love for restoring farm land has won Restore Native nursery owner Adam Thompson the Kaitiakitanga/ Guardianship & Conservation Award at the recent Primary Industries New Zealand Awards.
“I would have gone through torment if I didn’t have a place like this to come to.”
Critical cancer service needs your help this Daffodil Day
Over the course of a lifetime, 1 in 3 Kiwis will experience the lifechanging reality of a cancer diagnosis. For Paeroa local, Stephen Phillips, the Cancer Society’s Lions Lodge made an immeasurable difference during his own cancer journey.
The Lodge, made only possible thanks to the generosity of the New Zealand public, was a free-of-charge ‘home away from home’ for Stephen while he underwent five weeks of treatment at Waikato Hospital. Without it, he dreads to think of how his situation might have played out.
“I know for a fact I would have gone through torment if I didn’t have a place like this to come to,” says Stephen. “The support is brilliant and it made life a lot easier.”
community to get behind us this Daffodil Day. Whether that’s by participating in our street appeal, hosting a counter box, branding a product, or holding a morning tea – the options are endless,” says Partnership Manager, Sharon Robertson.
Stephen is just one of the many people from across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne-Tairāwhiti regions that use the Lodge.
In fact, in recent months, demand for the Lodge and the transport to treatment service, has reached record numbers. And with those record numbers comes a desperate call for help.
“More than ever before we’re appealing to the business
Daffodil Day, this year on Friday 25 August, is New Zealand’s largest street appeal and is a critical fundraiser for the Cancer Society’s Lions Lodge.
Support from generous businesses like yours this Daffodil Day will ensure that Cancer Society services
like support from nurses, transport to treatment and accommodation near treatment centres remains free for people with cancer.
“You’ve got to give back,” says Stephen. “You don’t realise until you’ve been in a situation like I’m in now what you can actually give. I can’t say enough about the Cancer Society.”
To donate, sign up or find fundraising ideas, visit daffodilday.org.nz
To contact Sharon about how your business can help, email: sharonrobertson@ cancersociety.org.nz
At Bayleys, we believe relationships are what businesses are built on and how they succeed.
Sharon Robertson, Cancer Society Partnership Manager, is appealing to the community for urgent support this Daffodil Day.
Restore Native digs in for the environment
The awards honour the teams and individuals whose talents and toil help New Zealand’s farmers, foresters and fishers thrive.
Passionate about native trees and biodiversity, Adam began his tree planting journey on his Cambridge farm in 2018.
“I've always been really passionate about the bush and growing things. I just keep chipping away at it and learning more, and eventually got to a place where you turn into a business.”
A full time mortgage broker at that time, Adam made the shift towards growing trees as a full time business in 2020.
“It was quite funny when the COVID stuff happened I thought the property market is toast. I'm going to get out and just go full time in the nursery but I couldn't because it was so busy.”
Still a shareholder in My Mortgage, Adam continues to support the team on a weekly basis but supporting farmers to plant their land in native trees is how most of his time is consumed these days.
The nursery grows more than a million native trees to plant on farms and he leads by example, being well on his way to meeting his personal target of digging in 250,000 trees on his own beef finishing farm.
“I'm trying to demonstrate how we can farm sustainably. We're intensifying the areas we can drive a tractor over and trying to get a good
return out of that. And where we come off those flat areas and onto the steep stuff, we're retiring it completely back into native bush.”
I love my work with the farmers and to be recognised for something like that is really, really cool.
In the five years that Adam has been on this journey production on his farm has increased and he has returned around 25 percent of the land to native bush.
“We're actually just farming better; farming good land and our streams are running clear rather than full of silt.”
Selling trees by the thousands, Adam clients are
looking to restore land they are retiring, planting out marginal land and protecting waterways with riparian planting.
Adam says land restoration is something many of the new generation of farmers are fully committed to achieving.
“The reality is that ‘the exploiting the land to make a living view’ is actually dying out with the people who hold it. My generation wouldn't even dream of doing those things.”
And he says, farming for the environment rather than in competition with it is far more enjoyable.
“It’s also a pride thing. The amount of people who call me up and say how stoked they are to see trees growing that we put in a couple of years ago.”
It might not happen overnight but Adam says planting trees that are native to the area is a recipe for success.
“We’re blessed in the Waikato because native trees grow really well. Two, three, four or five years after planting you can be looking at a pretty impressive bit a native bush that was once a barren, muddy hillside.”
It’s the busy season for the Restore Native team and Adam says his usual team of eight doubles to meet the demand.
The team not only grow the trees they also offer advice on best planting for the site, they do the planting and provide ongoing support to ensure those trees get the best start.
“We offer a full service and it is full accountability; if the tree dies, it's my fault. But if you follow the recipe for this specific place, you can do really well.”
A self-described risk taker, Adam says making the move away from mortgage broking into growing trees was much more than venturing into a new business to make money.
“It does need to be financially sustainable. But there are lots of other things like the sustainability of employment of our people. The sustainability for mental and physical health. I'm physically and mentally healthier than I ever was and my team says the same thing. And there’s sustainability in
terms of the quality time spent with my kids. I can take them to work, and they can go - oh, that's what dad does. I can help with the sustainability for our community by offering part time jobs to the local kids and donating plants for schools and community projects. And obviously it's sustainable for the environment - we're protecting water and air.”
for sustainability.
Winning the award was the icing on the cake for Adam who started a passion project that is now bearing fruit
“I was stoked. I was honestly super proud. I literally took a punt to grow trees without any formal training. I love my work with the farmers and to be recognised for something like that is really, really cool.”
CREAM OF NZ’S PRIMARY INDUSTRIES RESEARCHERS AND INNOVATORS HONOURED
Teams and individuals were honoured at the 2023 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards with 65 nominations across nine award categories.
Waikato entrants took out four of the coveted trophies, including three AgResearch personnel.
The Science & Research Award went to the AgResearch Endophyte Discovery Team for their world-leading development and commercialisation of strains of ryegrass with improved insect protection and plant persistence, coupled with fewer adverse effects on animal health.
Scientist Dr Louise Hennessy (Ngāti Maniapoto) claimed the Emerging Leader Award for her efforts at AgResearch and other crown research institutes championing support for early career researchers and a learning approach that blends matauranga Māori with western science.
And another AgResearch scientist, Dr Dave Leathwick, was presented with the Primary Industries Champion Award. Praised by the awards judging panel for his knowledge sharing and effective communication, Dr Leathwick has demonstrated “an unwavering commitment to the rural sector”, in particular championing parasite control and anthelmintic drug resistance management.
Dave Leathwick and PaySauce chief financial officer Jaime Monaghan
Louise Hennessy and Professor Grant Edwards, Lincoln University Vice-Chancellor Lincoln University
Endophyte team - David Hume, Christine Voisey, Linda Johnson and Yashili GM people and capability Tina Yakas
Crowds queue to experience the new JB Hi-Fi store at The Base
New store reflects further growth for tech retailer
Close to 15,000 people visited the new JB Hi-Fi store at The Base Te Awa during the first few days of opening festivities.
JB Hi-Fi New Zealand managing director Tim Edwards says the store signals the companies confidence in New Zealand.
“We've really under indexed in terms of the potential in New Zealand. I've been here for just over a year and during this time we've been planning and executing, and now we're firmly into the growth phase, which is pretty exciting.”
Established in Melbourne, Australia in 1974, JB Hi-Fi now has over 200 stores across Australia and New Zealand and is the seventh largest consumer electronic retailer in the world.
The new Hamilton store, a first for JB Hi-Fi in seven
years, sees a move away from the CBD to take advantage of larger premises.
"We have doubled our staff
numbers to resource the new store, and all existing staff will transition seamlessly to the new location." he says.
Tim says the store will still embody the brand's unique JB Hi-Fi style but with a sleeker design to highlight the products.
"From floor layout to staffing – we've infused the JB Hi-Fi DNA into every aspect of the store. We've kept all that beautiful handwritten signage, posters and artwork that the team do, so it's got that beautiful DNA. All the new fixtures are black and they're quite sexy and they allow the product to really come out.”
The store covers 1100m2 of floor space and is part of the retailer's five-year growth strategy to open more stores, refit the existing network, relocate stores to be in more convenient locations for customers, and launch at least two international airport locations, starting with Auckland and Christchurch airports.
brand-new, new format store that we have in New Zealand,”
Tim says.
“Te Awa is the first
Within the existing network of the 14 New Zealand stores, Hamilton and Queen Street, Auckland were the first to relocate.
“The other 12 have all been or are being refurbished. We're hoping to go from 14 to 38 stores over the next three to five years,” he says.
"Our team has been working hard behind the scenes, and we have big plans for the future. If you want to invest in, work for, or partner with JB Hi-Fi, now's the time. But strap in because this is just the beginning."
JB Hi-Fi have also partnered with Geeks on Wheels to provide continued service right into the home.
“It means you can buy a computer or a TV and get it installed and set up for you. We hadn't had that consistent application through our business before.”
Tim says the Australian holding company show of confidence in New Zealand will also extend new exciting offers and propositions into the mobile phones and subscription services areas of the business.
“We're launching some new products in the next four to six months, which will be not just a New Zealand first, but probably will be an Australian first. We’re taking some of the things you consider part of the Australian business and modifying it and tweaking it a little bit to be even better. So that let us push the envelope even further here in New Zealand.”
JB Hi-Fi's range of products will give shoppers at The Base Te Awa more to choose from, whether they are looking for computers and tablets, phones, TVs and audio equipment, gaming devices, home appliances, music, movies or anything else that helps them live, learn, work and play better.
"We're retail, with personality. Our stores are a fun place to be, whether you're on an entertainment or technology mission, checking out what's new, or flicking through the vinyl racks."
The new JB Hi-Fi store was launched with live performances from crowd favourites White Chapel Jak and music legend Jon Toogood of Shihad fame, plus exclusive deals on the official opening night.
Tim Edwards Managing Director JB Hi Fi NZ
White Chapel Jak perform for the crowds lining up outside the new store
Technology leadership guru joins Company-X
Company-X has announced Richard Rayner has joined the software specialist as an associate. Hamilton-based Rayner has three decades experience in the technology sector, with collaborations all over the world. He is a graduate of the Universities of Auckland and Waikato, and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. He holds degrees in computer science and information systems, management, business administration, and law. He has worked as a software developer, project manager and Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Rayner, who joined Company-X in July, said it was a priv-
ilege to be collaborating with Company-X as an associate.
“I’m looking forward to contributing to their good work with strategic CIO and executive services for their clients and will find it useful to have their deep software expertise to draw on to assist clients with strengthening their businesses,” Rayner said.
“Often in my work there is a need to create cutting edge software, complex integrations, or complete large scale data work in order to reach strategic goals.”
Company-X senior consultant Ben Judge said he was excited about the extra level of assurance Company-X clients would get with Rayner on the team.
It’s about getting everyone on the same page, so no executive is left behind.
“Richard joining us means that we can now comprehensively answer the question ‘how should they’, not just ‘how could they’,” Judge said.
“Now we are able to provide end to end capability, so when it comes to delivery, they have got that continuity of service between the people that have
set the direction and the people that have delivered on the vision.”
Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett said clients often asked questions around overcoming growth barriers with technology, the risks of investing in technology, and the strategic considerations of building solutions.
“That’s where we can now bring Richard in,” Hallett said.
“These are good questions best answered by someone like Richard. He can collaborate with clients work through this strategically and methodologically. Richard can augment their knowledge.”
“He also plays an advocacy and education role with our
Reflections on a decade of awards
Waikato software specialist Company-X has won award after award in the last decade. Co-founders and directors David Hallett and Jeremy Hughes share what it takes to build an award-winning company.
Company-X has won nine awards since it was founded in 2012.
The Waikato software specialist’s winning streak began in 2017 with a trio of awards.
Company-X received its first award in March 2017 when it won a Roading Asset Management Innovation Award for what became Transport Insights, the world’s first national transport quality assurance tool. Company-X won the Services Exporter of the Year category at the Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards in June 2017. In October 2017 Company-X received the Homegrown Innovators Independent Software Vendors Award at the Reseller News ICT Industry Awards.
Its latest award was presented last year by ExportNZ as it acknowledged Company-X as one of the Top Tech Companies of 2022. So, what does it take to build
a company that consistently wins export, innovation, and service excellence awards?
“We have great outcomes for relevant and interesting projects,” said Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett.
“A significant part of Company-X’s revenue is earned through exporting expertise to clients overseas, building genuinely innovative solutions, and thrilling clients in the process.”
Company-X has solved problems with innovative solutions for multinationals such as Cisco Systems Inc, in San Jose, California, and Delaval, in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as the New Zealand transport sector.
“We do cool things that make a real difference,” Hallett said.
For example, Company-X created Voxcoda, a softwareas-a-service (Saas) product, to enable users to create artificial intelligence generated voices
for training video voiceovers.
Voices sound as human as possible with intricate control over emphasis, pitch, speed, and tone.
“Voxcoda is saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“Company-X has won lots of awards because when David and I came together to form the company we pulled together a team of the best
people we had come across,” Company-X co-founder and director Hughes said.
“We brainstormed who we wanted and built an amazing team. We were particularly focused on finding people who were focused on delivering an outcome and being able to do that well. Our first customers were delighted that a tech company was able to do that, and the judges could see that.”
clients to help them understand the potential risks and benefits of technology and to help them understand when they should be buying an offthe-shelf solution or building a
bespoke one.”
Hallett said adding Richard to the team would help Company-X deliver on its core value of helping clients make informed choices.
Awards Company-X has won by Year
2017
• The Roading Asset Management Innovation Award at the Road Infrastructure Management Forum for the One Network Road Classification Performance Measures Reporting Tool, now called Transport Insights, built for the New Zealand transport sector.
• The Services Exporter of the Year category at the Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards.
• The Homegrown Innovators Independent Software Vendors Award at the Reseller News ICT Industry Awards.
2018
• The Service Excellence and Global Operator awards at the Westpac Waikato Business Awards.
2019
• The Independent Software Vendor Award at the Reseller News Innovation Awards for a hands-free auditing application developed for AsureQuality.
2020
• The Independent Software Vendor Award at the Reseller News Innovation Awards for Voxcoda, stateof-the-art software that turns text into human-like audio files at a fraction of the cost of booking a voice artist, recording studio and sound engineer.
2021
• Best Professional Service Innovation Award in the Hamilton Central Business Association Central Business District Awards 2021.
• Company-X software quality assurance tester Jes Elliott won the Reseller News Women in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) 2021 Rising Star Award.
2022
• ExportNZ Top Tech Companies of 2022 award.
Tania.AI receives help to improve financial app from Company-X
Tania.AI, a financial technology company that helps individuals and businesses manage their finances, has received help from Company-X to improve its mobile and web app.
Tania.AI was facing a chal-
lenge with its data import process. As the number of users grew, so did the volume of data that Tania.AI was importing nightly from Xero. The triggering of manual updates was necessary.
Tania.AI founder Donna-
meree Ryder initially turned to an overseas consultant to investigate the issue, but they were unable to solve the problem.
Ryder then reached out to Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett for help.
Company-X team leader and senior developer Michael Steenkamp and developer
Jonathan Ashworth peer reviewed Tania.AI’s code base. The pair found the issue with the code and Steenkamp was able to fix it.
As a result of Company-X’s help, Tania.AI was able to release version three of its mobile and web app for testing by audit, tax, and advisory services provider KPMG.
“It was wicked,” said
Ryder. “I should have just called Company-X ages ago. They have a team who are sharp.
“Big brother stepped in and put in the resource to make it happen. The ability for a large tech company to step in to help a little startup is wicked. What I like about having Company-X around is the ability to be able to call on larger organ-
isation that can build to the standard that we need to scale globally.”
“As a big brother company, Company-X also wants to see the little siblings coming up,” said Hallett. “Well, there’ll be no little siblings coming up if we’re unable to share the understanding and knowledge. So, one must actually really do what you say.”
Company-X co-founder and director Jeremy Hughes, left, receives the Top Tech Companies 2022 award.
Richard Rayner
Female football stars talk gender dynamics in sport
In the spirit of ‘Going Beyond’, Hamilton Host City held a FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Trophy Tour event featuring a stellar line up at the K’aute Pasifika Fale, to empower future generations in sport. The well-attended event inspired guests to dream big and uplift others.
Past and present female sporting personalities on the panel included current Football Fern Michaela Foster, ex-Football Fern Joy Howland and FIFA Referee Sarah Jones. MC and Olympian Sarah Cowley-Ross led the discussion with the panel on how far women’s sport has come, in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
The theme of the evening was – ‘the changing dynamics of gender in sport’ and saw the unveiling of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Original Trophy, which was on its last leg of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Trophy Tour. The aim of the tour is to inspire young females
and create excitement ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which is kicking off in Hamilton Kirikiriroa on Saturday, July 22.
The audience comprised of many young female footballers including local team The Wanderers who came to support and learn from some footballing idols.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 COO New Zealand Jane Patterson and Cambridge High School student and prefect and captain of the girl’s football team Jess Savage delivered the opening address.
Current Football Fern Michaela Foster shared with the audience how the road
Girls with Goals celebrates Waikato waahine
Ato the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 takes its time with the first big opportunity coming her way at the age of 24. Importantly, she says, everyone has a different story and different milestones.
Part of a well-known sporting family - her father Ian Foster is the All Black’s coach, Michaela understands the challenges of playing professionally.
“Football stuck with me when I started at the age of seven. Our parents always encouraged us to create our path, and playing football with my sister became the highlight of my childhood years. I am a proud daughter, and he’s a proud dad.”
Michaela was a coach at Hamilton Girls’ High School when she received a scholarship to play professionally. She worked at a supermarket to pay the bills, but says the journey made the success more respected.
“Navigating the sporting world after high school is critical for young players. It is crucial that we have inlets into sporting communities along with pathways to pursue career opportunities for young girls. In addition to this, watching women in both sports as well as leadership roles in the sports fraternity will be a boost for young girls.”
FIFA referee Sarah Jones highlighted the need to break barriers for women to continue sports after school, university, or even after getting married and having children.
“We need to tell women that it is possible to follow your passion even with a family and a career. If you love doing it, you can always go for it,” she says.
“The fitness levels are higher for both players and referees. With various learning modules, and training sessions before the games begin and even during the World Cup, the referees are also required to exhibit skill and aptitude along with fitness. A speed test, agility test, strength test, core and flexibility training and several criteria, it is a mix of hard work, learning and continuous commitment to one’s passion that come into play as a referee. But I would not have it any other way. It is a commitment I have made to my passion.”
Ex-Football Fern Joy Howland, who was sporting her team jersey from the 1989 World Cup, reminisced about how times have changed and the game of football itself has changed drastically.
“It is such a great feeling to see more girls and all-girls teams when I go to my son’s football games on Saturday mornings.”
She also reminisced about her days on the New Zealand team.
“It was just a bunch of mates playing for the country. We never had the structure or institutional support that is now available. It was all about the love for the game. We were fundraising on the weekends, requesting people to buy our tickets, door knocking and trying everything we could. It was a constant cycle of ‘play, train and fundraise’ for us.”
When asked about how the next generation of girls can be motivated to take on sports, she had a sound piece of advice for the players.
She also had a message for parents which was received.
“Focus on presence not pressure. Be available, show up for games on the side lines and support your girls in their journey. It would be great to see New Zealand go to the next level with higher participation and more visibility.”
Hamilton is set to host five matches from 22 July 2023. An impressive number of 1million tickets have been sold so far in both the host nations, Australia and New Zealand, which shows a positive change for women’s sports and increased support from spectators.
“Talent is great, but often not enough. Mentors can have immense impact in developing the drive and commitment and show you how to keep the passion high and prepare a plan of action for you.”
Photo credit: Sophie-Miya Smith
Landy Tyrell Nonoa
Katherine Winitana
First home buyers back in the market as property trends take an upturn
When the summer sun gets a bit hot, we’re eager for the leaves to start changing, signalling autumn. When winter’s grip brings frost, wind and rain, we’re all watching closely for the pink buds of spring.
And in the property world, we’re also operating in a cycle that often takes years to come around again.
I feel as though I’ve come of age as a mortgage adviser, having seen several turns of the clock as property values rise and fall.
There are some changes afoot, and looking at property metrics over the past month or so shows some interesting trends.
First-time home buyers are returning to the market in large numbers following changes on 1 June that have made it easier to obtain loans with less than a 20% deposit, the relaxation of CCCFA legislation, and properties being offered at lower prices. Enquiry is up over 50%, and many of these buyers are armed with pre-approvals and looking to make
competitive offers. We’re also seeing multi-offers on properties becoming more common again, particularly in the bottom to middle of the market, where buyers aren’t needing to sell a property to make their purchase work. I myself was blown away to receive three offers on a property I had listed. Most of my first home buyers are now finding themselves in competition when putting pen to paper.
Another trend is the supply of properties starting to fall. Very slowly we’re seeing a switch from a flood of properties on the market as vendors make calculated decisions to hold off, and more confidence starts to creep into the minds of investors that political change may be afoot. Banks are thankfully now starting to loosen lending
BEYOND THE BANKS
BY CLAIRE WILLIAMSON
Claire Williamson is a mortgage advisor for My Mortgage
criteria by tweaking policies in favour of bolstering loan volumes. They have welcomed the changes put in place by the RBNZ in June around LVR (Loan to Value) requirements for investors and first home buyers. I’m predicting these will continue to loosen in the next few months as banks revisit their credit criteria in the face of what looks like a levelling off of interest rates.
The big news of the last month is the likelihood of the RBNZ placing the official cash rate on hold this week (12 July 2023), which they signalled strongly in May. This has built confidence in the minds of borrowers who were hearing numbers of nine per cent thrown around and wondering how they’d service their mortgages. That risk has now largely abated, and we’re hearing stories of battening down the hatches as strong employment conditions continue to keep people in jobs.
And while I like to be the ray of sunshine on an otherwise bleak week of rain and cold, these small glimmers of hope still carry challenges for the buyer, particularly if they are investors looking to leverage equity, or first home buyers on entry-level incomes.
Interest rates are still fairly high compared to several years ago, and it’s important to consider your budget when looking to buy, especially when business confidence is lower, and many are looking to drive efficiencies by reviewing human resources and input costs.
But if you’re in a position to purchase your first home, second home or forever home, or even add to a property portfolio, the conditions may be just perfect.
Get your umbrella out, dance in the puddles and look out on the horizon. It’s faint, but you might catch a glimpse of spring, ready to put forward new life and start the cycle once again.
CONVERSATIONS WITH MIKE NEALE OF NAI HARCOURTS HAMILTON
Mike Neale, Managing Director, NAI Harcourts
Importance Levels – Understanding the Criteria for Buildings IL1 to IL5
This is a question that comes up periodically, but randomly I received three calls last week around this topic. For those seeking strong seismic resilience in Hamilton for buildings IL3 and above, it’s a pretty thin wedge when seeking premises options that require superior NBS standards.
Ensuring the safety and resilience of buildings is a top priority for authorities, especially in the wake of natural disasters and changing climatic conditions. The seismic performance of buildings is critical to safeguarding lives and preserving infrastructure during earthquakes. To achieve this, New Zealand has a stringent classification system for buildings based on their Importance Level (IL1 to IL5) and corresponding building regulations and criteria. Let’s delve into the criteria and regulations governing these importance levels.
Importance Level (IL1 to IL5)
Classification:
Importance Levels (IL) are assigned to buildings based on their significance concerning safety and functionality during earthquakes. They are determined by considering the building’s function, occupancy, and consequences of failure during a seismic event. The IL classification ranges from IL1 (lowest importance) to IL5 (highest importance). The criteria for each level are as follows:
• IL1: Buildings with a low level of importance, such as agricultural structures and minor utility buildings. Failure of IL1 buildings during an earthquake is less likely to result in significant consequences. Examples include ancillary buildings not for human habitation and minor storage facilities.
• IL2: Buildings with moderate importance, including most residential and commercial structures. The failure of IL2 buildings may cause some damage but is not expected to result in major life-threatening situations. The vast majority of commercial and office buildings in Hamilton fall into this category.
• IL3: Buildings with high importance, like hospitals, emergency facilities, and key infrastructure. The failure of IL3 buildings could have significant consequences for public safety and critical services. Examples include buildings where more than 300 people congregate in one area / primary schools, secondary schools, or daycare facilities with a capacity greater than 250 / buildings with tertiary education and a capacity greater than 500 / buildings generating power, water treatment and other public facilities not included in IL 4
• IL4: Buildings of essential importance, including lifeline infrastructure like emergency response centres and power stations. The failure of IL4 buildings could lead to severe societal impacts
Hamilton
and disruption. Examples include hospitals / fire, rescue and police stations / aviation control towers / buildings intended to contribute to emergency preparedness and used for communication in an emergency.
• IL5: Buildings with critical importance, such as emergency response headquarters and essential national infrastructure. The failure of IL5 buildings would have catastrophic consequences for society. This includes major dams and extremely hazardous facilities.
Building Regulations and Criteria:
New Zealand has robust building codes and regulations in place to ensure that structures are designed and constructed to withstand seismic forces. These regulations are outlined in the New Zealand Building Code. The building regulations for IL1 to IL5 buildings include:
i Seismic Design: Buildings in high and critical importance categories (IL3 to IL5) must comply with stricter seismic design requirements. Engineers use sophisticated techniques and calculations to ensure these buildings can withstand the forces generated by earthquakes.
ii Material Standards: The New Zealand Building Code sets out specific standards for construction materials. For buildings in higher importance levels, stricter material requirements are imposed to enhance resilience.
iii Building Envelope: IL1 and IL2 buildings may focus more on functionality and aesthetics, while IL3 to IL5 structures prioritize maintaining the building envelope even during a seismic event.
iv Redundancy and Resilience: Buildings with higher importance levels must demonstrate greater redundancy and resilience to withstand earthquake-induced stresses.
v Foundation Requirements: The foundation design for IL3 to IL5 buildings is more stringent, considering factors like soil conditions, liquefaction potential, and ground motion amplification.
vi Regular Inspections: High and critical importance buildings may require more frequent inspections and monitoring to ensure ongoing structural integrity.
vii Building Consent Process: Local authorities evaluate building consent applications based on the IL classification, ensuring compliance with the appropriate regulations.
The classification of buildings into Importance Levels (IL1 to IL5) in New Zealand is crucial for managing seismic risk and promoting public safety. There are building regulations which ensure that higher importance structures are designed and constructed to withstand seismic forces.
Community leads tourism direction for Raglan
Known as the jewel in the crown of Waikato District Council tourism, Raglan is a mecca for local and international visitors seeking a west coast holiday.
Atown driven by local initiatives, the Raglan community took over the council operated iSite and have given it their own unique twist.
Renamed Raglan iHub Information Centre, its genesis dates back to June 2020 when council officially closed the iSite.
Determined to continue providing authentic visitor information and experiences, a group of community representatives launched the Whaaingaroa-Raglan Destination Management Organisation (WRDMO).
Leading the charge, Raglan’s district councillor Lisa Thomson and long-time tourist operator Charlie Young, although disappointed at council’s decision, saw it as an opportunity for a community-led information centre.
“We were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and really saw this as a fantastic opportunity for us to look at what we could create with the destination management organisation,” Lisa says.
This meant lobbying the district council for the chance to take over the council-owned building that housed the iSite, and is also the site of the Raglan Muesum.
“We were successful in brokering that relationship with council, and council staff give us their time and support in terms of community-led
development. Council has also given us the space at a peppercorn rent. And, on top of that, there’s support with the likes of electricity and building maintenance,” she says.
Run by a dedicated team of volunteers, with a part-time manager the only paid staff member.
Like many New Zealand destination spots, Raglan benefitted from the local visitor market during Covid and that’s something the pair are keen to capture.
“We love our volunteers they are bloody phenomenal and they're fantastic ambassadors for Raglan They're the reason why we've kept our doors open,’ Lisa says.
The pair say the volunteers each add a different flavour to the visitor experience with their particular local knowledge.
Not just left to their own devices though, the volunteers are provided with
opportunities to experience the tourism activities on offer and workshops to upskill their local knowledge.
“I always say to people their own stories are great too. But if we give them that continuous support and backfill, it will give them the confidence to be engaged for a long period of time as volunteers,” Charlie says.
The iHub has been set up to be more than just an information centre, without council funding to be fully operational the dollars need to be found somewhere.
Showcasing local is an important part of what the WRDMO is trying to achieve at the iHub and a shop stocked with local artisans’ and creatives’ products provides a small revenue stream, with plans to expand afoot.
“It is the perfect place for people to come and trial products they normally aren’t yet producing at scale or have the courage to approach a store to sell their product. And that's the beginning of that resiliency and economic development that is important to local communities,” Charlie says.
Supporting a flourishing community is one of the fundamental goals of the WRDMO.
With climate change and global events like the Covid pandemic impacting the future of tourism in Aotearoa, Charlie and Lisa say thriving local communities will be able to ride those waves and have better outcomes.
“We have to look at a different model of what those visitor experiences look like. Because in five years, it will look different and it will look very different in 10 years. We have to co-design that as a community,
Lisa says.
“Every single business in this community is fully connected, either first degree, second degree or the third degree. If you looked at the dollar flow around the community - if you're a plumber you're still getting dollars generated from somebody who's
made money from tourism,” Charlie says.
Like many New Zealand destination spots, Raglan benefitted from the local visitor market during Covid and that’s something the pair are keen to capture.
“Our strength is the people coming out from Hamilton, from Auckland, from Cambridge and further. And COVID showed that, even with the borders closed, we still did pretty good. That's our real true market. And if it's good for them, it's good for the community, and it's going to be good for an international visitor as well,” Charlie says.
Charlie Young and Lisa Thomson
Get connected to Electric Vehicles – the smart way.
If you’re out and about on any New Zealand road these days, and you’ll likely see Electric Vehicles (EVs). They’re becoming quite commonplace on our roads, and there’s a good chance that we may have helped a few of those get up and running!
That’s because as the world shifts to using more sustainable energy sources, we’re using our energy experience and practical insights to help businesses make the move to EVs – for good. Using our experience and smart infrastructure ideas, we help put businesses on the road to sustainability faster, smarter and at just the right price.
Because of this We.EV has seized the opportunity to lead the way in supporting businesses to transition their eets to EVs by investigating, designing, installing and provide an end-to-end solution to meet the customers’ needs to minimise costs now and into the future. Community owned, our vision is simple; to help businesses shape a better, more renewable future We guide and support businesses who want to make the shift to EVs with speci c plans and infrastructure that’s exible, coste ective, and can expand as your EV eet does. From accurate advice to on-the-ground planning, every customer we work with has unique needs and goals. So whether your eet of EVs is large or small, or you’re even just at the early stages of thinking about it – it pays to talk to the local experts rst.
How to get started on your EV transformation
So, you can make the change once, and do it properly, there are a number of things you’ll need to look at, says Craig Marshall, Head of We.EV. He explains it should start with good advice before you start laying cables. “There are a lot of people out there who are keen to help with suggestions and hardware. But it all starts with solid advice that simply comes from handson experience. We’ve been working with energy for decades. And we’ve seen cases where clients were told to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, when in fact they needed nothing of the sort for their usage.”
So, if you’re ready to make the smarter EV infrastructure choice and you’re ready to take your sustainability goals up a gear – get in touch with the EV experts.
0800 800 935 | we-ev.co.nz
Driving brighter business futures.
From advice and planning to design and build, We.EV helps businesses become future-ready with their Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure. So whether your eet of EVs is large or small, or you’re even just thinking about it – it pays to talk to the local experts rst.
we-ev.co.nz
New and improved Whaaingaroa Wharf officially opened
Improvements at the Whaaingaroa wharf, including a newly constructed pontoon, kayak ramp and eastern walkway, were officially opened recently in a dawn ceremony led by kaumaatua Atutahi Riki of Ngaati Maahanga and Tainui.
Waikato District Coun-
cil’s general manager of service delivery Megan May says the ceremony is a celebration of the collaborative effort it’s taken to get the new additions over the line.
“The ceremony marks the completion of the third of four projects to transform the wharf and wider harbour in Whaaingaroa," she says.
“It is great to see the hard mahi pay off, and be another step closer to the completion of all four of these transformational projects.”
The projects are funded Kānoa Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, and are developed in partnership with the Raglan Community Board and Iwi partners, including Ngaati Maahanga and Ngāti Hourua, Tainui o Tainui, Ngaati Tahinga and Ngāti Tamainupō.
“These improvements were also made possible by the overwhelming support we received when we spoke to the wider community last year.
We know the community have been keeping a close eye on our
progress, and we’re so pleased to hand it over to them,” May says.
Raglan Community Board chair Dennis Amoore says the new additions set a promising standard for the upcoming western improvements.
“This is a great start in providing more room and more access for people to connect with the sea. The upcoming work on the western side of the wharf with its tidal stairs and seating will take that next step in transforming the area into a hub for the community.”
Central city embracing new wave of office development
Hamilton's central city is thriving, with a 35% rise in commercial development during the past 12 months. Currently there is 40,994m2 of commercial development happening across the central city, up from 30,272m2 only 12 months ago.
An economic engine room
Hamilton’s central city supports 21,400 jobs, has 2650 businesses and generates $3.2 billion of the city’s GDP (about 25%). The central city saw growth across all three of these areas in 2022, with jobs increasing 3%, the number of businesses up 4% and GDP rising 7%.
It is also home to 76% of the city’s financial and insurance service jobs, 52% of information media and telecommunications jobs, and 54% of public administration and
safety jobs.
The second half of 2022 saw a strong increase in foot traffic in the central city, a measure that is indicative of commercial activity. Commercial development includes office space, retail stores, restaurants, business services and accommodation.
Building excitement
Tainui Group Holdings recently completed Amohia Ake, the new regional offices for ACC located on the corner of Collingwood and Tristram streets. The three-pavilion, 8500m2 project is designed for 800 staff and includes 82 bike parks, end-of-trip facilities and 12 charging stations for electric vehicles.
Construction of the 23,000m2 Union Square mixed-use development is currently focused on a second
office building with about 5000m2 of office space. It is 90% preleased and set to open in late 2023.
Completed buildings at Union Square include a garage for tenants with 327 carparks, end-of-trip facilities, and e-bike storage. A four-storey office building opened in 2021 and is home to Rabobank, Craigs Investment Partners, and AA Insurance.
Full speed ahead for infrastructure
In November 2022, the Government confirmed $150.6 million of Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) support for the central city. This funding will support the delivery of a new water reservoir and pump station, a new pedestrian and cycling bridge across the Waikato River, as well as investigations
into other strategic water and transport infrastructure to service the central city.
Over the next 10 years, council predicts about 4000 new homes and more than 300,000m2 of additional commercial development in the central city.
Getting down to business
Council’s meetings with employers to discuss key enablers for their growth has repeatedly highlighted a strong desire for additional business hotel options. Council’s Economic Development Committee has targeted the end of 2023 for confirming development plans to bring a new 4+ star hotel to the central city.
HYBRIDS
Tech Talk: Regulating AI
ChatGPT has
taken
the world by storm.
It’s exciting to see this next generation technology being used to make life easier through very humanlike interaction between man and machine.
You can ask it any question and receive an answer that sounds like one given by a real person.
And like humans, ChatGPT’s answers are limited to the data AI has learned from, and its answers get better and better as its data grows.
Recently there has been much talk about the dangers of AI technology and the potential of a regulatory response to address this. Most notably in the USA, there was a congressional hearing with Sam Altman (OpenAI) and several other people from organisations in the AI space.
Here’s the focal points of what Altman said regarding regulation of this technology:
First, it is vital that AI companies–especially those working on the most powerful models–adhere to an appropriate set of safety requirements, including internal and external testing prior to release and publication of evaluation
BY LUKE MCGREGOR
Luke
results. To ensure this, the US government should consider a combination of licensing or registration requirements for development and release of AI models above a crucial threshold of capabilities, alongside incentives for full compliance with these requirements.
Second, AI is a complex and rapidly evolving field. It is essential that the safety requirements that AI companies must meet have a governance regime flexible enough to adapt to new technical developments. The US
government should consider facilitating multi-stakeholder processes, incorporating input from a broad range of experts and organisations, which can develop and regularly update the appropriate safety standards, evaluation requirements, disclosure practices, and external validation mechanisms for AI systems subject to license or registration.
Third, we are not alone in developing this technology. It will be important for policymakers to consider how to implement licensing regulations on a global scale and ensure international cooperation on AI safety, including examining potential intergovernmental oversight mechanisms and standard setting.
While from the outside asking for complex licensing, constantly changing goalposts and expensive testing procedures might seem unlikely from the CEO of an AI company, it’s important to understand how these regulatory changes would benefit OpenAI, and conversely hurt other businesses.
OpenAI is a large player in
the AI space, made even larger by their recent acquisition by Microsoft. This gives them the size to weather the prohibitive cost of regulatory compliance. Regulation will create barriers to entry for new competitors and consolidate more of the AI problem space into exceptionally large companies. This would be extremely profitable for the players that have already established themselves in the space, such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft.
Regulation is unlikely to move at the pace of technical development in the AI space and if it did, it would be almost impossible to keep up with those changing regulations.
The technology behind OpenAI is mostly not defensible IP, other companies with enough money to train a model could compete with OpenAI's product. There are currently a wide variety of open-source models that differ from ChatGPT mostly in the quantity of training rather than the sophistication of the model itself. It's likely that regulation could cull off many emerging competitors to OpenAI, giving OpenAI some breathing space to consolidate their position.
A more altruistic regulatory suggestion came from Christina Montgomery of IBM, which was transparency on when AI is in use:
Be Transparent, Don’t
Hide Your AI – Americans deserve to know when they are interacting with an AI system, so Congress should formalise disclosure requirements for certain uses of AI. Consumers should know when they are interacting with an AI system and whether they have recourse to engage with a real person, should they so desire. No person, anywhere, should be tricked into interacting with an AI system. AI developers should also be required to disclose technical information about the development and performance of an AI model, as well as the data used to train it, to give society better visibility into how these models operate. At IBM, we have adopted the use of AI Factsheets – think of them as similar to AI nutrition information labels – to help clients and partners better understand the operation and performance of the AI models we create.
This seems like a far more useful regulation, not only would it be inexpensive to implement and wouldn't lock out inexperienced players, but it would also provide users with informed choice.
The regulation of AI technology will focus control into exceptionally large companies that can stifle innovation.
AI is heavily based on data, and the total capabilities of any system are limited by the quantity and quality of training data. One of the fundamental ways of protecting people from the negative impacts of AI is to control the data that users give to such systems.
As with many technologies, there are implications of sharing data. A better understanding about the personal costs of sharing data with AI will help us all make more informed decisions about who we share data with and what we let them do with it.
Consumers should be looking for products that provide us strong guarantees of privacy and data security. Realistically we need to understand that this comes with an increased direct financial cost in exchange for our long-term digital security.
TECH TALK
McGregor is a software architect at Waikato software specialist Company-X.
Land purchase paves way for Ngāruawāhia hub plans
Revitalising the town centre of Ngāruawāhia and the development of a community hub are the main reasons behind Waikato District Council’s purchase of the old Waipā Tavern site.
Waipā Tavern burnt down last year and following its demolition the former owner decided to sell the site on the corner of Jesmond Street and Great South Road.
The former owner was pleased to be able to sell to council to enable the site to be redeveloped to support the rejuvenation of this area and looks forward to seeing the site become something the town can be very proud of.
The acquisition means council has a block of 5225 sqm incorporating two Council-owned properties, being the old tavern site and the existing Ngāruawāhia Library site.
The library is housed in a small, ageing building and before now there was not room for expansion or redevelopment.
With a project to deliver a new library, or community hub, provided for in council’s
Long-Term Plan, the purchase of the site was a strategic opportunity too good to turn down.
Public engagement for the Ngāruawāhia Structure Plan process also confirmed that the community consensus is to keep the library along Jesmond Street.
Libraries are moving from being stand-alone buildings to being the anchor for community hubs.
A parcel of land such as the old Waipā Tavern site provides an opportunity to provide welcoming spaces for learning, creativity, engagement and connection.
Council also has a role in facilitating growth and development for the social and economic wellbeing of its communities.
The purchase of this key site in Ngāruawāhia is anticipated to help create business confidence and enhance a prominent corner of the CBD.
As well as being used for a new library and community hub, there is an opportunity to develop the balance of the site, enabling rejuvenation of the main street for the benefit of the Ngāruawāhia community.
Further work will need to be done to clarify appropriate positioning of the library and community hub along with preferred land uses for the balance of the site.
Waikato District Mayor Jacqui Church says this is an exciting piece of news for the people of Ngāruawāhia and the future of the town centre.
“With considered site planning, this purchase presents a real opportunity for council to be a conduit to the revitalisation of the Ngāruawāhia Town Centre, while also delivering on Long Term Plan commitments to provide the community with a new library and community hub,” Church says.
“It totally ties in with our vision of liveable, thriving, connected communities.”
A project team will now be established to progress concept planning for the site, to be delivered as part of the LongTerm Plan.
Council staff will also engage with mana whenua and the wider community as part of the development of a strategy for the site going forward.
Dear Prime Minister Hipkins…
Skilled Migrant Category residence changes…
Congratulations on your promotion, and for this timely opportunity to contribute our 30+ years of experience in New Zealand immigration work to help inform your thinking about your approach to the immigration portfolio.
Obtaining residence is the main motivating factor for migrants to relocate from around the world to New Zealand and the SMC has historically been the main pathway for migrants to obtain New Zealand residence.
HThe current SMC requires applicants to score a total of 180 points under a range of criteria based on their job, work experience, qualifications, age etc - but this is all about to change!
istorically the immigration portfolio was seen as somewhat of a poisoned chalice, and it was not until the first John Key government in 2008 that this approach changed, and immigration began to be viewed more as an economic tool rather than just a means to protect New Zealand jobs. The immigration portfolio has since developed into one of significant strategic importance which influences many aspects of New Zealand society, workforce and the economy. Immigration is now a key Government portfolio.
Looking at the big picture.
New Zealand should not rest on its laurels and expect that it continues to be one of the most desired migrant destinations, as it is not, and we are trending backwards. In fact, we will be doing well just to hold onto the new migrants that we do initially attract to this country.
From 9 October the revised SMC will require a total of just 6 points which will comprise points for either vocational registration, or recognised qualifications (minimum bachelor degree), or remunerationand points for up to 3 years of New Zealand skilled work experience. Applicants must have (or have an offer of) skilled employment with an Immigration NZ accredited employer, be aged 55 years or younger, meet the required English standard, and be of good health and character. The assessment of whether the employment is skilled is based on the payrate (which must be at least the median pay – currently $29.66ph), the job tasks, and whether an applicant is suitably qualified to work in the role.
Some examples of how a person can achieve the 6 points to be eligible for SMC residence:
• Architect – vocational registration = 6 points
• Electrician – vocation registration (3 points) + 3 years of NZ work experience (3 points) = 6 points
• Lecturer – master degree (5 points) + 1 year of NZ work experience (1 point) = 6 points
• Marketing manager – high salary ($88.98ph = 3 x median wage) = 6 points
• Crane operator – salary 2 x median wage ($59.32ph) (4 points) + 2 years of NZ work experience (2 points) = 6 points
We are an aging population and, by 2028, 1 in every 5 people will be 65+ years. Our birth rate of 1.6 children is well below the replacement rate of 2.1. Our rural townships are losing infrastructure and services, and while our schools need more teachers now, in a few years’ time school rolls will be declining and these teachers will need to find other jobs or go overseas. Family and lifestyle have always been the main reasons migrants choose New Zealand. However, these alone may not be sufficient to attract and retain the people and skills our country needs to maintain our living standards, let alone to grow. We need younger people who can contribute more, and for longer, to New Zealand.
• HR coordinator – salary 1.5x median wage ($44.49ph) (3 points) + 3 years of NZ work experience (3 points) = 6 points It is envisaged the majority of applicants will need at least some NZ work experience to achieve the 6 point threshold.
New Zealand must attract the migrants it wants, and needs, in an increasingly competitive and dynamic international market, and one where people can now work-from-home anywhere in the world. We no longer enjoy the competitive advantages
we once had, but one thing within our control is to make the immigration process easier and quicker, and world-leading, and to promote “the visa process” as one reason to choose New Zealand. Online visa applications, and the move to more automated assessment processes, will help but there is a very long way to go.
The bottom line is that for many workers (eg; bakers, hairdressers, metal fabricators, welders, retail and hospitality workers etc) their only option is to have 3 years of qualifying NZ work experience and for their current job (or job offer) to be paid at, or above, the 1.5x median wage threshold (currently $44.49ph). Because this wage threshold is clearly above the market rate for many of the above roles these workers cannot qualify for SMC residence.
The existing SMC (180 point) policy will remain in place until the final Expression of Interest selection draw on 16 August, and applicants should urgently assess their eligibility under this category before it closes.
Other residence pathways remain available if the role is on the Green List Straight-to Residence or Work-to-Residence lists, or under the Care Workforce and Transport Sector pathways to residence.
One area which would help is for the Government to engage in more robust and well-planned policy settings, and to pressure-test such settings before these are implemented. It is acknowledged that policies have been necessarily “reactive” over the past 3 years but there have been too many instances of back-tracking of newly introduced policies when better planning and consultation would “get-it-right-firsttime”. The new Active Investor Policy should be first on the chopping block! We also need forward looking policies which are fit-for-purpose in today’s world. Policies which focus on enabling the most desirable migrants the opportunity to experience New Zealand and, if they choose to stay, then great. We should not demand that these people commit indefinitely to stay.
In another change the Government has announced that the Accredited Employer Work Visa term, currently 3 years, will be extended to 5 years from November. This will be welcome news to many employers who will now be able to plan ahead with more certainty. However, the situation remains that if the worker is not eligible for residence during this time, they must leave New Zealand for at least 1 year before being eligible to apply for another AEWV. Existing AEWV holders will be able to extend their work visas to a total duration of 5 years.
The Productivity Commission report into immigration recommended a Government Policy Statement to set a clear strategic direction for immigration policy. This would be a good start and provide some overriding guidance (ideology!) to inform policy settings with a focus on what immigration can deliver for the good of New Zealand in the longer term.
What about a work-from-homein-NZ visa? People could live in New Zealand and work anywhere in the world, now that would really put New Zealand on the map! Yes - Prime Minister!
The SMC changes will achieve their objective of simplifying this residence pathway. However, the reality is that for many migrant workers, and many in skill shortage roles, the fact that they no longer have a viable path to residence must influence their initial decision to come to NZ, and also what job roles they focus on. As always with immigration changes there will always be winners & losers (ask any Minister of Immigration!)
Just how much of the construction process can be (more) automated?
There’s a clever advertisement that has seen a lot of coverage in various media recently, which first amused, then intrigued me. The headline is “Hey Chat GPT, finish this building...” It’s an ad for Belgian job agency, Impact, and features a multistorey building, wrapped in scaffold and plastic, with the tagline “your skills are irreplaceable”. But are they really?
Given how expensive and (relatively) inefficient our construction process is here in NZ, at the very least there are significant productivity gains to be made from the use of more automation and offsite manufacturing.
Self-driving vehicles are still some way from mainstream, but it’s hardly a stretch to imagine that we could in the future have self-driving trucks to transport materials to construction sites. And as mechanisation and robotics improve, no doubt fewer actual humans will be required to operate factories or control the loading of those self-driving trucks.
Likewise, we already have robot vacuum and window
cleaners, so why not robot plasterers and painters in the near future? And as offsite manufacturing develops and modular components get more complex, the amount of plumbing and electrical work required on site might also be reduced.
Avoiding further conjecture though, there are a number of technologies and initiatives already underway to lift productivity in construction.
MBIE has recently launched BuiltReady, a streamlined consenting pathway for standardised modular components. As architects and builders get more familiar with this there will be substantial efficiencies to be gained. There are a number of NZ
companies producing innovative timber products for use in construction. Cross Laminated Timber, or CLT, is a form of mass timber panel that can be cut to order in factory, meaning that walls, floors and components like staircases are delivered to site ready for install.
Likewise Structurally Insulated Panels, or SIPs, are panels that can be used in place of traditional timber framing in walls and roofs. They can be assembled as individual panels on site or pre-assembled into larger sections in the factory and pre-cut to shape, including openings like windows.
Local companies Qorox and Iconic Construction have
LANDMARKS
BY PHIL MACKAY
Phil Mackay is Business Devolpment Manger at Hamilton-based PAUA, Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture
partnered to pioneer 3D concrete printing in New Zealand and have recently completed the first 3D printed commercial building in the southern hemisphere, a childcare centre right here in Hamilton. These are just a few examples, and most are currently being used individually, but as architects and building companies develop ways of combining technologies into comprehensive systems, the
Getting to know the 2023 Fieldays Innovation Awards masterminds
Invention reigned supreme at the 2023 Fieldays Innovation Awards with two Waikato entrants taking top honours
Based in Horotiu, Waikato Milking Systems were the winners of the Prototype Award for ErgoPOD - a product hoping to revolutionise efficiency and safety in the milking shed.
Project specialist at Waikato Milking Systems Tom Morris and his team worked on research and development for four years to advance this project through to the prototype stage, and plan to complete the final stages of development over the next 18 months to get it market-ready.
Waikato Milking Systems executive chairman Jamie Mikkelson says the ErgoPOD journey began with a crazy idea to become the most admired company globally for milking efficiency. “If a single operator could milk a thousand cows in an hour, it would be a game changer, and we believe we are on our way to achieve that with this machine.”
The team decided to enter the Fieldays Innovation Awards because they saw it as an opportunity to introduce their innovative product to the dairy market as upcoming, which it has now successfully achieved.
“Winning this award has
been a massive pat on the back for the team, who deserve the accolade after having worked hard over the past few years to deliver a fresh take on a milking system that tackles the current limitations of traditional and robotic ones,” Jamie says.
“We plan to return to the 2024 Fieldays Innovation Awards in the Early-Stage category with a further developed product.”
Staff on-farm where the ErgoPOD is being trialled provided feedback that cupping has become a much easier task once they were used to using the
new technology. They have also noticed that the milk out across all four quarters has become more consistent - which may be down to the cup weight and freedom that each 1/4 has with no claw bowl.
Jamie says Riley, a milker on the trial farm, has been challenging himself to see how fast and accurately he can handle the system and has been achieving 3 1/2 seconds or less for cupping all four quarters.
St Paul’s Collegiate School students won Young Innovator of the Year Award for their Capra Skin Goats Milk lip balm.
efficiencies will compound. This is not something to be afraid of. While automation and technology may replace some jobs, others will be created. We’ve had a chronic
shortage of staff in many industries the past few years, so an increase in productivity is necessary simply to keep up with demand and the reality of an aging population.
The Year 13 group - Lucy O’Meeghan, Emma Lobb, Mackenzie Lenton and Lochie Mouat - take Agribusiness as a subject.
They identified a need and formulated steps and iterations to develop a final product that could make a real difference to its target market. Their brand name Capra Skin draws inspiration from the Latin word for goat. "We want our customers to feel exceptional when using our product. We envision our product's story expanding beyond just lip balm and encompassing other skincare items in the future."
St. Paul's Collegiate Agribusiness teacher Chris Foot couldn't be happier with the performance of the three groups of students who pitched their ideas at the Fieldays Innovation Hub.
“They did well and put up convincing arguments under very difficult and nerve-wracking conditions. Their ideas were innovative, original, and clever; we are extremely proud of them.”
The judges were equally impressed, praising the exceptional quality of the presentations and highlighting the professionalism demonstrated by the young participants.
Innovation has always been at the forefront of Fieldays, since its onset in 1968, with
the New Zealand National Fieldays Society’s ongoing ambition being to advance agriculture in New Zealand by supporting and facilitating leadership in technology, innovation, education, and globalisation.
The Fieldays Innovation Awards, starting that same year, was the first competition of its kind in NZ, and is now well-known as the platform for turning ideas of all shapes and sizes into marketable products to benefit the primary industry.
The awards offer three distinct categories: Prototype, Early-Stage, and Growth & Scale, encompassing the entire innovation lifecycle. This opens the possibility of inventors entering different categories each year to showcase any recent progress or advancements made in the project. Despite the 2022 awards being held just six months ago, entrants were keen
to showcase their progress and fresh thinking.
The Fieldays Innovation Awards is supported by Fieldays Partners; One NZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries, and Sponsors; Amazon Web Services, Sprout Agritech, and NZME, and Advocates; Gait International, King St. Advertising, Blender Design, and Soda Inc., who all contribute to a prize package valued at over $60,000 worth of cash, support and promotion - from expert advice, product design and development, and marketing and media support, all designed to help the winners grow and develop their product at an accelerated pace.
Fieldays Innovation Awards entries for 2024 will open after a short period of review, and expressions of interest can already be made online at www. fieldays.co.nz/innovation
Waikato Milking Systems team Tom Morris, Grant Wisnewski and Dave Cassells
St Paul’s students Mackenzie Lenton and Lucy O'Meeghan
Union Square gains recognition with Commercial Architecture Award
Rabobank Tower, the first building to be completed in Foster’s Union Square CBD development in Hamilton, was awarded a commercial architecture award by the New Zealand Institute of Architects earlier this month.
Rhys Harvey, director of Fosters’ develop team, said the award endorses the construction company’s decision to design and build an architecturally stimulating commercial building. And their choice of Chow:Hill as the architects.
“Honouring our commitment to ‘support local’, we purposefully chose Chow:Hill as the architects on this project. As Hamiltonians, we felt they would easily identify with what we wanted to accomplish.
“When we started, we didn’t have a specific design in mind –we simply knew that the philosophy behind the precinct was for Hamilton business people to be able to ‘experience better’.
“To attract quality brands, we wanted to create a highly efficient building with flexible floor plates, premium office spaces and easy access to amenities for the tenants.
“We also knew that we wanted to stay away from the typical ‘glass box’ commercial building and to be able to differentiate the buildings,
both within Union Square and within Hamilton’s CBD. The outcome was to be something we could be proud of for the next 50+ years.
“In essence, the design had to be aspirational.”
Chow:Hill took all this on board. The design for the Union Square precinct shows individual buildings with unique material palettes. Although common threads (like sustainability and efficiency) run through the buildings, the architecture of each one is different. Once complete, Union Square will feel like it’s part of the city but also have a community feel.
With Rabobank Tower being the first completed building, it was important to Fosters that it had a sense of entry –that people would experience a relaxed, open and welcoming c orporate environment.
The result, according to the NZIA judges is “a five-storey office building that boasts a construction-efficient and seismic steel frame, a prefabricated curtain wall façade and fluted concave precast concreate
panels that provide construction speed and durability.
“The building’s lobby serves as an important pedestrian link to the future precinct and has a café and quality seating areas… Rabobank Tower is an example of a collaborative process and a precursor to the reset of Hamilton’s CBD.”
With an award for commercial architecture and the building occupied by three significant brands – Rabobank, AA Insurance and Craigs Investment Partners – Fosters vision for Union Square (and its role in resetting the south-end of the CBD) is moving in the right direction.
“This award celebrates a fitting partnership between Fosters and Chow:Hill in delivering an aspirational design and an important commercial centre for Hamilton’s CBD” said Rhys. “The future of this precinct is exciting, and we can’t wait to deliver more.”
Building E, ‘The Business Centre’ of the Union Square precinct, is on track for completion later this year.
In Memory of Mavora Hamilton
Mavora passed away on June 17, and the Chamber owes her a debt of gratitude for the groundbreaking work she led as Chief Executive after taking over from May Woodcock in 1993. Her appointment alongside the election of Gail Jones as first woman President of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce in 1992, and the earlier election of Margaret Evans who reigned as Mayor from 1989 to 1998, heralded the arrival of women as business leaders in the Waikato. They certainly shook up the place with initiatives that have stood the test of time. With ex-President Don Lindale they created the Waikato Business Awards. Not daunted by a
lack of funds, Mavora and Gail approached the bank for a sponsorship of the then huge amount of $20,000, and got it. Mavora led the creation of the first Waikato Business Awards which were held in the Hamilton Operatic Theatre, and it is still a spectacular event today.
Balloons over Waikato was another of those that she championed and saw it grow to become the iconic event we currently enjoy.
By
One of her passions was the promotion of closer ties between the University, the Polytechnic and the Waikato business community. Working with then Dean of the Waikato Management School Professor Pratt, Mavora sought to match graduates with jobs in the region. Many of today’s business leaders had their first real jobs as a consequence of the programmes she organised. Working alongside Mayor Margaret Evans, Mavora promoted the Waikato and Hamilton vociferously. From Sister Cities initiatives for Hamilton to chairing the early forms of Economic Development Agencies for the city, you usually found Mavora’s energy and direction behind attracting business and prosperity to the Waikato. Innovative, energetic and very persuasive, Mavora Hamilton left an indelible mark on the city and her region. The Waikato Chamber owes a debt to her and her unique foresight to create events and entities that not only stand the test of time but have contributed greatly to the prosperity of our region. RIP.
Don Good, CEO of Waikato Chamber of Commerce.
Gail Jones & Mavora Hamilton
Great lives start at Southwell
A World-Class education in the Heart of the Waikato, Hamilton City, inspiring and nurturing Year 1 to Year 8 boys and girls. Growing great people since 1911.
That’s the aim of Southwell School, a day and boarding school nestled in 32 acres of parklike grounds just 1.5km from the city centre. Southwell has a unique village feel with its magnificent 1920’s architecture emphasised throughout its campus.
With 112 years of tradition to build on, the school puts the focus firmly on personalising its students’ learning, building relationships and developing character.
“Southwell prides itself in offering an educational experience designed to inspire individual achievement, strong personal values and confidence in life”, Headmaster Jason Speedy says, Southwell is committed to small class sizes and continued enhancement of its programme and facilities. The campus is world class, including a recently opened modern Junior School
featuring exceptional classroom spaces, with breakaway and multi-purpose areas and a purpose built Alumni Sports Pavilion where we can come together through sport. Currently under construction are a new purpose built Boarding House and a 25m Swimming Pool.
Southwell Boarders are able to make the most of the magnificent campus and are drawn from the Waikato and beyond. “We have a group of around 40-50 boarders from Year 5 to 8”, Jason says. The routines, structure and care aim to provide a home-like atmosphere where each student’s academic, social, physical and emotional wellbeing occur seamlessly, and their life skills are developed like no other environment.
Whether it is in performing arts, sports or academic achievement, an extensive range of specialist teaching is offered. Specialist classes are taught by qualified, specialist teachers in well-resourced facilities.
All learning is underpinned by the Southwell values: Integrity, Respect, Caring, Resilience, Creativity and Excellence.
Southwell’s New Junior School and Library Extension
The Southwell community welcomed the addition of a new junior school and library extension at a recent opening ceremony.
Over 20 years in the making, the project has been much-discussed throughout this time.
While the former junior
school and library were great people spaces, the two new spaces are world class spaces
CONTINUED - PAGE 18
Southwell’s New Junior School and Library Extension
created for students to thrive in for many years to come.
Opened by old boy Glenn Holmes, who attended Southwell from 1964 to 1967. Holmes was head boy in his final year and has served Southwell as a
FROM - PAGE 17 trust board member, foundation chair, is an Associate of Honour and is the current Warden of the Fellows, and a proud former parent and now grandfather of a Year 3 student. Southwell couldn’t have achieved these stunning new spaces without the help and
generosity of the many supporters of the school.
The trust board provided unwavering leadership and much-needed foresight. Matt Stark and the team from Stark Property, whose expertise, guidance and generous giving nature proved invaluable.
Edwards White Architects’ design expertise provided the vision behind these spaces.
Steve Ross, SJR Builders and his team of builders and contractors delivered outstanding work and relationships on a daily basis. The Year 1 teaching team’s specific student and staffing input helped create the internal and external features.
David Wharton from Active Vision, whose generosity and tech excellence was vital to the project.
Playground Solutions’ Maree Clark was the visionary who oversaw the moving,
development and creation of the playground and turf space.
The Southwell workshop team, whose work ethic, collaboration with tradies and for getting stuff done, enabled the
project’s smooth-running from the start to finish. Haydn Stoevelaar’s expertise in IT, enabled the development of high-tech systems both below ground and above.
Southwell’s New Alumni
Sports Pavilion
In June, the ribbon was cut to mark the opening of Southwell’s new Alumni Sports Pavilion.
Opened by Geoff and Linda Maber, together with Brett and Jo Maber and family, the pavilion will be a great place to gather people, build relationships and will be used for many occasions - from athletics day and sporting fixtures to team building moments. The genesis of the building began a couple of years ago, when Old Boy and current parent/president of Southwell Alumni Group Brett Maber initiated a conversation about creating a new sports pavilion. From that conversation and with the support of the trust board and the generous act of philanthropy from the Maber family, the Southwell community have a stunning new pavilion. Designed in classic Southwell architectural style, the pavilion looks out onto the main fields with the 400-year-old kahikatea bush as its backdrop.
The Southwell community thanks everyone involved in creating a building that will be well-used and much-loved for years to come.
The expansive decking, much like the former sports shed, will be a great gathering space to instruct physical education classes and sport teams. This world class space was created with the support and guidance of fellow, old boy and past parent Mark De Lisle and his team from Peddlethorpe Architects, who created the vision with their design work. Bringing the building
to reality was Steve Ross from SJR Builders and his team of builders. Old boy, past parent Grant Clegg and the team from Colourform Joinery, with input from Jo Maber, designed a state-of-the-art kitchen space. John Heathcote, another old boy and past parent, generously donated the appliances. There are many more hands and minds involved in creating this exceptional pavilion. The Southwell community thanks everyone involved in creating a building that will be wellused and much-loved for years to come.
Waikato jumps ahead in global rankings, claiming research top spot in New Zealand
Motorsport duo takes the wheel of iconic rally driving business
Rally Drive NZ, the iconic driving school and rally experience, has new owners.
Rallying enthusiasts
Sam and Emma Miller recently took the wheel of the 23-year-old business based in Maramarua Forest.
Founded in 2000 by Hamilton businesspeople Dale and Maureen Perry, Rally Drive NZ provides the opportunity for people to experience the thrills of rallying in a hands-on and safe environment. It also offers Tuition and Rally Car Leasing.
“Both of our fathers, Noel Miller and Ray Wilson, have been rallying since the mid70s, and so Emma and I grew up around the sport. We have always wanted to do something like this – something that puts our history and experiences into practice,” Sam says,
THE PURCHASE OF RALLY DRIVE NZ, INCLUDES:
“Since it began, Rally Drive NZ has provided amazing experiences for people from all walks of life. Everyone that partakes in the experience always leaves with massive grins on their faces, and that is so awesome to be a part of.
The Rally School, which includes driver training, private training, hot seat thrill rides, corporate functions, rally experience course and rally schooling.
We’re excited to build on Dale and Maureen’s legacy and bring the thrill of rallying to new audiences.
We’re looking forward to doing
The University of Waikato is ranked in the top 250 universities in the world in the latest 2024 QS World University Rankings, the largest increase of any university in New Zealand.
The rankings, released recently, also place the university at number one in New Zealand for research, the second year in a row the university has achieved this placing.
University of Waikato
Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley says the significant increase of 81 places in the world rankings, and the number one place for research impact in New Zealand, reflects the intensity, impact, and influence of the university’s academic staff.
“These are impressive results for one of New Zealand’s youngest and smallest universities. Our research is making a difference globally, and to have this recognised on the world’s stage is a significant achievement.”
For the first time, sustainability and employment outcomes were measured in the 2024 rankings. Out of 1,503 institutions globally, the University of Waikato ranked 152 for sustainability and 162 for employment outcomes.
The strong return of international students post-pandemic places us in a good position for success against the relevant indicator in the future
this together.”
A Motorsport NZ A-Class scrutineer, driving instructor and an engineer, Sam has been racing since he was 12-years old, with numerous class wins in hill climbs and rally sprints to his name, Sam has been actively involved in Rally Drive NZ as a tutor and is a member of the Pukekohe Car Club. Sam comes from a rallying family who’re all still involved in the sport today. His dad Noel also works as a tutor at Rally Drive NZ.
Emma, a nutritionist and photographer, has been involved in motorsport since she was born. First as a supporter of Ray Wilson, former FIA “A” seeded driver. She’s dabbled in motorcarna club events and hill climbs over the years, and today, captures the thrill and action of motorsport on film – a passion that led to a degree in media arts.
Dale Perry says he’s proud to hand the keys over to the pair.
“A the old saying goes, ‘right
“We have brought a strong focus to both these areas as a university over the past two years, including the launch of our Sustainability Plan 202226. These results reflect our hard work towards delivering on the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Professor Quigley says.
The university’s international metrics were also strong, reflecting the global diversity of the university’s staff, student body.
“The strong return of international students post-pandemic places us in a good position for success against the relevant indicator in the future,” Professor Quigley says.
Professor Quigley adds, the new results are not only good news for the university’s staff and students but for the growing Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions too.
“This recognition shows prospective students from here and overseas that when they study and undertake research at the University of Waikato, they are supported by some of the most respected academics in the world.”
The sustainability result builds on the university’s top 100 global placing in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings earlier this month. The rankings measure participating institutions globally and their commitment to driving and delivering lasting change across the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
time, right place, right people’. After 23 years of running Rally Drive NZ, it’s the right time for us to hand over the business. Sam and Emma already know it well, and share our passion, so they are the right people. Maureen and I wish them all the
Image - Geoff Ridder
Sam and Emma Miller
UNIVERSITY RANKINGS University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Quigley
Celebrate your business success at the Hamilton CBD Awards
The annual Hamilton CBD Awards recognises and celebrates the fabulous businesses based in Hamilton’s central city.
Entries opened this month and the awards will continue using the Love the Centre branding offering both a public nomination and business nomination to enter.
The successful inner-city campaign Love the Centre encourages the public to reconnect with the city centre and to show the business community some love using the tagline ‘There is always something
to do, see, eat, drink and love when you visit Hamilton’s city centre.’
Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams says a successful city centre relies on having a space that is fit for purpose and can accommodate what people want to use it for –whether that’s business, shopping or events, and that should be celebrated.
“We have been holding
these awards since 2010 and we are committed to recognising the amazing positive impact CBD businesses have on making the central city a vibrant destination.”
The process of entering an award, irrespective of the outcome, can provide a range of benefits to the entrant, Vanessa says.
“It offers an opportunity to look over your achievements, compare them against your competitors and see what you are doing better than everyone else, or if you are not, to see what you could be doing to improve your business.”
Vanessa says the awards also provides an opportunity for free marketing and an additional level of credibility for your business achieving an award.
“If you place or win an award, you have just been gifted a great new aspect of your business to promote. It is a time to celebrate your business, your employees, your customers and yourself. Promote your achievements, proudly display
your awards and remember to tell everyone.”
Last year, Sweet Pea Parties topped the shopping category.
A first-time entrant, Kirsty and Chris Parker’s business grew from an at-home business over 10 years ago to the largest party supply store in New Zealand.
The popular Boon Hamilton Street Art group won the 2022 activity based category for their delightful festival that brightens up the CBD with spectacular murals created by emerging
and established artists.
Dining out winners last year were Riverbank Lane Vietnamese restaurant Bahn Mi Caphe and Cream Eatery for daytime eating and drinking.
In September the awards will be judged via three avenues; a judging panel for the written submission, a mystery shopper for close customer contact businesses and an in-person interview with businesses unable to be mystery shopped.
Fostering a sustainable tourism workforce
The boom in post-Covid travel shows people’s love of exploring new places, dinners out, attending events and enjoying tourism experiences is as strong as ever.
That’s positive for our economy, communities and businesses in our region, but it also poses a challenge for a tourism workforce that’s already under significant pressure.
We regularly hear from Waikato tourism and hospitality businesses that are grappling with staffing shortages and finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff. Low unemployment and wage competition from other sectors mean tourism and hospitality can no longer rely solely on their reputation of being ‘fun’ industries to work in to attract staff.
There are a number of high-profile initiatives underway nationally to help resolve tourism industry challenges, including the Government led Tourism Industry Transformation Plan.
The first phase of that plan aims to create the foundations for a future-proofed workforce, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment has released a Better Work Action Plan to outline a way forward for the industry. The plan identifies four
systemic challenges: ‘demand fluctuations’, ‘pay and conditions’, ‘firm maturity and scale’, and ‘the current and future skills gap’. It champions the need for a new approach and identifies six Tirohanga Hou – new ways of viewing or thinking.
These Tirohanga Hou include recognising quality employers and improving employment standards and practices, as well as efforts to create fit-for-purpose education and training. They also include a push for the industry to embrace and cater for seasonality, implement initiatives to improve cultural competency and ensure authentic storytelling, and lift technology uptake and innovation. Lastly, and importantly, the plan advocates for efforts to showcase the great pathways and people in tourism.
Having a national action plan is helpful and Hamilton & Waikato Tourism is actively supporting it in our region.
We know tourism is exciting and will always attract those who love people, but showcasing opportunities for career progression will be critical to keep people working in tourism for the long haul. Over and above guiding and front of house positions,
there’s immense scope to move into roles such as accountants, drivers, marketers, chefs, HR managers, event organisers and data analysts, to name a few.
In recent months we’ve stepped up our work with education providers to provide presentations for students studying tourism-related courses. We’re also supporting students with work experience placements with tourism operators around our region, as well as in the Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism office working alongside our team.
Just recently we supported the national Go With Tourism by joining members of their team at the Waikato Careers Expo to educate teachers, parents and students about tourism as a career pathway. The key message here was that tourism offers a fulfilling life-long career, with a clear pathway to progression. And yes, it’s still a fun industry to work in.
When it comes to
employment standards and practises, advocacy is important. We have been seeking out and showcasing stories of operators who are exceptional in this area, and whose pay rates are more than competitive with those found in other industries.
We’ve also got an active Ambassadorship programme in Waikato providing workshops for people who engage with international and domestic manuhiri to our region. This programme provides knowledge about local stories of
Categories include marketing and promotion, innovation, established business, new business, public good, eat and drink daytime, eat and drink bars/ restaurants, shopping, activity, health & beauty, customer service and professional services. The winners will be announced at an extravaganza style awards evening held on 1 November.
TO ENTER, VISIT: LOVETHECENTRE.CO.NZ
people and place and assists with cultural competency and authentic storytelling. It also shares customer service tips and advice.
These initiatives are critically important for the future of our industry, but they are just a start. We’re conscious there’s a need for support attracting people to the industry now, in the lead-up to the busy summer months, so we need immediate results as well as long term thinking.
We look forward to engaging with industry, iwi and government to explore more opportunities to put the Better Work Action Plan into practise and to showcase why tourism continues to be one of the most vibrant, exciting and fulfilling career choices anyone can make.
2022 Shopping category winners Sweet Pea Parties
STORY
BY NICOLA GREENWELL
Chief executive, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism
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Jewellery designer balances art and business
Like most artists in business, multi-disciplinary artist Teuila Fatupaito works hard at finding the balance between the creative process and doing the business side of things.
First and foremost, she sees herself as a maker of things and her eponymous online jewellery business is a product of her dabbling in different artistic endeavours.
“I like exploring different techniques and skill sets. I like to figure out how to make something and then I will do lots of research and tutuing in my studio,” she says.
A night time class at Fraser High in jewellery making helped with the basics, YouTube provides a never-ending source of tutorials and an initial financial outlay for some fundamental tools set Teuila on a career path of bespoke jewellery design.
“I started putting my stuff online and people were interested in it, and I ended up buying a new tool each time I made some money.”
Set up in a studio in her home, Teuila designs and makes jewellery that she
describes as ‘a showpiece, an expression, an attitude, an extension of one's personality, as well as a unique talking point’.
Teuila makes all her rings, bracelets and earrings by hand but her range of sunglasses and chains are made off shore to her designs.
It was very hard going into business. I always call it a hustle because you're always on the grind
Having a ready-made range of accessories like the sunglasses and chains has freed up Teuila to focus her
The Business of Art
energies on the items she makes herself.
As well as a providing a source of easy revenue, it is also a learning opportunity about outsourcing a design and working with a manufacturer to produce something she is proud to put her branding on.
“It was a really good way to support the business with things that I don't have to make myself.”
Like many creatives running a business doesn’t come easy for Teuila but she knows it’s a necessary evil.
“I'm always trying to make things and when I'm in my creative flow, I'm good. And then I have to think about how to get my ideas out there and sell it, and this takes time away from the making. I even
struggle with doing the social media part of business. I hate it. But you have to promote it and be consistent about it,” she says.
Determined to make a serious go of her jewellery business, Teuila enrolled in Manaaki’s Vaka Pasifika Accelerator online business
course along with 50 other small Pasifika start-ups across New Zealand.
Every participant received $1000 towards business
EXPLORING THE CREATIVES IN THE BUSINESS OF ART
setup costs and Teuila was the winner of a $5000 prize for top student.
“It was a programme about all aspects of running a small business, from how to use social media, to using technology to progress business and all the way through to looking at finances and taxes, things that I don't enjoy,” she laughs.
“Now I’m trying to learn a little bit more about how to grow and how to use the business suites of Facebook and Instagram. Looking at the data and who's looking at your work and how to target an audience. It’s really not my thing, I just want to create but I know I have to be open to all these other possibilities too.”
When she first set out on her jewellery making journey, Teuila was selling her pieces on her social media platforms and by word of mouth.
Her online shop teuilafatupaito.co.nz, which she opened in2021, was made possible by the support of family and friends who pitched in to model the products, a close friend helped with the photography and another graphic designer friend helped with the branding, logo design and website setup.
“I'm not big time so I didn't do anything flash. I just asked my friends and family and asked locally for help, and I was really happy with how things turned out.”
The business has grown
organically and at a pace that Teuila can manage as the sole ‘maker’.
“It was very hard going into business. I always call it a hustle because you're always on the grind. I haven't been able to afford to pay myself yet fully but every cent gets invested back into buying tools and materials so I can continue to grow the business.”
Starting the business meant giving up the certainty of paid work.
“I knew I wouldn't be making money to start with and
we're always encouraged to chase our dreams and do the things you love but how will we do it if we don't have the income supporting us? So, it was such a hard decision to make. But I came to a space where I thought maybe I'll succeed at it but if I don't do it, I’ll never know.”
Growing up in Kirikiriroa Hamilton to Samoan parents, Teuila’s passion for the creative arts was hugely influenced by her mother and father.
“My mother was always doing ceramics, flower
arranging and decorating cakes, and my dad was always making things too. I didn’t really appreciate what they were doing at the time but it was just always around me.”
She studied media arts at Wintec majoring in photography but painting, sculpture and installation were her great passions.
“I’m still working in sculpture just on a smaller scale.”
Learning about the business as she goes along, the largely self-taught jeweller knows there is a lot to learn.
“I'm teaching myself how to do things and eventually I might look at going to jewellery school but for now this is working for me.”
Raukawa blesses South Waikato Trades Training Centre
Raukawa kaumātua blessed the soonto-be opened $14 million South Waikato Trades Training Centre in Tokoroa in a dawn ceremony recently and gave the building a new name Pūkenga Rau.
Phas overseen the development of the project, says the centre showcased the South Waikato community’s dedication to education and training.
Speaking at the blessing, South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT) chief executive Amanda Hema, who
ūkenga derives from personal skill and ability development while Rau is a reference to the many people of South Waikato as well as rarau, the acquiring of knowledge, and Raukawa, the people of the rohe.
Hema says the genesis of the centre was in 2007 when local engineers gathered to consider a collective response to staff shortages. The Waiariki Institute of Technology (today part of Toi Ohomai Te Pukenga) tailored a qualification and programme with equipment donated by businesses and the South Waikato District Council and local high schools providing students.
Construction, carpentry and automotive industries followed suit, establishing pretrade courses as local qualifications in 2008. Impressed by these initiatives, the Ministry of Youth Development gave South Waikato District Council a national award for commitment to youth training and education in 2008.
“Clearly those industry leaders recognised the power of collaboration and the potential of our local rangatahi and the pitch for government investment for the building began in 2018 when the Southern Waikato Economic Action Plan was developed.
“Moving to today, the large workshops in the new centre reflect those sectors that partnered so early on with trade
training in our district, but this wonderful facility will also cater beyond the trades. SWIFT is delighted that under the watch of Toi Ohomai Te Pukenga, opportunities for more training and broader educational offerings will be made available to our community.”
Hema says Raukawa Charitable Trust and the South Waikato District Council had been powerful advocates for the facility and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit – Kanoa invested about $11 million in the development. Trust Waikato also partnered to fund the centre.
Hema says SWIFT chair Stephen Veitch had, for the last two years, overseen much of the development, ensuring the building would meet community expectations, and she also acknowledged project managers Veros, builders Marra and designers DCA Architects.
While Toi Ohomai Te Pukenga is the major tenant, Hema says SWIFT will also be housed in the new building and was calling for expressions of interest from other businesses.
“We need to explore if there are organisations that want to base a team at Pukenga Rau or whether others are looking at a co-working model. The space has been designed so one tenant can have a separate 90sqm area for a team of 10-12 with shared facilities such as meetings rooms and a hospitality area. The rest will depend on who is interested. “
At Pūkenga Rau from left: Amanda Hema (SWIFT), Tuahu Watene(Ringa Hora), Manujon Pemerika (MBIE), Mayor Gary Petley and Paniora Daniels (SWDC)
Charlie Tepana (Raukawa Charitable Trust) left and Jarred Boon (TupuOra) co-ordinated the Pūkenga Rau blessing ceremony
Pūkenga Rau blessing ceremony
Council renews award-winning transport contract
Rodney
Stirling
An award-winning partnership agreement between Hamilton City Council and Downer NZ Ltd, established a decade ago, has been renewed for up to 10 more years.
The joint venture agreement was among the first of its kind for local authorities in New Zealand in 2013 and has since provided a model for other councils around the country. Two years after inception, the project claimed the national title for excellence in the maintenance and management of assets at the Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) awards.
While the previous working name with Downer was ‘Infrastructure Alliance’, they have begun to transition to new name ‘Connect Hamilton’ to better represent the overall goal of the partnership.
co-ordination of works across the city and has resulted in significant cost savings in the maintenance and renewal of the city’s roading assets.
Eeva-Liisa Wright, council’s executive director, infrastructure operations, says the renewed contract will have an initial value of around $200 million over the first five years.
community through this new collaborative contract.
“We’re committed to delivering a safe, reliable and sustainable roading network, and we’re excited about working with council to reach our shared carbon reduction targets while making this city greener and easy to get around.”
The partnership forms a joint team which is headed by a governance group with three executives from Downer and three senior council staff.
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, Professional & Considerate
The collaborative environment is designed to deliver savings for both parties, better
“Each time this contract is up for renewal, our council carefully considers all options,” Wright says. “Downer has been an excellent partner alongside council, helping us ensure our city’s transport infrastructure is maintained and updated to meet and anticipate Hamiltonian’s needs.”
Downer’s New Zealand country lead Craig West says Downer are proud to be continuing the long-standing relationship with the Hamilton City Council and the
Wright says ensuring Hamilton’s transport, parking and roading assets, operations and infrastructure are fit for purpose and future-focused is an integral part of delivering council’s transport strategy: Access Hamilton - Ara Kootuitui Kirikiriroa.
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, Professional & Considerate
“Being able to get around Hamilton easily using our transport network contributes to shaping a city that’s easy to live in, one where our people thrive and where they love to be,” Wright says.
Wright adds the agreement between council and Downer aims to achieve ‘best value for money’, innovation and ‘best practice’ asset management for the city’s ratepayers.
“This type of arrangement helps create greater efficiencies across the transportation
network, has shared goals and objectives between council and Downer, and better cost transparency. It also enables us to respond more flexibly to what’s needed and when.
“We have a thriving city and we need to ensure our
core infrastructure and provision of services will meet the current and future needs of our city, while enhancing the wellbeing of our communities.”
The Collaborative Corridor Agreement (CCA) between Hamilton City Council and Downer is approved for five years initially, with the option for two further extensions of three years and then two years respectively, to a maximum of 10 years, based on performance.
Rodney Stirling
Council’s chief executive Lance Vervoort, Downer New Zealand country lead Craig West and Council’s executive director infrastructure operations Eeva-Liisa Wright
Market gardener winning from the ground up
For Waikato organic farmer Brittany Stembridge, the key to producing the best tasting vegetables with low environmental impact is all in the soil.
Recently winning the Organic NZ Emerging Leader of the Year award at the Organic NZ Awards is validation for the hard work she has put into making her business Tomtit Farm a success.
“The award recognises somebody working in an inspiring leadership role in the New Zealand organics/kai atua sector with under five years’ experience, and this year there was a particular emphasis on environmental protection and leading the way to mitigate climate change, and build a just society in harmony with nature and the planet. So that’s what we took away this year, which is really cool.”
Being certified organic Brit says is all in the health of the soil and coming from a background of nutrition, she likes to think of the soil like a human stomach.
“Our number one goal is to have really healthy living soil. For example, when a person
has a diverse variety of foods in their diet with lots of different colours and different vegetables they build and fuel a healthy gut microbiome, and this results in a healthy person. It’s the same with the soil – if you have lots of different plants growing on the top of the soil, you’re going to build more life and diversity underneath the soil. So essentially we are building a living ecosystem in the soil, which builds healthy plants above the soil.” she says.
Located in Matangi, just ten minutes out of Kirikiriroa, Hamilton, Tomtit Farm is the veggie patch Brit and her husband James created in 2019.
Having worked in nutrition for many years, Brit was keen to use her knowledge in a way that would have more influence on people’s health and wellbeing.
“I had been working in health research, and I wanted to make an impact at that grassroots level with my nutrition.”
The opportunity to utilise a
hectare of land on Brit’s parents’ lifestyle block was the kickstart to their market gardening enterprise.
“We thought – why don’t we have a go at growing good quality sustainable food. If we can get a few people to eat some local, healthy food that’s probably more than I can ever achieve in my whole life by just telling people,” she laughs.
With the good life beckoning, the couple upped sticks from Auckland, found work in Hamilton and began gardening.
For Brit this meant a part time job at Waikato University so she could put time into developing the garden, while James found full time work in Agri-banking utilising his financial skills in the business.
I found it really hard to focus on my other job as well when
all I wanted to do was be outside on the garden
“It was quite full on, trying to do a job and run a farm at the same time. We had to be quite smart about the way we set the business model up.”
The farm offers harvest boxes of seasonal vegetables. Customers can choose to order weekly, fortnightly or for the season with a seasonal community supported agriculture (CSA) subscription.
“We’ve always run it as a subscription base/veggie harvest of the week model because when we first started it was just
me and I was still working part time. I didn’t have time to go to markets on the weekend.”
Little did they know that the Covid pandemic was just around the corner when they first started and what this would mean for online businesses.
“When Covid hit, it was kind of good timing because everybody slowed down. We were already set up online. It was good and bad because we were so small and new to growing, and we had so much attention and not enough food to feed all of the families who wanted to support us. Not that it’s a bad thing. We got our name out there and just did our best at the time.”
At the end of 2020, Brit gave up her job at the university and went full time in the garden.
“I found it really hard to focus on my other job when all I wanted to do was be outside in the garden. And it’s been really awesome working full time in the garden every day. I feel very lucky to have that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong when it’s raining and freezing cold, I am so envious of everybody inside,” she laughs.
Sticking with the CSA model, Tomtit Farms has organically grown since Covid put some wind in their sails.
The model is an important part of the young farmer’s ethos; it’s a way for Brit and James to build meaningful relationships with their customers that go beyond a basic sales’ transaction.
Tomtit Farm customers commit to purchasing a season’s subscription; where they are investing in the farm for the upcoming season, and in
return they receive a share of the harvest each week.
“This is a way the community can get behind and support their local farmer and local food system. Throughout the ups and downs of the season without any price fluctuations. Ensuring the farmer gets a fair price for the food they grow and allowing the farmer to focus on growing good quality food for families in their community.”
Building those relationships with customers includes more than just selling them vegetables, Brit also has set up a Facebook community page to sell seedlings, share gardening tips and recipe ideas.
“We’re trying to build that real community around food. Building confidence in cooking with seasonal vegetables, and just thinking outside the box and having fun when it comes to food.”
As well as selling organic vegetables, herbs, salad greens and micro-greens, they also sell flowers and hold Pick Your Own Flowers’ days which usually run from December – May.
“On our PYO flowers days, all you can hear is laughter, people enjoy being amongst nature. The rows of flowers are nestled amongst the vegetables to show how everything is grown and providing an opportunity for people to think about where their food comes from.”
Produce is also available at their farm fridge at 165c Matangi Road at the Front Paddock Cafe.
They also deliver locally to Hamilton, Matangi, Tamahere, Cambridge and Te Awamutu on Tuesdays.
Check out what the farm has to offer at www.tomtitfarm.com.
Event promotes Hi-Vis to girls
Hundreds of female secondary school students from throughout the country have just had a taste of a career in infrastructure – and they’ve loved it.
The month-long series of Girls with Hi-Vis (GWHV) events is held annually and Connexus - Te Pūkenga executive director Kaarin Gaukrodger says the infrastructure industry keeps New Zealand moving - roads need replacing, water pipes and systems upgrading, power lines maintained and faster broadband technology needs installing – and the skills required to deliver the future face of infrastructure continues to grow.
“These skillsets are in high demand, particularly with the current challenges to help get the country back on track after the recent storms and flooding that has hit nationwide.”
GWHV showcased the day-to-day roles of those tradespeople keeping our communities connected and provides an understanding of the career opportunities within their local community within
infrastructure’s civil, energy, telecommunications and water industries.
Kaarin says GWHV is a key driver to attracting more young women to what is a male dominated industry.
“If we are to effectively address critical skills shortages within infrastructure industries, and meet the future needs of our communities, it is clear we must be more visible precisely where and when young people are making crucial career decisions. And that’s where Girls with Hi-Vis comes in.”
Throughout the month of June worksites around the country become a learning ground to encourage more young women to begin a career in infrastructure.
The students have donned hi-vis vests and done it all from driving diggers and trucks, to climbing power poles and checking out some of New
Zealand’s largest energy generating assets.
A group of Hamilton Girls’ High School students had a taste of what a day on the job is all about at WEL Networks.
Hamilton Girls’ students Jaide Snapes, Keilani Hadfield and Sophie Hulme all took part in the experience and loved the idea of a career that takes them out of the office.
“It (a career in infrastructure) didn’t interest me before but coming here has given me more of a visual idea of what it’s about. It was really practical and hands on,” Jaide says.
“I really like seeing all the different things you can do and the things you learn from the job - and that you can earn while you learn. Today has been very eventful and really interesting to see all the activities that make up the trade,” Keilani says.
“I don’t want to sit behind a desk all day. I’d get really bored. I have family members who work in this industry so it seems like a really good idea to me.
“I think GWHV helped me realise this is something I really want to do. It does really
interest me,” Sophie says. WEL Networks organisational development/HR advisor Kayleen von Keisenberg says supporting initiatives like GWHV is a great way of encouraging females into the industry.
“We’ve had some great wins and we are taking big steps, working towards achieving our Gender Tick.”
The Hamilton event was attended by the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who says the chance to learn about career opportunities in traditionally male dominated industries is a chance to break down barriers and show other young women who are successful in the energy sector.
“I’m delighted that more effort is going into promote trades training it’s certainly a valid pathway supported by the government.”
For the first time this year some of the GWHV events incorporated the construction industry with BCITO - Te Pūkenga, the construction training provider and EarnLearn - Te Pūkenga who cover specialist trades such as scaffolding, plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying, and electrical. The employers within these industries are also looking to attract more trainees and see the GWHV events as a great
opportunity to do this.
The infrastructure industry is leading the way when it comes to employing women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sector, last
year proudly reaching a target figure of 10% of women trainees in the industry. This has been a steady build on 11 years ago when 3% of trainees were women.
Sophie Hulme, Jaide Snapes and Bianca Stomp, Hamilton Girls High being fitted with a line mechanic harness.
Jaide Snapes and Sophie Hulme, Hamilton Girls High being shown how to work together to connect electrical wire at the top of a pole.
Jaide Snapes, Hamilton Girls High being shown how to add insulation onto a cable.
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www.visually.co.nz
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Interac�onz is a charity with its roots (1967) firmly in the disability sector where we help people plan their best life, and live their best life—however they visualise that. Our visual planning service has grown from these roots and flourished into helping others create graphic business roadmaps.
Par�cipants ac�vely engage with our Visual Communica�on process. It’s fun. It’s crea�ve. People are fascinated to watch our talented ar�sts record their vision. All a�en�on is on the illustrator, not the person speaking, encouraging even whakamā par�cipants to share their ideas. People feel heard when they see their ideas being captured. Everyone understands the plan they’ve watched evolve. They own it. It builds trust. And it’s great for teambuilding.
When you employ us, you are helping the people we serve and making a posi�ve difference to our communi�es. Visit www.interac�onz.org.nz to learn more about us and read the great tes�monials we’ve received. If your business needs a plan, we’d love to work with you.
“Fosters have good people at all levels, from the person who coordinates the design documentation, through to the in-house project manager and the foreman. We all share similar values – building a good project and executing it well.”
David Chafer sums up his company’s ongoing relationship with Fosters in one sentence: “We’ve got a good thing going.”
David is the general manager of property investment and development company Chalmers Properties, which owns $600 million worth of property around Aotearoa.
Based on the success of a past collaboration, the company engaged Fosters again to execute the design and build of a new 2700m² warehouse project at Hamilton’s Te Rapa Gateway.
The warehouse was purpose built for IAG, which owns multiple New Zealand insurance brands, to contain a high-tech in-house motor vehicle repair facility. It was completed in 2022.
“Fosters are really good to help at the front end of a possible project with cost estimations and input and then through the next phases of the project – documentation, tendering and the build,” David said.
“They have good people at all levels, from the person who coordinates the design documentation, through to the in-house project manager and the foreman. We all share similar values – building a good project and executing it well.”
With its innovative design, sleek office spaces and high quality finish, the new Repairhub impressed not only David and his company, but the judges at the 2022 Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.
The project was awarded merit in the Industrial Property Award category, following an assessment of its design, construction and sustainability features, how it tracked against financial estimates, and owner and user satisfaction.
Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman said the awards showcased what could happen “when you marry courageous vision with the can-do attitude of passionate people”.
Following that success, Chalmers Properties had no hesitation in signing Fosters again.
“The execution’s just easy from a client’s perspective,” David said. “That’s why we’ve played forward with them; they’re just completing two far larger projects with construction value of $19 million and they recently started another two warehouses for us.
“That’s confirmation we find them great to work with.”
