Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has told Malaysian businesses they can rely on high quality, fresh and safe food and beverage products from Aotearoa New Zealand.
Speaking at a business matching event to introduce Malaysian businesses to Māori business leaders Mr Flavell says there is a huge untapped potential to work together in the food and beverage sector.
“It’s one we know well, because we have been growing and gathering kai in Aotearoa New Zealand for hundreds of years,” says Mr Flavell.
Mr Flavell, who is on his first Māori business and cultural mission to Malaysia this week, says the Māori business leaders in the delegation were in charge of major operations – with all already exporting successfully overseas, and looking to grow their business in South East Asia.
Representatives of Miraka Ltd, Kahungunu Asset Holding Company, Fonterra, Māori Kiwifruit Growers Forum, Zespri and Watson & Son Ltd are accompanying Mr Flavell on the mission.
“We are here to send a strong message that Māori food and beverage businesses want to be serious partners in the Malaysian market,” says Mr Flavell.
“We are trusted exporters of food products and we place a premium on taste and care for the way food is grown, gathered, packaged, marketed and distributed. We can provide integrity in supply chains and the cultural identity, origins and sustainability of our products.”
What set Māori business apart was its focus on culture, and the key principles that underpin how they do business, says Mr Flavell.
“We measure success not just against financial results but also social, environmental and cultural objectives,” says Mr Flavell.
“When we think of investment we look to those who have gone before us and those yet to be born – we have the long-term game in mind. For us, developing export markets means going to the place we want to sell our products, meeting our partners face to face or as we say ‘kanohi ki te kanohi’.”
Also at the business matching event were five young New Zealand food and business entrepreneurs who are visiting to facilitate trade and build connections between business in New Zealand and South East Asia.
The ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative and has been timed to coincide with the Māori business and cultural mission.
| A Beehive release || May 16, 2017 |||
Science and Innovation and Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith will travel to China tonight to represent New Zealand at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
“Attending the first Belt and Road Forum will allow us to add a distinctly New Zealand voice and perspective. New Zealand’s best interests lie in participating in international initiatives that have the potential to benefit our economy and society,” says Mr Goldsmith.
New Zealand’s participation in the Forum follows on from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s successful visit to New Zealand in March, where he and Prime Minister Bill English witnessed the signing of a number of arrangements that reinforced the strength of the New Zealand-China bilateral relationship, including committing to working with China on its Belt and Road Initiative.
“We have a great record of advocating for open, rules-based systems that make trading, investment and people movements flow more easily,” Mr Goldsmith says.
Following the Forum, which runs from 14 to 15 May, Mr Goldsmith will undertake a series of meetings and events relating to his ministerial portfolios.
“China is an important research partner for New Zealand and the bilateral relationship between the two countries has continued to thrive in recent years, particularly with the signing of several major research partnership agreements in the last 12 months,” says Mr Goldsmith.
While in China Mr Goldsmith will also:
Mr Goldsmith will return to New Zealand on 20 May.
| A Beehive release || May13, 2017 |||
Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Louise Upston has welcomed the passing of the Education (Update) Amendment Bill today.
The Education Act has been updated to streamline the way government careers services and information are provided. As a result of a Government review of the careers system, Careers New Zealand is being disestablished and staff and functions will transfer to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) on 1 July 2017.
“This is a positive step towards an improved careers system that will strengthen connections between education and employers, reduce fragmentation and duplication across government agencies and make pathways into further study and work clearer,” Ms Upston says.
“A refocused careers service within the TEC will make use of the commission’s ability to work with tertiary providers and employers so they co-ordinate with schools on the skill needs of the labour market.
“Students and their families can expect to have access to better and more consistent careers services and information as well as a continually expanding and improving suite of online tools,” Ms Upston says.
Employers will benefit from stronger connections with schools and tertiary providers and a more direct link to the skills pipeline, and careers education that links teaching and learning to the application of skills, knowledge and competencies in the labour market.
| A Beehive release || May 12, 2017 |||
Two reports released today by NIWA and the Ministry for the Environment on the technical background to the Clean Water proposals will help inform input into the plans to clean up New Zealand waterways, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
“The Clean Water plan is very ambitious in nationally grading our rivers and lakes for water quality for recreation and requiring 90 per cent to be swimmable by 2040. This has never been done before in New Zealand or overseas, but it is an important step in addressing our water quality issues.
“The grading system has generated significant debate and these reports provide more information on how the grading system compares internationally and the level of precaution they are based on.
“These reports show that the only other jurisdiction that attempts to grade waterways for swimming is Europe. Their grades of excellent, good and sufficient match the New Zealand grades of excellent, good and fair, although the New Zealand proposals for the bottom fair category are more cautious. This analysis shows that if New Zealand adopted the European grading, more rivers would be deemed swimmable.
“The report also notes that the USEPA criteria of waters either being swimmable or not is a bit more cautious, but notes that this has not been applied across all states in the US and requires a small sample size of four, rather than the 100 in the New Zealand proposal.
“These reports also provide more detailed information on the levels of risk from swimming in the different grades of rivers and lakes. The average infection risk when a person makes no assessment of the state of the waterway before swimming is rated at 1 per cent for the blue category, 2.4 per cent for the green category and 3.1 per cent for the yellow category. If a person follows the advice of not swimming during high flows, determined as three times normal flows, the risks drop to 0.3 per cent for blue, 1.3 per cent for green and 2.0 for yellow.
“These reports also confirm that the changes to the National Policy Statement in moving from a wadeable standard of a median 1000 E. coli/100ml to swimmable with a median of 130 E.coli/100ml for 90 per cent of waterways provides for a significant improvement in the microbiological water quality in our waterways.
“The gradings of waterways into different categories for swimmability inevitably involves choosing some arbitrary thresholds. The balance in setting these levels is to ensure we provide sufficient protection for people to swim safely while also ensuring we do not set a level that discourages people from enjoying the outdoors when the risks are low.
“I welcome further submissions from water quality scientists, and others with an interest, on the details of the gradings outlined in these additional reports by 25 May. We want to build wide support for the grading system to enable the focus to be on the significant task ahead in driving improvement.”
The reports can be seen at: https://niwa.co.nz/technical-background-report-swimmability and http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/swimming-categories-e-coli-clean-water-package
| A Beehive release || May 11, 2017 |||
Prime Minister Bill English will travel to Japan next week to meet with Prime Minister Abe to discuss a range of global and regional issues, before travelling to Hong Kong to promote New Zealand’s economic and trade interests.
“I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Abe and discussing a wide range of issues, including trade and security, and initiatives our two countries are working on together in food, education, sport and defence,” Mr English says.
“Strengthening our trade and economic links with Japan will be a focus, including through the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“New Zealand has long-standing and strong ties with Japan. My visit is an opportunity to help New Zealand businesses explore new ways of working more closely with Japan.
“My focus in Hong Kong will be to advance New Zealand’s economic relationship, build on our connections with some of the largest Hong Kong investors into New Zealand, and facilitate greater business and trade opportunities,” Mr English says.
During the visit to Hong Kong Mr English will meet with the current Chief Executive Mr CY Leung and incoming Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam.
In Japan, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Trade Minister Todd McClay, and a delegation of senior business leaders.
Mr English will leave on May 16 and return on May 20.
The business delegation includes: Sir Graeme Harrison (chair ANZCO), Rachel Taulelei (chief executive Kono), John Wilson (chair Fonterra), Whaimutu Dewes (chair Sealord/Moana), Lain Jager (chief executive Zespri), Steve Tew (chief executive NZRU) Ian Simpson (chief executive GNS), Brian Stanley (chair Wood Council of NZ), Graeme Muller (chair NZ Tech), Simon Draper (executive Director Asia NZ Foundation) and Mike Allen (New Zealand Special Envoy for Renewable Energy).
| A Beehive release || May 11, 2017 |||
New Ambassador to Iraq announced
Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee has today named Bradley Sawden as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Iraq.
New Zealand established an Embassy in Baghdad in 2015 to support New Zealand and Australia’s joint ‘Building Partner Capacity’ mission.
“This mission has trained over 20,000 Iraqi police and army personnel who are on the frontlines of the fight against Daesh,” Mr Brownlee says.
“Mr Sawden will be charged with supporting New Zealand’s non-combat training mission to Iraq and assessing how we can continue to support and build relations with the Iraqi government.
“In addition to leading New Zealand’s engagement with the Iraq government and providing diplomatic support to the training mission, our Embassy will also be responsible for maintaining relations with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq,” Mr Brownlee says.
Mr Sawden has been involved in national and international security issues across the defence and security sector of the New Zealand government.
His most recent posting was in New York as Counsellor at the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations during New Zealand’s tenure as a member of the United Nations Security Council.
| A Beehive release || May 09, 2017 |||
Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith have launched a new edition of an investment guide into New Zealand’s fast growing technology sector.
The Investor Guide to the New Zealand Technology Sector showcases the breadth and variety of technology companies in New Zealand.
“The tech sector is New Zealand’s third largest exporting sector, contributing $16 billion to GDP and it is growing fast,” says Mr Bridges. “It presents multiple opportunities for New Zealand and international investors.
“New Zealand technology is gaining recognition internationally along with our innovative and can-do culture, and the fact that we are ranked first in the world for ease of doing business by the World Bank Group is a huge drawcard for investors.
“High profile successes like Vend, Xero, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare and Vista Group are leading the way. But, a growing number of early stage companies like Soul Machines and 8i, are attracting significant international attention for their cutting edge technologies in artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
“One of the top priorities of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda is to ensure that these businesses are supported and enabled to grow and compete with the world’s leading technology innovators,” says Mr Bridges.
The Government is also planning to meet the needs of this growing sector through investment in innovation, and building the skills needed in the sector.
“The Government is working hard to develop New Zealand as a hub for high-value, research and development intensive businesses,” says Mr Goldsmith.
“The recent 29 per cent increase in businesses investment in research and development reported by Statistics New Zealand is largely driven by technology businesses, and shows that our efforts are delivering results”.
“To support this growth we’re developing pathways for young New Zealanders to enter the tech sector. This includes the TechHub in Schools, and FutureInTech initiatives which aim to engage young people and get them interested in a career in tech,” says Mr Goldsmith.
“Alongside these skills and employment initiatives the Digital Technology Skills Forum, is bringing together industry associations with government agencies to identify opportunities to develop the skills that the sector will need in order to continue its rapid growth,” says Mr Bridges. “It’s a sign of a sector that is in good health, and planning to meet its future needs.”
The Investor Guide is produced by the Technology Investment Network (TIN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It is freely available online.
A copy of the guide is available at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/whats-happening/news/2016/new-guide-to-drive-investment-in-tech-sector.
| A Beehive release || May 09, 2017 |||
Trade Minister Todd McClay travels to Vietnam today to hold talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh to discuss developments for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreements.
“New Zealand and Vietnam are both parties to the TPP Agreement and the RCEP negotiation and we have a mutual commitment to high-quality trade deals that create opportunity for our citizens,” Mr McClay says.
“The Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world and this presents a huge number of opportunities for our farmers, growers, exporters and our wider economy.”
Vietnam is due to host the APEC trade Minister meeting beginning on the 21st of May, where meetings on both the TPP and RCEP will also take place.
“We appreciate Vietnam’s hosting of APEC and its commitment to trade liberalisation. It has also rapidly grown into an important market for New Zealand exporters,” Mr McClay says.
“Since the ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) came into force in 2009 our two-way trade with Vietnam has more than tripled from $430 Million in 2009 to $1.3 billion last year.
“This visit will be an important opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved and discuss how we can continue to deepen this hugely beneficial relationship for our economies.”
| A Beehive release || May 7, 2017 |||
Trade Minister Todd McClay will chair the first meeting of the Trade Ministerial Advisory Group today (MAG) and says it builds on a strong campaign of new engagement opportunities in the trade portfolio.
“Trade contributed $70 billion to the New Zealand economy last year alone and hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on it. We all have a stake in the continued success of our export sector,” Mr McClay says.
“The MAG has been set up with this in mind and will provide better engagement on all trade issues. It will also serve as a more direct avenue for a wider range of interested parties to engage with the Government.”
The MAG includes representation from iwi, unions and NGOs, as well as industry bodies for primary industry, wood, seafood, tourism, education, horticulture, aviation and technology.
This first meeting of the MAG will focus on the detail of Trade Agenda 2030 and the first stages in the Government’s plans for implementing the new strategy.
“Trade Agenda 2030 sets a target of 90 percent of our goods exports being covered by FTAs by 2030. We are also looking to tackle non-tariff barriers more effectively and focusing more on new growth opportunities in trade in services, investment and the digital economy,” Mr McClay says
“We are charting an ambitious course ahead for trade deals and market access. It must be underpinned by a comprehensive programme of engagement that also aims to make more information available to the wider public.”
More information about the MAG can be found at: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/nz-trade-policy/ministerial-advisory-group-on-trade/
| A Beehive release || May 05,2017 |||
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett and Finance Minister Steven Joyce have asked the Productivity Commission to review how New Zealand can maximise the opportunities and minimise the costs and risks of transitioning to a lower carbon economy.
“This next step in our climate change work programme will enable us to properly assess the economic trade-offs that we’ll need to make to meet our ambitious 2030 Paris Agreement target,” says Mrs Bennett.
“In the long-term – 2030 and beyond – New Zealand will likely need to further reduce its domestic emissions in addition to the use of forestry offsets and international emissions reduction units, although these will continue to remain an important part of the country’s climate change response for meeting our targets.”
“New Zealand’s domestic response to climate change is, and will be in the future, shaped by our position as a small, globally connected and trade-dependent country” says Mr Joyce. “The Productivity Commission is well-placed to dispassionately assess which of the many ways of reducing emissions will make the most economic sense for New Zealand.”
Given that climate change is an economy wide-issue, the Commission will be able to draw considerable expertise from a range of stakeholders including: central and local government, the Climate Change Iwi Leadership Group, relevant industry and NGO groups, scientific and academic bodies and the general public.
The government is already taking action to support meeting the 2030 target of the Paris Agreement, this includes:
“This complements the work undertaken by the Parliamentary cross-party group GLOBE NZ, as well as the Government’s expert advisory groups on agriculture, forestry and adaptation,” says Mrs Bennett.
“We look forward to the final report and recommendations for how New Zealand should manage a transition to a lower net emissions economy, while still maintaining and improving the incomes and prosperity of New Zealanders,” says Mr Joyce.
The Commission will report back by 30 June 2018.
| A Beehive release || May 02, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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