Foreign Minister Murray McCully today announced the appointment of Sue Mackwell as High Commissioner in Papua New Guinea.
“New Zealand and Papua New Guinea enjoy a strong relationship, and we work closely together in the areas of sustainable economic development, agriculture, and renewable energy,” Mr McCully says.
“Papua New Guinea is New Zealand’s second-largest trading partner in the Pacific. It has an abundance of natural resources, and we share an interest in helping make sure these assets deliver broad-based benefits to the people of Papua New Guinea. As a close partner of Papua New Guinea, and an APEC member, New Zealand has also offered its support to Papua New Guinea as it prepares to host APEC in 2018.
“As High Commissioner, Ms Mackwell will be responsible for overseeing our aid and development effort in Papua New Guinea, which is New Zealand’s largest development assistance programme.”
Ms Mackwell is currently National Children’s Director of the Children’s Action Plan, following a term as Deputy Chief Executive, Social Service Policy and Social Sector Strategy at the Ministry of Social Development.
Therapeutic value restores hill country
Cultivation of the manuka tree has become a priority on hillsides from Nelson to Waikato.
The manuka tree, a member of the myrtle family, is the basis for the sharply growing industry in the production of therapeutic manuka honey.
The health benefits of the manuka tree (pictured) were introduced to the rest of the world by Captain Cook who dubbed it the tea tree.
The demand for manuka honey has created another cooperative opportunity in the form of share production between farmers and apiarists.
In return for allocating blocks of land for the location of hives, the farmer receives a cut from the revenue derived from the honey produced.
International demand for manuka honey more than matches supply which means that apiarists are in the most coveted position of New Zealand primary exporters in that they are able to set their own premium price.
This is as opposed to accepting the international commodity price.
Because the manuka tree flowers out of synch with other nectar-producing flora, the manuka content of the honey can be defined.
StatisticallyNew Zealand is the world's third-largest exporter of honey by value, behind China and Argentina.
Manuka honey accounts for most of this.
Even so these figures account only for the foodstuffs value of the honey. They do not take into account the branded manuka honey dedicated to medical applications.
The activity around the hives is conferring meanwhile a healthy transfusion to regional joinery firms and transport operators among others.
The joiners who once made trusses, doors and window frames are rapidly converting to making hives while truck operators are busy transferring the hives between locations.
Similarly regional construction firms are building honey pack houses.
Farmers are finding their marginal lands, especially the areas on which sheep cannot be enticed to graze, have become a new source of shared profit..
What could go wrong?
In a word, Australia.
The manuka tree also grows in Australia. It is claimed too that it originated in Australia and found its way to New Zealand as an element of the southerly migration of flora and fauna.
Australia offers economies of cultivation scale and viewed as even more significant is its terrain allowing for the rapid shuttling of hives between flowering districts and pack houses.
Some have seen a comparison between the New Zealand kiwifruit boom and the resulting competition from countries such as Chile.
But such quibbling aside, it is hard not to see a new and diversified frontier opening up for hill country farmers.
There is no investment in things like heavy duty fencing (deer and goat farming.)
Even where manuka plantations need to be established, farmers are able run sheep in the plantation once the trees became established after 3-4 years.
In addition there is now good shelter for the stock.
|From the MscNewsWire reporters' desk | Tuesday 20 December, 2016 |
Furniture group Steinhoff is set to acquire Africa’s largest retailer, Shoprite. What the story behind the firm that wants to be Africa’s next IKEA? Here’s a brief history of Steinhoff:
Investment and analytics firm Vestact predicted that Retail Africa will have annual revenues of 200 billion rand (over 14 billion dollars).
| African BusinessReview | Dec 19, 2016 |
New Zealand has released a new apple variety which has been launched today by Fruitcraft, after being licensed for the worldwide rights by Prevar.
The apple variety PremA129, which will be marketed and known as Dazzle, is expected to be one of the biggest apple variety launches since Royal Gala decades ago. All New Zealand apple growers will be able to grow Dazzle, and all fruit exporters will be able to sell it.
Dazzle is a large, red, sweet apple which has taken 20 years to develop by Plant & Food Research (PFR) at their research station in Havelock North.
Fruitcraft manager Steve Potbury says this is an exciting opportunity for New Zealand apple growers and others around the world.
“Dazzle is targeted towards the growing Asian markets. It has all the qualities which appeal to Asian consumers. It is a big, highly coloured and very sweet apple.
“We want to work with all growers to ensure they can grow and market it through their preferred exporter. This is a collaborative approach, which gives growers the chance to be involved from the orchards to the markets,” says Mr Potbury.
Over 100,000 trees are already being grown by growers in New Zealand including Mr Apple, Bostock New Zealand and Freshmax, and nurseries are busy preparing rootstocks to meet grower demand for orders in the New Year.
Fruitcraft is forecasting 1 million cartons of the Dazzle apple will be exported from New Zealand by 2028, if it reaches those numbers it would become one of the country’s most popular apple varieties. Further production around the world is planned, and Fruitcraft will be looking to license growers and marketers in the main apple growing countries in the next year or two.
Plant & Food Research scientist Richard Volz, says Dazzle has been bred conventionally, through cross breeding between “Sweetie” and “Scired” by plant breeders at Havelock North in 1997.
“The parents and grandparents of the PremA129 variety all come from New Zealand. This has taken decades of work and investment by scientists at Plant and Food Research and the New Zealand pipfruit industry to develop a truly New Zealand apple with strong kiwi heritage,” said Mr Volz.
Pipfruit New Zealand Chief Executive Alan Pollard says this is another reflection of the sophistication and strength of an industry where growers, exporters and breeders are all working together to deliver high quality products to customers both in New Zealand and around the world.
| A Fruitcraft release | Dec 19, 2016 |
Engineers say some Wellington buildings need targeted checks in the interests of public safety.
New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) President Peter Smith says that after completing hundreds of rapid assessments, engineers have developed a profile of Wellington buildings that suffered the most damage in the Kaikoura earthquake or are susceptible to a similar future event.
“The Council is being proactive in requiring all buildings fitting this profile to have targeted evaluations. We fully support the measures that the Council is taking.”
“The buildings that need targeted evaluation share key characteristics. These include being medium height and having concrete frames with precast floors. Other characteristics include being sited on soft soils or ridgelines, having significant damage to non-structural elements, demonstrating signs of stretch in carpet tiles or ceilings, or damage to façades.
“This quake has generated severe shaking in buildings with these characteristics. Some of these buildings have been tested beyond their design loadings.”
Structural Engineering Society (SESOC) President Paul Campbell says engineers now understand that damage from the Kaikoura earthquake in Wellington was highly selective.
“As well as carrying out hundreds of assessments, engineers have been working hard to analyse emerging patterns of damage across Wellington buildings.”
Mr Campbell says the targeted damage evaluations mandated by the Council will involve reviewing structural drawings and are likely to be invasive. This means potentially taking up some floor coverings, stripping off selected wall linings and inspecting ceiling spaces to look for specific patterns of damage.
“How long it takes depends on the size of the building and availability of drawings but you would normally expect the inspection component to be completed in a day.”
Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene says engineers remain concerned about public safety in and around buildings categorised as earthquake prone, given the current heightened risk of aftershocks.
“The energy of the Kaikoura earthquake wasn’t focused on shorter, stiffer buildings, some of which are categorised as earthquake prone.
“It’s important to realise that earthquake-prone buildings are likely to perform poorly in an earthquake centred closer to Wellington.”
Ms Freeman-Greene says structural engineers are being brought in from outside Wellington to help meet current demand.
“IPENZ appreciates the close collaboration between the Council and the engineering profession.”
| An IPENZ release | Dec 20, 2016 |
Suez Canal traffic data showed that 213 ships transited the canal, with a total load of 12m tonnes, from 11 to 15 December. An average of 42.6 ships transited the canal per day during that period, with an average load of 2.4m tonnes per day. The average load per ship was about 56,340 tonnes during that period.
Compared to July 2015, before the inauguration of the New Suez Canal, the average daily number of transiting vessels totaled 47 vessels, with an average load of 2.758m tonnes per day.
Three major container ships—the Danish vessels Mayview Maersk, Malta’s Tihalma, and the Marshal Islands Gener8 Chiotis—transited the canal carrying 200,000 tonnes each.
The number of vessels that passed coming from the west through the northern entrance was 113 vessels, with a daily average of 22.6 vessels, and a total load of 0.8m tonnes, recording a daily average of 1.36m tonnes.
Meanwhile, 100 ships transited the new channel coming from the south, with a daily average of 20 vessels, and a total load of 5.2m tonnes, recording a daily average of 1.04m tonnes.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced last week a decline in the canal’s revenues over the fiscal year (FY) of 2015/2016 to $5.1bn—a drop of 4.5% from FY 2014/2015, in which revenues amounted to $5.4bn.
The cargo load is the main measure for shipping traffic in the Suez Canal and the calculated transit fees.
| Port News | Dec 19, 2016 |
New Zealand is into its fifth straight year of strong growth in construction, with more than 30,000 homes consented in the year to October and record levels of commercial and infrastructure investment, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
“Residential construction activity has reached $12.5 billion, an all-time high, and the number of homes consented has topped 30,000. This is the longest and strongest residential construction boom in New Zealand history, with five straight years of growth averaging over 20 per cent per annum. This is as fast as you can practically grow a sector as large and as complex as construction without compromising quality,” Dr Smith says.
“The 30,000 homes per year now being built is the fastest rate ever, with the exception of 2004 and the mid 1970s. The 2004 boom was focussed on thousands of small apartments in Auckland that are no longer allowed, and the 1974 boom rapidly crashed due to the unsustainable mix of high inflation and low interest government loans. The current boom is much more sustainable, better balanced nationwide and also involves record levels of investment in commercial and infrastructure construction.
“This ongoing strong growth shows the Government’s programme to increase housing supply is working. We have aggressively increased land supply with Special Housing Areas in the short-term, changes to Auckland’s planning in the medium term, and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity and Resource Management Act reforms in the long term.
“We have complemented this with the Crown Land Programme and a record level of direct Government projects to build homes, such as Hobsonville. We’ve also provided record levels of assistance for first-home buyers with the KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme, which has helped more than 20,000 people into their first home with about $500 million in KiwiSaver withdrawals for a deposit.
“Further reforms are in the pipeline to further grow the supply of housing. This Government is step by step, development by development, getting on and addressing New Zealand’s housing challenges.”
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The Southern Region Dairy Expo has had a name change.
The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has a lot on its plate as it gears up for at least four trade missions across Asia and the Pacific in 2017.
Glenn Soco, MCCI president, said they plan to send delegates to explore business and investment opportunities in Laos in Cambodia, Australia and New Zealand, Ayabe in Japan, as well as Thailand next year.
“Laos is a new frontier as their country is opening up to foreign investors. They are keen on building stronger trade with the Philippines also,” he said in a text message to Cebu Daily News.
In the same manner, Soco said they are also exploring opportunities with Australia and New Zealand as well as learning from their best practices.
The chamber leader said this was discussed when the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ANZCHAM) joined an investment forum in Mandaue City last August.
He cited governance and ease of doing business, particularly securing business permits, as among the things practiced in Australia and New Zealand that the Philippines can emulate.
Soco said it takes an average of one day to process business permits there while it takes an average of three years in the Philippines.
“If (the trade mission) really happens, we’d like to bring with us local government officials also,” he said.
New Zealand - Australia
Soco said the chamber is also interested in New Zealand and Australia’s “incubator” for micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) since the empowerment of these businesses is among MCCI’s advocacies.
In 2017, he said the MCCI will strengthen this advocacy by pursuing initial discussions with the Cebu provincial government on crafting programs for MSME development.
Soco added that the Mandaue City government is also going to sign a sisterhood agreement with Ayabe in Japan.
“We also want to see trade and investment opportunities there. Likewise, we support the local government unit on this development,” said Soco.
He said that Ayabe government officials, during their visit to Mandaue earlier this year, mentioned that they needed skilled workers for their different industries.
There was also an invitation to MCCI from Thailand’s Trade and Investments Bureau, Soco added.
He said they have been asked to mount a trade exhibit there, although details have not been finalized yet.
Soco said the chamber is planning to launch these trade missions beginning in the first or second quarter next year.
Among the industries in Mandaue City expected to benefit from these trade missions are the food manufacturing segment, motor parts, and furniture, he added.
“I think Mandaue is positioning itself as a high-value manufacturing city. Manufacturing, being the biggest industry here, we are looking for buyers, trade with other countries, sourcing of raw materials, and exchange of information,” said Soco.
The business leader also said that the chamber will revisit its ties with Vladimir and St. Petersburg since President Rodrigo Duterte is moving toward stronger relations with Russia.
Since MCCI has participated in several trade missions in China, it will also review past agreements and initiatives to see where the group can capitalize or how it can align with the administration’s present thrust.
“It is important to prepare for the good things yet to come,” said Soco.
| CBUDailyNews | Dec 19, 2016 |
Statistics New Zealand data shows that building consent are at a 10 year high, even when there is still a shortage of housing. The construction sector is struggling to produce the skills needed to meet demand.
Building consents are at their highest in more than 10 years, but with the industry coming off such a low base, capacity is still a key issue.
Building consent data released today by Statistics New Zealand shows that to the end of October 24,789 new homes gained building consents this calendar year and 30,158 over the past 12 months. This is the highest number since 2004, but is still well below the high of 1973 when just fewer than 40,000 new homes were consented.
Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) Chief Executive Warwick Quinn predicts the 2016 year to end around 30,000 consents up on 2015. He says Canterbury and Auckland make up 53% of all consents issued which is slightly down on previous years. Auckland is expected to consent around 10,000 new homes up about 8% on 2015.
Quinn says 30,000 consents is 6.33 builds per 1,000 people and is approaching New Zealand’s long run historical rate of 6.58 builds per 1,000 people. This is double the rate of 3.12 builds per 1,000 people in 2011 when construction was at its lowest level of activity since records began.
While the turnaround is welcomed Quinn says 30,000 consents per annum needs to be the new norm and coming off such a low base the construction sector is struggling to produce the skills needed to meet demand. Quinn says the BCITO has a record number of apprentices in training and recently passed the 10,000 number for the first time, but more are needed.
“While 10,000 apprentices is a new milestone for us it is also our new normal and must be increased if we are to successfully fill the skills gap in construction” Quinn says.
“Most of our growth comes from those firms that traditionally have apprentices so we want to increase the number of employers who train. In order to do that we need to have training programmes that align more closely with their business needs and how the industry in general is structured,” he says.
BCITO has been working closely with the Tertiary Education Commission and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to explore how this might be done and a pilot will be launched in the New Year to test demand and options. Quinn says the competition to attract people into the trades is high so broadening the opportunities and being flexible in our approach to producing the skills the market needs will hopefully entice more into the industry. Quinn says there has never been a better time to get into construction with a strong forward work projection and great job security.
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