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China tests its international reach
With demand for labour already under extreme pressure here in the Bay of Plenty, David Porter asks local business experts about the impact of changes to Australia’s policy on pathways to citizenship. Their predictions: the outcomes may not all be rosy. See page 3
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Best of Mercury and Trustpower to come together under Mercury brand
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Does your bach have a hidden GST cost?
ABy DAVID PORTER
ustralia’s belated change of policy in freeing up a path to Australian citizenship for Kiwis is likely to have a major impact on New Zealand’s tight labour situation.
The previous policy has always been a source of political disaffection between the two neighbours. The changes in effect restore the situation to that in 2001 when Australia introduced the old policy.
Tauranga’s Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt told the Bay of Plenty Business News that Australia had recently generally been seen to be more active in attracting immigration.
“But I do think this will heighten employer concerns amidst NZ companies.”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement: “This is the biggest improvement in the rights of New Zealanders living in Australia in a generation and restores most of the rights Kiwis had in Australia before they were revoked in 2001.”
From July, New Zealand citizens who have lived in Australia for four years on the current temporary, special category visa provided to all New Zealanders will be able to directly apply for citizenship, without first having to become a permanent resident.
It has been clear from media coverage and government comments over the past year or so that New Zealand employers have been dealing with a very tight job market. As the econ-
omy has slowed, this tight labour market shows signs of easing, but it still isn’t easy.
Business News’ human resources
columnist Kellie Hamlett, director of the Bay of Plenty’s Talent ID recruitment firm, noted: “Even with an increase in migrant arrivals here, we are still painfully short of workers across all sectors, and this change will surely put even more pressures on our employers over time.”
According to Hamlett’s research into recent migration trends, even pre-Covid there was a provisional net migration loss of 8,100 people to Australia in the year ended June 2022. The loss in that year was made up of net losses of 6,500 New Zealand citizens and 1,600 non-New Zealand citizens.
And traditionally, there has been a net migration loss from New Zealand to Australia. This averaged nearly 30,000 a year during 2004–2013, and about 3,000 a year during 2014–2019. However, it is unknown how many of these were NZ citizens.
“I think the reality is that in the past we have lost a lot of NZ citizens to Australia,” said Hamlett. “At present we have had 16 months of consecutive net migration losses of people to Australia.”
Australia a favoured target
Australia, being larger and generally more active economically, has always been a favoured target for New Zealanders seeking to start their OE.
“Australia has always offered higher wages, and an overall more attractive ‘package’ with more affordable housing and an arguably better lifestyle, so to some, it has been and is an attractive option,” said Hamlett.
Matt Cowley, chief executive of the Tauranga Business Chamber, said migration had been an issue in New Zealand for a long time and we were now seeing it become an issue again in the New Zealand media spotlight.
“Now that Covid has moved on a bit people are beginning to feel more
free to move and have more choices,” he said. “There are some sectors [in NZ] that may be more exposed to the development,” he said.
Anecdotally, Cowley referenced as an example the problems faced by fruit pack houses in recent times and their concerns about Covid’s impact on employment over the past few years.
“Anecdotally the immigration shift may [also] be of concern re developing our new business leaders,” he said.
Cowley said he had also heard concerns expressed by bulk housing producers that the market could see a cooling-off in the construction sector.
Generally speaking, he suggested migration was more likely to affect blue collar workers in the Bay, especially in the construction sector.
“It’s too soon to say whether we’re going to see a mass exodus.”
The new citizenship laws were not necessarily going to be disastrous, he added.
Kellie Hamlett said that even with the steep increase in wages experienced in New Zealand over the past two years, New Zealand still struggled to compete with the wages on offer in Australia.
“Whilst the recently announced path to citizenship might not be the reason people leave New Zealand, it certainly is another tick in Australia’s favour,” she said.
“Even with an increase in migrant arrivals here we are still painfully short of workers across all sectors, and this change will surely put even more pressures on our employers over time.”
Under the changes:
• Rights come into effect on July 1, 2023.
Applies to Kiwis on temporary, special category, visas who have lived in Australia for four years, and meet the standard Australian citizenship criteria (e.g. pass a character check, adequate knowledge of Australia, a basic English competency, will continue to reside in or have a connection with Australia) and attend a citizenship ceremony.
• Is retrospective. Those in Australia since 2001 will be able to apply directly for citizenship without gaining permanent residence first.
• Is affordable (the fee is A$490).
• Has no minimum income requirement or health requirement.
• Gives Kiwis access to services and benefits, once they become citizens.
• Allows Kiwi children born in Australia to become citizens at birth (rather than waiting till they turn 10, as they do now).
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent sojourn in China excited some of the journalists covering his visit. They reported that he was given a “rock star welcome” by students at the elite Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou.
The coverage reminded me of my own first visit as a green foreign correspondent to China many years ago. I accompanied a group of 60 young New Zealanders who were responding to an invitation to visit from then Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang.
As we descended from the plane on our arrival, we were greeted by a vast crowd of Chinese citizens, banging gongs, waving banners and exhibiting great enthusiasm at our visit.
We were all delighted to receive such a warm welcome. However, on later mentioning this incident to a Beijing-based Kiwi diplomat, he looked at me with some pity for my naivety and remarked drily, “Of course, they never have any problem assembling a crowd in China.”
As Macron discovered.
description of a country noted for its tight media and political controls.
Observing Macron’s peregrinations in China, one could only note that he had chosen a very good time to be out of France. His home country was roiled by massive demonstrations in burning streets amidst some of the most extreme and chaotic labour actions ever seen there over his pension change proposal.
Fortunately for Macron, the relevant French institutional committee gave the go-ahead to his pension proposals and on his return he dutifully passed them into law. His detractors already deeply resented the fact that he had pushed through his original pension changes without parliamentary discussion or approval. This latest move seems unlikely to be the end of French union unrest.
tance since its inception as an independent state to mainland control.
Macron managed to attract comment and in many cases derision – even within the European Community – for his call that France should follow its own path and not blindly support the US – especially with regard to the status of Taiwan.
It would seem the French President sees himself as an international peace negotiator. Unfortunately, his telephone diplomacy to try and dissuade Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin not to invade the Ukraine was a dismal failure.
David Porter
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The French president reportedly also hailed China’s “critical thinking”, which seemed an inappropriate
Ironically, the namesake of the university that was credited with his rock star reception, Sun Yat-Sen, is unique among 20th-century Chinese leaders for being widely revered by both the Communist Party in mainland China, and in Taiwan. The breakaway state continues to be threatened by China with imminent takeover, despite Taiwan’s evident resis-
Macron has subsequently purported to be trying to woo China into helping broker a peace plan with the Soviets over the Ukraine. He seems oblivious to the fact that the last thing China intends to do is dissuade Russia’s leadership from its actions.
Chinese President Xi Jingping’s recent reaffirmation of the warm China/Soviet “partnership” following his visit to Russia made it clear that China would not be attempting to soften Russian policy.
After all, Putin’s doomed war policy is China’s best
chance of staking a claim to independent influence in the global order and resisting international US pressure. It is one of the ironies of China, as I have observed before in this column, that the mainland’s greatest strength –its vast population of almost 1.5 billion people – is also its weakness. No senior leader ascends to the top of China’s political tree without understanding the country’s history and the vulnerabilities that come with the job. As became evident in recent months when the lengthy Xi-driven lockdown of entire communities to try and control the spread of Covid-19 eventually triggered mass protests by the Chinese populace. Even the government’s vigorous suppression of public opinion couldn’t manage to completely curb this, and ultimately Xi had to back down and ease the strict Covid-19 control policy. All Chinese leaders understand that unsuccessful regimes risk being overthrown.
This winter the Trustpower brand will transition to Mercury, bringing the best of both brands together for customers, while continuing to be a supporter of the Bay of Plenty community and major employer in the region.
This follows Mercury’s acquisition of Trustpower’s retail business in May 2022.
Bay of Plenty-based Mercury general manager customer operations, Fiona Smith, says she’s incredibly excited about the opportunities bringing together the two brands presents.
“I worked for Trustpower
for nearly 27 years and was very happy to join with Mercury in 2022. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved as Trustpower, from our success in bundling after becoming the first retailer to bundle fibre and electricity together, to our support for local communities,” she says.
“Now, as we transition the Trustpower brand to Mercury, we will keep the best of Trustpower, plus additional benefits will be on offer soon - the future is bright indeed.”
Mercury will continue the good work Trustpower started, investing in and being an active
supporter of Bay of Plenty communities through sponsorships and partnerships.
“We also remain a major employer in the region so the
folk you chatted to last week are the same ones who will continue to look after you,” Fiona says.
“Locals will simply see an influx of Mercury yellow!
The Trustpower Community Fund will become the Mercury Community Fund, Trustpower Baypark will be rebranded to Mercury Baypark, our office on Durham Street will likewise be rebranded to Mercury and other local signage and logos will be updated to the Mercury brand. There’re many benefits of bringing the brands together under Mercury,” Fiona says.
“Coming together under the
Mercury brand will build better experiences for our customers.
This includes adding material value for our customers in terms of convenience and the delivery of innovative and exciting products.”
Trustpower is currently contacting its customers about the transition to the Mercury brand.
What stays the same:
• Trustpower customers’ plans, services and benefits will continue under the Mercury brand.
• TECT beneficiaries in
Tauranga will continue to receive this rebate under Mercury.
• 100% NZ-based customer service.
• Support for local community and employment in the region.
What changes:
• Trustpower branding will change to Mercury nationwide. This includes Trustpower Baypark which will become Mercury Baypark and the Trustpower office on Durham St which will be rebranded to Mercury.
> BY YVONNE BLANCH
Yvonne Blanch is an Account Manager at Stratus Blue. She can be contacted at yvonne@stratusblue.co.nz
t is important that businesses understand their responsibilities regarding any personal information they hold.
According to the Privacy Act 2020, personal information is defined as any recorded information about an identifiable individual.
of resources available for businesses, including guidelines on how to handle personal information, privacy statements for websites, and a privacy breach notification form.
The Privacy Act 2020 sets out the requirements for notifying affected individuals and the Privacy Commissioner of a notifiable privacy breach.
includes both criminal liability for the company (and directors if applicable), with fines up to $10,000.
If you breach one or more privacy principles (or equivalent rules under a code of practice), then any individual who has been affected can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner to investigate.
ommend they be part of every induction programme.
If you have records that contain information such as name, date of birth, email address, bank account details, financial information, employment history and medical records, you have a responsibility to protect that information from unauthorised access and transmission.
Act 2020 and that they are trained in how to handle personal information safely and securely.
This includes ensuring that staff are aware of their obligations under the Privacy
The Privacy Commissioner’s website at www.privacy. org.nz provides guidance on how to handle personal information and what steps businesses should take to protect it.
The website also has a range
The requirements include notifying the Commissioner as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the breach and notifying affected individuals as soon as practicable after notifying the Commissioner.
There are several new consequences for breaching New Zealand’s privacy laws under the Privacy Act 2020. This
Visit elearning.privacy.org. nz for excellent free online learning resources that are short, snappy and practical – and you get a certificate on completion!
Our staff are encouraged to complete these courses so we all can understand our responsibilities regarding the data we hold and have access to. I rec-
We provide the digital tools, applications and services to protect your computer systems, networks and digital data but the weakest link is always the human one. Increasingly the bad actors are targeting and probing individuals to gain access. Education is important. May 8 – 14 is Privacy Week 2023 and there are events planned to provide further education on privacy rights in the digital age.
Check out the Privacy Commissioner’s website and ensure you, your staff and your colleagues are aware of your responsibilities – and your rights.
The future layout of Ōmokoroa continues to firm up with a 2024 construction start date for two new schools confirmed.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti has announced works on a new primary school and secondary school are expected to kick off early 2024, with doors to be open for tamariki and rangatahi in 2025.
Ōmokoroa Primary School will initially provide 350 places for Year 1–6 students, with capacity to expand the roll to 550 students.
While Ōmokoroa Secondary School will initially provide 800 places for Year 7–13 students, with capacity to expand the roll to 1200 students.
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer says the two schools, to be located on the corner of Prole Road and Ōmokoroa Road, are an integral part of the future of Ōmokoroa and its predicted population.
By 2050, the Ōmokoroa Peninsula will be fully developed and home to an estimated 13,000 residents. This will include the development of 2500 new homes in the surrounding schooling area.
“Fit for purpose facilities such as these schools go hand in hand with supporting the Ōmokoroa community and accommodating its growth now and into the future,” says Mayor James.
“This announcement will provide the growing number of young families living in Ōmokoroa with school-age children the reassurance that they will soon have schooling options much closer to home.
“It will also take some pressure off our roads and State Highway with many families currently needing to take their tamariki and rangatahi to schools outside the area.”
The 2024 start date closely follows Council getting underway on a $23.5 million roading upgrade of Prole Road.
The $23.5m project is central to unlocking the development of the two schools and 2500 homes planned, transforming Prole Road from a rural road to one fit for a future as a busy urban environment.
It includes the reconstruction of 1.7km of road, from Ōmokoroa Road to Waipapa River, new shared walking/cycling paths on both sides of the road, on-road cycle lanes for experienced cyclists, safe pedestrian crossings, and a dual-lane roundabout at the intersection of Prole and Ōmokoroa roads.
The future schools are part of wider changes that will see Ōmokoroa look a little different in the next decade.
This will include JACE Investments Ltd’s $75 million privately-funded new town centre, new residential areas for around 2300 homes, more industrial zones for local businesses and employment, a new large reserve for active sports across the road from the new schools, and a Natural Open Space Zone to protect the extensive gully network and retain it for stormwater management and walkways and cycleways.
Business owners typically do not want the fact they are selling or contemplating selling their business to be public knowledge. Awareness that the business may be sold may lead to staff looking for other job opportunities, suppliers renegotiating contracts, or customers looking elsewhere for your services.
By using a business broker, all of this can be managed professionally. Business brokers typically have tried and tested confidentiality policies and procedures.
When writing the advertisement announcing the business is for sale, brokers take care to hide details that would identify the business. Brokers know which words to use and know how to make your business an attractive choice while not revealing anything too crucial.
It’s about finding the right balance between, not disclosing too much information while still attracting the right buyer.
An advert outlines key points about the business such as industry, key features, and benefits but just enough for an enquirer to want to know more.
Commercially sensitive information and identifying details are typically withheld until the buyer has signed a legally binding Confidentiality Agreement.
This is important for any size or type of business, but becomes even more so for larger businesses, where sales figures and other data
are commercially sensitive.
> BY STEVE CATLEY
Steve Catley is a Business Broker at LINK Business Brokers. He can be contacted at 021 341 117 and steve.catley@linkbusiness.co.nz
Once this document is signed, and before disclosing any additional information, a business broker typically asks specific qualifying questions which can help sort the serious buyers from those that are just curious or can’t afford to buy.
Notably, at this stage there is no direct contact between the buyer and the business, avoiding disclosure of identifying details. Confidentiality is maintained until each potential buyer has been qualified as genuine,
Release of information about the business is typically released in stages based on a tested process. Once the business broker has qual-
The business broker can take control of the confidentiality process and give first-hand guidance on when information should be shared.”
ified a potential buyer, a summary document will be provided giving key facts about the business but withholding information such as
staff details, customer names and full financial reports.
As the buyer continues to be interested or is ready to make an offer, more information can be released. It’s possible to continue to maintain secrecy right through due diligence, depending on the nature of the business.
The business broker can take control of the confidentiality process and give first-hand guidance on when information should be shared.
It is important to engage with a broker who understands when to release information to potential buyers, and who can help you balance the conflicting needs of marketing and confidentiality.
In early April, news broke1 that Tupperware®, the well known US-based food storage brand, is in serious trouble. With rising debts and falling sales, Tupperware warned that it could go bust unless it can quickly raise new financing.2
Tupperware finds itself in this predicament seemingly as a result of a failure to innovate, both in product design and distribution methods, and despite attempts to freshen up its products in recent years and reposition itself to a younger audience.3
As one expert reportedly4 commented, Tupperware – while considered innovative many years ago – was perhaps not as inventive and stylish as other (kitchenware) brands such as Joseph Joseph.5
Add to its innovation woes the arguable fact that the ‘Tupperware’ brand name has become a common name in general public use (in trade mark speak, ‘generic’) for food storage containers, and Tupperware (the company) faces a task of Herculean proportions to survive, let alone once again prosper.
Tupperware’s problems highlight the need for all businesses to ‘stay relevant’: that is, continually innovate in product and/or service design and delivery to meet the needs and wants of customers. As Peter Drucker6 once declared, businesses must “innovate or die”.
In more common parlance, “stay ahead of the pace of change or you’re toast”.7
In saying this, it is important to note that innovation doesn’t have to come with a huge price tag:
> BY BEN CAIN
Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells. He can be contacted at 07 928 4470 (Tauranga), 07 957 5660 (Hamilton), and ben.cain@jamesandwells.com
innovation can be small and cheap – it might be a small change in how you do something, or a slight shift in how you communicate what you do.
Big or small, opportunities for innovation are everywhere – you just have to be open to them.
Tupperware’s problems also highlight the need for brand owners
to protect their brand name from becoming ‘generic’ – as ‘Escalator’ and ‘Aspirin’, for example, did and ‘Sellotape’ and ‘Jandals’ arguably have (at least in New Zealand).
Stopping a trade mark from becoming generic in New Zealand requires a fine balance of promotion and policing (as Tasman Insulation, the maker of ‘Pink Batts’ insulation, found out in the course of litigation between 2012 and 20158).
Promote the name too much in a manner which makes consumers perceive it as noun, or fail to stop people from using the name as a noun, and brand owners could find themselves in Tupperware’s shoes or, worse, facing a claim to de-register their trade mark.
It will be a huge pity if the lid on Tupperware’s future is firmly sealed shut in the next few months. I, for one, hope the brand can be saved – all it needs (apart from a shed load of money) is the right kind of love.
Ascotch egg dish and pyramid-shaped pasta have both proven a hit during the Coastal Bay of Plenty’s annual foodie festival.
The winners of the Plates of Plenty Challenge have just been announced, with Papamoa café Pearl Kitchen receiving almost a third of all the public votes cast to claim the People’s Choice Award.
Inspired by a box of locally produced ingredients, their dish featured a bacon and maple scotch egg served with a sautéed mushroom medley, truffle mushroom foam, crispy potato, rocoto romesco, and a parmigiano and madeira jus.
Pearl Kitchen head chef Nigel Reid says they sold about 400 servings of the dish throughout the 10-day Flavours of Plenty Festival (24 March – 2 April).
“We really thought about the ingredients in the Plates of Plenty Challenge box and wanted to represent them well. Scotch egg was perfect for our breakfast/lunch demographic –and who doesn’t love a scotch egg!”
Meanwhile, Alma Eatery in Ōmokoroa caught the attention of the Plates of Plenty Challenge expert panel, earning the Judge’s Choice Award for its fagottini con funghi e tartufo
Their dish, featuring pyramid-shaped pasta stuffed with mushrooms, Grana Padano cheese, ricotta, and herbs, served with truffle butter consisting of roasted hazelnuts, sliced truffle, pekepeke-kiore, and truffle salt, made one judge note: “It was dancing on my palate.”
Alma Eatery co-owner and head chef, Marco Velickovic, says his whole team helped perfect the dish before its release.
“It means a lot that people within the hospitality sector recognise what we’re doing. The dish sold out most days [during the festival]. We’re even planning to add the dish to our menu, going forward.”
It’s the second year that the culinary challenge has been held during the Flavours of Plenty Festival, which is organised by Tourism Bay of Plenty.
Each of the 12 Plates of Plenty Challenge entrants received a box containing mushrooms, sausages, chocolate hazelnut butter, truffle salt, limoncello, chills, and eggs, and were tasked with using at least three of the items to create a bespoke dish for the festival.
Pearl Kitchen and Alma Eatery received vouchers donated by Southern Hospitality, worth $400 and $600
respectively, for their award-winning efforts.
Oscar Nathan, general manager at Tourism Bay of Plenty, says the challenge is designed to establish and encourage beneficial partnerships between the region’s innovative foodie producers and respected hospitality businesses.
Tauranga’s Urban Task Force have presented a report which raises concerns with changes to the city council’s Infrastructure Development Code (IDC) highlighting the adverse effects of these changes on the environment.
The report was tabled in response to mounting frustration with frequent changes to the IDC.
UTF Chairman, Scott Adams, says the rules set out in the IDC appear to pay little heed to both the environmental impact of infrastructure and the cost to the local economy.
“In the last 10 years alone, developers who have constructed over 70kms of new roads in Tauranga have been required to transport the specific aggregate types needed from the western side of the Kaimais to the city despite the availability of local options. This has a huge logistical and environmental cost,” he says.
“The IDC also includes a move away from official Standards New Zealand conditions.
“This imposes changes to the overall design, inspection and compliance of a roading project, doubles the cost and causes all kinds of engineering and running contractual issues,” says Adams.
“We were impressed with the creativity and culinary skills displayed by all 12 of the eateries that entered, and it was great to garner the support of the seven local producers who enthusiastically submitted their best ingredients during the challenge.
“It’s been exciting to see foodie producers, hospitality venues, tour operators, and event organisers coming together during our first two annual festivals to showcase our region’s spectacular range of edible offerings. We’re very keen to ensure that the Coastal Bay of Plenty earns its rightful place on the national and international culinary tourism scene,” he says.
“Multiply the environmental costs and the increased expense by the amount of roading that developers are forecast to construct in the Western Bay over the next 30 years, and you can see why we are concerned at the arbitrary specifications set by the IDC.”
The report notes that the IDC is an internal Tauranga City Council (TCC) document which is not subject to external review. Any changes to the IDC are made by Council staff.
“Frequent changes to the IDC significantly increase construction costs, time and risk without any evidence that TCC has considered the social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts of these changes,” says Adams.
“UTF would like to see a balanced and fair approach to all IDC decision-making. This should include an opportunity for better visibility, collaboration on additions/variations to the IDC document, or changes via submissions to be heard and for oversight by either a Commissioner or a panel of experts,” says Adams.
The UTF report was presented to the city’s Commissioners and the Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Marty Grenfell.
“We’ve asked the city’s leaders to consider the significant uncertainty that the IDC creates for the development community. We’d like TCC to follow the example of other local authority’s and restrict reviews of the IDC to a five-year cycle.”
UTF have formed a sub-committee chaired by Steve Cutfield of Classic Group to work alongside Council staff and address the issues raised in the IDC report and move towards a better system for implementing acceptable changes to the IDC document.
“The development community understands the IDC is an evolving document, so the UTF is pleased that the work we have put into our report has resulted in this opportunity to work alongside the Council and provide our perspective on the changes needed to the IDC,” says Cutfield.
“Through its recently announced creation of a Climate Plan, TCC has the chance to reconsider the environmental impacts of key documents like the IDC. UTF support these critical decisions which will lead to better environmental, economic, cultural and social outcomes for the ratepayers of Tauranga.”
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As a generation X person I feel we’re a link between the technology native millennials, with their cloud based notes and voice activated assistants, and the old school: pen and paper, always carry a diary, err … old schoolers.
So like many, I’ve watched the development of AI and the news on what industries it’s going to completely replace and wondered if we’re next.
Technology has helped, and changed, how we work
How we work is now very different to when I started in franchising more than 20 years ago. This has been influenced and facilitated by technology.
How people receive information relating to a particular franchise or opportunity has completely changed.
The old path of a newspaper advert, perhaps followed by a telephone call, an exchange of paper-based information and endless face-to-face meetings (to expound the virtues of purchasing a particular business model) is gone – dead and forgotten. It has been replaced by social media, brand websites and Google. Thank goodness. This makes for better-informed buyers and for better, more valuable conversations when we start the dialogue with people.
Unquestionably, processes have also changed; the well-developed excel sheets
with macros and links to access information and repeat tasks replaced by CRMs.
Faxed or posted forms have been replaced by secure digital signing platforms. Printed brochures replaced by websites, downloadable PDFs and digital assets.
Embedded in these new processes are time-saving process automations – sending forms, progressing sequential information flows and ensuring boxes are ticked and actions recorded.
Technology has replaced manual processes, assisting the franchisee recruiter and potential franchisee along the way. Essentially the same route, on a different mode of transport.
The real change now raised is the possibility of AI jumping in and replacing some of the touch points of the human recruiter.
A Google search “best franchises to buy in New Zealand” can already be replaced by AI; chatbots can run an interactive process resembling, and in some cases scarily close to replacing, a human recruiter, asking questions and guiding a potential franchisee buyer through the process. Their ability to collect and
Chatbots can run an interactive process resembling, and in some cases scarily close to replacing, a human recruiter, asking questions and guiding a potential franchisee buyer through the process. Their ability to collect and collate data, record preferences and manage processes will in most cases surpass even the most experienced and capable recruiter.”
collate data, record preferences and manage processes will in most cases surpass even the most experienced and capable recruiter.
What people do that technology cannot … yet
But before we log off and hand over to the machines to complete franchisee recruitment and sales processes, it’s worth stepping back and looking at the intention of recruiting, and what the machine is not yet able to imitate.
Franchising is a relationship model. The relationship is between, and relies on, people. The franchisee recruiter’s role is to make a match between the
> BY NATHAN BONNEY
Nathan Bonney is a director of Iridium Partners. He can be reached at nathan@iridium.net.nz or 0275-393-022
potential franchisee and the franchise brand; In essence, anything attempting to replace the human component is still trying to imitate the human relationship part, and here lies the crux.
The Maya Angelou quote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel,” was not written about the franchise relationship, but it certainly does apply.
As yet AI can only imitate empathy. AI will never really have any feelings. AI cannot have any collective experience and relate to the candidate, so ultimately how is that going to make you feel?
So my take on AI as it relates to franchisee recruitment: it is not going to replace our ability to relate to and engage with each other on a personal level. We should not fear it taking our jobs, it should simply be seen as another (super clever) technology tool that may actually give us back some time.
It’s no secret small businesses in the Bay of Plenty and across Aotearoa have been doing it tough these last few years.
The string of Covid-19 lockdowns, followed closely by high inflation, talent shortages, and uncertainty about the future, have all made a challenging work environment for our small business communities.
However, if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s the resilience of our small business communities.
But how does their wellbeing fare against the general population?
To better understand the relationship between small business ownership and wellbeing, a new report draws comparisons on small business wellbeing across several countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Overall, Kiwi small businesses appear to be coping well compared to other small business communities around the world.
> BY BRIDGET SNELLING
Bridget Snelling, Xero New Zealand Country Manager.
Our small business owners ranked third in overall wellbeing, and first in overall life satisfaction, with almost half of small business owners feeling calm and relaxed most or all of the time.
This is all testament to the strong appreciation Kiwis now have for work-life balance, with more business owners beginning to focus on fostering a positive workplace culture.
While it’s encouraging to see these solid indicators of wellbeing for Kiwi small businesses, their wellbeing still trends below that of the general population.
It’s common for small business owners to take a hands-on approach to business, deeply involving themselves in any day-to-day operations and challenges which pop up. As a result, this often puts their personal wellbeing in a vulnerable position.
There’s a general understanding around why small business owners often struggle
with wellbeing – the real thing we need to focus on is what can they do about it?
For small business owners concerned for their wellbeing or that of their employees, we have four recommendations to help mitigate this stress.
There’s no doubt small business productivity and wellbeing go hand-in-hand. Conscious investment in wellbeing initiatives can help support you, your employees, and your bottom line.
Training and guides which help address the root causes of employee’s mental health issues are also an effective way to introduce wellbeing into the workplace.
This could be an expert coming into the office to discuss wellbeing, or even sharing helpful tips and resources with your team.
Then for anyone looking for a more interpersonal approach, there are a range of counselling and peer support networks available in Aotearoa to help
small businesses navigate their wellbeing challenges.
Support offered through the Xero Assistance Programme (XAP) gives small business owners on Xero starter, standard, platinum or ultimate plans free access to confidential mental health counselling and resources.
Lastly, try to explore different ways to achieve restedness in your workplace, with the goal to help you and your team set business matters aside.
This could be anything from taking a walk around the block in between meetings, to giving a team member an extended lunch break if they’re feeling overwhelmed.
Wellbeing support comes in all shapes and sizes, and it doesn’t have to be a huge cost for your business.
Small business owners have made incredible progress in the wellbeing space over the last few years, and we hope to see them continue to strive in this space.
After 15 years of hard work and obtaining a unique status among early childcare services in Rotorua, award winning Tiaki Early Learning Centre changed hands on 1st April 2023. It has been bought by Osatti Investments Limited which runs Playtopia Educare.
The word Tiaki means to ‘care, protect and look after, to be a guardian’. This name was given to the Centre by the local hapū Ngāti Te Roro o te Rangi.
Tiaki Early Learning Centre, nestled on the shores of Lake Rotorua, caters for up to 30 children. It was opened in November 2008, with a desire to create a quality place for children to grow and learn, with the support of many kaiako, families and the local community.
The service is set within a large, well-established outdoor environment, with vegetable gardens, an orchard, and plenty of space and mature trees which allow children room to move, climb and play. The outside environment is intentionally designed to encourage children to connect with nature.
Tiaki ELC has won several awards, including the Innovation category of New Zealand National Commission (UNESCO) Award in Global Citizenship Education in 2018; Excellence in Health and Wellbeing Education at the 2019 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards.
Tiaki’s philosophy is rooted in whanaungatanga and tangata whenuatanga – the concepts of relationships and socio-cultural, place-based edu-
cation. Place-based learning builds a feeling of belonging and fosters a strong sense of identity, of affiliation, and responsibility.
The high teacher:children ratio allows the children to undertake place-based education, connecting with the local community which is a large part of Tiaki life. With time, the children develop a love and respect for the local area, they want to care and look after it, that is the essence of kaitiaki.
“As a former senior environmental scientist at Scion, and Professor of Environmental Science at Fiji National University, I am impressed with the philosophy of sustainability and zero waste policy at Tiaki ELC,” said Dr Guna Magesan, Director of Osatti Investments Limited.
“Tiaki’s philosophy will continue under new management. Similarly, excursions to local Marae, wetlands, lake, and community interactions and learning from nature will continue.
To make sure that happens, we have appointed Bradley Graham, who is a current kaiako, as the interim Manager of Tiaki ELC,” he added.
“At Scion, I had an opportunity to lead several projects including land treatment of effluent; nitrate leaching from gorse; biological farming and
This year, the Acorn Foundation celebrates 20 years of connecting generous people who care with causes that matter in our region.
Now, it is time to bring scientific concepts to childcare education, showing importance of vermicomposting, organic gardening to grow our own kai, and many more.”
impacts on water quality; and “wastes to resources” programme. Now, it is time to bring scientific concepts to childcare education, showing importance of vermicomposting, organic gardening to grow our own kai, and many more,” Dr Magesan added.
“We already compost all food scraps. We work hard to find resources that align with our philosophy. We avoid plastic and try to purchase well-made, long-lasting resources. All of this means we can significantly reduce the amount of waste we produce,” said Bradley Graham, interim Manager of Tiaki ELC.
“The kaiako come from a range of backgrounds but all of them share a
passion for the natural world while ensuring the best quality education for the tamariki.
“The outdoor environment is the best possible resource which helps children to become capable, confident, and resilient while developing a healthy respect for Papatūānuku,” he added.
Tiaki provides delicious and nutritious vegan kai. The menu has been developed alongside a qualified and experienced pediatric nutritionist, who worked with the chef who prepares the kai. It’s about teaching the tamariki healthy ideas around food, trying new foods, understanding where your food comes from, and the effect that has on the environment.
Tiaki Early Learning Centre is indeed unique, and it holds a special place within our hearts because of its service, philosophy, and learning from nature. The children are able to authentically connect with their local community and its history and culture, and the result is that they can receive the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional benefits these connections offer.
“I got into the childcare business with a concept of community development through childcare education. We are here to contribute to the community,” added Dr Magesan.
“Let us all come together. Let us all work together. Let us all grow together.”
Acorn’s Smarter Giving Model has enabled generous locals to connect with causes that matter in our region since 2003.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 425 donor funds, Acorn has gi ed over $13M to hundreds of community organisations and award winners.
Community-minded donors, committed strategic partners, and engaged local funders work with Acorn for the benefit of the WBOP.
Calls for a variety of measures to assist struggling city centre businesses have been common in recent years and Tauranga City Council is continuing to invest heavily in solutions to the area’s malaise. Many of those solutions will take time to put in place, so in the meantime, we’re implementing a range of actions to bring people into the city centre and re-energise Tauranga’s commercial heart.
By ANNE TOLLEY, Tauranga Commission Chair
When the Commission first joined Tauranga City Council at the start of 2021, we were saddened to see the state of the city centre; a result of years of indecision and inaction by previous councils.
One of our main priorities ever since has been to revitalise the city centre, so it once again becomes the thriving, beating heart of Tauranga city – a great place for people to live, work, learn, visit and play.
That’s one of the key reasons we’ve committed to the transformative redevelopment of the civic precinct – Te
Manawataki o Te Papa.
At $303 million, this will be the biggest investment the city centre has ever seen and will include a new library and community hub; a civic whare (community meeting place); a museum where the city’s heritage can be displayed; an exhibition gallery; and landscaping linking the civic precinct to the nearby waterfront reserve.
On top of this, Council has also redeveloped a city centre mall between Devonport Road and Grey Street to house He Puna Manawa – our library and customer service centre – until the new Civic Precinct facilities are constructed; and has committed to leasing a 10,000sq.m-plus building
now under construction at 90 Devonport Road as its future administration building.
The private sector is also playing its part, with several large-scale developments already underway and more planned across the city centre.
We do acknowledge that this revitalisation won’t happen overnight, and we really feel for those businesses who have been impacted by previous inaction.
We are committed to working with them and other organisations such as Downtown Tauranga, so together we can support our city centre through this transformation.
We have already begun implementing some immediate
There are thousands of baches for rent in the wider BOP and Coromandel regions and I would put money on a significant number of these being owned by GST registered entities.
Sometimes the GST registration is necessary because the total rental is over $60,000 per year, or the entity owning the bach carries on some other GST taxable activity.
In these cases the owner has had no choice but to make the property subject to GST, meaning GST can be claimed on the purchase but must also be paid on the eventual sale of the bach.
This is the same as for any other business asset, but because the expectation is that baches will rise in value the owner effectively pays GST on the capital gain on the property.
On the other hand, there will be a number of bach owners who have registered for GST voluntarily. You might
be wondering why do they do this?
In my experience, this is often done to make the sums work on buying the bach in the first place. Especially with coastal properties increasing in value significantly in recent times, if a buyer is struggling to get the purchase over the line with the bank they may see making a GST claim an easy way to reduce the overall cost of purchase and therefore the amount they need to borrow.
But this strategy can be short-sighted because GST will be payable on sale of the bach.
Take the example of a bach that was bought for $600,000 and the owner claimed back GST of $78,260. If the bach increases in value by $1m, a
$1.6m sale means the owner has to pay $208,695 in GST. Being GST registered will have cost the owner a net $130,434 in GST.
Often this is not well understood by the owner and can be a surprise when they come to sell.
The good news for these owners is that a recent GST law change may give them ability to opt the bach itself out of the GST net by paying back the GST that they claimed in the first place.
If the purchase was zerorated for GST the opt out still applies, but the amount of GST payable is based on the GST that would have been charged on the purchase if it had not been zero-rated.
Owners are only able to opt out if the bach was acquired
solutions to help bring people back into the city centre through initiatives like community events.
These are working well, with a noticeable increase of people spending time in the city centre over the past summer, and we are looking to continue activation events over the coming months.
Creating more spaces for people to spend time is another great way to bring people into the city centre and this is a big driver for the transformation that’s underway at the waterfront, from Dive Crescent right along The Strand.
A key objective of this development, and the wider city centre transformation, is
the need to make the heart of our city a place our community can feel proud of. Cleaning up our streets, increasing the number of trees and plants and creating places for people to sit and spend time are just a few of the ways we are doing this.
We’re also exploring other solutions to support businesses based in the city centre, such as a review of licence to occupy arrangements, which allow for our outdoor dining areas.
A return to paid on-street parking in the city centre was undertaken in December to support retailers and customers who were concerned about people working in the city using parking spaces all day.
To further support businesses, earlier this month the Commissioners approved widening the scope of an existing city centre residential accommodation fund. This creates a huge opportunity for us to kick-start a wider range of initiatives that we know businesses need in the short-to-medium term, while our city centre goes through this period of transformation. We welcome all ideas from local businesses and will check back in with our city centre community over the coming weeks to discuss possibilities for making the best use of this fund, so as many people as possible can benefit.
> BY ANDREA SCATCHARD
Andrea Scatchard is a Tax Partner at Deloitte, based in the Bay of Plenty. She can be contacted on ascatchard@deloitte.co.nz
and used primarily for private purposes, so as a family bach rather than a permanent shortterm rental for example, and they have to be able to fund the GST that will be payable to Inland Revenue.
The rental income remains subject to GST after making the opt out election and GST is still claimable on the rental costs.
But the upside is that the
GST payable on opting out is based on the cost of the bach, not the current market value or the future sale price.
This represents a real saving for affected owners when you look at the long-term position and is preferable to deregistering for GST because this will cost the owner GST on the current market value.
There is a two-year window in which to make an opt
out election for baches bought before 1 April 2023, and similar rules apply for baches purchased after 1 April where the owner can elect not to claim the GST on purchase and the future sale will not be subject to GST.
If this sounds like something you need to consider make sure you seek advice from your accountant or tax adviser.
A recent Easter egg hunt revealed a surprise even sweeter than chocolate - the discovery of how to make more sales with fewer resources, while making more profit in less time.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”, purrs the Cheshire Cat in Alice of Wonderland.
I look at things a different way: If you don’t know what you’re trying to fix, doing nothing feels like the perfect solution.
Your pressing problem might not be immediately obvious. Which one to choose?
Obviously, there’s the whole ‘too busy’ thing. Too many clients and customers, not enough resources. Who needs to pick up the slack?
Well that’s you, of course.
More money would be high up the list. You wouldn’t be greedy, of course. Just a little bank account boost to help take the weight off your shoulders.
Then there’s time: The one thing you never have enough of. Waking up every morning, thinking, “I didn’t sleep enough”, then going to bed every night muttering, “I didn’t do enough”.
Whatever problem you believe you face, the easiest solution is ‘do nothing’, followed by telling yourself: ‘it will sort itself out eventually’.
I’ve spent years perfecting both these approaches: I am a male, after all.
But, if you’re prepared to undertake a little journey of discovery, there is another way to achieve outcomes you seek in business and in life.
The secret lies in the most unlikely of places … an Easter egg hunt.
The chocolate anticlimax
Let’s pretend we all took a proper break during Easter, like we promised we would.
When I paused from my one-man, chocolate-fuelled mission to contract early onset-diabetes, I saw my children in the garden, on their quest for hidden Easter eggs.
In that moment I received a priceless lesson in sales, money and time.
Observe children on an Easter egg hunt … You will see excitement, curiosity, joy and delight. They’re empowered by this wondrous journey of discovery.
When the search is over, they sit down to eat the chocolate. Their energy drops. Eating the eggs almost feels like a chore. It’s an anticlimax.
And herein lies our first lesson: It was never about the OUTCOME – It was always about the DISCOVERY.
In our goal-based society, it’s too easy to get fixated on the destination. We’re so busy aiming for the top of the mountain that we keep tripping over pebbles in our path.
Stop looking for the big goal, just focus on the next step. You’ll get where you need to go even faster.
(Don’t) follow the white rabbit
During this particular Easter egg adventure, children aren’t worried about ‘how they’re coming across’.
They’re not panicking because they only allocated 45 minutes to this particular activity but it’s actually taking an hour and a half.
They don’t fear they must ‘provide significant value up-front’ before they deserve any Easter eggs.
They don’t say they ‘really wanted’ to undertake this
quest, but capacity challenges and resource constraints meant it couldn’t happen.
You won’t get an unexpected invoice next month because the kids were terrible at estimating their time investments.
The tears only happen when they start stressing about how many eggs ‘other people’ are getting … but when they focus on their own basket, they do just fine.
The message is clear: If we start paying too much attention to the competition / colleagues / other members of the leadership team / business coaches / the neighbours, we come unstuck.
Trust yourself a little more. You’ve felt lost before, but you’ve always found a way out of the darkness.
As Alice says, when she tries to escape Wonderland, “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
The egg-sell-ent adventure
Like all good things, Easter egg hunts must come to an end. Kids being kids, they always want more.
However, if you listen closely (there’s a lesson in itself).
Children don’t ask for more chocolate.
They ask for another Easter Egg hunt.
The teaching here is to detach ourselves from the need to GET MORE EGGS.
Whether you want to achieve more sales, greater profits, or just a little breathing space, ‘outcome indifference’ is a powerful tool. It sounds
> BY FREDDIE BENNETT
Guinness World Record Holder, podcast host and bestselling author, Freddie is known as ‘The Profit Hunter’. He helps business owners enjoy more time, money and freedom by discovering and extracting hidden profits in their companies. Freddie@conqueryourmedia.com
like a paradox – being indifferent to that which you desire the most – but it works.
You only find something when you stop frantically searching for it.
Who would you rather be someone who was stomping around their garden, digging holes with a shovel, wild eyes blazing, muttering about ‘need to get more eggs this month’?
Or the individual who was inviting people on an adventure? Someone who approached the task at hand with playful curiosity, no particular outcome in mind apart from finding some hidden
treasure.
None of this is supposed to be hard. We just delight in making life difficult for ourselves.
If you get the discovery wrong, you’ll never find the Easter eggs … even if they’re right in front of you.
Remember, it’s not about how hard you’re searching; It’s about knowing where to look.
Through the looking glass
Whether you’re looking for money, time, freedom or chocolate, be careful what you wish for.
Remember, you can have too much of a good thing. And once you get your hands on that thing you seek, you realise it doesn’t actually unlock your freedom from the rabbit hole.
Perhaps the Cheshire Cat was right after all, it doesn’t really matter which path you take … any path is better than ‘do nothing’ or ‘change nothing’.
Lead. Explore. Take the first step, and you might be surprised who follows you. Just remember, everyone wants to go on a quest. No-one likes a boring hunt.
Lately I have been asked a seemingly very simple, yet quite complex question: “How do I know who to trust?”
When preparing to write this I drew on a few other information sources in addition to my own experience.
One was the adventurer (and some may say epitome of “toxic masculinity”) Ernest Hemingway who famously said, “the best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
When posed the question, “what does trust mean to you”, my son William (18) said, “trusting someone makes you vulnerable, but those defences need to be lowered in order to truly connect.” To be honest that was a much ‘deeper’ response than I was expecting.
The IPI investigation inbox has been getting absolutely slammed with infidelity related investigation requests recently – more in a month than we would have received in a year pre-Covid. We do not do infidelity
My advice for business owners is to set your systems up like everyone is going to lie to you and try to steal your money, then you can appear to trust everyone while knowing that you really can’t.”
> BY NICK KERR
Nick Kerr is regional manager for DebtFree NZ Ltd and director of International Private Investigations Ltd. He can be reached on 021 876 527 and Nick@debtfreenz.com
investigations; they always end in tears, and if nothing is found, the client still believes there is something going on and you are just not good enough to find it.
There is also always something sad about one person being betrayed by another and our witnessing the moment they realise it.
One particularly gutting case from my Debt Free work that we have just completed involved a building developer who contracted a trades company to perform major works when they knew full well that the company was going into liquidation.
The trades company lost around $200k with virtually no chance of recovering the
amounts owed. The case has not only seriously affected the business from a financial perspective but also decimated any confidence that they can trust any client without a large amount of due diligence and risk mitigation. It seems that trust is becoming a rare commodity in these post-Covid times (much like an affordable block of cheese or a sub $10 punnet of raspberries); people have even lost trust in what have traditionally been considered bastions of legitimacy and trustworthiness such as governments, healthcare providers and religious institutions.
In particular, it seems we have lost trust in each other which is adding to a general
atmosphere of tension and mistrust in the business community as well. So what do we do? Well, my advice for business owners is to set your systems up like everyone is going to lie to you and try to steal your money, then you can appear to trust everyone while knowing that you really can’t. We do it with other parts of life, for instance most of us lock our doors when we leave our homes, yet we don’t expect every passing pedestrian to be an opportunist thief. Trust is fine to have as long as you insure there are adequate checks and balances to give you a chance should the trust prove to be misplaced. Just a thought.
Income growth is now a key determinant of property value and is off-setting macro headwinds for landlords who are staring down rising inflation, increased lending rates, softening yields and higher compliance thresholds.
Latest MSCI data from December 2022 highlights that income returns are propping up total returns in the commercial and industrial property sector – citing 5.3 percent for office and 4.1 percent for industrial – and signalling that this will strengthen further.
Rental growth is negating softer cap rates evidenced around the country, with signs that the higher rents being seen nationwide could continue this year.
In its latest Outlook Report, Bayleys’ global real estate partner Knight Frank said a renewed focus on income growth will guide investor strategy and asset selection during 2023, with a spotlight on lease structures that have the capability to ratchet up rents in line with higher inflation.
With office occupiers seeking higher amenity, “greener”, and modern fit-for-purpose buildings to help draw staff back to the office, and landlords across the commercial sector increasingly opting to upgrade sustainability credentials to address obsolescence issues with older buildings, rents have been on the march.
The flight-to-quality trend is not a flight of fancy – it’s tangibly altering the dynamics of the occupier market and resulting in historically-low vacancies and significant rental growth across prime properties.
Rising interest rates and tight-
ening credit lines have contributed to dampened yields and lower sales transaction numbers across most markets, and with economists reluctant to definitively state when inflation and long-term interest rates could reach their peak, uncertainty still hovers for property owners.
Aggressive moves by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) have impacted the commercial and industrial construction outlook and confidence, with caution being exercised.
Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB) latest Forecast Report 103 forecasts a slowing down of new activity and notes a decline in architects’ forward work on commercial projects comparable to that at Covid-19 onset and the GFC.
RLB’s construction cost indices show significant increases for developers in the last three years, and when coupled with substantially higher thresholds of design, resilience, sustainability and building code compliance, it is inevitable that higher rents will be needed to make new developments feasible.
New builds are establishing fresh rental benchmarks and landlords are looking for leases with mechanisms to regularly reset rents to market (rather than long periods with fixed increases) so they can optimise rental streams in a growth market.
Meanwhile, tenants need to get
sound advice about rental budgets –particularly if they have an upcoming market rent review.
NZX-listed Precinct Properties documented in its 2022 annual report that its well-performing portfolio reflects the quality of occupiers, an overall portfolio WALT of 7.1 years and occupancy levels of 99 percent.
The report said rentals achieved on new office leases were on average 4.8 percent higher than valuation rents at 30 June 2021 and, including structured rent reviews, Precinct completed a total of 183,973sqm of reviews at a 3.0 percent premium to previous contract rental.
Further, there were 17,441sqm of market rent reviews settled at a 5.9 percent premium to 30 June 2021 valuation rentals.
Dire lack of new supply around the country has seen vacancy rates plummet, prompting owners of existing and dated stock to unlock measures to improve building quality, resilience and efficiencies to counteract rising interest rates and protect asset values.
Value-add mechanisms include creating more efficient yet reduced space footprints at a higher per square metre rental rate, providing quality end-of-trip facilities, leveraging shared meeting and event space, pursuing higher sustainability credentials via NABERSNZ or Green Star ratings, and providing responsive prop-
erty management services.
David McGuinness, managing director (development), Willis Bond says delivering highly resilient, sustainable workplaces with quality amenity like its current projects at 110 Jervois Quay in Wellington’s CBD and Blue Mountains Campus, Upper Hutt, comes at a cost but rent is only one part of the equation for occupiers.
“As the return to the office continues, these buildings have intrinsic value for occupiers in helping drive higher productivity, team synergy, and business continuity.
“They also attract talent and deliver lower occupancy costs over time through more efficient, futureproofed buildings – it’s what businesses need and that’s why we are building them.
“Bell Gully is a great example of a business that has reset its staff and client experience in its new base-isolated building on Wellington’s waterfront – we understand staff love it and attendance at the office is very high, which is a pointer for other businesses.”
While there is a rental per square metre differential between premium A-grade space in the CBD versus regional locations, mainly due to land value, McGuinness says it’s not as much as people think and a focus on square metre rates doesn’t tell the full story.
“We are building New Zealand’s largest mass timber office building in Tauranga and the cost of this would be virtually the same in any New Zealand location putting aside land value and site specifics.
“The nature and quality of the building are the paramount drivers of rents and smart businesses focus on the efficiency of the space, potential for staff engagement and productivity, and how the premises connect with their customers and surroundings.”
Auckland
Bayleys Auckland leasing specialist Ben Wallace says given the depth of the corporate market and the limited supply of quality properties in desirable locations, rental rates for prime
At Bayleys, we believe relationships are what businesses are built on and how they succeed. We understand that to maximise the return on your property you need:
Professional property management
A business partner that understands your views and goals
Contact the Bayleys Tauranga Commercial Property Management team today.
office space are holding firm, and in some instances, still on the rise.
“Occupiers often mistakenly assume that options will be plentiful when looking to relocate so there is often some educating required in the early stages of that process,” he says.
“Assuming they are paying a market-driven rent at the time, and want to remain in a specific geographic location whilst also maintaining a similar level of quality, it can be challenging to present alternative solutions at more competitive rental rates than they are currently paying.
“There is definitely a disconnect between the current levels of inflation and the level of rental growth occupiers are willing to commit to, but more than ever, occupiers are wanting certainty.”
Wallace says that the majority of deals they are concluding are with fixed annual increases of around three percent per annum, with reviews to market at renewal time.
“Most landlords accept that although inflation is running high, a fixed annual increase of three percent compounded over a number of years is likely to average out over time.
“Occupiers also want to partner and work collaboratively with proactive landlords for mutually-beneficial outcomes for all parties”.
Tauranga
Professional tenants are happy to pay a substantial premium over current market A-grade office leasing rates for top quality newbuild office space in the Tauranga CBD as there’s such a shortage of it, according to Bayleys Tauranga commercial sales manager Mark Walton.
“The market is extremely tight so there’s significant competition for high-quality sustainability-focused space that is well-located for private and public transport, and offers modern, efficient workspace with ample amenity to encourage
workers back to the office.
“Tenants are prepared and willing to pay what developers require to make these new office developments viable, however, there is resistance from occupiers to commit to CPI-linked rents, with a preference for fixed increases or, at a minimum, capped rental increases to allow for budgeting.”
In Hamilton, Bayleys Waikato commercial manager David Cashmore says lease negotiations can be protracted as tenants and landlords bring different subtleties to the table.
“Tenants want fixed rental increases to provide some certainty, while landlords prefer CPIlinked rents to accommodate rising costs – but we can generally get consensus to complete a deal.
“A significant portion of the tenant market is prioritising quality of space and staff productivity over rental rates, but obviously others
are more conscious of outgoings and business bottom lines.”
Rhys Harvey, development director at leading Waikato construction firm Foster Group Limited, says to date, he’s not noted a tangible disconnect between landlords and occupiers over rental rates on new-build property, but he can see it coming.
“With developers and newbuild landlords now dealing with rising yields and the escalating cost of capital, building and regulatory costs, rents will have to increase to get new builds across the line.
“There’s little negotiation flexibility or risk tolerance on rents and most of the tough conversations are around rent review ratchets, and cap and collars.
“However, most aspirational occupier groups know that the tight market means limited space options and their lens is generally more than just rent – it’s also retention and attraction of talent, plus the efficiencies and productivity modern office space allows.”
With a sea captain for a grandfather and childhood summers spent around the sea, it’s no surprise that Professor Karin Bryan was drawn to studying the deep blue. A passion for math and physics led the University of Waikato Professor to physical oceanography.
Professor Bryan is one of the new Royal Society Te Apārangi Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows. She has been honoured for her research on estuarine processes, coastal morphodynamics, and climate-driven variability in waves, which has gained international recognition over a period of more than 20 years.
“I like to think it is the most challenging because of the complexity of our coastline and the immediate impact on coastal communities, and in turn, our impact on coastal ecosystems.”
Professor Bryan says climate change is a game changer for an already complex discipline.
“It is really hard to provide useful information in such an uncertain environment. The focus was first on the slow onset hazard of sea level rise, but these massive events of the last few months are making it even harder to visualise the future. There is no time to perfect a theory or model anymore, we need
to learn and improve really quickly to be able to help.
The recognition that comes with the Fellowship also comes with a reminder for Professor Bryan.
“I think for my research it will remind me to focus on fewer but higher quality (and, most importantly, more useful) outcomes,” she says.
It’s also a prompt to keep working with the next generation. As Dean of Te Mata Kairangi School
University of Waikato Professor Karin Bryan has been made a Royal SocietyTe Apārangi Ngā Ahurei aTe Apārangi Fellow. Photo/Supplied.
of Graduate Research, Professor Bryan is committed to demonstrating the value of graduate study in creating useful knowledge for society. “This year I want to focus on helping students get real value out of their university experience. It sounds corny, but to show that universities still have a place in creating useful knowledge for societies.”
Her world-leading work in the
A move to give local communities a greater degree of influence over their water services is being welcomed in the Western Bay.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty’s revamped and renamed ‘Affordable Water Reform’ is headlined by the originally proposed four ‘mega entities’ being scrapped, and 10 regional water infrastructure entities to be formed in their place.
The 10 entities will be owned by local councils on behalf of the public, and entity borders based largely on existing regional areas – delivering Three Waters (freshwater, wastewater, and stormwater) services to households.
It means the Bay of Plenty will have its own entity, covering Rotorua Lakes, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty and Whakatāne.
Each entity would be run by a professional board, with members appointed on competency and skill. The 50/50 split of mana whenua and council representation remains unchanged. Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer welcomes the reset on the Three Waters Reform as something which has the potential to create greater acceptance nationwide.
“Having only seen the highlights this morning, I’m pleased the Government has listened to councils and the community. It’s clear these changes reflect some criticism of the original proposal and that the mega-entities would not be close enough to the communities they serve.
“Providing every Mayor of every local authority with a seat at the table of their respective entity will guarantee the priorities of local communities are heard and make it easier to retain a local workforce.”
oceanography of the coastal ocean and today’s announcement following the rigorous election process for Royal Society Fellows are testament to that value.
Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows are recognised by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for their distinction in research and advancement of science, technology or the humanities. They are world leaders in their area of research and scholarship.
While the legislation will be in place before this year’s election the new model won’t start delivering water services until 1 July 2026. The 10 new regional entities have the option to begin before the 2026 date if they are ready.
The reform was initially set down for a 1 July 2024 implementation under the four mega-entities after the Government made the reform mandatory for all councils in 2021.
For more information on the Affordable Water Reform visit – www.westernbay.govt.nz/ affordable-water-reform
Bad Company first opened its doors during the summer of 2017 in what is now a 300sqm light-filled space in the heart of Mount Maunganui.
Even in 2017, before the whisper of a pandemic had been uttered Kiwis were turning towards greener pastures and greater work/life balance. Co-working spaces were already a trend in urban centres, but with many professionals relocating to rural areas there was a dearth of shared office offerings.
Enter Bad Company founder Tori Taylor. Taylor began her mission to create a community focused workspace that offered co-working and collaboration with other like-minded individuals, taking the isolation and disconnection out of the usual start-up, sole contractor and small business work environments.
Moving to Mt Maunganui from Auckland in 2016, Taylor immediately noticed a gap in the market. For a community-minded town there were few options available to the independent businesspeople in the area. Part of Taylor’s move out of New Zealand’s largest city was to prioritise her health and well-being, professionally and personally.
Taylor champions the work/life balance and believes it is this ethos that sets Bad Company apart, alongside the anti-urban approach. Bad Company’s model is targeted at the burgeoning rural locations, with no current plans to enter any of Aotearoa’s main cities.
Taylor says, “We’re on a mission to create community focused workspaces that offer co-working and collaboration with other like-minded characters, enhancing each other’s offering and providing supportive creators. Afternoon banter and tunes are just an added bonus. We want people to feel welcome and included. Coming straight from the beach? Need to bring your pup or feel like channelling your inner DJ? It all happens at Bad Company. The vibe is very much ‘come as you are’, it’s relaxed.”
Offering a variety of workstations to suit individual needs such as monitors for dual screens, knee chairs for those focused on core and spine health, Bad Company also has private call and
meeting rooms available for more confidential requirements and client meetings.
Bad Company Wānaka is now home to 16 desk spots, housing permanent and part-time businesses and is renowned as a small but mighty asset to the local business community. The bustling community welcomed the 92m2 addition with open arms.
Now into its sixth year, the next evolution of the ‘destination workplace’ company, introduces what is believed to be a first for New Zealand.
A franchise model for the co-working space business.
“Two minds bounce ideas, four create momentum and action, eight achieve ongoing change”, notes Taylor
when talking about what inspired the new offer.
The opening of Bad Company Hawke’s Bay provides a welcome option, interim or permanent, for business owners in the hard-hit region, in an art deco building that was fortunate enough to not be impacted by the devastating floods that took place earlier this year.
There was a setback in terms of the opening date: owner Belinda Williams held off the refit for a week to ensure she could volunteer in the community during that time.
A first-floor office space in the Hastings CBD, the high-stud character space is filled with natural light from stunning large windows. Two
boardrooms and separated ‘private’ office areas are also available as well as kitchen and amenities in line with Bad Company’s standard offering across all its locations. The site is close to cafés and retail and adjacent to The Tribune development.
Fellow co-working space business owner Matt Knight, founder of Shared Space which opened its doors in 2010, believes there is nothing better than sharing and thinks the franchise model may be the way forward for growth in the category.
“It’s fantastic to see Bad Company achieve a successful franchise sale for their new location in Hawkes Bay. This is the first successful coworking franchise sale I’ve seen within NZ. I think this is a wonderful model for people wanting to set up a new space and it works well with the unique offering Bad Company coworking spaces provide”.
They cater to a hugely varied pool of professionals including designers, developers, IP lawyers, e-commerce, sustainability experts, accountants, digital media mavens, marketing specialists, copywriters, holistic health specialists, town planners and VR creators.
In a country built on SMEs, a rurally focused co-working company offering a franchise-model could be just the answer to those looking to put down rural roots, yet also take their business to the next level thanks to a small company focused on collaboration and community.
A colour-changing and flexible 4D printing filament developed by Scion scientists is set to benefit educators, industry and New Zealand’s fast-growing home-based 3D printing community.
The new filament, known as ‘Morph’ at Scion, has hit the market following a successful research collaboration between Auckland filament manufacturer Imagin Plastics and Crown Research Institute Scion.
3D printing enthusiasts will be able to use the filament to create fun and flexible objects, including bath toys, that change colour with heat. The product, with its special stimuli-responsive feature, is the only flexible filament of its kind in New Zealand.
It’s expected to be popular among 3D printing hobbyists, teachers, and spark commercial interest from the automation industry for its potential to support development of temperature-sensitive machine componentry.
In the education space, Scion’s Morph development team scientist Dr Angelique Greene says the product can be used to teach students about the concept of 3D printing, with an added science component thanks to its flexibility and thermochromism.
“There are other fun 4D printing filaments on the market, but they are typically rigid. We wanted to create a unique, flexible filament that had added functionality.
“Morph is a flexible filament that is also thermochromic; so, when it senses a temperature change, like holding it in your hand for example, it changes colour from black to yellow.
This is the first product that combines both properties.”
The concept of 4D printing is similar to 3D, where both print three dimensional objects (using length, width and height), but 4D also features an added dimension which changes over time. In Morph’s case, its thermochromic properties means it changes colour with temperature.
Morph is made from a flexible biodegradable polyester. During its development, Scion scientists successfully printed a number of objects, including phone cases, animals such as a gecko and octopus, as well as moveable objects like stretchy bracelets.
Senior materials scientist Dr Robert Abbel says although it sounds self-evident for a 3D or 4D printing filament to actually print objects, it is not guaranteed.
“Flexible materials are more difficult to print than stiff ones, so we are very happy that it performs so well. This opens up a space for creative product prototyping that has been inaccessible with existing products.”
Greene adds New Zealand is home to a “hobbyist 3D printing army” that will be looking to experiment with the new material as well.
“The true potential of Morph is in the hands of whoever holds it.”
Work to commercialise the Morph 4D printing filament gained impetus
when Imagin Plastics picked up the concept after it was showcased at an event for Scion’s industry partners. This followed an in-house design pitch competition, Innovation Jumpstart, which Scion ran at the beginning of 2020 to help foster capability and market validation for developing technologies.
Together, Scion and Imagin Plastics worked on finalising the raw feedstock, before it was then turned into a printable filament.
Ben Blakley, sales and technical manager at Imagin Plastics, says what brought the two teams together was the exciting new applications for 4D printing filament.
“We’ve worked with Scion on projects for a number of years in different capacities and the development
The
changes colour with
and can be used to create fun and flexible objects popular with children.
Now Morph is on the market, Greene says Scion is also using it for community education.
“Our role as a Crown Research Institute is to support industry, but it’s also about supporting the communities in which we operate. We can use Morph to do that.”
potential of this project was two-fold for us – building the relationship further and bringing a 4D printing filament into the market.
“Initially we were interested in having a printing material we could see being used in the education sector, like high schools and universities, that has a fourth dimension to it. It opens up opportunities for students to use it for their own research and development.”
Blakley says as well as education, Morph has potential for use in the likes of the automation industry.
“Machine componentry in the packaging and food processing industries, for example, could use it to detect temperature change, and even program artificial intelligence to recognise it.”
During the school holidays, Scion is holding a 4D printing interactive workshop on Wednesday 12 April at Te Aka Mauri | Rotorua Library to introduce young people aged 11-plus to the new filament and the world of 3D printing. People can register for the workshop on the library’s website. Morph is the second printing filament that Scion scientists have developed commercially in partnership with Imagin Plastics, the first being a wood-filled PLA 3D printing filament.
As a partner, Blakely says Scion’s research capabilities create real value.
“There’s no rulebook on how we work together; from our perspective everything’s possible.”
The Morph filament is available through Imagin Plastic’s website: www.imaginplastics.co.nz/
> BY ALAN NEBEN
Alan Neben is a Mount Maunganui local and experienced New Zealand publisher. His columns provide a light-hearted perspective on social changes effecting New Zealanders.
like to write this column ahead of time, but rarely do.
Today, however, it’s ANZAC Day as I write so I’m ahead of schedule. Two questions are on my mind, both as a result of today being ANZAC Day.
The first question is a broadly sociological one: why has there been a resurgence of patriotic fervour around the celebration of ANZAC Day in the last few years?
The second question is a far more mundane one: what’s open today (and when)?
The answer to one of these questions fills me with hope.
The answer to the other simply makes my head hurt.
Let’s start with the philosophical one.
The world we live in today seems to be fraught with tribalism – a, ‘if you’re not with us, you’re against us; if your ideas differ from our ideas, you’re cancelled (and BTW we’re storming parliament)’, kind of
world.
So how is it that in this time of anti-liberal, anti-fascist, anti-trans, anti-cis, anti-mining, anti-nuclear, anti-everything sentiment, virtually everyone in this country has got behind the celebration of our forebears the ANZACs.
Despite our 21st century lens identifying and acknowledging that the ANZAC effort so often discriminated against women, pilloried pacifists and conscientious objectors, treated heroic Māori and Pasifika soldiers miserably, and was in many instances an abject lesson in poor planning and arrogant colonial butchery, we have all conspired to treat the ANZAC celebration with upmost reverence and its protagonists with increasing adulation.
I am pleased we have a common cause that unites all of us, be we male or female, young or old, Māori or Pakeha: a respect for the sac-
rifice of others.
But why has the annual Kiwi pilgrimage to Gallipoli, or attendance at the nation’s ANZAC dawn parades recently become so important to our people?
I think it may be our human response to the fractured social structure we navigate daily. Our peer groups, our ethnicities, our genders and our social-media groups constantly drive wedges between ‘us’ and others who are ‘not us’; but deep down maybe we all want the chance to identify as a collective ‘us’.
Perhaps as we become more disparate, our desire for unity actually becomes stronger. Maybe that is why we are seeing the celebration of ANZAC Day become more pervasive every year – maybe its because we need it more.
Believe it or not, that was the easier of the two questions to answer.
The second question:
“What’s open and when?” … now that’s a real tester!
Let me see if I can clarify it for you.
ANZAC Day is a public holiday, and as such you will almost certainly be required to pay a 15% surcharge at any hospitality venue. But they won’t necessarily be open because most aren’t sure if they’re allowed to open, or some may simply choose not to open.
There’s no surcharge at the shops, even though they’ve also got to pay staff extra for working on a holiday. Unless they don’t. And they might not be open. Or they might. Depending on whether they’re in a tourist area.
It’s okay, you don’t have to buy a meal if you’re having a
drink like you do at Easter … well not all Easter … just Easter Sunday, or Good Friday, … actually, no, just Easter Sunday I think. There are of course different rules in different locations, but you won’t really know which ones are which because those rules change often. Some councils give dispensation in some areas for some holiday trading.
Now just remember that the opening rules only apply up to 1pm on ANZAC Day, but you’ve gotta pay the surcharge even after 1pm. Garden centres are different (depending on where they are I think), and pharmacies are not restricted. Some garden centres will of course choose to open even when they are tech-
> BY KELLIE HAMLETT
nically not allowed to by law.
I’m not sure if the cafés in those garden centres that do open illegally on public holidays are allowed to add the surcharge – I guess that’s at their discretion?
Unfortunately, one additional complication is making the holiday trading landscape a little opaque at present –many hospitality venues are having trouble finding staff, so some of them are choosing not to open after 1pm due to the staffing problems: the upside – they won’t be adding the 15% surcharge ‘cos they’re not open.
I hope that helps clarify the holiday trading situation. I was told it’s really quite difficult for overseas visitors to understand – thank God we’re locals aye?
Talent ID are Recruitment Specialists and can support you through your recruitment process. Please feel free to talk to us about this by calling 07 349 1081 or emailing kellie@talentid.co.nz
The past two years have seen a significant rise in salaries throughout New Zealand and no sector has been untouched. Whilst this has been welcomed by the workforce, most employers have found themselves struggling to keep up with the significant and continual increases the market has demanded. With low unemployment, low immigration numbers, and a tight employment market, it is still very much an employee-led market.
According to data from Statistics New Zealand, median weekly earnings from wages and salaries rose by 8.8 percent to $1,189 in the year to the June 2022 quarter.
The 8.8 percent annual increase in median weekly earnings from wages and salaries was the largest annual increase since the series began in 1998. My sense is that they have risen again since then.
The rise in salaries is due to a number of factors, including a growing economy, low unemployment, and government policies aimed at improving living standards for New Zealanders.
One of the primary reasons for the rise in salaries is the strong economic growth that New Zealand experienced post-Covid. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s economy remained resilient.
Employers are looking at more creative ways to ‘add-value’ to packages without necessarily paying outside of the base salary range.”
For example, benefits may include, a company car with full use, health insurances and paid time off.
A total remuneration package is designed to provide a comprehensive compensation structure that recognises the value of the employee’s contribution to the organisation. It is often used by employers as a way to attract and retain talented employees by offering a competitive and attractive compensation package that goes beyond just a basic salary or wage.
Government policies aimed
The growth was driven by a number of factors, including a robust construction sector, strong domestic demand, and the government’s support measures such as the wage subsidy program. Simply put, the demand has been high and the supply low. With fewer jobseekers than available jobs, workers are put into a stronger bargaining position when it comes to negotiating salaries and as a result employers are competing for talent, leading to higher salaries to attract and retain employees.
at improving living standards for New Zealanders have also played a role in the rise in salaries.
For most employers, at some point this has been problematic. Keeping up with the steep rise in inflation which has been reflected in salaries, to losing staff to competitors who are paying more, getting
into a bidding war when making offers or the problem of pay relativity within a workforce.
Employers are looking at more creative ways to ‘addvalue’ to packages without necessarily paying outside of the base salary range.
With cost of living at an all-time high, there is no doubt that while cash in the hand is
what employees are needing, a benefits package can sweeten the offer significantly.
This is referred to as a total remuneration approach and refers to not only the base salary an employee receives but also takes into account other forms of compensation such as bonuses, commissions, allowances and benefits.
Total remuneration packages can be structured in different ways, depending on the needs and goals of the employer and the preferences of the employee. With the commentary around the looming economic downturn, my feeling is that we will see some stabilisation in the employment market. However, as a nation we are still have a low level of immigration and while unemployment may rise in the months to come, I think we are still going to experience a candidate short market in the foreseeable future.
