Transport Minister Simon Bridges has welcomed the signing of an air services agreement opening the opportunity for code-sharing between New Zealand and Mauritius airlines.
The agreement was signed today after being negotiated by officials at an international air services conference in Turkey in 2015.
“This agreement opens up opportunities for code-share services linking New Zealand and Mauritius, through Air Mauritius services to and from Perth, Australia. Passenger airlines of each side can now also operate up to 14 services per week,” Mr Bridges says.
“This agreement will further enhance New Zealand’s international air connectivity, bringing both trade and tourism benefits.”
Mr Bridges says the Government’s liberal International Air Transport Policy is bringing many benefits to New Zealand.
“Since the policy was implemented in 2012 more than 50 new or amended air agreements have been negotiated, bringing the total to 78. Most of the major airlines in the world are now able to operate services to New Zealand without restriction, with 19 new air routes announced in the past year alone.
“We’ll continue our efforts to grow and enhance these connections, making it easier for New Zealanders to travel and trade internationally.”
A release from the Beehive Monday 1 August 2016
Avery Products has unveiled its new range of label stocks named AveryPro, soon after the company revealed it would launch a new print label business WePrint.
The new collection of label sheet stock is slated to suit print businesses which use digital printers for short-run and special project print jobs, Avery Products says they will meet the growing demand for premium grade labels printed just in time to meet an ever growing need for fast turnaround.
The company says that commercial printers can diversify their product range to existing clients by ‘entering the varied and lucrative label market, and also broaden their market reach to new clients’ It says that by using AveryPro premium label stocks, they will enhance . . .
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New Zealand First can reveal serious holes in Land Information (LINZ) data that the government claims to show low levels of overseas ownership.
“The government’s data is bumph and only proves its specious honesty box approach to foreigners buying our land,” says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.
“A weak Minister in a government denying reality is talking up data that simply does not exist.
“From the horse’s mouth, Inland Revenue, we have this: ‘Inland Revenue does not record information based on tax residency’.
“How do we know that the 63 per cent of purchasers in Auckland claiming to be Kiwi tax residents are that, when Inland Revenue doesn’t even know?
“Is LINZ special? Because when it comes to Kiwi citizenship, the Privacy Act prevents Inland Revenue and Internal Affairs sharing information.
“Then there is the large hole in LINZ data where ‘No statement or tax information is required’. Some hole when it accounts for 39 per cent of sales in the North Island and 38 per cent in the South Island.
“This window dressing data isn’t worth the paper it is printed on, which is why, New Zealand First’s Land Transfer (Foreign Ownership of Land Register) Amendment Bill is before Parliament. We want New Zealanders to properly know who is taking over their country.
“Instead of doing the right thing, National has reinterpreted the 3-Wise Monkeys as ‘see no foreign buyers; hear no foreign buyers; and don’t stop foreign buyers’,” Mr Peters said.
A NZ First press release 1 August 2016
Experienced construction candidates remain in such high demand that they often receive multiple job offers, says recruiting experts Hays.
Quantity Surveyors, Site Managers and good skilled trades and labour are among the skills in such short supply that employers will move quickly and offer career progression in order to secure their preferred candidate.
“Most regions in New Zealand are experiencing increased residential activity while the unprecedented investment in commercial construction and transport projects across Auckland is adding to the significant skill shortage,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.
“In Auckland, residential companies are busier than ever and are growing their teams. Some candidates are moving to the Bay Of Plenty due to the number of residential developments there as well as for a lifestyle change, which adds to the shortage of necessary construction skills. Commercial construction is also very active, with new names entering the market and stretching the workforce.
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CentrePort has invested in a new regional hub in the Wairarapa.
The Waingawa log hub, near Masterton, supports the fast growing and valuable forestry sector through a reliable and cost effective transport connection, ensuring exporters remain internationally competitive.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges officially opened the venture this morning.
The project is the result of a successful partnership between Wellington’s port company CentrePort, Forest Enterprises Limited and Farman Turkington Forestry with the support of KiwiRail.
It is served by daily KiwiRail freight trains, connecting the Wairarapa region to CentrePort and to the world.
The development follows a period of sustained growth for the log trade in the Lower North Island.
Log volumes through CentrePort have grown by nearly 100% in the last five years, with further increases forecasted as a large volume of trees in the region reach maturity.
CentrePort Chief Executive, Derek Nind said, “the Waingawa log hub offers regional log exporters a sustainable, reliable, economic way of moving large volumes of logs to the port.
“Part of our long-term strategy is to invest in infrastructure, develop strategic partnerships and create seamless road and rail connections from the hinterland to our seaport. This will help unlock the potential of Central New Zealand.”
CentrePort has invested in a new regional hub in the Wairarapa.
The Waingawa log hub, near Masterton, supports the fast growing and valuable forestry sector through a reliable and cost effective transport connection, ensuring exporters remain internationally competitive.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges officially opened the venture this morning.
The project is the result of a successful partnership between Wellington’s port company CentrePort, Forest Enterprises Limited and Farman Turkington Forestry with the support of KiwiRail.
It is served by daily KiwiRail freight trains, connecting the Wairarapa region to CentrePort and to the world.
The development follows a period of sustained growth for the log trade in the Lower North Island.
Log volumes through CentrePort have grown by nearly 100% in the last five years, with further increases forecasted as a large volume of trees in the region reach maturity.
CentrePort Chief Executive, Derek Nind said, “the Waingawa log hub offers regional log exporters a sustainable, reliable, economic way of moving large volumes of logs to the port.
“Part of our long-term strategy is to invest in infrastructure, develop strategic partnerships and create seamless road and rail connections from the hinterland to our seaport. This will help unlock the potential of Central New Zealand.”
KiwiRail’s Group General Manager for Sales and Commercial Alan Piper said, “this is a great example of road and rail integration. Using Waingawa as a staging point for logs means that they can then be moved efficiently through to CentrePort on rail. I am certain the regular users of the Rimutaka Hill Road will appreciate the benefits that avoiding over 16,000 more truck trips on this stretch of road will have.”
Managing Director of Forest Enterprises, Steve Wilton said, “CentrePort’s investment in the hub has provided an efficient, secure and long term logistics channel to the port which is vital to our ability to successfully harvest in the Wairarapa. This is why we have taken a long term lease of approximately 50% of the footprint at Waingawa, complementing our long term commitment to log storage at CentrePort.”
Farman Turkington Forestry Partner Guy Farman said, “The commitment shown by CentrePort, as well as all the other stakeholders to make this hub work has been extremely
pleasing. It’s been really satisfying to see the hub and the port develop over the last few years. It’s certainly given us the confidence to take a long term lease at the Waingawa hub and expand our operations.”
In 2015 CentrePort, with its customers and service providers, contributed $2.5 billion to New Zealand’s GDP, 39% higher than in 2009. This contribution is increasing each year. Since 2009 CentrePort’s cargo volume has increased by 25 percent.1
The Government has the objective of doubling the value of primary industry exports by 2025.
Scientists from Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Liverpool have been awarded more than $850,000 to advance a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
The team have also been awarded a grant from the United Kingdom’s Alzheimer’s Society worth more than $450,000 (£260,000 GBP), as well as a New Zealand Federation of Women's Institutes research grant of $15,000 for Dr Zubkova.
The funding will be used to develop drug candidates discovered from research the team has been working on since 2008.
Every 60 seconds someone in the world develops Alzheimer’s disease, which causes an inability to retain new information and difficulty in recognising people and places.
New Zealand should grab the opportunity to be at the forefront in creating the new narrative for global trade.
Right now globalisation is under attack. Any number of hypocrites ranging from Donald Trump through to Hillary Clinton are pandering to fear.
Protectionism is on the rise, ironically at a time when the impulse towards economic integration has never been stronger.
It’s in New Zealand’s interest to continue to make the case for trade – not just domestically where the record has been pitiful in recent years. But also on the international stage.
And with the architecture for global trade changing, it is important that New Zealand not only crafts a story that inspires our smaller companies to use e-commerce platforms to reduce the challenge of NZ’s distance from markets (what used to be called the “tyranny of distance”) but also takes a leading role in the World Trade Organisation to develop the new e-trade global architecture and work with other nations and private sector players to create offshore e-marketing platforms to sell more NZ product in market.
One opportunity is to back the Electronic World Trade Platform or e-WTP initiative promoted by Alibaba founder Jack Ma which is designed to connect global SMEs through logistics and inclusive financing. Ma reckons the WTO – as it operates now – is really only for the “big guns”.
But New Zealand has been silent on this initiative. In the new trade language what is now important is “market success” not simply “market access”. Trade Minister Todd McClay is expected to stake out the rationale for a trade strategy refresh in an address to the Trans Tasman Business Circle today.McClay notes that the current strategy is 20 years old. It’s worked well when it comes to opening markets and smashing through the high-tariff barriers which historically stood in the way of New Zealand exporters reaping the full returns from their products.
TPP should have been high up the list for questions at the joint press conference held by Biden and the Prime Minister. Photo / Greg BowkerFran O’Sullivan: Never mind the warships – passing the TPP is what matters now
New Zealand now has free trade agreements with other nations that take 52 per cent of our exports.
McClay makes the point that if the US does pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership legislation during the “lame duck” session – and is ultimately brought into force by all the other TPP signatories – then NZ would have FTAs with 72 per cent of our export markets. That would increase to 90 per cent in the event that all other FTAs currently under negotiation (including one with the EU ) are cemented.
Officials are getting input from the business community as they put some flesh on the bones of a trade strategy refresh. McClay says he is looking for an “evolution” not a “revolution”. The question has to be why not continue to evolve the bilateral trade agreements while at the same time pursuing revolution on other fronts. The upgrade of the China-NZ free trade deal is a case in point. New Zealand wants China to ease safeguards which bump up tarrifs for our milk powder exports once certain thresholds are passed.
What would be bold is to develop a strategy that aligns with China’s own “One Belt, One Road” initiative beginning with the development of a free trade zone in New Zealand.
Developing strategies for NZ firms to play in global value chains should also be a priority. New Zealand has been served well by its ministers and officials when it comes to crafting the global trade architecture. But we are now in a world where technology is increasingly shaping our future. In this world it is important to be driving the bus – not to be thrown under it.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242