’

This season the A+E Summer Series opens 4 November, with stunning new work by Napier painter Tish Scott, who

will be showing both large-scale paintings as well as small pen and ink works.

The Summer Series continues through Christmas and New Year, closing 30 March with the intricate, jewel-like collages of Paula Taaffe (of the EIT Ideas School faculty).

In between, Fane Flaws renowned work will be as fun as ever, AnneMarie is showing paintings inspired by her scholarship to Monet’s Garden in France. Tony Harrington is introducing a new element of strong colour to his very graphic, playful style, while Jane Blackmore exudes painterly confidence in her abstract canvases. Designer/artist Gidon Bing will be showing all summer, working with several mediums, including his distinctive cutouts.

Alongside The Summer Series solo shows A+E will continue to exhibit sculpture, glass and ceramic art, as well as continually updating their extensive collection of handmade New Zealand jewellery.

‘We get really excited at this time of year’, says Annika,‘ as we visit the studios of the Summer Series artists and start to see the new work taking shape. This year we are confident every show will be unforgettable.

The artists have put in an enormous amount of hard work - the diversity and skill is just fantastic.’ www.artandenterprise.co.nz

THE A+E GALLERY SUMMER SERIES EXHIBITIONS

TISH SCOTT 4 - 25 NOV

TONY HARRINGTON 26 NOV - 16 DEC

FANE FLAWS 17 DEC - 7 JAN

ANNE-MARIE JEAN 16 JAN - 8 FEB

JANE BLACKMORE 12 FEB - 5 MARCH

PAULA TAAFFE 12 - 30 MARCH

If you wish to be invited to the A+E Gallery Private Views please contact the gallery. T. 06 834 1331 info@artandenterprise.co.nz

Taste TUKITUKI

BY PRUE BARTOn PHOTOS RICHARD BRIMER

“The long and winding road that leads me to your door” … or river, in the case of this story. The Tukituki river and its surrounding valley encompasses a wealth of horticulture, viticulture, fishing and outdoor pursuits.

ARTS and LIFESTYLE

With the development of the cycling trails it is now easy to venture along the river paths on foot, cycle or pony (off trail).

Taking these tracks, the river is always in the background and with spring in the air it is refreshing to get out and get a daily dose of exercise.

S

tarting at the Tukituki Estuary, which is located between East Clive and Haumoana, I am on the hunt for ‘baiters’ as they are often called.

The whitebait season runs from midAugust until the end of November and it is then that the heat is on. It is hard to believe that a five millimetre fish could cause so much excitement, but they are a true delicacy and considered a luxury selling for around $150 per kilogram.

Some whitebaiters sell their catch to buyers who supply fish shops during the season, but most people keep their catch and give any excess to friends and family. If this happens to be one of those lucky days, forget the fritters and sauté the whitebait in a little butter for a few moments, squeeze over lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper – pure heaven!

There are five different species of whitebait and the most common of these is inanga. When whitebaiting, it is usual to catch a few silveries as well and these are not whitebait, but smelt. They are about the size of of your index finger and smell curiously like cucumber. Purists throw them back, but they are great dipped in flour and cooked in butter.

T

he estuary is also a popular fishing spot and kahawai appear to be the most frequent fish caught here. These fish are fastswimming active carnivores, which feed primarily on smaller fish such as anchovies, yellow-eyed mullet and whitebait. It is not uncommon to gut

a kahawai and find their bellies full of whitebait at this time of the year.

This slightly oily fish makes great fish cakes and pies as it is not exactly the right kind of fish to fry. To make spicy fish cakes, flake smoked or poached kahawai and add to cooked crushed potatoes, bind with an egg, season with chopped coriander and chilli, salt and freshly ground black pepper, make into small cakes crumbing with panko crumbs, and fry.

At this time of the year trout will also feed voraciously on whitebait and, from the Waimarama Road bridge downstream to the sea, this section of the river is popular for those using spinners or wet flies. Some of the largest trout are caught during this time of the year. The river has excellent access from a number of roads that lead along the banks.

For bespoke fly fishing tours Grant

It is hard to believe that a five millimetre fish could cause so much excitement, but they are a true delicacy and considered a luxury selling for around $150 per kilogram.

Petherick is the man to seek out. With over 35 years’ experience in this field he offers everything you need from fly casting tuition, sighted nymph fishing, dry fly fishing, catered lunch and accommodation transfers. “One of the most down-to-earth and personalized tours … everyone raves about him” says Frommer’s Guide.

The long and winding River Road cycle path opens up to some surprising back doors. Heading up from Black Bridge on ‘shank’s pony’ about 1 kilometre you will find the pop-up Bivvy Café, open spring, summer and autumn most weekends. They serve coffee, light food, smoothies and drinks, plus host wine tastings.

Their vineyard is situated adjacent to

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ARTS and LIFESTYLE

the Tukituki River and is planted with chardonnay, viognier, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. Purchased in 2009 Tiki and Cat are proud of their viognier and admit that they have come a long way in the last five years.

R

ight next door is Wild Game Salami. Rob Beard only deals with wild red deer venison and the meat is shot by commercial hunters and inspected before he buys it. His love of hunting has seen him become something of an expert in home-kill and he has developed quite a range of small goods. He makes three types of Italianstyle salami – garlic, pepperoni and ‘hunter’ – all of which are wood smoked.

His Spanish style chorizo is proving so popular that it is hard for him to keep up the supply.

At Mister D we consider his ‘piece de resistance’ is the black pudding. From our customer experience people are either great fans of black pudding or the reverse, but we are definitely swaying them. Having a chat to Rob recently he says that sales at the Sunday Hastings market have certainly been growing and people have been searching out his products. At a recent All Black Dinner that we held at Mister D a few days out from the Napier game we served Wild Game Salami products as part of a starter platter and we received ‘high five’ responses from the boys. Rob’s two sons excitedly received autographed menus for their brag walls. His boys also like to fish for eels under Black Bridge and Rob has experimented with smoking them.

A

cross from Wild Game Salami on Lawn Road is Elmwood Table Grapes. They have a selection of five different types of table grapes for purchase from February to mid-May and are at the Napier farmers’ market on Saturday and in Hastings on Sunday.

Grape Buffalo is one table grape that they grow and it is a great choice for making

... Hawke’s Bay is blessed with some of the best produce and wines in the world. I agree with the latest Hastings promotion that exclaims ‘Great things grow here’. When you have something good going for you, hang on to it and make the most of it.

juice, jelly and of course for eating fresh off the vine. The leaves of such vines are also edible and are well known in such dishes as Greek dolmades or stuffed vine leaves.

Cruising the scenic route along Tuki Tuki Road you will encounter numerous vineyards, orchards and lifestyle properties all the sixteen or so kilometres to Red Bridge where the road pans out to country grazing. Roadside signs for free range eggs and citrus abound for the country shopper. Smart lodges such as Black Barn’s Riverside Retreats hug the riverbanks with plantings of their Tukituki Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.

Branching off Tuki Tuki Road is the exclusive Millar Road. At a recent wine tasting there hosted by Dhall and Nash, I was excited to taste the very unique and aromatic ‘Supernatural’ 2013 Sauvignon Blanc grown right in front of the lodge on north-facing vines looking down to Te Awanga and Cape Kidnappers. Farmed organically, vinified naturally and estate grown by winemakers Gabrielle Simmers and Hayden Penny, the 2013 vintage is being toted as ‘a one in 100 year season’. Chef Malcolm Redmond cooked up a storm and delighted us with poached salmon, smoked duck, ham and braised beef cheek to name a few of the courses.

Returning from this experience I could not help but think that the Hawkes’ Bay is blessed with some of the best produce and wines in the world. I agree with the latest Hastings promotion that exclaims ‘Great things grow here’. When you have something good going for you, hang on to it and make the most of it.

Page 79 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Guanxi … DoinG Business in China

BY REX GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPH TIM WHITTAKER

Rex Graham and James Guan have eyes on China market

I

was traveling on the bullet train between Xi’an and Beijing, relaxing in my very comfortable seat, travelling at 350 kilometres per hour, aimlessly looking out the window, reflecting on my journey, my life, my business and this incredible nation.

I am involved in a fruit intellectual property business in China and I have been very fortunate to travel regularly throughout that country over the last decade. As you can imagine, that has been an incredible period of time with cataclysmic growth and change, from cycle power to BMWs in a decade.

Every six months it seems different; the speed of change is overwhelming.

New motorways, bullet trains, amazing transport and airport terminals, stunning clusters of skyscrapers, housing, entire new villages all the size of my own town … and they are everywhere. There are some very smart architectural designs and others quite utilitarian, but all reaching to the sky.

I look out the window and wonder how my own small country can relate to this giant, this new empire, and how will our people survive and prosper in this relationship?

One thing that I am sure about is that we must find a way to tread this path despite the challenges and dangers for

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us. Our very survival and prosperity will depend on it. In doing this we also need to learn from their economic experience and try to avoid the pitfalls of growth that they are grappling with.

There is new wealth everywhere, but thick smog smothers most cities and even a lot of the countryside. I still don’t dare to clean my teeth using tap water and

China is a willing and natural trading partner for our producers to build long term strategic partnerships, but we will need to build the platforms of Guanxi to secure this success and the durability of these relationships. can’t find a river, stream or lake that I would be happy to swim in with my kids.

This is their challenge and I think we will all see huge developments in this area over the next decade as they address this issue, as it seems nothing is too big for this determined nation.

C

hina is a huge country with an ethically and religiously diverse population of 1.3 billion people, some very rich, a large and growing middle class, and some still very poor. It is a society still challenged by growth pains as the recent events in Hong Kong illustrate. There is no safety net, so everyone must work, even if this means they must do the most menial job. However, the positive side of this is that it drives everyone towards education and self-improvement. It also drives a strong family focus of respect, self-reliance and an ethic of looking after each other. You need to look after each other because nobody else will.

This is also a country that is very connected. Everywhere you go young people, some very young, are connecting to social media and retail options on their smart phones. Business people are very connected to the internet, the Chinese internet, and therein lies another challenge.

A firewall blocks the usual western internet platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. Instead, over 600 million Chinese internet users go on their own platforms everyday such as Baidu (the Chinese search engine equivalent to Google), Weibo (the equivalent to Facebook and Twitter) and Youku (the equivalent to YouTube). If we want to reach these people then we need

to start getting serious and use their IT mediums and communicate with them in their way and treat them like customers.

China is our natural trading partner and over the last decade has become our largest and most important one. They have people; lots of people who need to eat and the wealth to buy the food we grow so well. They also want safe food and that is exactly the kind of food that we have.

It’s a truly excellent mix. In addition, they have something else that is very special and unique – a desire to establish long term strategic relationships with other food growing countries such as us. This sounds obvious, but in reality it is very different from most other countries, especially those in Europe and the USA, who only want to use us as a top-up to their own domestic production even if our product is better and can be cheaper to grow.

China is a willing and natural trading partner for our producers to build long term strategic partnerships, but we will need to build the platforms of Guanxi to secure this success and the durability of these relationships.

G

uanxi is the building of relationships before business is done, and this is essential in China for establishing trust and a spirit of cooperation. One of our challenges is that the Chinese actually believe

Not too young to connect and live this concept, which is often counter to our own Anglo Saxon trading culture.

My young Chinese colleague, James, tells me that New Zealanders should be good at ‘Guanxi’, because this is also an essential element in the Maori culture similar to the Chinese. In his view that is perhaps why Maori and Chinese relate so well. But sadly not all NZ Europeans have been successful adaptors in this relationship in our own land and are unable to draw on those lessons.

So the pitfalls are huge and we are all starting on a big learning curve and, like all learners, we will make a lot of mistakes on the journey.

Some years ago we used an official Chinese translator to translate elements of a legal document for a major international client, which said, quote: “Shennong Variety Management Ltd will grant to the propagator …”. The official translator translated this to: “The Vector Machinery Company Ltd will grant to the calculator …”!

Our client was too polite to say anything and we only found out when we employed our own Chinese associate. Since that time he has found numerous mistakes and misunderstandings in our business, not just in direct translations, but also in the way that we are relating. And that is of course the key to future success.

The Chinese are also more used to communicating implicitly as opposed to our more explicit expression style, which means we have to learn to be more mindful of the subtle implications and be more careful in our customary directness.

Understanding and relating to the language and nuances of the Chinese culture will be an essential part of our journey.

China is a wonderful opportunity for us all, but this new relationship will also challenge us. We will need to keep pace and grasp it with both hands.

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Page 81 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

open letter to the government BY lAwrence YUle PHOTOGRAPH TIM wHITTAKer

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, also the president of Local Government New Zealand

Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to outline the important issues facing our region for the next three years and beyond. Collectively, support with these issues will make a fundamental difference for the future of our people and the prosperity of the region.

Hawke’s Bay has much to offer as a significant region, but key decisions need to be made that are supported by resources to prevent regional New Zealand (including our own province) from becoming uncompetitive with large urban centres.

You will be aware of our stunning climate, our rural history of quality food production in Hastings and the rebuild from the 1931 earthquake to form Art Deco Napier. These cities are supported by the two important centres of Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay. Despite the perception of abundance, the numbers tell a very different story.

Jobs The single most important factor affecting the retention of our people and families is lack of job security and new opportunities. While jobs will be created by macro projects including the Ruataniwha Dam and oil and gas exploration if they

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proceed, the Government can lead a more hands on intervention.

Technology allows for service centres to be decentralised. IRD once had over 350 people based in its Napier office and it now boasts 30. The reallocation of 300 jobs back to Hawke’s Bay from the main centres is a top priority for us. The cost structure and staff culture would be greatly enhanced and the regional economy significantly boosted.

All that is required is a directive to provide a distributed system of government agencies.

GE Hawke’s Bay people strongly support keeping the region GE Free. This will allow our quality produce to continue to earn a premium in the global marketplace without any adverse downstream effect.

The law currently allows this to be done via District Plans. Hastings District, supported by leading growers in the region, is well advanced on this path. Possible changes to the RMA seek to remove this ability from local government and community decisionmaking. This is about enhancing the value of our produce and applies to open trialling and field release of plant material only. We are not against medical use of GE products in medicine. We simply ask that you leave the current legislation as it is.

Napier to Gisborne rail line The Napier to Gisborne rail line is currently closed by a large washout The National Government and KiwiRail have

both advised they are not prepared to make the significant investment required to reopen it and business support is not sufficient to create a commercial model to support its reopening. Wairoa and Gisborne are geographically isolated, but have significant economic potential.

This coastal region requires a fit for purpose transport system concentrating on a significant upgrade of the Napier to Gisborne portion of State Highway 2 and sealing of State Highway 38. The rail corridor should be used for a world-class cycle trail. An investment of $50 million will kick start three major projects and finish the current impasse between road and rail.

Ruataniwha Dam The Ruataniwha Dam project will provide a massive financial boost to the region if the environmental limits can be agreed and the financial framework is conducive to a high level of farmer uptake. While environmental limits are subject to legal challenge in the courts, it is clear that financial support from the Crown will be required to support any development. While the project has been fast tracked to prevent political uncertainty at the Crown level, projects of this size do take years to complete.

The long-term commitment of Crown Irrigation funding and flexibility in approach are key elements of this project until it reaches financial viability.

Transport Funding While the investment in local roads has been increased, it has not kept pace with demand or the required level of service. The current reviews of the FAR (funding assistance rates)and ONRC (one network road classification) systems of funding allocation further stress the rural parts of our network. As a way of redressing the balance away from ‘Roads of National Significance’, we ask that you reintroduce regional fuel taxes, along with local decision-making in priorities and a future focus in local roads.

Regional Airfares The monopoly of Air New Zealand on regional air routes needs to be carefully considered by the Crown despite the government shareholding. It is well known that New Zealand’s population supports one and a half airlines, but this significantly disadvantages regional New Zealand. The cost of regional fares is a major disincentive for business and, because of the monopoly situation, this cannot be tested by the market. The Government should commission a study of this issue, including overseas experience, and consider a regulatory response to ensure provincial NZ is getting a fair deal.

“My most ‘radical’ request is that Hawke’s Bay should be trialled as the first region to have one chief executive responsible for the total government spend in the region, working under an inter-sectoral plan developed collectively between the mayors and councils, local MP’s and leaders of government departments.”

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Social Sector Reform The Hawke’s Bay region has some of the poorest social sector statistics in New Zealand. This is not well recognised because the region is a desirable place to live. Unemployment rates, income levels, suicide rates, health and crime statistics for the region are all in the worst quartile.

Nearly $900 million dollars of central government money is spent in these services, yet no relative improvement is being made. Well-intentioned and hard working government agencies and NGO’s are working in this space, but a radical rethink is required.

We are eager to take our own social challenges – disenfranchised youth, health inequities, an ageing population, and more – head-on. Allow us to grapple with these issues with our own hands and local insights, but still within a framework of national standards, expectations and oversight.

Therefore, perhaps my most ‘radical’ request is that Hawke’s Bay should be trialled as the first region to have one chief executive responsible for the total government spend in the region, working under an inter-sectoral plan developed collectively between the mayors and councils, local MP’s and leaders of government departments.

This letter is an attempt to clearly articulate our priorities for your attention and resources. A common approach between your Government and the people of Hawke’s Bay would be greatly appreciated. As a region we are willing to partner with you to enhance the opportunities for the people of Hawke’s Bay. We hope your Government is equally up for the challenge.

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Page 83 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

HealtH inequity in Hawke’s Bay

Inequity in health is unfair and unacceptable in Hawke’s Bay. A recently commissioned Health Equity Report has highlighted many areas of concern that should be a focus for us all.

BY DR KEVIN SNEE chief executive, hawke’s BaY DhB I trained as a public health physician in the UK, and although I have spent many years managing healthcare, in various settings, my resolve to ensure fair and equitable health for everyone is a priority for me in my role as chief executive of Hawke’s Bay District Health Board.

As part of that resolve I commissioned Dr Caroline McElnay, the district health board’s Director of Population Health, to take a good look at health equity in Hawke’s Bay. I told her not to pull any punches, to make sure she painted the real story and to be clear about what and where the issues are.

Her report, recently released, has done exactly that. We now know that although Hawke’s Bay might be a beautiful place to live, our community faces some real challenges such as:

Sore throats can lead to rheumatic fever and heart disease.

Get them checked early.

For more information search ‘sore throat’ at www.kidshealth.org.nz or phone 878 1619 ext 4634

Page 84 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

• One third of our children live in poverty; • The high rate of smoking amongst pregnant Maori women is a public health crisis; • The rate of serious assaults resulting in injury in Hawke’s Bay is twice the New Zealand average; • People living in areas like Camberley are three times more likely to die from an avoidable cause of death than people who live in Havelock North; • One in four adults in Hawke’s Bay is a hazardous drinker – this means they are likely to be causing harm to their own health or causing harm to others through their behaviour; • 62% of 15-24 year old males drink hazardously compared to 34% nationally, and it’s just as bad for women with 36% of 15-24 year

old women drinking hazardously compared to 18% nationally. That’s double the rate for both genders compared to the rest of New Zealand; • It is startling that three out of four Maori will be dead before their 75th birthday, compared to one in three European. And possibly even worse, one in four Maori will die before their 50th birthday compared to one in twenty European.

I find these statistics shocking and unacceptable.

Much of the work we do in health is focused on reducing inequity, trying to reduce the gap so everyone has the same opportunities for health. It’s part of our vision for the next five years through our Transform and Sustain programme.

The 11 key areas of this programme all contain elements to make sure equity is addressed, when we determine how we spend our money.

Recognising and identifying the issues through this report will help us work to reduce the gap, but the health system alone cannot solve inequity. To make real inroads will take a multi-agency response and a commitment for all agencies to work together. There cannot be any patch protection. We need to work together and that’s the challenge I make to all organisations – that’s the only way we can make a difference.

We know it can be done.

As part of the rheumatic fever ‘Say Ahh’ programme, which has targeted the Flaxmere community, we have been able to address poor housing, overcrowding, and have linked families with other services such as GPs and WINZ. There is little point in addressing health issues without addressing the causes of that ill-health. We have made

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“On a personal level, I know that barriers to inequity can be overcome. I grew up in a poor community. Many of the friends I grew up with are now dead, as they faced similar barriers to health and healthcare. But it can be overcome, through education, easy access to healthcare, particularly primary care, and the readiness of a community to want to do something about it.” a difference – we have seen the cases of rheumatic fever drop from 7.1 cases per 100,000 people in 2010 to 1.9 cases per 100,000 people in 2013 – a drop not seen elsewhere in New Zealand. That’s a great effort – so it can be done. In the long run these initiatives also save the community money. That money previously spent on hospital care for children with rheumatic fever can be diverted into other areas, so that we all benefit.

On a personal level, I know that barriers to inequity can be overcome. I grew up in a poor community. Many of the friends I grew up with are now dead, as they faced similar barriers to health and healthcare. But it can be overcome, through education, easy access to healthcare, particularly primary care, and the readiness of a community to want to do something about it.

A multi-sectoral group of agencies, politicians and civic leaders has already

met and been briefed on the findings of the Health Equity Report. The next stage is to develop an ambitious plan which will need to be followed through with decisive action, but to enable the necessary change it must be tackled collectively and responsibly as a community.

Inequities affect us all – this is not someone else’s problem. If we want to prosper in Hawke’s Bay, then we all need to resolve to do something about this.

The health system will play its role fully, but we have a lot of work to do to close the gap, which stretches well beyond the health system. The overall life expectancy of the Hawke’s Bay population is less than the national average. Many within our community suffer ill health and die many years before they should as a result of poverty and inequity. In this day and age that’s simply not good enough.

Everyone plays a role, everyone is affected and this is everyone’s problem.

building business leaders Hayden Walsh, business studies student.

№9-05290

0800 22 55 348 | business.eit.ac.nz

Page 85 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Sponsoring insight into smart farming in Hawke’s Bay

Tomorrow’s Farms Today

BY Dr Alison Dewes, HeADlAnDs Smart new farming systems that will define agriculture in the 21st century are already in our backyard.

On farm, we have to do things smarter, not just because of the dilemma we face with water quality and quantity, but also as a result of a more volatile climate. These pressures mean we need ‘systems’ thinking on farm, excellent risk management and more consistent profits.

And often, there is a need to balance family lives and values at the same time.

Smart new farmers are able to make a profit through good and bad years because they know their return on capital, and the key levers in their business that drive good performance.

Profit is not always about producing more of a commodity (milk, meat), but rather about resilience.

Resilience describes an ecosystem’s capacity to respond to disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Funnily enough, economists use it to describe ‘safe’ investments. For farming, resilience relates to an ability to have a consistent return on capital, repeated across seasons, at different input costs, and through big swings in commodity prices.

It’s about having a ‘sturdy’ business more so than a ‘high output’ business.

A research paper to be released this month summarises this nicely, saying that intensification (high inputs and stock rates) has led to some farms producing at a level that is past the ‘sweet spot’ of maximum profit. Claims that de-intensification will result in lower

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Bruce & Donna Arnold, superstar dairy farmers

farm profits are as yet unconvincing.

Nevertheless, a lot of farmers are still led to believe that more output will mean more money. In my work with farmers, we do not always see this.

that these wetlands, plantings and hillclad steep slopes provide. I expect that to happen in my lifetime.

But meantime, we have smart new farmers now, in regions right across NZ.

What ‘smart farming’ means

Eco-efficiency

A client of ours in ‘Tomorrow’s Farms Today’ – the Upper Waikato dairy project undertaken on 25 farms over three years – says, “It is not the good years that make you, but the tough years that break you.”

Smart new farms will be resourceuse efficient, minimising their nutrient, pathogen and sediment losses and becoming very clever at retaining nutrient for re-use on farm, rather than letting it run off.

The public and our consumers will eventually require this.

These smart new farms will have the vulnerable areas (steep, wet and boggy areas) planted out to support bees, provide shade, protect soils and waterways. On some farms this may not just be 2-4%, but 10-20% of the farm area.

These areas are typically a liability to the farm anyway, as animals often get stuck in them.

Smart new farms will have wetlands in low lying areas to slow down and filter run off, acting like kidneys for the land.

These areas would naturally have been swampy areas that were probably prone to pugging or water logging anyway. These farms are pleasant to work on and can be aesthetically more valuable.

In this next century, economic values will be attached to the nature services

I am lucky enough to work with farmers who carefully consider the best land use for land type and farm it accordingly. They are quiet leaders, working hard at being profitable land stewards. These farmers are not getting enough recognition for their actions yet. They demonstrate high levels of eco-efficiency.

They have learnt how to create a high level of value ($ or product) from a given resource or service that is provided from the environment (water or soil absorption capacity).

In the future, the protein or energy our farmers produce will likely be linked back to units of resource used, because our consumers are increasingly concerned about things like water availability and quality.

For example, an eco-efficiency check used inside the farm gate might be the amount of milk solids produced per kilogram of nitrogen leached, or kilograms of protein produced per million-litres of irrigation water used.

There is a big focus on the effects of dairy on the environment, so let’s consider an example of milk production – kilograms of milk solids produced per kilogram of nitrogen leached (kg MS per kg N).

In the Upper Waikato (Broadlands– Reporoa area), where the rainfall is

LOW ECO EFFICIENCY

HIGH ECO EFFICIENCY

Nutrient Use Efficiency (kg MS per kg N ha-1 yr-1)

around 1,000 millimetres per year, and pumice soils are typical, dairy farms are showing a three-fold range in terms of an ‘eco efficiency’ measure.

Some farms sharing the same climate, soils and land use, are three times as efficient as others.

This has to be a profitable proposition though, or else farmers will be in the red while trying to be green.

The good news: many of these farms who are resource-use efficient are also consistently profitable – showing strong return on their total capital in the business that is repeatable across high and lower milk prices. These farmers have eco-efficient, profitable businesses whilst striving to improve things further.

Farmers can be profitable while having a low environmental footprint, and using their resources as efficiently as possible. Most farmers I meet agree with this, many just want to get on with doing it.

And some are already on that path.

Headlands is fortunate to work with top farmers who are still trying to improve – some are high intensity, some low intensity.

Bruce and Donna Arnold, who run a complex and intensive system on alluvial silt and gley soils in the Waikato, won the Dairy Business of the Year Awards last year. They earned a 9% return on capital, while having an effluent system delivering nutrient to over 60% of the farm, reducing soluble fertilisers continually and leaching 19 kilogram N loss/ ha/year, which is around half of the Waikato average (35 kg N leached).

To the Arnolds’ credit, they have spent significant amounts of money mitigating what is an intensive dairy system, and are doing a top job in eco-efficiency terms, producing 80 kilograms of milk solids per kilogram of N leached. So the Arnolds are

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more than three times more eco-efficient at producing milk relative to the nitrogen lost from their farm than the Waikato average.

Euan and Sarah McKnight, family dairy farmers in the Upper Waikato on pumice soils, run a more extensive, simple dairy farm with 2.6 cows/hectare producing 477 kilograms of milk solids per cow. These farmers are leaching less than half the average, at 24 kilograms N leached, while their eco-efficiency is double the average, producing 52 kg MS per kg N leached.

Andrew Hayes, in the Lower Waikato at Horsham Downs, is another quiet leader.

Andrew and Jenny have spent the past 20 years restoring Lake Kaituna, which lies at the bottom of their farm. The Hayes use scarcely any soluble fertiliser now, as they realise that years of intensive farming has resulted in enriched soils that need better optimisation now. Last year, soluble nitrogen use was less than 30 kilograms per hectare per year (one-fourth the average dairy farm use), while the rich soils, after years of fertilising, are now carefully managed

to ensure top pasture growth and animal intakes in top 10% of the locale. Their milk production versus N leached is double the eco-efficiency of the Lower Waikato average, with half the average N loss.

These farmers are our new leaders. They run smart farming systems, make a tidy profit with minimal impact, and will be unlikely to be significantly affected by tighter nutrient loss rules in future.

Furthermore, with their careful plans to optimise on all fronts – profit, ecoefficiency and business resilience – these smart farms will likely be more valuable and saleable, because successful farming in the future will require resources to be used ethically, within profitable production systems that both protect and enhance the environment.

Alison Dewes is a vet, a 4th generation farmer, farming in NZ and Australia for 25 years. She now leads the Headlands team, supporting farmers to create innovative, resilient and profitable businesses that protect and enhance our environment.

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Page 87 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

A TOAST TO CIDER BY paul paynter PHOTOGRAPH tIM WHIttaKer

Paul Paynter, cider evangelist

F

or a generation politicians have talked about how New Zealand must move away from our reliance on agriculture. ‘Sunset industry’ was a phrase that raised the hackles of rural folk. They needn’t have worried as such talk proved to be nonsense. Hawke’s Bay’s soils, usually abundant water and benign climate still mean it’s one of the best places on earth to produce food.

But everyone does seem to agree that it would be good to ‘add value’ to the raw materials, or to develop new adjunct industries. So where are these opportunities for the Hawke’s Bay economy?

If you look at other industries you can see how they have evolved and developed downstream innovations.

Take the Nelson hop industry. In the 1970s it was in a sickly state, supplying the two big breweries and exporting hops as an oversupplied commodity.

Now the Nelson region produces some

Page 88 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • Bay BuZZ

wonderfully unique hop varieties and sports at least 12 craft breweries. They even have a craft beer festival called Marchfest. While this doesn’t quite yet have the ring of Oktoberfest, they’re working on it. Nelson is truly the craft brewing capital of New Zealand.

Given Hawke’s Bay is the king of New Zealand’s apple industry, producing over 60% of the national crop, you’d expect we’d be the centre of cider production in NZ, right? Well, we’re not.

R

ubbing our parochial noses in it is Redwood Cellars in Nelson, producers of the Old Mout cider brand. These guys now produce more than 10 million litres of cider per annum. They are ubiquitous on Australian cider shelves and can also be seen in Asda and Tesco in the UK. At say, $10 per litre, they have a $100 million operation, while Hawke’s Bay in its entirety would be lucky to crack $5 million for cider.

We haven’t seized the opportunity and there is little sign we’re going to.

Cider is the fastest growing drinks category in the western world. In the USA, Australia and NZ it has been growing at more than 30% a year for several years.

Perhaps the great potential for cider lies in the yet untapped Asian market.

Many countries like China, Japan and Korea are apple producers and have a longstanding reverence for apples.

While they seem keen to join the West in sipping fine red wine, it’s actually poorly suited to their palates. They don’t actually like acid or tannin and you can still see patrons in high-end Chinese restaurants adding a decent splash of Coke to their cru bourgeois, to take the edge off it. Surely they’d prefer a glass of cider.

Why is Hawke’s Bay so horribly off the pace on the cider front? Actually, there are a couple of good reasons.

Embarrassingly, most cider in NZ is made

from apple juice concentrate. You can source this anywhere so there’s no need to be located in an apple producing region.

It’s equivalent to buying some Tetra Pak grape juice in your local supermarket, fermenting it and calling it wine.

Well it would be wine, but possibly the worst wine you’ve ever tried.

C

ider from concentrate isn’t great either – mostly boring, denatured supermarket fare. Around the world it’s often ‘chaptalized’ (i.e. fortified with sugar), fermented to quite high alcohol levels and then watered down to the desired strength. Commercial cider makers also compensate for mediocrity with lots of bubbles, plenty of sugar and a splash of Ribena-like flavouring. Such measures produce a cheery, refreshing drop on a hot summer’s day and demand is skewed towards young girls and your mother-in-law.

Ask a few cider aficionados about the fruit ciders in particular and you get a range of opinions: “I’m a traditionalist” says Julian Temperley from Burrow Hill in Somerset. “These new styles are targeting 16-year-old-girls and they’re bringing the industry into disrepute.”

While there are many who share this opinion, Diane Flynt from Foggy Ridge in Virginia USA, isn’t one of them. “It’s easy to be critical” she says. “I like to think of these drinks as gateway ciders.

People’s palates mature and one day they’ll be looking for something more challenging.” That seems a reasonable theory. Twenty-five years ago many wine drinkers were swilling McWilliams Muller Thurgau, Marque Vue and 3L casks of Country Medium. We’ve gotten all fancy pants since then.

The best cider comes from proper cider apples that have glorious names such as Broxwood Foxwhelp, Knotted Kernel and Chisel Jersey. The juice from this fruit is bitter, tannic, and produces

darker juice than dessert apples. It can produce ciders of much greater depth and complexity. These styles are commonly produced in Herefordshire and Somerset in the UK; and Brittany and Normandy in France. Here old cider orchards abound and superb fruit can be sourced quite easily.

T

he cider tradition is similar to that of wine. In a bygone age, when the water was dickey, the safest forms of liquid refreshment were fermented fruit juices. Cider flourished in regions where it was too wet or cold to produce grapes. There are records dating back to Roman times, when upon invading England, they were relieved to find there was something to drink.

Of recent times, craft cider makers

Given Hawke’s Bay is the king of New Zealand’s apple industry, producing over 60% of the national crop, you’d expect we’d be the centre of cider production in NZ right?

Well, we’re not. are also springing up across USA where cider was once enthusiastically quaffed by their founding fathers. Prohibition all but destroyed the cider industry. You could produce some moonshine on the sly, but a cider orchard was hard to hide.

The growth in cider demand has also led to greater investment in R&D. Of great interest to medical researchers are the high levels of polyphenols found in cider apples.

New selections are being screened for such attributes at the preeminent cider breeding programme in Angers, France. These cider apples don’t just have 10 or 20% more polyphenols than regular apples, but often 10 times

the quantity. Of particular interest are the procyanidins, which have demonstrated significant anti-cancer effects. Reviews of academic studies have shown apple polyphenols to also have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, weight management, cholesterol levels, gastrointestinal health and many other components of human health.

At least one study also indicated that the bioavailability of some apple polyphenols was increased when taken with alcohol. I’m not making this up.

We’re on the precipice of an age when grumpy wives may call their husbands, insisting that they don’t come directly home from work, but stop by the pub for a couple of health-giving glasses of cider.

Hawke’s Bay has the climate and expertise to produce exceptional apples, and also the winemaking expertise to produce great cider. Over recent years the reduction in Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the region have also freed up some white wine making capacity at our wineries. Most winemakers are sceptical about the cider, seeing it as a ‘lesser drink’. That may be so, but I suspect that, like you, they are yet to taste one of the great ciders of the world.

Perhaps we have missed the boat on becoming a great cider producing region. Or is the potential for the development and production of cider in Hawke’s Bay only in its infancy?

Page 89 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • Bay BuZZ

Trades Academy is improving school outcomes and building promising lives

An EducAtion PAthwAy thAt works “There’s a wonderful man in Ruatoria who’s spectacularly tattooed and will readily tell you that when he was young, he thought “education sucked.”

BY Claire Hague PHOTOGRAPH TiM WHiTTaKer Now his son is one of the shining stars of the Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti Schools’ Trades Academy @ EIT. This man has no difficulty getting his boy to school on a Friday, the day when 400 students from across Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast converge at EIT’s main campuses to undertake tertiary training. Some of these kids travel up to five hours a day to get there and back. They think it’s worth it, and so do their parents and schools.

Our region’s Trades Academy was

Page 90 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BaY BuZZ

a finalist in the Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards this year.

One of my most treasured memories is sitting with a group of school principals, parents and students, and listening to their discussion with judges as to how the Academy worked and the outcomes it was achieving. Young people, some at risk of dropping out of school, were hanging in there, and achieving success, often for the first time in their schooling.

This in turn raised their confidence

with other school work and activities, markedly improving attitudes and achievement.

Other students had discovered a potential career path, or found out before it was too late what they were not cut out for. Families noted better motivation and happiness about school in general. Principals talked about better attendance, achievement and connection with the world of work and tertiary pathways.

Trades Academy achievers The data spoke for itself: in 2013 Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti Trades Academy students had participation and achievement results that ranked right up there with the national outcomes.

81% of our region’s students completing their Academy programme

in 2013 gained NCEA Level 2, equalling the national results. 86% of the 4,500 students across New Zealand undertaking the programme made effective transitions to further education (school or tertiary) or employment and apprenticeships.

Comparative studies completed by the Ministry of Education have shown that results achieved in trades academies and other similar initiatives significantly exceed the outcomes achieved by students of similar type who remain in traditional education programmes.

The Trades Academy concept was championed back in 2010 by another local, Anne Tolley, during her time as Minister of Education. Since then, academies have been established across the country, and in 2015 will involve 5,250 young people studying across a range of secondary/ tertiary areas including trades, science and engineering, sport and recreation, and information technology, to name but a few.

The purpose is hands-on, vocationally based training that forms an integrated secondary/ tertiary programme, contributes to NCEA results, and allows students to try out some possible career options.

Plus, on top of these merits, I’d argue that the academies have transformed the way the education system works, the way that regions collaborate, and the way that young people and their families are connected to the world of tertiary study and work.

In 2014, our region has had 27 schools and 400 students involved in our local Trades Academy. The interesting thing about this is that the schools range from Decile 1 to Decile 10 on the socio-economic scale.

Technically some of these schools are in direct competition with one another. All are self-governing, autonomous entities. All stood to potentially lose funding by sending their students to the Academy.

The greater good They could have worried that EIT would use the Academy as means of ‘stealing’ their students. They could have done the much easier thing – stuck to their normal timetable and same curriculum because it was known and reasonably successful. But those schools did none of those things, and in their commitment to a genuine collaboration across a very diverse region, they have taught us many things.

We learned that autonomy and diversity can enhance, rather than discourage, regional cooperation. We witnessed good leadership that didn’t just safeguard the known; it asked ‘what could the future look like?’ We worked hard to ensure that concerns about competition, funding and branding could be worked through if the welfare of people was our biggest priority.

At the end of September, as I travelled from Hastings and Napier to Wairoa, Gisborne, Ruatoria and the tiny gems that are our communities up the East Coast, I marvelled again that 27 schools from Hicks Bay to Central Hawke’s Bay are able to join forces with their local tertiary organisation for the betterment of the young people they serve. They are living examples of people and organisations working together for ‘the greater good’.

As the re-elected government settles into its third term, we can continue to argue the merits or otherwise of their education and other public sector policies. Our local councils and politicians can continue to debate the joys or perils of amalgamation, and argue about who should have known about what and who should run this or that regional project. Alternatively, we can all get on with making those policies work for the greater good.

Our local educators, young people and their families have shown us it can be done.

“I’d argue that the academies have transformed the way the education system works, the way that regions collaborate, and the way that young people and their families are connected to the world of tertiary study and work.”

They are quietly going about the business of working together across enormous geographical, cultural and economic divides. They are a lesson of the highest order for us all.

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Page 91 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BaY BuZZ

savouring the shield

BY DAMON HARVEY

Damon and daughter

Enjoying Shield fever

Page 92 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

I’ve finally got to touch the Ranfurly Shield! It’s been a dream of mine for many years – to go to a Shield game at McLean Park.

I’ve heard so many stories about the 1960s Shield era in Hawke’s Bay and how it brought prosperity. Legends were born during that era – the likes of Kel Tremain, Blair Furlong and Ian McRae. I have seen old photographs of the park at full capacity, something that has rarely occurred since. I’ve heard about how everyone was in a great mood and money was flowing.

The Shield is now locked away for summer.

It’s ours and the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union has done a fantastic job of making it accessible to fans throughout the Bay. I heard of one guy that called the union’s office and asked for it to be dropped off at his house and that he wanted to sleep with it for the night. His wish didn’t come true, but he, like many, have been able to hold aloft the Shield.

The Ranfurly Shield is like a magic rug. It sweeps up everyone and sprinkles good fortune on all those that touch it.

Already the rugby union says it will record a better than budgeted financial result and I’m sure there’s many businesses that have benefited, especially the hospitality industry.

I hope that it’s a catalyst for a positive 2015 and that we take advantage of its magic for as long as we can. It’s a given that at some stage the Shield will move; but it’s the opportunity in the “now” that we need to take advantage of.

Already many column centimetres of media exposure have been given to the team’s exploits.

Tourism

Exactly what the Bay needs!

Increased participation numbers in sport

The Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union now has a platform to develop a legacy, to build a stronger team and to promote the game of rugby.

It’s in a fantastic position to get more youngsters into the game. Little Jimmy will be wanting to be the next Ihaia West or Richard Buckman.

So how else can we all benefit from the Shield? If we’re all feeling good, then perhaps we’re much more optimistic about everything else that matters.

I’m not sure if it’s got as much pulling power as it did in the 60s, but I’m only saying that because I wasn’t alive to see.

Today I think many people are walking with more of a swagger than without the Shield, and perhaps this will have many spinoffs.

So what could they be?

Increased media exposure will draw people to Hawke’s Bay.

Greater awareness of Hawke’s Bay People like success and if we’re seen to be successful, others will want to do business with us.

Rugby is obviously set to benefit, but active recreation should enjoy a lift too.

Stronger rugby clubs The Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union will now be in a position to put more money back into grassroots development of the game.

Regional pride There’s already an uplift in pride.

Economic vitality More money should be flowing throughout the region.

So as we relax on the beach over the summer, let’s hope that our Magpies are doing the hard yards in pre-season for our benefit!

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Page 93 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Is AmAlgAmAtIon green?

BY TOM BELFORD PHOTOGRAPH RICHARD BRIMER

A refined amalgamation proposal is due to hit the streets of Hawke’s Bay in November, as the Local Government Commission inches closer to making its final recommendation.

As a member of A Better Hawke’s Bay, I’ve strongly supported amalgamation from the outset, for numerous reasons.

But lately, as a regional councillor, I’ve been thinking about amalgamation from the perspective of its potential impact on environmental decision-making in our region. That reflection has strengthened my conviction … amalgamation will be good for the environment.

My reasoning is grounded in the practical realities of Hawke’s Bay – the actual issues that confront us, and the public engagement needed to ensure environmentally sound outcomes.

GMOs – should we have one policy, five policies or no policy on keeping Hawke’s Bay GE-free to protect our environment and export advantage?

Enviro issues ignore boundaries

What should be obvious is that Hawke’s Bay’s most important environmental challenges ignore artificial political boundaries.

From a planning, decision-making and resourcing standpoint, one theme runs through each of these issues – none can be effectively addressed by any single council in Hawke’s Bay. Each one requires the cooperation of at least two councils, and some require the cooperation of all five.

By cooperation I mean: sharing a sense of priority regarding the issue, understanding the scope of authority or jurisdiction each council might have, engaging stakeholders in the community (and the public at large), settling upon a shared assessment of the nature of the problem and the solutions involved, making the necessary revisions to policies and programmes, agreeing on implementation responsibilities and milestones, and determining who will pay for all of these steps and consequent activities.

Here’s a list of key environmental challenges – and opportunities – before us.

Oil & Gas/Fracking – should we develop our carbon assets if they prove ample?

If so, under what protections for our environment and health?

HB’s energy future – what about our overall energy picture? Can we conserve energy?

Can we generate solar power for homes and businesses, even cars?

Solid waste disposal – landfills are too expensive and environmentally passé. Is waste-to-energy an option for the Bay? Climate change – what should we do to increase our resilience to global warming, whether that is protection for our coasts and low-lying assets (eg, Napier CBD, airport, sewage treatment facilities), or improving our region’s dry land farming prospects?

How might we reduce our carbon footprint?

Page 94 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

Biodiversity – what political patch lines do endangered birds or feral cats recognize?

Parks and reserves – how many should we have? Where? With what public investment? According to whose strategy?

Ruataniwha dam – most of any proposed HBRC investment will come from Hastings and Napier ratepayers, subsidizing CHB farmers. Is everybody happy with that?

Ahuriri Estuary – who’s in charge of protecting this area from stormwater pollution, or seismic testing?

Think about it. What level of commitment to multi-council cooperation must be required to come up with effective plans of action on all the issues listed above?!

Does anyone actually believe that’s going to happen in his or her lifetime under our fragmented governance arrangements?

For example, within weeks of the local election last year, councillors from HBRC, NCC and HDC attended an eye-opening briefing on the implications of climate change for our region’s coasts. The briefing underscored the scope and inevitability of the threat. But it took these three councils a full year to organize their first planning meeting to begin to address the issues – one year, just to organize the ‘terms of reference’ meeting!

This is not an isolated example. From watching councils firsthand for more than seven years now, I’m convinced ‘cooperation’ will not suffice. The far more likely outcome is patch protecting, blame shifting, resource and jurisdiction bickering, and indecision … all to the detriment of our environment. Fact is, our councils are more likely to sue each other than to cooperate.

And, environmentalists, time is not on our side.

Democratic accountability No HB environmental group will have an organizational position on amalgamation.

The local environmental leaders I’ve asked have mixed personal views on the issue – some for, some against, some undecided. And they’ll weigh all considerations, not just impact on the environment, when they ultimately take their personal stances.

I hear some environmentalists argue that ‘small is beautiful’ – meaning, in this case, that multiple, smaller councils are somehow, putting it positively, more responsive and democratic. Putting it

Personally I am in support of fewer local body politicians as the size and population of HB don’t warrant the number we have. It also needs to bring better economic management and efficiencies as well as improving environmental outcomes in the region.

Peter McIntosh, Fish & Game

I believe that there is strength in numbers and the HB needs to compete in lots of ways with the bigger cities and or regions. Only thru a single voice backed by the numbers will we be heard in Auckland or Wellington, whether the corporate or parliament offices. Both Napier and Hastings cities are the result of amalgamations (Hastings - Havelock North and Napier - Taradale) and are better for it.

Vaughan Cooper, Forest & Bird - Hastings/HNth

Personally I am not in favour, but will wait until the proposals are finally on the table to decide if there are any advantages for the community as a whole.

Neil Eagles, Forest & Bird - Napier

defensively, some enviros argue that it’s ‘safer’ to have five councils – better to have multiple opportunities to block dangerous policies, or to have an ‘environmental’ body (purportedly the Regional Council) to regulate and keep a hawk’s eye on the dastardly developmentminded territorial councils.

In practice, in Hawke’s Bay, this is wistful thinking, out of touch with the realities of day-to-day political decisionmaking. And first of all, let me note the irony that any informed environmentalist might think the Regional Council, at a political level, is a stalwart defender – let

alone promoter – of the environment! I speak from a seat at the table.

The ‘small is beautiful’ notion – that multiple, small councils will somehow be more responsive to environmental values – simply doesn’t stack up past election day.

After local body election day, 99% of the 44% of eligible voters who do vote go back into political hibernation. Being generous, that leaves at most about 600700 people awake to mind the store – to keep an alert eye on five councils.

But when it comes to the environment, that ‘watchdog’ number is smaller still … and utterly lacking in resources.

As an advocate, I’ve attended hundreds of citizen meetings over the past 7-8 years to ‘plot’ the protection and betterment of Hawke’s Bay’s environment. The hardy leadership of the environmental community numbers a few dozen volunteers (and I stress, volunteers) … most could fit on a large Nimon’s bus.

They show up at meeting after meeting, write submission after submission, populate every ‘stakeholders’ group, lead clean-ups and plantings, pass the cup for gold coin donations.

Our environment would be lost without them.

And they are exhausted and overwhelmed by the complexity, lack of jurisdictional clarity, avoidance of transparency, and sheer volume and pace of issues that confront them – coming simultaneously from five councils and a fundamentally hostile Government.

There is simply no way this tiny volunteer band (regardless of how many followers there are out in the community) can effectively monitor, let alone successfully challenge, the environmentimpacting activities and decision-making of the staff-driven, multi-council, local government juggernaut.

Democratic accountability requires more than voting on election day; it requires continual and informed citizen vigilance.

Otherwise it’s a romantic fantasy.

We who espouse environmental values for Hawke’s Bay need to get beyond the fantasy.

In our small region, we don’t have the active volunteers or resources to play seriously at ‘checks and balances’.

What multiple councils mean is that environmentalists will simply get jerked around – witness any number of examples on the issues I listed at the outset, from coastal protection to GMOs to oil & gas/ fracking. And the stakes will only grow higher in the future.

We need to recognize that we’d be advantaged to have only one council to monitor, to lobby, to hold accountable.

Only one council to turn into the champion of a sound environmental

Page 95 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

THE DOLTUS DECLARATION

BY Brendan weBB

A

thin column of dust rose in the dry air above the Plains of Heretaungus. A sentry standing on the battlements of Fortress Napierion squinted into the early afternoon sun as the lone chariot bounced its way towards him. It came to a stop in front of the town’s huge walls.

“State your business stranger,” called the sentry.

The lone figure in the chariot looked up.

He held aloft a thick roll of parchment.

“I come from the commissioners with a new plan for Amalgamatus Maximus,” he yelled.

“Never heard of him,” replied the sentry.

“You might be getting mixed up with Lawrencus Yulus over in Hustings. They call him Debtus Maximus.”

The messenger checked the title of the parchment scroll. He shook his head.

“Definitely Amalgamatus Maximus,” he said. “It’s some sort of plan showing Hustings and Napierion all rolled into one.

There’s a big red circle around Hustings marked ‘debt ring-fenced’.”

The sentry looked at him. Then he looked south towards the 7-wire fences surrounding Hustings, barely visible in the distance.

“Debt ring-fenced? You’d need a fence as long as the Great Wall of China to contain old Lawrencus’ debts,” he said. “You’d be able to see it from the Moon.”

“Anyway, you’re wasting your time coming here with another half-baked plan.

Our leader, Bull Doltus, says he’s never met anybody who wants to hop into bed with Lawrencus. Mind you, he hasn’t talked to any sheep lately.”

Two sentries nearby sniggered, then suddenly jumped to attention as a thickset bearded figure in a toga strode along the battlements towards them.

“Hail Doltus,” they chorused.

A sharp breeze tugged at Bull Doltus’ toga, which briefly gaped open. One of the soldiers dropped his spear.

“Never mind all that,” snorted Doltus, knotting his belt securely. “What does this fellow want?”

“He’s got another scheme from those commissioners who want to steal the shingle from our beaches, turn us into a seaside

Page 96 • Issue 20 • Nov/Dec 2014 • BAY BUZZ

museum and hide Lawrencus’ debts in a paddock somewhere with his sheep,” said the sentry.

“I’ve told him sleeping with Lawrencus or any of his four-legged friends was no competition for your famous Bacchanalian nights up at the hot baths,” he winked.

Doltus glared at the sentry, who shifted uneasily.

“Don’t they understand that nobody here wants a bar of amalgamatus maximus, or minimus, in Napierion?” said Doltus.

“As I’ve told my councillors, we’re unanimous about that.

“Anyway,” he called to the messenger, “Lawrencus can run around his paddocks hiding his IOUs and putting rings on his sheep if he likes, but we won’t be part of it.

I’ve decided that Napierion will become an independent republic.”

A sharp breeze tugged at Bull Doltus’ toga, which briefly gaped open.

He pulled a scroll out of his toga.

“See this? It’s the Doltus Declaration of Independence, which I’ve signed on behalf of my councillors.”

He unravelled the scroll, cleared his throat and looked at the messenger.

“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal,” he announced.

“Excellent!” said the sentry. “So I’ll be equal to you? I could do with a pay rise.

Do I get a chariot and membership to the hot baths?”

Doltus looked at him coldly.

“This is only a draft. We’ll probably have to break men up into categories, because some men are clearly more equal than others.”

The sentry nodded slowly as Doltus continued.

“We believe that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The sentry frowned.

“That right to life bit … does that mean we’re scrapping the death sentence? That’ll put a few crucifiers out of work,” he mused.

“Mind you, the pursuit of happiness sounds pretty good. I’ll be a starter for that.

You might have to enlarge the hot baths up on the Paradus Marinus if that catches on,” he grinned.

Doltus ignored him. He continued reading.

“And if Lawrencus comes hammering on our door, we shall tell him that under this declaration, our people will have the right to bear arms.”

The sentry stared at him.

“Bare our arms? You mean roll up our sleeves and extend our fingers in a suggestive manner?” he asked. “We do that to Lawrencus already.”

Doltus closed his eyes, his beard twitching.

“I mean bear arms, as in holding spears and broadswords, not show him a great hairy forearm with rigid forefinger, although you could probably do that too.”

“And we also believe that every man charged with a crime shall be judged by his peers,” said Doltus.

“By his pears?” asked the sentry.

“That’s a bit odd. What if he doesn’t grow pears? Or he’s got a bit of fire blight, pear scab or leaf spot on his crop that year. You’d be better off judging a man on the size of his grapes or his plums, if you ask me.”

Doltus stopped reading, rolled the declaration up and tied it with a strip of dried seaweed. It had become painfully clear that all men weren’t equal. He would rewrite that bit.

“Tell the commissioners that because of the threat of amalgamatus, we are now a separate republic. We’ve got ourselves into a bit of a state, if you like,” he smirked.

“Once I’ve ironed out a few wrinkles in the Doltus Declaration, Napierion will stand in splendid isolation as the town where time stands still.

“And talking of time, I’m late for the Steam Society’s annual meeting up at the hot baths,” he said, hurrying down the stone steps towards the courtyard below.

“What shall I tell the amalgamatus commissioners?” called the messenger.

“Tell them we’ve made other plans,” said the sentry.

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