Kia ora!
In spite of the tough times we are facing, there is a real buzz in our region and there are some heathy signs of green shoots already springing through. Please, take a look through the news below and forward this on to others that may want an insider view of what’s happening in economic development in our beautiful part of the world.
At the end of 2019, we asked you what you needed from Toi EDA and the feedback was clear – you want to see more of what we are doing and the difference it is making (a winning brand for the Eastern Bay, sustainable economic development and thriving communities). This email is another way we can show what we are up to.
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Eastern Bay is bucking the trend
I am sure we have all heard ‘unprecedented’ too many times in recent months to repeat it again. But these are truly unusual times we are all facing. And we know that for many industries, the full impact hasn’t yet been felt – this may be a ‘slow burn’ downturn that we need to survive together.
There are some significant signs that the Eastern Bay is weathering the storm much better than other parts of the country. Some of our stats are pointing up when the rest of the country are pointing down. For example, we know that credit card spend has been up by approximately 10% on May and June figures from last year. Robust consumer confidence is being shown through several initiatives, such as the successful Discover Our Local campaign, many small to medium businesses are reporting to us that their figures since Level 1 are in the ballpark of where they were before.
There are a few reasons for this trend, but diversity is key – our profile of industries, business sections, iwi, and communities are diverse = resilience.
Having strong primary industry sectors, such as forestry, kiwifruit, dairy, and rapidly growing aquaculture we’re poised to slingshot out of the COVID slow down with economic momentum that keeps pace with, or is even ahead of the rest of the New Zealand.
In addition, we’re on the receiving end of millions of dollars of central government funding. This stimulus is doing more than keeping us ticking over; it is kick starting new ventures and expanding existing ones bringing sustainable and inclusive growth right across the Eastern Bay. More on that funding below.
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During the lockdown period, Karl Gradon, General Manager, produced a webinar about reasons to believe in the future of the EBOP.
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“There’s going to be investment in infrastructure, there’s going to be investment in housing and we’re going to be training your workforce”
– Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance
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Millions invested and more to come
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With the current challenges, there is also opportunity.
In 2018, civic, Māori and business leadership came together as the Regional Growth Leadership Group and created the Eastern Bay Regional Development Plan.
This demonstrated the Eastern Bay’s potential and through this work, our region was successful in securing Provincial Growth Funding (PGF) of over $205m. You will have seen the catalytic projects already underway in the Kawerau Putauaki Industrial Development; Whakatāne's Wharf Remediation as teh first phase of the town revitalisation project, Ōpōtiki’s seafarm, harbour and processing factory; and new funding streams recently announced in the subregion include:
- Acceleration funding for both Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne catalytic programmes;
- Predator Free Funding for Ngāti Awa;
- Additional Whenua Māori Funding for blueberry developments.
Decisions are pending on additional Capital Infrastructure Projects (CIP) funding as well, which are exciting opportunities.
Together these are likely to see $250 - $500 million invested in the Eastern Bay over the next three to five years (noting the regional GDP is around $1.9billion). When we consider that there is a further $20 billion of spend for the national COVID recovery efforts, the pro-rata allocation for the EBOP could mean an additional $400 million coming to the region to support our recovery.
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What we’ve been up to
It has been vital not to lose momentum during the national rāhui and response to the pandemic so we have found many ways to make sure local businesses were keeping themselves afloat, able to access central government support and staying on their toes, able to pivot into new areas when shutdown restrictions allowed.
Toi EDA partnered with the Eastern Bay Chamber of Commerce to pull together a small team of eight in the “The Eastern Bay Covid Support Hub”. The focus was very clear: Keep Essential Businesses Working and Keep Hibernating Businesses Alive. Hundreds of businesses were engaged and supported as a result, while we recruited 25 amazing volunteers from across the rohe to enable these efforts.
Following the Whakaari / White Island tragedy late last year, Toi EDA managed the panel of experts (included; one Ngāti Awa representative, one WDC representative and one MSD representative) and worked to ensure that between January and March 2020 over $1.9m was allocated to local businesses as part of these business grants. The businesses that secured these grants are grateful to have had such funds made available and this allows them to be in the best possible position for the summer domestic tourism season.
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Te Ara Huringa ō Pupuwharau - the Eastern Bay Driver and Operator Training Centre
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Through our Workforce Development focus we learned about the significant gap in qualified truck drivers, logistics personnel and machine operators. In response, Toi EDA established this Centre in 2019 with industry, philanthropic (Todd Foundation) and government support.
Our emphasis is on providing a range of training including short courses that are targeted to meet the industry needs. We have partnerships with three providers and our Kawerau base is a Hub for courses and training now being planned in other Eastern Bay communities. There’s a busy programme of short courses, plus longer certificated courses to achieve Class 2-5 Licenses. After two Semesters of training, 90% of students went on to employment or further study with TAHōP.
Two courses available with registrations being taken now, please share this with your Rangatahi; there are limited spaces available for the next intake.
Axiom Training: NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparation Commercial Transport – Level 3 Starts 20 July 2020. Click here for more information.
Toi-Ohomai Institute of Technology: New Zealand Certificate in Distribution - Level 3 Starts 20 July 2020. Click here for more information.
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Link Up, Youth Employability Program and YEP Licence to Work; can be found here
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What's Next
We know there are some big challenges on Toi EDA’s radar as the government funding, support and new roles start to come online:
- We need to ensure we have a coordinated view of the many projects and their timing, locations, resources and skill requirements and work to ensure investment in training and skills development, transport and accommodation, keeps pace.
- Increasing the speed with which we can recruit and train local people e.g. for construction, service industries including freight and logistics and our growing primary industries.
- We know that local civil construction capacity is limited in light of the investment outlined above. We need to work within and outside the region to meet this growing demand.
- We have a severe shortage of affordable housing and with more investment, construction work and some big industries starting to seek new workers, we will need a bigger stock of affordable housing sooner rather than later.
- Digital connectivity is a hurdle for many, particularly up the Coast where coverage is patchy at best.
- We want to maximise the COVID-19 recovery spend in the EBOP so that we have a coordinated and strategic approach. We welcome all ideas and approaches.
Our aspiration to improve options for future generations, and escalating youth employment means our focus alongside partners on youth pathways to employment are even more critical. We’ll focus on this more in our next Newsletter in two months.
Let us know if you have any ideas – don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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In the news
In case you missed it, here are some of the big stories about economic development in the Eastern Bay recently:
The key catalytic projects:
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A bit about us
 In case you were wondering why you have received this email, here’s a bit of background.
Toi-EDA is the Economic Development Agency for the Eastern Bay of Plenty, which includes Ōpōtiki, Whakatāne and Kawerau Districts. We are committed to sustainable and inclusive growth across our region, "Creating thriving communities”.
We are working to build strong partnerships with Iwi, Councils, industry and the Crown. Our work is to bring together the right business and the right resources to ensure successful projects that benefit Eastern Bay communities.
Toi EDA’s role is to provide a backbone to collective visions and plans, and that can include mapping out the various government funding streams and ensuring we don’t lose sight of our long term goals or lose momentum through the process. |
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