NZBPT NEWS
Issue 14
AUGUST 2021
TO ADVANCE AND ENCOURAGE BUSINESS UNDERSTANDING OF PARLIAMENT AND PARLIAMENTARIANS UNDERSTANDING OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE 1 - 4
Parliamentary Seminar Programme
PAGE 5 - 6
Annual Meeting Trustee Council Appointments Upcoming Events
PAGE 7 - 9
New Corporates Elected
PAGE 10 - 11
Business Attachment Programme
PAGE 12 - 13
Education - Trust Prize recipients announced
PAGE 14 - 15
Travel Fund Assistance to Schools Visiting Parliament
BACK PAGE
New COMMS Intern New Associate Member
PARLIAMENTARY SEMINAR PROGRAMME Seminars were held in March and May, respectively. The Exercising Government through Parliament seminar on 24 March was attended by 37 people from 21 corporates. The Trust has held two Parliamentary seminars this year and further seminars are scheduled for September and November.
PARLIAMENTARY SEMINAR PROGRAMME
Participants at the 12 March seminar
CORPORATES WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN OUR 2021 SEMINAR PROGRAMME TO DATE ARE: AbbVie Ltd BNZ Contact Energy IAG New Zealand Ltd McDonald’s Restaurants NZ Ltd NZ Steel Ltd St John Todd Energy
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ANZ Christchurch International Airport Ltd Fonterra Co-operative Group KiwiRail Merck Sharpe & Dohme Russell McVeagh Talley’s Group Westpac
ASB Coco Cola EuroPacific Partners Guardians of NZ Superannuation Landcorp NZ Post Group SKYCITY Entertainment Group Todd Corporation WSP Ltd
SEMINAR ONE At the first seminar Exercising Government through Parliament, we were pleased to hear from Hon Grant Robertson representing the Prime Minister and Hon Judith Collins MP. Familiar faces but in different roles included Kieran McAnulty MP now Chief Government Whip and Matt Doocey, MP Senior Opposition Whip and Hon Michael Wood, Minister of Transport.
Kieran McAnulty MP Chief Government Whip, Peter Griffiths, Chair and Matt Doocey MP Senior Opposition Whip
Angie Warren Clark MP shared her perspectives on the MMP environment and Simon O’Connor MP on the work of select committees. Two new Members of Parliament, Karen Chhour ACT List member and Shanan Halbert, Labour-Northcote shared their experiences on moving from private citizen to a public figure role as parliamentarians and the difficulties and challenges that had meant for them.
Shanan Halbert MP & Karen Chhour MP Hon Michael Wood, Minister of Transport, Minister of Workplace Relations & Safety
Seminar attendees
Seminar attendees
SEMINAR TWO Our seminar on the Machinery of Government and Parliament - Taking a Closer Look held on 12 May, attracted several attendees from the first seminar, who were building on their experience and learnings from the first seminar.
Gareth Chaplin of Morrison Low presenting on influencing policy
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PARLIAMENTARY SEMINAR PROGRAMME
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Holly Donald, Deputy Chief of Staff and Kurt McLauchlan, Snr Ministerial Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister
Philippa Bell, Director, Labour Leader’s Office
Suze Jones, Deputy Clerk of the House presenting on legislation
Seminar participants networking over lunch
ANNUAL MEETING The 29th Annual Meeting was held on 1 June. The meeting was presided over by the Rt Hon Trevor Mallard MP in his capacity as President and chaired by Peter Griffiths, Board Chair. In his opening remarks the President spoke about the two Parliamentary seminars he had the pleasure of opening this year and how these seminars, while intensive, are insightful in providing a realistic picture of how Government is exercised through Parliament and the day-to-day work of parliamentarians, Ministers, the House and select committees. He then acknowledged the Trust’s charitable work with the provision of small grants to schools undertaking visits to Parliament (see pages 14 - 15) and concluded that while school students and the corporate seminar attendees are two very different audiences, both were equally important for parliamentary engagement.
Peter Griffiths, in speaking to the Annual Review, stated that like so many organisations, the Trust was impacted by COVID-19 in 2020 but that the Trust has fared well and acknowledged the loyal support of our seventy plus corporate members. Notwithstanding COVID and 2020 being a General Election year, the Trust managed to deliver two parliamentary seminars between lockdown and the closing of the 52nd Parliament. The Chair acknowledged the presence of Dr Deborah Russell MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Revenue and Tim van de Molen MP (National Party) and was pleased their respective party caucuses had agree to their continuing on the Board providing good continuity. He also acknowledged Ricardo Menéndez March MP, replacing Gareth Hughes who retired at the General Election, as Green Party representative on the Trustee Council. The presence of James Heath, the inaugural recipient of the University of Otago Prize in Politics and who is now working for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in Wellington was also acknowledged.
Jamie Gray (Airways Corporation), Catherine Soper (Genesis) and Tim van de Molen MP (National – Waikato)
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James Heath (MBIE), Andrew Saunders (IAG), Maciej Surowiec (Microsoft) and Joseph Mooney MP (National Party – Southland)
Peter Griffiths (Board Chair), Andrew Gaukrodger (ANZ), Darryl Stevens (Trust CEO) and Melissa Hood (Foodstuffs)
TRUSTEE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS
Nancy McConnell (Hawkins Ltd) was re - elected to the Council for a three - year term and remains as Board Deputy Chair.
Joanne Mahon (Southern Cross Group) and Catherine Soper (Genesis Energy) have each been appointed to the Council for three - year terms. Joanne Mahon holds the position of Chief Communications and Brand Officer for the Southern Cross Group.
John Dakin, Chief Executive Officer, Goodman (NZ) Ltd has retired from the Council following completion of his three-year term. The Trust warmly thanks John for serving as a Trustee and wishes him well for the future.
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Catherine Soper is the General Manager, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Genesis Energy Ltd.
UPCOMING EVENTS President’s Dinner
24 August
Parliamentary Seminar 1 September Auckland Corporate Network Event
16 September
Parliamentary Seminar 10 November
NEW CORPORATES ELECTED The Trust Board has been pleased to elect the following new corporates in recent months and in the case of Microsoft, approved their re-joining the Trust. WELCOME!
MICROSOFT CORPORATION Microsoft Corporation, leading developer of personal-computer software systems and applications. The company also publishes books and multimedia titles, produces its own line of hybrid tablet computers, offers e-mail services, and sells electronic game systems and computer peripherals (input/output devices). It has sales offices throughout the world. In addition to its main research and development centre at its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, U.S., Microsoft operates research labs in Cambridge, England (1997); Beijing, China (1998); Bengaluru, India (2005); Cambridge, Massachusetts (2008); New York, New York (2012); and Montreal, Canada (2015).
KIWI PROPERTY GROUP Kiwi Property is New Zealand born and bred. We’ve been creating the spaces that Kiwis love for more than 25 years, from outstanding retail centres and office buildings, to thriving mixed-use communities. Our properties are diverse environments that connect and engage people through great experiences. They are spaces where communities come together to work, shop, live and play. With a team of more than 160 people who share a passion for excellence, we proudly own and manage some of New Zealand’s most iconic assets. We directly own $3.2 billion of New Zealand property and manage over $400 million property on behalf of third parties.
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NEW CORPORATES ELECTED WSP At WSP, our people combined their global expertise and deep connections across Aotearoa to provide solutions for our local communities and creating what matters to our future generations From our earliest roots in the US over 130 years ago to our vast international presence today, WSP has enjoyed continuous growth and expansion. Each step has enabled us to better fulfil our purpose of preparing our communities and environments for the future. We’re proud of the unique value we bring to our clients at WSP. With unrivalled local knowledge harnessed from 150 years of pioneering the important infrastructure and environments of New Zealand. We believe that for societies to thrive, we must all hold ourselves accountable for tomorrow. That means creating innovative solutions to the challenges the future will bring. It inspires us to stay curious, act locally, and think internationally.
THE WAREHOUSE GROUP The Warehouse Group (TWG) is a New Zealand success story, founded by Sir Stephen Tindall and evolved from a single The Warehouse store to become the country’s largest general merchandise retailer. TWG consists of six core retail brands: The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo7, 1-day and TheMarket. We have 260+ retail stores, online stores as well as distribution centres throughout New Zealand. We also have two overseas sourcing offices located in China and India. We are a peoplecentred business with more than 12,000 team employees across our locations. Our purpose is to help Kiwis live better every day. Our vision is to build New Zealand’s most sustainable, convenient and customer-first company.
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ASB BANK ASB Bank Limited is one of New Zealand’s leading commercial banks, aiming always to be ‘one step ahead’ in terms of both products and service. We save, move, lend, invest and protect money for our customers. Over 5,500 ASB people across the country help create unbeatable banking experiences every day. ASB is an internationally recognised provider of integrated financial solutions. We introduced internet banking to New Zealand. We were the first bank to enable you to pay with your mobile and launched the world’s first digital moneybox for kids.
CONTACT ENERGY Created in 1996, we’re one of New Zealand’s largest listed companies with over 550,000 customers across electricity, natural gas and LPG products, supported by a team of over 1000 employees located up and down the country, all working to help New Zealanders live more comfortably with energy. Our focus is on delivering great value, great products and great service to customers. We currently offer electricity, natural gas and bottled LPG generated through our 11 hydro, geothermal and gas-fired power stations.
TOWER INSURANCE Born and bred in New Zealand, Tower has been supporting Kiwis when they need it most for 150 years. In that time, we’ve grown to operate across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, providing our customers with cover for their houses, cars, contents, businesses and more. While our heritage is important to us, we’ve also set our sights on the future. Our goal is to meet the 21st century head-on with customer focussed, digital-first insurance solutions for Kiwis and their communities.
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BUSINESS ATTACHMENT PROGRAMME
NZ Super Fund SuperWomen networking group
Louisa Wall with Peter Jiang, NZBPT Liaison Officer with Coco Cola
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Louisa Wall, List MP Labour undertook a Business Attachment programme with Guardians of NZ Superannuation in May. The NZ Super Fund posted the following on their LinkedIn page: We were pleased to host Louisa Wall MP as part of the New Zealand Business & Parliament Trust’s attachment programme. During Ms Wall’s time here we took her through the Fund’s investment approach, wider economic environment, responsible investing, domestic investment activities, workforce diversity, venture capital (with NZ Growth Capital Partners) and expansion capital (with Direct Capital). As part of the attachment we visited one of our investee companies - Asia Pacific Healthcare Group (APHG)’s Labtests facility to hear how it processes 6.7 million pathology patient episodes annually. Ms Wall also spent time talking to the team about her experience on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs & Trade Select Committee and spoke with our NZ Super Fund SuperWomen networking group.
Louisa Wall also undertook a delayed two-day Business Attachment programme with Coco Cola Europacific Partners New Zealand which had been originally scheduled prior to COVID-19. Day one was focused on production, distribution and strategy + brand elements of Coco Cola Europacific Partners NZ while Day two’s focus was around sales and people + culture part of the business.
TODD ENERGY Barbara Kuriger (National Party, Taranaki - King Country) also completed an attachment with Todd Energy earlier this year.
The following Corporate members have agreed to host these Members of Parliament on Business Attachment programmes in the coming months. We are also in discussion with other corporates where Members of Parliament have expressed interest in undertaking a business attachment but are not yet finalized.
Ports of Auckland Brooke van Velden MP ACT New Zealand
Merck Sharp & Dohme Dr Guarav Sharma MP NZ Labour Party
Z Energy Simon Court MP ACT New Zealand
Downer (NZ Ltd) Greg O’Connor MP NZ Labour Party
WSP Ltd Simon Watts MP NZ National Party
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EDUCATION - TRUST PRIZE RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED
Pheobe Slee, inaugural University of Waikato Prize recipient receiving her certificate of attainment from Peter Griffiths at the March seminar lunch
UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO INAUGURAL PRIZE RECIPIENT I’m Phoebe Slee and I am delighted to be the 2020 University of Waikato inaugural recipient of the NZ Business and Parliament Trust Prize for postgraduate work in political science / international relations / public policy. I grew up in beautiful Taupō and I have always had an interest in the international environment. I decided to go to France in 2015 for an exchange through American Field Service. I attended Taupō-Nui-a-Tia College and I was proud to be named Dux of the college in 2016. My passion for education and academic work grew in my final years of high school and I chose to attend the University of Waikato because of its excellent standing in the social sciences, its growing student body, its atmosphere, and its closeness to my home. I completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences with a major in Political Science (specialising in International Relations), and minor in Geography in 2019. I had another fantastic opportunity to study overseas in 2018 - I attended the University of California, Berkeley for a semester, challenged myself further, took a variety of courses, and made some life-long friendships and connections. I decided to do my Honours year at Waikato in 2020 and completed my dissertation on the effectiveness of global governance in the response to climate change. 12
I seem to not want to leave the academic world yet! I am currently enrolled in a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Policy (professional stream) at Victoria University. It is a new challenge, but I felt I needed stronger skills in policy development and analysis. I am studying, job-hunting, and loving the energy and opportunities of Wellington city. In the future, my goal is to work in global governance, for the New Zealand Government or perhaps in an international organisation. I am passionate and optimistic about the capacity of global governance and the ability of states to improve cooperation in the face of global challenges.
Pheobe Slee, participating at the March seminar
Matthew was born and bred in the small rural town of Riversdale in the province of Southland, New Zealand. Involvement in his rural community through schooling, sports, hunting, and employment in the agricultural sector inspired Matt to study politics with the hopes of better understanding how policy formulated in Wellington effected the wellbeing of the people around him. Majoring in Politics and Minoring in Geography, Matt pursued an undergraduate degree in Arts in 2017. The University of Otago was in Matthew’s eyes, the best choice, due to its academic reputation and closeness to home. Following the completion of his undergraduate degree in 2020, Matt decided he wanted to further his understanding of politics and conduct research through the Master of Politics programme.
UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO PRIZE RECIPIENT Matthew O’Connor is the 2021 recipient of the Prize in Politics. Matt completed his BA in Politics and Geography in 2020 and is currently enrolled in a Master of Politics.
Matthew is currently enjoying the challenge of this degree and is focusing on his dissertation research analysing whether firearms policy formulated following the Christchurch terror attack was democratic. Matthew would like to thank the New Zealand Business and Parliament Trust and the University of Otago for selecting him for this prize and providing him with this opportunity. He is eager to sit in on one of the Trust’s parliamentary seminars later this year.
UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND INAUGURAL PRIZE RECIPIENT Kiri Picard has been named as the inaugural recipient of the University of Auckland prize in Politics. Kiri Picard (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine): I am from Auckland and am currently completing a Master of Arts in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland. My dissertation, for which I am awarded the 2019 NZBPT Prize, focused on how engagement with the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process shapes Māori political agency. My current research extends the theme of Māori political agency and the role of economic development. I hope in the future to work in Māori policy.
UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY PRIZE RECIPIENT Terewai (Teri) Irwin has been named the recipient of the 2020 Prize in Politics at the University of Canterbury. Terewai completed post graduate studies in political science last year. In her letter to the Trust, she said “I am honoured and humbled to accept this prize and I am happy to accept the conditions of the prize. I look forward to attending one of your sessions in Wellington” “I would like to acknowledge the support of the Political Science department at the University of Canterbury, and the wonderful learning environment that they work so hard to maintain…No success is achieved alone, and this has certainly been true of my learning journey with the University”.
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TRAVEL FUND ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS VISITING PARLIAMENT A key component of the Trust’s charitable role is to provide small grants to schools wishing to undertake one of the education programmes organized by the Parliamentary Service Education Team. We have received a significantly high number of applications
for the quarter 3 period that closed on 30 June, reflecting a return to pre - COVID times. So far this year, the Trust has funded some 16 schools comprising 207 students/ caregivers with grants totalling $15,935. We are also encouraging schools to share their experiences with us via social media.
Tauranga girls college economics trip
TAURANGA GIRLS’ COLLEGE ECONOMICS TRIP
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Tuesday began with another early start - we had a jampacked day ahead. Kickstarting the day was a tour of Parliament, where we bumped into Judith Collins and even got to go into the famous ‘COVID’ media room!
for many. We all gained a greater understanding of the NZ Juridical system, and with a tour of both the old and current supreme court, many of us were surprised to learn there was only one courtroom with proceedings only a few times a year.
Following this, we dashed across the street to the Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Policy Advisors explained to us their role in working on Fiscal Policy for the upcoming 2021 Budget. The Supreme Court was another highlight of the trip
In the evening, we all grabbed dinner from a food market and returned to watch a debate in the House. It was fascinating to watch politicians deciding on matters for our country right in front of us.
Students from Netherton School (near Paeroa) in the Beehive Theatrette with Scott Simpson MP
Mr Speaker talking with students from Tapora School (Wellsford) in the Speaker’s Office
Some Netherton students and their caregivers with Dr Ashley Bloomfield
Tapora School students joined by several MPs, L to R Kieran McNulty, Chloe Swarbrick, Hon Kelvin Davis, Chris Penk, Marg Lubeck
Tapora School children were joined by 27 students from five other schools who have been working with Tapora for six years under the Virtual Learning Network initiative. Marton School (Rangitikei) students
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WELCOME OLI Oliver (Oli) Mathus has joined the Secretariat as our third COMMS and Social Media Intern. Oli has a Bachelor of Communication majoring in Communication Management from Massey University. He is presently undertaking a range of jobs giving him much needed work experience. Simeon Brown - National
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER Simeon Brown undertook his first Business Attachment programme with Foodstuffs NZ Ltd during 2020 and at our first seminar lunch of 2021, he was presented with his Associate Members certificate. Simeon becomes our first new Associate Member of the 53rd Parliament.
Outside of work, Oli loves all things sports with a history of being an avid football fan and balances this with a healthy interest in cultural pursuits, especially theatre and listening to a variety of music genres and attending live music events – COVID permitting!
The NZBPT Secretariat work from an office on the top floor of the Parliamentary Library Building shown here at dusk. The building is the oldest part of Parliament Buildings and was completed in 1899. Photograph: Murray Hedwig
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