LOTS OF LIFE IN PRINT
Print is still worth investing in and we explain why.
Page 3
Rather than dealing with traffic and other drivers’ behaviour, try public transport.
Page 6
WAR HORSES
Horses play a huge part in the Waikato economy and gave their lives in service during war. Page 13
OUT AND ABOUT
We were all over the Waikato last month at festivals, openings and trade shows. Pages 14 and 15
Andrew Tuck says Homegrown’s arrival in Hamilton is about more than music - it’s a strategic investment in the city’s visitor economy and long-term growth, reports Jesse Wood.
Andrew Tuck is standing on familiar ground, and not just metaphorically.
The Cambridge-raised, Te Kōwhai-based chief executive of Jim Beam Homegrown is watching one of the country’s biggest allNew Zealand music festivals settle
into Hamilton - and he believes the move is just getting started.
After 17 editions (and one Covidcancelled year) on Wellington’s waterfront, Homegrown made its Waikato debut at Claudelands last month, drawing around 25,000 people and delivering a significant
boost to the local economy.
For Tuck, bringing the festival north is about more than a change of scenery.
“Our vision in Hamilton is not simply a one-day music event,” he says.
“We see it as a long-term
partnership with the city and the wider Waikato region - one that grows year by year, creating opportunities for local businesses, attracting visitors, and showcasing everything that makes Chiefs country special.
“With the city’s support, we
believe the festival can continue to grow alongside Hamilton, delivering economic benefit, celebrating New Zealand music, and creating an event the whole region can be proud of for years to come.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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While it’s too early to put hard numbers on the economic impact, Tuck says post-event surveys are already out with the business community to capture feedback.
“Like anything, there are some very small tweaks we need to make,” he says.
“There was a bit of signage that would have made life easier - even just an arrow here and there.
“But overall, it was one of the best Homegrowns we’ve ever done. It’s set a really good foundation for where Homegrown can go over the next five to 10 years in Hamilton.”
The scale of the event has proven Hamilton can host major, nationally significant festivals. Thousands of out-of-town visitors descended on the city, with the Homegrown team alone booking more than 1000 nights of accommodation - not counting festivalgoers staying with friends, filling motels, eating out, or heading into bars and clubs.
Importantly, the activity extended well beyond the venue.
A dedicated pedestrian activation across Claudelands Bridge encouraged movement between the festival site and the CBD throughout the day and into the evening, helping spread the economic benefits.
“It’s really about finding out from local businesses what worked and what didn’t,” Tuck says.
“Did the bridge to Homegrown encourage more people into town? We do know a lot of people went into the CBD after the event.
“I’ve had reports back from police that the city was very busy but there were no issues from their perspective. That’s a great outcome.”
Feedback from key stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Comments from everyone - Hamilton City Council, the police, the neighbourshave been outstanding,” Tuck says.
“And the comments from the public through our socials have been brilliant. If the city welcomes you back, you’ve done a good job. I think we’ve done that.”
Before the gates even opened, the Homegrown team made a deliberate effort to work with Waikato-based suppliers, contractors, and service providers.
“We believe this event should deliver benefits locally as well as nationally,” Tuck says.
“From local suppliers and contractors to hospitality operators and service providers, the support from businesses across the region has been phenomenal.”
Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams says events like Homegrown play a crucial role in positioning Hamilton as a destination city.
“It’s awesome for Hamilton to host big signature events like Balloons Over Waikato, Round the Bridges, and now Homegrown,” she says.
“It’s too early to know the numbers in terms of economic activity, but as a city event it would have done very well.
“It was a big attraction for out-oftowners, which can only mean good things - particularly for accommodation providers, who would have benefitted enormously.”
Williams says major events help shift perceptions of Hamilton.
“We want big events that bring people into the city. It’s awesome to see effort being put into events that help Hamilton really solidify its place as a destination.”
As planning begins for 2027, Tuck is quick to praise Claudelands Oval as a venue that
“We believe this event should deliver benefits locally as well as nationally.”
Homegrown
exceeded expectations.
the
“A lot of people have looked at the oval and just thought of the oval,” he says.
“They haven’t realised there are so many different parts to the site. It’s one of the best venues I’ve worked with around the country - the space and the ability to mix it up is pretty exciting.”
There will be refinements, he says, as with any major event.
“There are things we’ll reflect on over the next few weeks and think, ‘We can change that.’”
But as a first Homegrown in Hamiltonand one of the biggest events the city has hosted since the V8s - Tuck believes it has already made its mark.
“It’s definitely showcased Hamilton,” he says.
“Now let’s see how we can grow that. Let’s see what else we can bring into our city and really make it pump.”
Contractors are removing asbestos from the old Hamilton courthouse to improve building safety. Work is expected to be finished in July. The courthouse was built in 1931 and closed in 2007 when the new Hamilton District Court opened. The building is currently unoccupied.
The University of Waikato has appointed Professor Scott Wilkes as the inaugural Dean of the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine. An experienced academic leader and clinician, Wilkes led the establishment of a primary care-focused medical school at the University of Sunderland in the northeast of England, as its founding Head of School and Professor of General Practice and Primary Care.
The Waikato River Authority 2026 funding round will open in June and close in July. Up to $6 million will be made available for restoration projects in the Waikato catchment that meet the criteria and restoration priorities set out in the Waikato River Authority Funding Strategy.
Waikato and Coromandel building apprentices will compete in the New Zealand Certified Buildings Apprentice challenge this month at Mitre 10 Mega in Te Rapa, Hamilton. At the heats, apprentices will spend eight hours constructing pātaka - community sharing cupboards designed to hold books, toys, and food to support local neighbourhoods. Each apprentice will nominate a local organisation to receive their completed pātaka, creating a practical community resource that will be used long after the competition ends.
The government will lend Waikato Regional Airport $6.5 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to activate the designation enabling the Hamilton Airport extension. The funding will support a $9.8 million project to extend the runway and expand apron and taxiway space, allowing the airport to accommodate a wider range of planes, including wide-body jets. Work will start later this year.
Diplomats, farmers and agribusiness leaders will converge at Mystery Creek as Europe marks a new chapter in its agricultural partnership with New Zealand, reports Mary Anne Gill.
The European Union will host a high-profile lunch at Fieldays in June, using the new Fieldays Function Centre for what the EU’s New Zealand ambassador says will be a flagship international event.
The lunch will bring together leading European agri - businesses, New Zealand agricultural leaders and senior political figures, with a focus on innovation and strengthening European-New Zealand relations.
It will be hosted by European Union Ambassador to New Zealand Lawrence Meredith, who told Good Local Media all 27 European Union member countries would be represented.
Fieldays chief executive Richard Lindroos says the event is a major endorsement of both Fieldays and the Waikato region, highlighting Fieldays’ growing role as a national and international meeting place.
“This is a new European Union lunch on the Thursday of Fieldays, and it’s a big statement,” he says.
“Lawrence is hosting it to bring New Zealand and Europe together again, with a strong focus on innovation.”
The lunch will be held in a large marquee on the Village Green, forming the centrepiece of the newly created Fieldays Function Centre, designed to host major events in a more central, public-facing part of the site.
Fieldays was the ideal location to showcase Europe’s long-standing and evolving relationship with New Zealand agriculture and mark mark two years since the Free Trade Agreement
There is still plenty of life left in print media, Good Local Media editor Roy Pilott told a Linkedin Hamilton event at Ebbett’s showroom at The Base.
came into force.
leaders from New Zealand agribusiness, farming organisations and political representatives from both sides of Parliament.
The lunch will also highlight the progress made since the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which came into force nearly two years ago and has delivered tangible benefits for both economies.
“The relationship has never been stronger.
“Since the Free Trade Agreement came into effect, it has brought more than $2 billion in benefits to New Zealand exporters, while also opening up new opportunities for European companies.”
The agreement had strengthened cooperation well beyond traditional trade, particularly in agricultural research, innovation and sustainability.
“We’re seeing strong partnerships through programmes such as Horizon Europe, including joint research in areas like pest control, productivity and sustainable farming,” he says.
“That collaboration is going both ways - European
agritech and innovation are feeding into New Zealand farming systems, while New Zealand expertise is shaping how Europe thinks about
While the event carries diplomatic weight, Meredith brings a personal connection to farming that makes
Born in Ireland and brought up in a Yorkshire farming village near Skipton, Meredith grew up in the countryside made
famous by All Creatures Great and Small, the television series based on the stories of Yorkshire vet James Herriot.
“I was brought up around farmers and farming.
“That Yorkshire connection means Fieldays feels very familiar to me.”
He is already looking forward to the winter conditions at Mystery Creek.
“I can’t wait to bring my Irish tweed jacket and my Red Bands,” Meredith says.
“Fieldays is a great opportunity to talk directly with farmers, hear what matters to them and see innovation happening on the ground.”
Lindroos says the event reinforced how Fieldays week was increasingly becoming “New Zealand’s agribusiness week”, with Waikato at its heart.
“We want people to see this happening here - the Prime Minister, opposition leaders, ambassadors and international partners all coming into Mystery Creek.
“This is about showcasing Waikato, showcasing Fieldays, and showcasing New Zealand to the world,” says Lindroos.
Pilott was invited with Phillip Quay and Himanshu Parmar to discuss the changing face of media with an audience of about 40 businesspeople. He said news, film and music had been challenged by technological advances.
“In 1988 video rentals were drawing more revenue than the box office and the future of the film industry was in doubt,” he said. “The emergence of the world wide web saw music being shared free and the same doubts were raised about the future of that industry.
“But digital media has ensured the future of both – we rent and buy the latest films online, and through subscriptions to the likes of Spotify we pay more for music than we ever did.”
He said the news media’s response to the challenges of the digital words was more problematic and still not resolved.
“When the UK media put their stories up online, the publishers had the comfort of knowing the likes of the Sun and Mirror would still be snapped up by the morning commuters.
“But the New Zealand market was different – we had an extremely high subscription rate to newspapers, and the move by major media companies to make news available when and where readers wanted it impacted heavily on print sales.”
He said while he did not necessarily agree with providing news free without an immediate paywall and there had been subsequent closures of many mastheads, the fact both national media newspaper publishing companies were still leading the way in providing news in New Zealand justified those decisions.
He said Good Local Media – which publishes the Cambridge News, Te Awamutu News, King Country News, Bay of Plenty and Waikato business newspapers employed a different model to national publishers.
Almost all its journalists – including a trio with a combined total of about 150 years in the industry - were employed on part time contracts. Good Local Media has an office in Victoria St Cambridge, but it is used predominantly by advertising and layout staff –journalists work from home. Its newspapers – all free - are eagerly snapped up and contained news which had not yet appeared online. He said the model - which relied on advertising as its sole source of funding –was working. But it faced challenges. More and more organisations were testing the water to get publicity by investing in social media and communications advisors –then expecting free publicity from their “local” paper –claiming they didn’t have an advertising budget. It was vital communities which still had their own community papers and wanted to keep them supported them, he said. Pilott spent 20 years at the Waikato Times, including as acting editor before completing his daily news career with a five year stint as editor of the Taranaki Daily News.
Julia Baynes is a self-confessed townie whose career in the agricultural and veterinary sphere has made her acutely aware of the unique value women bring to the sector. Viv Posselt explains.
The day after the world marked International Women’s Day 2026, one of New Zealand’s own - a woman with untethered mettle - championed what women bring to the agricultural sector.
Julia Baynes was guest speaker at last month’s Waikato Dinner Club event in Cambridge, organised and hosted by Women in Agribusiness NZ. The soiree, held on the heels of International Women’s Day 2026 with the UN-mandated theme ‘Rights, Justice, Action for all Women and Girls’, was well-timed for her message.
She’s a townie who has embedded herself in the country, a musician cum veterinarian, someone whose life as an international advertising executive saw her work overseas and alongside the team who produced the wholly Kiwi Toyota ‘Bugger’ television commercial of a few years back.
She was at her first job at Saatchi & Saatchi at the time and quickly found herself embroiled in the complaints that ad sparked.
How Baynes polished each of her multiple facets speaks to her grit. She’s a Wellington native, ‘a city girl’ whose mum wanted her to go to medical school and dad thought she’d be a good lawyer because she could argue up a storm. Instead, and she thinks to their disappointment, she took to music.
“The joke might be on them,
though,” she said. “I’m playing a wedding in Whanganui with my band this weekend and going to make a shit load of money doing it!”
When people she knew in the advertising game were looking for someone to write music, she fell into the industry, complete with jinglewriting requirements, long days and relocation to Europe. She lived there for eight years, honing her business and marketing skills, yet craving something different.
“I was always fascinated by farmers who successfully raised stock and ran their business at the same time … who dealt with life and death, the vagaries of the weather and still managed the books,” she said. “I wondered if I could turn that into something that brought me back to New Zealand.”
That something saw her back here and retraining as a vet at age 28. “I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a move from London to Palmerston North ...”
Her younger fellow students left her wanting in the physics department, and lecturers who suggested townies were unfit to be on-farm vets were just some of what needled her.
“People would ask where my farm was. I stopped telling them I was from Wellington and just said it was ‘south of the Manawatu’,” she said. “But I had no real idea what I was doing; I was playing catch-up. In
the end, you just try not to be a dick on farm … like leaving stock gates open and such like.”
A thrilling confidence boost came in year four, when an established farm worker said he would never have known she wasn’t a farm girl.
Dairying, and in particular dairy genetics, turned out to be Baynes’ passion. As a new grad vet in the Waikato, she learned that she knew the equivalent of nothing and is grateful to farmers who took the time to steer her through those early days.
After several years working for Anexa Vets in Waikato, she suggested to her husband that she apply for a role as national sales manager for CRV. He said why not?
“After all,” he said, “why shouldn’t a vet muso with marketing experience throw their hat in the ring?”
She was the first woman in the role, loved standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the farmers, supporting and learning at the same time. “It’s all about understanding their problems and offering solutions. We do the same thing as vets.”
Baynes believes women bring something different to the wider sector, an emotional intelligence, a more intuitive awareness. They also bring a unique sense of humour, she suggests, recalling the all-female team brightening work around bulls’ fertility with ‘dick pic Fridays’.
gig, working out of her property in Matamata. Her Cow Academy is in its early stages, focusing initially on training programmes for agribusinesses.
The two-pronged focus of Cow Academy is to build training programmes for those in the sector, and to recognise the value of foreign nationals working on Kiwi farms, in particular those struggling with language barriers while going through existing training programmes.
“There is an opportunity to upskill a whole new group of farm workers who are passionate about what they do,” she said. “So many people have done so much for me … it is time to pay it forward.”
Come and meet your local councillors in your neighbourhood. We’re visiting libraries and community centres across Hamilton Kirikiriroa to hear what matters most to you.
These are informal, drop‑in sessions throughout April. A chance for real conversations and direct feedback to help inform Long Term Plan decisions.
For full details scan or go to hamilton.govt.nz/meetcouncil
CONVERSATIONS
It generally takes me about 20 minutes to drive to work in the middle of the Hamilton CBD – and we live in the heart of Ngaruawahia township, about 200m from Durham Precinct. We moved from Hamilton to Ngaruawahia over 20 years ago (and we were NEVER moving to Ngaruawahia) and haven’t regretted it for a minute.
This is a significant commercial opportunity in one of the Waikato’s fastest-growing provincial centres, with 2–10 Durham Street in Ngāruawāhia being offered for sale.
A rare and exciting chance to secure a versatile, multi-title holding, in a location benefiting from strong residential expansion and increasing commercial demand.
Comprising:
- 4 individual freehold titles
- Freehold land area of 2,312sqm (more or less)
- Over 100 metres of street frontage
- Commercial Zone
- Available individually or as a whole Still affordable, the flexibility of the offering allows purchasers to acquire the sites individually or as a combined investment, appealing to owner-occupiers, developers, and passive investors alike.
The strength of this opportunity lies in both its diversity and its location. There are multiple income streams already in place, alongside the ability to add value or reposition the asset over time, in a town that is clearly on a growth trajectory.
Easily accessible, between Waingaro Road and Princess Street, running parallel to the town’s main arterial route, with profile to the main road and a busy roundabout. Surrounding occupiers include established local businesses and services, reinforcing the area’s role as a key commercial hub.
Each address within the offering presents a distinct use profile:
• 2–4 Durham St: a central marketplace hosts a variety of food and hospitality operators, complemented by a separate office building of approximately 110sqm.
• 6 Durham St: includes two buildings — a small retail premises with a gym positioned at the rear, alongside a self-contained office building.
• 8 Durham St: the site is currently configured as an open yard, utilised for leasing individual container spaces.
• 10 Durham St: a high profile site featuring an older-style industrial building, providing further scope for refurbishment or redevelopment.
The zoning is a key driver of interest. The Commercial Zone provides for a wide range of permitted activities including retail, offices, hospitality, services, and community-type uses, offering confidence around future adaptability and use.
Located at the foot of the Hakarimata Ranges and at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā rivers, Ngāruawāhia has steadily transformed into a desirable residential and business destination. Its proximity — just 17 kilometres north of Hamilton — has made it increasingly attractive to those seeking affordability, particularly so for young families.
Compelling data across the wider district, forecasts Waikato District household growth of between 56% and 73% from 2016 to 2043, placing it among the fastest-growing regions in New Zealand. Building activity reflects this momentum, with consent applications rising 27% in a single year, from 1,914 to 2,430, while residential consents alone increased nearly 40% year-on-year, highlighting strong housing demand. Importantly, around 80% of this growth within the Waikato district is concentrated in key towns such as Ngāruawāhia, Te Kauwhata, and Huntly — reinforcing Ngāruawāhia’s position as a focal point for both residential expansion and commercial opportunity, particularly with significant industrial growth and investment in Te Rapa and Horotiu.
No longer simply a satellite town to Hamilton, but a location with its own identity and momentum –not forgetting the start of the Te Awa cycle / walkway and the 1,349 Hakarimata Steps.
Ground floor opportunities like this, offering income, flexibility, and future potential — are often difficult to secure in such tightly held and growing markets.
Refer: https://www.realestate. co.nz/43007965/commercial/ sale/2-10-durham-streetngaruawahia
Mike Neale, Managing Director, NAI Harcourts Hamilton
CONVERSATIONS WITH MIKE NEALE OF NAI HARCOURTS HAMILTON
Mike Neale, Managing Director, NAI Harcourts Hamilton
By PHIL MACKAY
I think you should take the bus.
Before you stop reading, let me be clear that I’m not, by any means, advocating that everyone stops driving their car. Many of us live well out of the way, or, for a multitude of reasons, need more flexibility than our public transport system allows.
With that, completely unnecessary, disclaimer out of the way, let me explain.
I’ve been a long-time advocate for better public transport in NZ. It’s always seemed totally nutty from an efficiency point of view that we would choose to move tens, or hundreds of thousands of people around, each in their own private metal box.
But I’ve been really surprised by some of the other benefits I’ve experienced.
Most significantly, I find I arrive at work a lot more relaxed and more mentally wellprepared for work. Rather than dealing with traffic and the inevitable frustration of other drivers, I can tune out and listen to music or podcasts.
I t generally takes me about 20 minutes to drive to work in the middle of the Hamilton CBD – and we live in the heart of Ngaruawahia township, about 200m from Durham Precinct. We moved from Hamilton to Ngaruawahia over 20 years ago (and we were NEVER moving to Ngaruawahia) and haven’t regretted it for a minute.
I often think about systems using an ‘alien test’, i.e. if aliens visited earth, what would they think about the way some of our systems work? I can only imagine them being really confused about transport –“why do you all move around in separate little boxes with wheels, which require your constant attention to control?”
If you had asked me previously, like many kiwi, I’d have told you I really enjoyed driving. Now, I’m not so sure.
Some days I’ll spend time ordering my thoughts, other times I can catch up on the news or life admin. I generally avoid working, but occasionally I’ll clear email, or even make notes for my next business news column! Being an introvert, I’m typically happy for some quiet time to myself, but there’s also plenty of opportunity to strike up conversation and get to know other regulars.
This is a significant commercial opportunity in one of the Waikato’s fastest-growing provincial centres, with 2–10 Durham Street in Ngāruawāhia being offered for sale.
For years though, I was working in locations where public transport wasn’t really a viable option. So, when I started at PAUA Architects just over five years ago, I had the opportunity to back up my opinions with action.
Given the current geopolitical situation, cost is a real benefit, and it’s been noticeable over the last week that the services have been busier than usual.
I also find it’s convenient to be able to have a couple of drinks at after-work events, without worrying about driving.
A rare and exciting chance to secure a versatile, multi-title holding in a location benefiting from strong residential expansion and increasing commercial demand.
The thing is though; I chose to start taking the bus as a way of aligning with my values. I wanted to support public transport as a viable transport option, and to do what I could to minimise my personal carbon footprint.
Comprising:
- 4 individual freehold titles
Finally, each person who takes the bus means less traffic for everyone else, so whether you want to give the bus a try or not, everyone is benefitting.
• Phil Mackay is Business Development manager at Hamilton-based PAUA, Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture
- Freehold land area of 2,312sqm (more or less)
- Over 100 metres of street frontage
- Commercial Zone
- Available individually or as a whole
By MARGARET EVANS
‘Fast-moving and high-energy’ seems an appropriate forecast for this Chinese Year of the Fire Horse.
Still affordable, the flexibility of the offering allows purchasers to acquire the sites individually or as a combined investment, appealing to owner-occupiers, developers, and passive investors alike.
As the geo-political scenario heats up over oil in our motorised world, I’m reminded that Waikato is our remote nation’s equine centre, horses contributing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year with economic, social, cultural, and historic impact.
is maintained ‘in the wild’. They are a national treasure, but ongoing support from DOC and NZDF is not guaranteed.
The strength of this opportunity lies in both its diversity and its location. There are multiple income streams already in place, alongside the ability to add value or reposition the asset over time in a town that is clearly on a growth trajectory.
This is the first Fire Horse Year since 1966. Back then we re-elected Prime Minister Keith Holyoake and National for a third term, Dame Te Atairangikaahu became Arikinui the Māori Queen, we were visited by US President Lyndon B. Johnson as Vietnam War concerns grew, and China’s cultural revolution began.
Today, horses remain significant here: from breeding and betting, racing, training, riding, recreation, and events of all sorts, well-illustrated in current proposals for a purpose-built equine centre on 164 hectares in Tamahere - merging Te Rapa, Cambridge and Waipa racing.
A community monument is now planned for the grassy knoll near the National Army Museum on SH1 with a fundraiser underway. This Kaimanawa bronze by artist Matt Gauldie (known for his War Horse in Hamilton’s Memorial Gardens) will remind us of the significance of horses throughout history. It is timely recognition.
It was in December 1814 that New Zealand’s first horse was gifted by Samuel Marsden to Ngapuhi rangatira Ruatara. Eyewitness accounts record Marsden riding along the beach to the disbelief of those gathered. That I comprehend, as I did Queen Elizabeth’s whisper to me in 1990 as she headed for Cambridge Stud to inspect Sir Patrick Hogan’s legendary stud Sir Tristram. “What’s he like?” and I knew she meant the horse.
Easily accessible, between Waingaro Road and Princess Street, running parallel to the town’s main arterial route, with profile to the main road and a busy roundabout. Surrounding occupiers include established local businesses and services, reinforcing the area’s role as a key commercial hub.
This month, there will be a new ‘up close’ equine opportunity when Waikato A&P Society launches its inaugual ‘All Breeds’ horse show at Claudelands Event Centre. From heavy horses to miniatures, including our unique Kaimanawas, the show reflects the breadth of our equine heritage.
A week later, Her Majesty’s quiet words to me were unforgettable: “He was wonderful”. Unmistakably a horse person.
Each address within the offering presents a distinct use profile:
Last month marked the 150th anniversary of the first sighting of the Kaimanawa horses, escaped mounts who created a distinct clan freely roaming in Waiouru’s vast lands, now annually mustered and monitored, and trialling contraception controls as well as adoption rather than slaughter.
Last year the UN General Assembly declared July 1 World Horse Day to celebrate the role of horses and to “tackle the challenges they face”. “Giddy-up”, Deputy PM Winston Peters and Ministers Tama Potaka and Louise Upston. Please clear the obstacles.
• 2–4 Durham St: a central marketplace hosts a variety of food and hospitality operators, complemented by a separate office building of approximately 110sqm.
Since 2003 the public-community Heritage Horses partnership has resulted in some 600 Kaimanawas being re-homed. The core herd
• Margaret Evans was Hamilton mayor from 1989 to 1998 and first elected to the council in 1974. She was honoured in 1995 with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to local government and has a MSocSc (1st Class Hons) & PostGrad Diploma in Public Policy (Distinction).
Waipā’s growth story is being reshaped by lifestyle migration, Hamilton’s spill‑over and changing build economics, creating fresh opportunities across the local housing market, reports Mary Anne Gill.
Stabilising build costs, rising buyer inquiry and sustained lifestyle migration are combining to lift confidence in the housing market, according to Simon Paduch, franchise owner of G.J. Gardner Homes Waipā.
Rodney Stirling
Speaking at the official opening of the company’s new Cambridge office, Paduch said the region was emerging from a market “reset” following the post-Covid slowdown, rather than a collapse in demand.
After a period of rapidly rising interest rates and construction costs that stalled activity nationwide, conditions have begun to rebalance, making previously marginal projects viable again.
“Build costs have stabilised significantly.”
Annual cost increases of around 14 percent seen several years ago have eased to closer to two to three percent, translating into renewed momentum.
“Projects which didn’t stack up 12 to 18 months ago are starting to become viable again.”
Demand for housing in Waipā had not disappeared during the downturn but had instead been deferred while households waited for costs and interest rates to settle.
typically families seeking more space, lifestyle improvements or relocating from larger centres. Price expectations remain consistent, with most demand sitting between $700,000 and $1.25 million.
Consent data reinforces that preference, with more than 90 percent of new homes being built in Waipā being standalone dwellings.
“That reflects the type of community people want here.”
“The housing market didn’t actually crash. It paused.”
That pent-up demand is now beginning to surface, with buyer inquiry and online search activity trending upwards. Online searches for property in Cambridge rose by more than 50 percent in February and last month, while searches for Te Awamutu increased by more than 40 percent.
The strongest demand is coming from households aged between 30 and 49,
While demand is strengthening, the central challenge is whether housing can be delivered quickly enough and at the right price.
Three key drivers are underpinning growth: lifestyle migration attracted by schools and community character; Hamilton’s continued expansion pushing demand into surrounding districts; and a strong development pipeline across the wider Waikato.
“One of the best indicators of future housing demand isn’t house prices – it’s what developers are planning.”
Builders are beginning to see opportunity re-emerge in new homes for relocating families, minor dwellings and small-scale development. Minor dwellings are attracting interest following planning rule changes that have reduced consenting barriers.
Small-scale development is also gaining traction, particularly on larger Cambridge sections, though Paduch said preserving the town’s character would be critical.
Waipā remains early in its growth cycle, underpinned by population growth, infrastructure investment and long-term demand for its lifestyle offering.
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, Professional & Considerate
“We’re
incredibly optimistic about the future of
That confidence is reflected in the company’s performance, with 20 build
contracts signed locally within its first eight months of operation.
As growth accelerates, balancing development with liveability will be key.
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, Professional & Considerate EXPERT
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, Professional & EXPERT
Our team is Consistent, Reliable, EXPERT
Rodney Stirling
Rodney Stirling EXPERT
EXPERT
Rodney Stirling
Rodney Stirling
Rodney Stirling
The Government has released further detail on changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), aimed at improving the retention of skilled overseas workers by providing more realistic residence pathways for both employers and their workers. These changes are scheduled to take effect from late August 2026 and represent a clear shift towards recognising practical skills, New Zealand work experience and long term contribution.
For employers, this is significant.
Obtaining New Zealand residence remains the primary long term goal for most overseas workers, and the availability of credible residence pathways is a key factor in workforce stability and retention. Expanding these pathways is therefore beneficial for both the workers and the businesses that employ them.
Two new residence pathways will be introduced under the SMC - the Skilled Work Experience (SWE) Pathway and the Trades and Technician Pathway.
The Skilled Work Experience Pathway is intended for migrants who may struggle to reach the current six point SMC threshold through qualifications, occupational registration or high pay. Instead, applicants can qualify by demonstrating at least five years of relevant skilled work experience, including time spent working in New Zealand, and being paid at least 1.1 x the median wage.
Workers in occupations on the Trades and Technician list may qualify if they hold a relevant Level 4 or higher qualification and have four years of relevant skilled work experience, gained post qualification – and including at least 18 months of New Zealand work experience paid at or above the median wage. There are currently 110 occupations on the Trades and Technician Pathway list, including construction, manufacturing, infrastructure, technical and trade roles. For many employers in these sectors, this pathway offers a long awaited and more achievable pathway to residence for many of their overseas workers.
Alongside the new pathways, the Government has introduced two occupation lists which impose additional restrictions for certain roles.
Occupations on the Amber list are not eligible for the Trades and Technician Pathway and may only apply for residence under the Skilled Work Experience Pathway if higher thresholds are met. Specifically, applicants must demonstrate at least five years of relevant New Zealand work experience, including two years of skilled work paid at least at 1.2 x the median wage. There are currently 15 occupations on the Amber list, including café manager, chef and ICT support technician.
Occupations on the Red list are excluded from residence eligibility under the new pathways, and may only apply through the existing points based SMC. There are six occupations on this list, including retail manager and beauty therapist. For these roles, employers need to recognise that a clear residence pathway may be difficult or unavailable under current settings.
From August, migrants applying under any SMC pathway, based on work experience, will no longer need to meet the median wage rate in effect at the time they apply for residence. Instead, they must meet the wage rate that applied when they began gaining their New Zealand skilled work experience and maintain at least that rate. This is a welcome change that will materially improve residence prospects for many workers, and reduce uncertainty for employers managing long term pay progression.
These residence changes must also be viewed in the context of the maximum continuous stay limits, of 3 or 5 years, which apply to Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders, and after which a mandatory 12 month offshore stand down applies. Employers who wish to retain overseas staff long term need to be proactive. This means working early with employees to ensure that roles, duties and pay rates are aligned with a viable residence pathway wherever possible, and well before any AEWV stand down limit is reached.
As labour market conditions tighten again and net migration slows, employers who treat immigration as a long term workforce strategy, rather than a short term fix, will be best placed to retain the skilled workers they have invested in.
By JOSH MOORE
Every marketer gets asked about it. You talk about buying a new couch, and within hours you’re seeing online ads for sofas. Coincidence? For many people, the conclusion feels obviousmy phone must be listening to me.
As a digital marketing expert, I’m often asked whether Facebook or Google secretly use our phone microphones to eavesdrop and serve targeted ads. The short answer is no. There is no credible evidence that either company listens to private conversations for ad targeting. If they were, the legal and reputational damage would be enormous.
Meta has publicly and repeatedly stated that it does not use a phone’s microphone to listen to people for ad targeting. Google has made similar denials, pointing out that continuous audio recording would be technically obvious, quickly detected by security researchers, drain battery life, and violate privacy laws in many countries.
That said, the suspicion didn’t appear out of nowhere.
A few years ago, there were documented cases of mobile apps, particularly free games, containing analytics software that accessed microphones for measurement, not ad targeting. Companies such as Alphonso embedded software in apps to detect inaudible audio signals from TV ads. By “listening” briefly, the software could tell what TV programmes or commercials were playing nearby and report that back for audience measurement and attribution. This wasn’t Facebook or Google secretly spying - it was thirdparty analytics, disclosed (often poorly) in app permissions, and used to measure TV viewing rather than serve targeted ads. Still, it fuelled the wider belief that “phones are listening”.
Te Awa Lakes has welcomed Government’s use of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 to unlock 1500 houses in northern Hamilton’s largest greenfield development. The transaction, facilitated by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Limited will provide $50 million of funding toward delivery of bulk infrastructure such as upgrade of roads, stormwater lake and outlets and other key bulk infrastructure to be delivered by the developer.
But that belief ignores a more uncomfortable truth: microphones aren’t necessary.
To understand why ads feel psychic, consider one of the most famous data stories in marketing. In 2012, Target analysed customer purchases and identified 25 products which, when bought in certain sequences, strongly indicated pregnancy. When a father complained that his teenage daughter had received babyproduct catalogues, Target turned out to be right - they knew she was pregnant before he did.
Target achieved that using only shopping data from their stores.
Facebook and Google have access to far richer signals: search history, website visits, video views, purchase history, location data, social connections and more. From these breadcrumbs, they build highly accurate behavioural profiles.
If you search for prams, read parenting articles, follow baby brands on Instagram and visit a baby store, the algorithm doesn’t need to hear your conversations. It already knows what’s likely coming next.
And they’re not just measuring our behaviour. They’re comparing our behaviour profile to millions of similar profiles, identifying what those people have gone on to show interest in, and then calculating the likelihood that we’ll respond in the same way.
The ads aren’t listening - they’re predicting. That’s why the experience feels eerie. Not because your phone has ears, but because modern advertising systems understand patterns of human behaviour with unsettling precision.
• Josh Moore is the Managing Director of Hamilton-based digital marketing agency Duoplus.
Michaela Dumper has been appointed chief executive at Shoof International, a global supplier of agricultural and veterinary products. She brings more than 25 years leadership across the food, beverage and consumer goods industries and succeeds Peter Reidie, who stays on the Shoof board.
More than 240 secondary school entrepreneurs from Waikato, King Country, and ThamesCoromandel shared their startup ideas with local business professionals at Wintec last month as part of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) regional Spark Tank event. Dr Shelley Wilson, Wintec’s Executive Director for Academic Delivery, highlighted the value of the event for the wider Waikato region and Wintec’s key role in supporting it. See Out and About page 14.
Talk to most charity leaders in New Zealand right now and the conversation quickly turns to funding, or more accurately, the uncertainty of it, says Hamilton charity All Good Ventures founder Rob Claycomb. Demand is rising. Donations are softening. Grants are tightening. Costs continue to climb. Many organisations feel they are working harder than ever simply to stand still. The sector needs to at least consider a Plan B. Funding you build, not funding you request, he said.
Former Speaker of Parliament Margaret Wilson is the new chair of Momentum Waikato Community Foundation and Susan Hassall is deputy. Wilson joined the board in December 2023 and was the first dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law at Waikato University. Hassall, currently the university’s chancellor, joined Momentum last year.
A structural steel manufacturing plant that will help build the future of New Zealand’s infrastructure has been approved through Fasttrack. National Green Steel Limited lodged its application in July 2025 to build a structural steel manufacturing plant in Hampton Downs in Waikato.
Peake Mews housing development in Cambridge has been named a finalist in the Community and Affordable Housing Property Award category at the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards. Owned by Bridge Housing Charitable Trust and developed by the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, Peake Mews is a significant step forward in delivering highquality, affordable housing solutions tailored to local needs.
Hamilton’s Braemar Hospital, one of New Zealand’s largest private hospitals and 100 per cent owned by a charitable trust, is celebrating its 100th birthday. The Braemar story began in Tainui Street, Hamilton, in 1924 with a maternity hospital called Tirohia, and a nurse called Frances Young who had bigger ideas. The centennial highlight is a comprehensive book - Making Lives Better: 100 Years of Braemar Hospital.
The Hamilton Arts Festival delivered an estimated $12 million boost to Hamilton’s economy, attracting more than 42,700 attendees over its 10-day programme and generating $28 million in social wellbeing value.
The strong turnout included visitors from across New Zealand and overseas. International guests travelled from Austria, Brazil, Iceland and Mexico, with more than a third of attendees coming from outside the wider Waikato region.
Behind the scenes, more than 100 volunteers contributed around 1800 hours to bring the festival to life, alongside performances from 518 Waikato-based artists.
Festival director Geoff Turkington says accessibility remains central to the festival’s approach.
“This year we welcomed more than 31,000 people to our free and koha-entry events - a
deliberate approach to ensure more people in our community can experience the arts,” he says.
“The programme was particularly special, spanning theatre, dance, music, cabaret, comedy, literature and our first-ever Pasifika circus.”
Turkington says the festival’s growth over recent years reflects both rising demand and increasing impact.
“Over the past three years, the Hamilton Arts Festival has seen significant growth in both national profile and local impact.
Attendance now consistently exceeds 42,000 people annually, and our box office revenue has more than doubled.
“More importantly, we now support between 680 and 1000 artists and creative practitioners each year.”
Planning is already underway for the 2027 festival. - Supplied
Taking the Waikato Summer Shakespeare beyond Hamilton’s boundaries this year proved to be a good call.
The 2026 production – a rendition of Much Ado About Nothing that borrowed touches of Regency from the Bridgerton television series - was taken by director Abigail von Ahsen to outdoor settings in Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Te Aroha.
The annual summer event has been going since the 1990s, but in recent years has restricted performances to Hamilton. Von Ahsen said although someone else will steer the 2027 event, she will push to once again take it outside the city.
“Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Te
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Aroha are fantastic spots that deserve to be used more,” she said, suggesting even more Waikato locations could be explored. Performances went ‘amazingly well’, and audience numbers were good.
“People walking past were entranced … it’s a great opportunity to show them that Shakespeare isn’t boring,” she says.
“It’s funny, feisty, and the way we do it –free, unticketed and out in public - removes a lot of the perceived barriers that put people off.
“Shakespeare doesn’t have to be highbrow … in fact, in Shakespeare’s own day, it wasn’t!” - Viv Posselt
By KEVIN CHAMBERS
When it comes to building health and safety capability, New Zealand businesses face a familiar challenge: finding training that is practical, credible and able to grow with people as their responsibilities expand.
Employers consistently tell us they want structured development pathways that take staff from foundational knowledge through to professional practice.
With NZQA’s recent approval of EMA’s New Zealand Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety Practice (Level 3) programme, we can now offer exactly that.
EMA is currently the only tertiary education provider delivering a full, NZQA approved, face-to-face health and safety pathway across Levels 3, 4 and 6, supported by a broad suite of practical short courses.
For businesses seeking confident, capable people to support workplace health and safety, this represents an important step forward.
Not every business has the scale or resources to employ a full-time health and safety specialist. In many small and medium enterprises, health and safety responsibilities sit with HR advisors, office managers, supervisors, or administrators who already wear multiple hats.
These roles are critical to workplace safety culture, yet many people in them have had limited access to structured, practical development.
The newly accredited Level 3 programme fills that gap. NZQA’s approval recognises that EMA’s programme equips learners with a solid understanding of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, duty holder responsibilities and regulatory expectations.
Learners build practical skills in risk assessment, job safety analysis and hazard identification, and gain the capability to
Shoppers raised $15,703 for Whānau Āwhina Plunket, through Chartwell Shopping Centre’s annual gift-wrapping service. From early December through to Christmas Eve, a dedicated team of 50+ gift wrappers, made up of Plunket volunteers and Chartwell staff, worked tirelessly to ensure gifts were wrapped with love and care for shoppers throughout the busy holiday period.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation is relaunching its flagship youth development programme Project K in the Waikato, marking the programme’s return to the region for the first time since 2009. The return has been made possible through the Mental Health Innovation Fund enabling a further 36 young people aged 13–15 across the Western Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Christchurch to access the programme.
Bupa New Zealand has boosted its renewable energy footprint with the installation of more than 1100 solar panels at five villages and care homes across the North Island, reducing emissions and strengthening energy resilience across its operations. The installations in Northland, Thames, Cambridge and Palmerston North will deliver a combined capacity of 566 kW of solar electricity and generate around 750,000 kWh per year, enough to power approximately 100 New Zealand households for an entire year.
Waikato District Council and Xtreme Zero Waste have signed a new waste services contract. Xtreme Zero Waste is a community enterprise that delivers weekly recycling and food scraps collection services under contract with the council in Raglan. Xtreme Zero Waste will provide comprehensive waste services for the community, in addition to kerbside services.
recognise and prevent common health issues such as back injuries, hearing loss, and workplace risks linked to drugs and alcohol. The programme also strengthens knowledge of safe work practices, hazardous substances and the drivers of workplace health and safety culture.
With this latest accreditation, EMA is the only private training establishment offering a complete NZQA recognised face-to-face pathway from foundational knowledge through to strategic leadership.
Learners can progress from Level 3 on to Level 4, building operational capability for managing systems and processes, and on to Level 6, which is focused on strategic leadership and professional health and safety practice. This pathway is supported by EMA’s wider suite of short courses, allowing people to build skills at the right stage of their career.
Many learners who begin at Level 3 go on to complete Level 4 and ultimately the Level 6 Diploma. Often, they describe Level 3 as the qualification that gave them the confidence to pursue health and safety as a profession.
The benefits of stronger health and safety capability extend beyond individual workplaces. Graduates contribute to fewer incidents and injuries, more effective communication, stronger organisational culture and better outcomes for colleagues, families and whānau.
In short, lifting capability at Level 3 does more than reduce compliance risk – it supports healthier, more resilient communities.
• Kevin Chambers is the Health and Safety Quality Assurance manager at the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA).
Cambridge’s newest boutique hotel, The Clements, has been awarded a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award and a 5-Star Boutique rating on its first evaluation. The Clements Hotel is managed by Capstone Hotel Management and is housed in an 1866 restored building which was formerly the Masonic Hotel.
Sport Waikato celebrated 40 years last month of supporting active, healthy communities across the region. Originally set up in 1986 as the Waikato Sports Foundation, Sport Waikato was created in response to declining physical activity and growing health concerns. Since then, it has evolved alongside the region it serves, expanding its focus to include wellbeing, connection and fair access to physical activity.
SPCA is celebrating confirmation from Minister Andrew Hoggard that plans to reinstate live animal exports will not progress this term. This makes any future revival of the trade increasingly unlikely. Only 17 per cent of kiwis support resuming live export, and just 12 per cent trust the industry. The ban was introduced to prevent the suffering of animals transported on long sea journeys and concerns New Zealand cannot guarantee how animals are treated once they leave the country.
Federated Farmers is celebrating a major win for young farmers, with the Government finally allowing them to use their KiwiSaver funds to buy their first home or farm. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson announced they will be making a technical change to the KiwiSaver Act which means farm staff in service tenancies (living on farm) will soon be able to use KiwiSaver to buy a house without immediately moving in.
The India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement could be as economically significant for regional exporters as the China deal signed more than 20 years ago, Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay told a packed room of Waikato business leaders last month.
Speaking alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade chief negotiator Vangelis Vitalis and India’s Consul General to New Zealand, Madan Mohan Sethi, McClay said the agreement gives New Zealand producers and processors something they have long lacked in the Indian market: certainty and a level playing field.
“We’re five million people trading with a country of 1.4 billion. The world is knocking on India’s door. For a country our size to secure a deal this quickly - and one that in many areas is better than deals signed by much larger economies - is significant.
“But the congratulations should be short. Now we have to make it work.”
McClay said free trade agreements reduce risk by locking in clear rules between governments, giving exporters greater confidence to invest and grow.
The absence of a deal with India has already proven costly. Before Australia signed its agreement with India in 2022, New Zealand supplied about 89 per cent of India’s imported lamb. Today, about 91 per cent comes from Australia.
“It’s because a 30 per cent tariff at the border makes it almost impossible to compete. When that drops to zero, we’re back on an equal footing.”
For Waikato, the agreement creates immediate opportunity for sheep and beef exporters, particularly as demand grows among an estimated 500 million middle-class consumers who eat meat.
“It’s one more large market. If another economy slows, you have an alternative you can develop. That means fairer competition and better prices.”
While dairy access remains sensitive for India, McClay said the deal still delivers meaningful gains for higher-value products manufactured in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
“We’ve secured access for very high-value dairy proteins - products worth $25,000 to $30,000 a tonne - not just bulk commodities,” he said.
“Infant formula will move to tariff-free over time, which is significant given the scale of manufacturing in Waikato, including dairy and dairy-goat operations.”
He also pointed to “import for re-export” opportunities, where New Zealand dairy ingredients can be blended or further processed in India and exported into markets where India already has trade agreements.
“That’s attracting interest from Indian companies and from New Zealand firms looking to establish manufacturing bases in India.”
Simon Devoy, Employers and Manufacturers Association head of Membership and Export, said the agreement could significantly shift export opportunities.
“This agreement opens huge opportunities. Nearly all of our major exports, from sheep meat to mānuka honey, will see significant tariff relief,” he said.
“It’s a chance for Kiwi businesses to connect directly with Indian markets. We’re seeing opportunities across agriculture, tech, healthcare and more.”
New Zealand previously exported about $300 million
worth of wood products to India, trade which stalled after regulatory changes around fumigation.
“There are real opportunities — but our preference is processed timber, not just logs. The more value added in New Zealand, the better for jobs and regional growth.”
Devoy rejected suggestions New Zealand lacked processing capacity, pointing to reopened and expanding mills in Gisborne and Whakatāne exporting structural timber into overseas markets.
Bay of Plenty’s horticulture and apiculture sectors are also well positioned, particularly as tariff reductions improve competitiveness for premium products.
McClay highlighted wool as another beneficiary, noting India already imports New Zealand wool to blend with domestic fibre for strength and quality.
“Even the carpet in the Indian Parliament is made from New Zealand wool,” he said.
Wine provided another illustration of how tariffs distort markets. New Zealand wine entering India currently faces tariffs of up to 150 per cent, turning a $10 bottle
into a $25 purchase for consumers.
“That’s been negotiated down significantly,” McClay said, adding that a “most favoured nation” clause ensures New Zealand automatically benefits if India later offers better access to larger trading partners.
Beyond goods, the agreement places new emphasis on investment and services, with India building universities, airports and infrastructure at scale.
McClay said overseas investment can help firms build skills, scale and international networks.
“Trade agreements are about enabling companies to establish, invest and grow offshore with confidence.”
India has committed to a single-desk investment facilitation service for New Zealand businesses, while New Zealand will actively promote itself as an investment destination.
McClay warned free trade agreements only deliver if businesses use them. After the UK deal came into force, around 40 per cent of exporters initially continued trading under old tariff regimes because they were unaware of the new settings.
“That’s why we’ll keep
doing roadshows, working with chambers and getting information out,” he said.
“This is a piece of paper unless businesses operationalise it.”
His message to regional exporters was clear: India is not a distant or abstract opportunity.
“Whatever you think of India today, next year it will be bigger.”
The agreement gives regional businesses a clearer path into the Indian market. • See: Out and About, page 15.
Waikato and Bay of Plenty teachers are among 200 educators nationwide selected for a programme designed to grow confident, capable principals and strengthen school leadership for the future. Mary Anne Gill talks to participants and the programme’s director.
For Sharleen Nathan, leading the Ministry of Education’s new Aspiring Principal Programme at Waikato University is both professional and deeply personal.
She knows the programme from the inside. More than a decade ago, Nathan was herself an aspiring principal, grappling with the same questions now facing this year’s cohort - am I ready, what does the role really involve, and what kind of leader do I want to be?
“That experience changed the way I saw myself as a leader,” she says.
“It gave me confidence and it made me think bigger.”
Now director at Waikato University’s Te Whai Toi Tangata: Institute of Professional Learning she is overseeing the national delivery of a programme designed
to prepare the next generation of school principals for one of the most demanding leadership roles in the country.
Waikato is the right place to base the programme, she says, because of its long-standing reputation for innovation, strong research foundations and deep, trusted relationships with schools across the country.
The university is known for combining academic rigour with practical impact, and for designing professional learning grounded in the real work of schools rather than theory removed from practice.
Just as important is her own credibility. Nathan brings more than 25 years’ experience across classrooms, senior school leadership, the Ministry of Education and governance roles. She has worked as a Student Achievement Practitioner and Waikato professional learning and development lead, supported schools through major NCEA changes, and understands how policy plays out on the ground.
“I’ve been an aspiring principal myself,” she says.
“I know what it feels like to test your readiness and start thinking bigger.”
The programme starts in term two following investment in Budget 2025 and has attracted strong national interest.
All 200 places were filled, with 15 teachers from Waikato and 14 from the Bay of Plenty. Participants were chosen through a Ministry-led application and interview process and require the backing of their home schools.
Deputy Secretary Education Workforce Anna Welanyk says the programme responds to the increasing complexity of the principal role.
“Principals need a wide range of skills, as well as the ability to connect with students, families and communities,” she says.
“This programme provides intensive learning and practice opportunities to help participants build confidence and capability before stepping into the role.”
The programme - funded at $12.8 million over seven years, with an initial three-year delivery period and formal review points built in - was awarded to Waikato University following a highly competitive procurement process.
Unlike traditional leadership courses, the programme is designed to sit alongside participants’ existing roles.
“This is not a full-time course,” says Nathan.
“Participants complete their leadership inquiry within the context of their own school, applying what they learn directly to their day today leadership practice.”
The curriculum aligns closely with the Beginner Principal Programme and is delivered through a mix of online modules, leadership inquiry and face-to-face learning.
Each aspiring principal is supported through three key relationships: their home principal, a mentor principal from another school, and a programme facilitator who leads regional communities of practice.
Mentoring is one of the programme’s defining features.
“Being supported by a current, practising principal gives participants access to lived experience and honest insight into the realities of the role. That kind of support is invaluable.”
The programme also offers a reality check. Research shows
many principals leave the role within their first five years, often due to workload and burnout.
“This gives people a chance to explore the full scope of the job - governance, finance, property, people leadership - and decide if and when they are ready,” Nathan says.
For school boards, the programme provides reassurance that candidates who complete it have been exposed to the full breadth of principalship.
“Our responsibility is to make sure people don’t step into principalship under-prepared,” Nathan says. “This programme is about confidence, capability and support - not throwing people in at the deep end.”
For the teachers profiled here, selection marks both recognition of their leadership potential and the beginning of a nationally supported pathway toward leading schools where students, staff and communities can thrive.
Strong leadership, prepared early, is the foundation of sustainable performancein schools as in business. It is succession planning at scale: identifying talent early, investing deliberately, and preparing leaders before the role requires it.
Whangamatā Area School
Principal Alistair Luke has put his name forward as a mentor, having been a graduate of the Aspiring Principal Programme in 2015.
“The role of a mentor is really to help participants understand the realities in the first instance but also open up a network of support if they do go on to become a principal,” says Luke.
“That network was one of the most valuable things for me in those first few years, when I was facing a constant stream of challenges I’d never seen before.”
The step up to principalship can be more complex than many expect.
“It’s one of those jobs where the experiences you have in preparation, as a classroom teacher or even a senior leader, don’t necessarily prepare you for the realities of principalship, especially in areas like finance and HR which you often don’t encounter until you’re in the role.”
He believes programmes for aspiring principals can help address this gap.
“A programme like this can play a real part in building that workforce desire back up again, while also helping people understand whether principalship is the right path for them before they step into the role.”
Hamilton career coach Susan Trodden has launched a podcast with her Cambridge counterpart Tracey OIivier.
The Sandwich Club is a new weekly podcast recorded in Hamilton for women aged 40–65 navigating what Olivier and Trodden call “the middle years”. The time when they are caring for children and ageing parents, managing careers, relationships, health changes and reinvention, often all at once.
“The moment I realised I was the default contact for everyone, my mum, my kids, work, I thought, when did I become the adult?” said Trodden.
“That feeling of being the meat in the sandwich… we knew we weren’t the only ones.”
While menopause is part of the conversation, the podcast takes a wider lens.
“It’s not just about hot flushes,” Olivier said. “It’s about identity shifts, invisible labour, friendship changes, money, grief, joy, all the recalibrations that happen in midlife.”
The hosts believe menopause and
midlife remain under-discussed because women are expected to cope quietly.
“There’s this idea that by this stage we should have it sorted,” Susan said.
“But most women we speak to don’t feel sorted. They feel responsible. Tired. Capable. Stretched.”
One myth they are keen to challenge is that midlife is a crisis.
“It’s not a collapse,” Olivier said. “It’s a recalibration. You can love your life and still feel overwhelmed. Both can be true.”
The tone of the show is warm, candid and lightly humorous.
“We’re not fixing women,” Trodden said. “We’re naming things.”
Above all, the goal is recognition.
“If a woman listens and thinks, ‘That sounds like me,’ and feels even slightly less alone, then the Club is doing its job,” Olivier said.
The podcast was Trodden’s idea and she asked Olivier to join her every week.
It will mainly be a discussion between the hosts, but on occasion they will invite guests in to join them. - Chris Gardner
A Hamilton memorial, born from one letter and years of community fundraising, ensures the horses that served and suffered in war are no longer overlooked, writes Jesse Wood.
When New Zealanders think of Anzac Day and Armistice Day, they’re reminded of soldiers who gave their lives in service of their country and a brighter tomorrow.
Often forgotten is the role horses played — and the fact that the vast majority of them never returned.
Noeline Jeffries, who was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in 2023 for services to equestrian sport and war commemoration, had often thought about this.
Now, there is a place in Hamilton’s Memorial Park where these service animals can be remembered.
“I think it’s important to remember the horsesthey had no choice. There were 10,000 horses that went over to World War 1 and only four came back,” said Jeffries who is patron of the Waikato Combined Equestrian Group and War Horse group founder.
“One horse came back from the Boer War, Majorand 5000 went over.
“Because of quarantine regulations and other logistical issues, they couldn’t bring them back. Some were passed into local hands but many were put down. It’s so sad.
“The soldiers had to shoot their horses and of course, they couldn’t do it. So they would take their friend’s horse away and did it quietly.
“The troopers bonded with their horses. Even when they were short of water, a lot of them saved their shaving water to give to the horses.”
It saddens Jeffries to think about the horses enduring heat, sandflies, sand, dust, lack of water and the noises that come with a warzone.
On Armistice Day in 2017, the war horse Te Utu - the cost of war - was unveiled at Hamilton Memorial Park in front of 1500 spectators.
“The day we unveiled the statue, I was so grateful to how many people showed up and their kids all got photos on the horse after,” Jeffries said.
“The late Ngāti Wairere kuia Ngāpare Hopa unveiled the statue with me and the late Richard Stowers wrote a book about the journeyWar Horse.
“We started fundraising in 2016 and Otaki-based artist Matt Gauldie only took nine months to complete the statue.”
Jeffries believes the statue is likely the first of its kind
in New Zealand.
“There’s a memorial in Bulls for Bess, one of the horses that returned after WWI.
“There is also a horse commemoration statue made of horseshoes at Kaitīeke in the Ruapehu district.”
Te Utu evolved from a letter Masterton’s Rodney Marton submitted to the New Zealand Riding Clubs’ December 2012 newsletter.
Marton pointed out the lack of national recognition for the thousands of horses who served in overseas battlefields.
“When I saw Rodney’s letter, I was absolutely wrapped because I’d been thinking the same thing myself. I immediately wrote back to him,” Jeffries said.
“I said it would be lovely if we had a war horse memorial in a park in Hamiltonnot even dreaming that it would eventually end up in Memorial Park.”
Jeffries gained the backing of the Waikato Combined Equestrian Group, and the group asked Theatre of the Impossible Charitable Trust to manage the project, following its work on the Sapper Moore-Jones statue in Hamilton’s CBD.
“Rodney was very keen to get it going and donated $5000 to get the ball rolling. I was chief executive of the Waikato Equestrian Centre at the time and we opened up an account,” Jeffries said,
“That Anzac Day, the equestrian centre had an Anzac ribbon day. They asked for donations towards the statue. We raised $250 and added Rodney’s $5000.”
WEC and TOTI went on to raise $220,000 and received Hamilton City Council approval for Gauldie’s “big awesome bronze war horse” to be installed in Memorial Park.
During the five years
between Marton’s letter and the statue unveiling, Jeffries started a war horse march as a way to remember them.
“On Anzac Day in 2015, we started the march. We got 75 riders. They left the Waikato Equestrian Centre and marched around Pukete,” Jeffries said.
“From there, we developed a war horse march group that rode in the Anzac Day parade every year, until two years ago. It was decided by the organisers that the horses were a danger to the public.”
The group disbanded but the funds left are now used to lay a wreath in the Memorial Park every Anzac Day, in remembrance of the fallen horses.
“I’ve been invited to lay a wreath to remember the horses this Anzac Day service at Hamilton Memorial Park.
“It is so important to remember them. A lot of the riders were sad that we didn’t have a march anymore, but at least we can still lay a wreath.”
Marton passed away before the statue was completed, but thanks to his vision, Te Utu now stands for all to see and remember.
“Many people have said the statue is just amazing,” Jeffries said.
“People walk by and pause for a moment or photograph their children sitting on it. I think it must be one of the most photographed statues in Hamilton.
“It’s been donated to the city of Hamilton and the nation.”
Lest we forget.
We are pleased to announce the promotion of Joanne Jogia to Partner.
An elder law solicitor can advise on all aspects of future planning and undertake a full review of your affairs to ensure you receive the right entitlements and care, and that your estate is managed according to your wishes.
Joanne brings extensive experience advising clients on complex legal matters and is recognised for her practical, responsive, and commercially focused approach. She works closely with clients to deliver clear advice, strong representation, and effective outcomes.
As a partner of the firm, Joanne strengthens our ability to support clients with high-quality legal services and trusted strategic guidance. Her appointment reflects our continued commitment to excellence, client service, and long-term relationships, and aligns with Lewis Lawyers’ strategy of being the premier general practice in the region.
The team at Lewis Lawyers covers an extensive range of matters including occupation right agreements, succession planning, wills, enduring powers of attorney, PPPR applications (property manager and welfare guardian), capacity issues, residential loans and subsidies, asset protection and elder abuse.
– Cambridge’s annual Autumn Festival returned with concerts, shows, art exhibitions, dances, workshops and the ever popular Short Story competition.
BA4 talks tech – Dynamo6 delivers digital transformation specialising in cloud services, cyber security, and application development. By valuing longterm capability over quick fixes, they help clients to navigate complexity all from its home base in Hamilton. Waikato Chamber of Commerce members were guests of Dynamo6 at the Hamilton Hotel. Photos: Marcelo Mieres (captions from left to right)
Innovative students – The annual Young Enterprise Scheme (Yes) Spark Tank business competition involving students from across the Waikato sharing their innovative business ideas was held at Wintec Atrium. Students get the opportunity to pitch their ideas to experienced mentors, who provided constructive feedback, industry insights, and practical advice.
This fit-for-purpose two-court indoor sports facility serves both the Matamata community and the College. Welcome to Open Country Community Stadium.
The shared-use venue supports a wide range of sporting codes – basketball, netball, volleyball, badminton, pickleball and futsal – with a mezzanine level providing elevated viewing and additional storage. It’s a central hub for community connectivity and a sustainable building that will support generations to come.
Fosters won a competitive tender process for this project, in part due to proposing a gateway programme for Matamata College students to be involved in the construction project, said Senior Project Manager for Matamata-Piako District Council Chris Lee.
He noted that the “genuine buy-in” from Fosters, from the start, was a major factor in the success of the project.
“Throughout the tender and design stages they provided practical insights that improved functionality and usability,” said Chris.
“Consistently looking ahead, they made design and construction recommendations that supported long term performance, ensuring the facility wouldn’t leave the community with future liabilities.
“Drawing on their experience with similar projects, Fosters helped shape this into a truly purpose-built facility, improving functionality and usability.”
Drawing on their experience with similar projects, Fosters helped shape this into a truly purpose-built facility, improving functionality and usability.
From Matamata College Principal Dr Angela Sharples perspective, Fosters added significant value “by moving well beyond a standard construction role and genuinely partnering with us to deliver a purpose-built community facility.”
Three students were on site for a day a week, as part of a 6-week Matamata College Gateway Programme. One student has since secured an apprenticeship with Fosters.
“Delivering on a core objective of the project” she added, “the stadium has strengthened connections between the school and the community. Fosters played a key role in bringing that vision to life. They have been an outstanding partner to Matamata College.”