Getting to know the lay of the land

New recruit Craig Magnussen is using the latest technology to explore the whenua.

“I’ve bought myself a drone,” he says delightedly. “I’ve been practising with it and I am about ready to fly it over some of the farms so I can really get to know them.”

Craig has taken over from Ranald Gordon as Assets and Valuation Manager and has been busy learning the ropes from his mentor for the past five months.

He has responsibility for 20,000ha of corpus land, the remaining whenua of the 80,000ha that was set aside as settlement reserves for Taranaki Māori following the 1860s land confiscations.

While PKW owns the land, 262 perpetual leases cover it, each with a seperate legal title giving the lessee uninterrupted rights to the land. Following a change in legislation in 1997, these leases are reviewed every seven years.

The rent review period between PKW and the West Coast Lessees’ Association is a complex process for all parties with both sides appointing their own valuers to jointly determine a fair market rental value.

“Ranald has been passing down his words of wisdom and the wealth of knowledge that comes from being 30 years in the role,” says Craig. “I am very much enjoying the wide variety the job brings with it, it’s very different to what I have done before.”

“I really want to get to know the rohe well, which is where the drone comes in. Some of our lessee land can be pretty inaccessible so viewing it from the air will help me identify the land contour, where the rivers and streams are and how that relates to its monetary value.”

Craig joins PKW from a prominent local rural valuation practice. Originally from Dannevirke, he lives in New Plymouth with his wife, Justine, a Taranaki girl raised in Toko, and his daughters, Katie and Zoe.

“I am looking forward to building strong relationships with PKW leaseholders,” he says. “I am here to listen and create partnerships where we can work together for the mutual benefit of all.”

Retiring Ranald is a modest man who likes to keep a low profile, but Shane Miles, General Manager Ahuwhenua, is in no doubt about the contribution he has made to the wider PKW Whanau, and PKW aspirations over the years.

“Ranald was instrumental in making the seven-yearly rent review process a much more collegial process rather than an acrimonious one,” he says. “It’s a very complex situation and Ranald has worked hard to make things as transparent as possible. He has contributed significantly to the success of PKW and I wish him well in his retirement.”

Ranald’s time at PKW was recognised and celebrated at a hui late last year made up of PKW colleagues and wider whānau but another celebration is planned for May, when he finally leaves the incorporation.

He says he has loved every minute of his time at PKW and wishes Craig all the best for the future.