No vision in our current Tauranga City leadership .…

There has been a lot of talk lately on rejuvenating Tauranga’s CBD, but very little attention to it when Councillors deliberated on their Long Term Plan. I did submit on this, and am adamant that a vibrant CBD is essential for a city to have a “soul”. The key is to have vision, and unfortunately we have a Mayor who has led repetitive councils that have shown very little vision. I’m

sorry Stuart, but this is what leadership is all about, and you have continually failed to encourage a visionary approach. This is what is holding Tauranga back. It has to change…

If we are looking for a new leader for our city, then we won’t find it amongst our current councillors. We need to convince one of our up and coming business people to give six years back to the city. This will be a sacrifice, but that is what true community giving is all about. One way to encourage genuine leadership would be to have TCC councillors meet between 2pm and 7 pm, so that elected representatives can retain some core employment outside council. Our current councillors see council as a full time job, and yet they really have no appreciation of what good governance really looks like. They delve into the engine room of council, which is paid management’s responsibility, and yet don’t hold the Chief Executive to account. Just not being dysfunctional (ie the infighting that previous councils were infamous for) is not enough to qualify for good governance; but real vision and lateral strategic thinking is, and there remains a real lack of both at present. My challenge to our city fathers is to find a true visionary leader, and this mustn’t be “an old hack”. We don’t need some over 60 - burnt out businessman. We need real drive from someone who truly understands governance. We need a leader who will take this beautiful city forward; who can take councillors and staff forward, focused on efficiency and effectiveness. This is how we will manage our debt, and still grow our infrastructure, so that we stay ahead of the continual growth pains that are stifling us. We need true vision. Come on Tauranga – we have to find a true leader. The 2016 Local Government elections are just a year away. Let’s start the conversation…

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at andrew@vond.co.nz , or visit www.vond.co.nz

Why innovation matters for our future welfare…

Food & Beverages, in 2012 was a US$21 billion export earner for New Zealand, and made up 10% of New Zealand’s GDP and nearly half of our export earnings. This might sound impressive, but when you look at the table below and realise that the Netherlands, with only one eighth of our land area, out performs us by three to one. Central Government has an aspiration to double export earnings from agribusiness by 2025. The key to this target is to do so in both a sustainable and environmentally acceptable way. The Netherlands data tells us this is possible. At Plant and Food Research Institute, of which I am a Director, our challenge is to champion innovative research to meet this target.

SOURCE: Plant and Food Research Institute

With an expected 9 billion people in the world by 2050, there will be 70% more food required. It is estimated that 70% of fresh water is used for food production, and fresh water is a competitive advantage that New Zealand has over most of the world. This is a huge opportunity for New Zealand. We have the ability to feed about 40 million people, and we are only scratching at the surface in terms of technological and scientific advancement. Currently 25% of the world’s food is lost in the supply chain, primarily from pest and disease. Our Crown Research Institutes are currently looking for ways to meet these challenges, and the future is both exciting and challenging.

It is also important to realise that only 4% of New Zealand’s resources are above the low-tide mark (the offshore Exclusive Economic Zone is 4,000,000 km2, compared with just 263,000 km2 of our above water land area), and this is an area where the Bay of Plenty can hugely contribute. That is why I am so passionate about supporting the work of Professor Chris Battershill at our very own Coastal Marine Research Institute, and why we need to increase the funding there to take advantage of the huge regional potential that exists just off our coastline in our “bay of plenty.” We need to play to our strengths by building long term partnerships between business, local government and central government, and recognise that with large post grievance Maori settlements, iwi should be included as equal as both contributing and receptive partners.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at andrew@vond.co.nz , or visit www.vond.co.nz

CEO Salary packages have become excessive…

Reading Tuesday’s Bay of Plenty Times, I was shocked to see the level of pay to both Mark Cairns at the Port of Tauranga ($1,464,000), and Vince Hawksworth at Trustpower ($1,359,999). In my opinion these levels are obscene, and reflect poorly on the governance by the Board of Directors concerned. Don’t get me wrong, because I greatly respect the leadership that both Mark and Vince have shown for their respective companies.

The Board of Directors approve the Chief Executive’s salary… but a salary (albeit it including performance bonuses) that is over $1,000,000 in New Zealand, is excessive. I am not against competitive salary rewards, but… Directors will argue that you have to pay these amounts if you want to get top CEO’s. This just isn’t true. We are a small country, filled with innovative and talented leaders, and there is plenty of competitive tension for these top jobs. Unfortunately, we have bred a culture of corporate greed that the average Kiwi just can’t relate to.

Let’s look at Port of Tauranga. This is truly a great company. It has a great strategic vision, and appears incredibly well run. It has grown huge shareholder wealth consistently over the past 20 years, and because of its location is likely to become one of no more than two major hubs for NZ Inc’s future export trade. This is likely to see Port of Tauranga’s net income rise substantially (probably double digit growth annually over the next ten years). The question is “how much of this growth can be attributed to the leadership of the CEO?” Certainly it won’t happen if the strategy isn’t executed effectively, but the strategy to get the Port positioned to take advantage of future port reform has had a long gestation period, and shouldn’t just be credited to the 2015 Management team. This has been a long term strategy that appears to be playing out nicely. So the question is, why should the CEO’s salary package be overly linked to this growth. Will the Directors justify a $3,000,000 salary (in say 5 years time) based on the achievement of this strategy. I hope not. Yes, incentivise performance, but please (Directors) be realistic so that average Kiwis aren’t aggrieved by these outrageous CEO salaries.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at andrew@vond.co.nz , or visit www.vond.co.nz