TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 25-26, 2020 HOME-DELIVERED $1.90, RETAIL $2.70 KEY TO COAST HOUSING PAGE 8 INSIDE TODAYNEW PBL PAGE 3 HAMILTON ISOLATION PAGE 4 ESCAPEES FACE CHARGES MAKING CONNECTIONS: Ovation process support officer Ken Gooding (left) with Tairawhiti Economic Support Package Redeployment Programme candidate Fraser Brown at a “speed-dating” interviews hui yesterday. Employers and prospective employees had four minutes together to find out about jobs on offer, and for the interviewee to talk about their skills. Turanga Ararau organised the hui, and helped candidates prepare. SEE STORY PAGE 3 Picture by The Black Balloon A NGATI POROU-owned honey processing “The project seeks to establish infrastructure factory is to be built within the Ngati Porou that will enable an increase in return and use rohe. of Maori assets. The Provincial Growth Fund is providing “If honey can be processed more efficiently in a loan of up to $2 million towards the cost of northern Tairawhiti the value of Manuka land $2M PGF the Manuka honey extraction facility, Regional blocks will increase, as will the value of the Economic Development Minister Shane Jones industry more generally, in which Maori have announced yesterday. significant interests,” Mr Jones said. “This new facility for Ngati Porou will help it Construction of the extraction facility is capture more value from its honey,” Mr Jones expected to start within four months and be said. completed within 12 months. “At present, all scaled extraction is ‘Ultimately the intent of the facility is to undertaken in Gisborne or in the Bay of Plenty. provide greater economic opportunity for LOAN FOR “This investment is the first step in Ngati Ngati Porou landowners and beekeepers,” said Porou’s wider plan to grow the industry in Shayne Walker, Ngati Porou Holding Company Tairawhiti.” Ltd (Holdco) chief executive officer. The funding will cover detailed design works, The project is the culmination of two years construction, equipment fit-out and operational of work between the Ngati Porou Tairawhiti costs during the set-up phase, at a site yet to Miere Collective, consisting of Ngati Porou be confirmed. Miere Limited Partnership (Holdco, Tarere HONEY “Although direct employment at the facility 2 Trust, Proprietors of Whetumatarau B45B will be limited and seasonal, 25-35 jobs will Incorporation (Pohutu Station), Harakeke be created during design and construction,” he Trust (Pt Arawhata), Taumataomanu A said. Trust and Awatere B Trust), Tairawhiti “It is expected that the facility will help grow Pharmaceuticals, the Bee Club and Trust manuka honey production and lead to wider Tairawhiti. FACILITY industry employment growth. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 APPLICATIONS YEAR 13 DEGREE OPEN 27 JULY SCHOLARSHIP TEXT YR13 to 4631 with your name & year13.eit.ac.nz address for a Year 13 Degree Scholarship 0800 22 55 348 application pack. 33710-01 GISBORNE RUATORIA WAIROA Local News ...... 1-5 Business ...... 23-24 Classifieds ....18-21 Racing ................28 Births & Deaths ...4 Opinion ........ 10-11 Television ....W9-11 Sport ............ 29-32 TOMORROW National ....... 6-9,22 World............ 12-14 Farming........25-26 Weather .............31 977 1175467004 2 NEWS The Gisborne Herald • Saturday, July 25, 2020 Ready to PROVIDING A VOICE: Toby Williams, new president of ‘fight the Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers, with his good fight’ wife Amelia and sons Tristin and Jackson. by Murray Robertson THE new man at the helm of the Gisborne- Picture by Wairoa province of Federated Farmers looks Liam Clayton forward to “fighting the good fight for our amazing farmers”. Toby Williams, 39, was elected unopposed at Tuesday’s annual general meeting of the province, which attracted about 40 people to the Ngatapa Sports Club rooms. He and wife Amelia run Pihitia Station, the northern half of Turihaua Station. The 1400 hectare sheep and beef farm at Pouawa has approximately 12,000 stock units Tristin, 11, and a large collection of pet animals. lost some of its voice. Mr Williams sees himself as a positive person. and a 50/50 split between sheep and commercial “I have decided to take on a role with Feds “We have still been beavering away with “I am a proud farmer and I love my job. It is beef. because, for the first time in my generation’s submissions and liaising with the GDC, however, important to me that we should celebrate what “My family has farmed here since it was working life, the way that we farm is being we seem to have had less of a public profile.” we do as farmers. purchased in the 1890s, making me the fifth threatened by copious amounts of red tape and That was an area the new executive would “We are the best in the world at what we do generation Williams to farm here,” Toby said. demands for alternative land uses,” Mr Williams look to improve on. and I hope to use my role in Feds to emphasise “Amelia and I moved back to the farm in 2006, said. “There is a lot happening at a local level, as this.” spent three years here before moving down to “I figured that there were two options. well as national, that we can advocate for on He has thanked his fellow executive members Masterton to farm for three-and-a-half years. “To sit on the couch and bury my head in a behalf of our members. for the vote of confidence in electing him as their “Then we came back to manage the screen and hide from it all, or to actively try to “But people need to know that we are here, president. He succeeds Sandra Faulkner, who commercial operation at Turihaua.” influence what was happening to get the best out and also that when we add our voices together was elected to the Gisborne District Council last The couple had the opportunity to lease of the hand that we are being dealt. Obviously, I we have a better chance of influencing the policy year. the northern part of the farm, as part of family have chosen the latter.” and decisions that are affecting us. “We have quite an energised group together succession, and Pihitia Station was born. Another element in Mr Williams’ decision was “There is too much negative sentiment toward now. I look forward to working with them, fighting They have two boys, Jackson aged 8 and his feeling that locally, Federated Farmers had farmers in our current environment.” the good fight for our amazing farmers.” ‘We must leave a better world’ by Matai O’Connor leave ‘the mokopuna, there is something wrong with the “They are pretty much saying that because economy’ to economy and we have done something wrong. of increasing fragility and political orders, WHAT people mean when talking about “the pointy heads “We need to fix it.” everything has been turned upside down and we economy” was the key theme of an economist’s like myself, Dr Nana had a message for Maori and for the don’t know what to do about it.” presentation at the Rau Tipu Rau Ora summit on don’t leave it to Maori economy. He said a narrow focus on shareholder returns Wednesday. the treasurers “Don’t adopt the western world’s way of doing for decades has yielded efficient but largely Dr Ganesh Nana from Business and Economic or secretaries.” things,” he said. fragile systems stripped of resilience. Research Limited (BERL) came to Gisborne for “When we “Be confident in what you have learned from “Policies must ensure societies are resilient the two-day summit organised by Toitu Tairawhiti. talk about your tipuna. to a full range of threats such as pandemics, “We have a task in front of us — we have got not providing “The economy is not bound up in your balance climate volatility and economic stress.” to leave a better world for our mokopuna,” he shelter, or being sheets and profit and loss. The economy is He spoke about how job losses will increase said. able to put food bound up in how you look after your land, how and the uncertain future for many New Zealand Dr Nana is invited to speak around New on the table for you look after your whanau, how you put food on employees. Zealand and when he asks what he is to talk our whanau, the table. “We are really lucky here in New Zealand about, he is told “something to do with the then we are DR GANESH NANA “Those are the models we need to measure compared to the rest of the world,” he said. economy”. talking about performance by, not by returns on investments About 50,000 more people were on the job Through the Covid-19 lockdown and alert the economy measured by dollars, but by wellbeing. seeker support benefit and this could increase levels he heard a lot of talk about “saving the properly,” he said. “The biggest taonga with the most value that over the coming months. economy”, he said. The normal model of the economy was about saw us through the last four months wasn’t on a “It’s not going to be an easy task to suddenly “So that’s what today’s korero will be about using resources, then consuming and depleting balance sheet at all. It was community.” put those people back into jobs.” — how do we save the economy? but I think to them, while making “a bit of mess” that will go “(It was) the value of being connected to the The tourism sector had been heavily impacted myself ‘what is the economy?’,” he said. into the water and be left for the next generation community, and when that community was under by the pandemic, but the food sectors were still “If you all talk about saving the economy then to fix.