Posted: September 8, 2025

I was asked a few questions from the Tairāwhiti Growers Association

Tairāwhiti growers "expect councillors to understand the challenges we face, support practical solutions, work alongside and advocate for us to enable the sector to thrive."

Apart from student summer jobs, I don't have a background in horticulture and don't pretend to be an expert.

So I take the approach I've taken throughout my career: talk to the people in the weeds, take on the advice of the key stakeholders, defer to experts and the experienced, and form pragmatic positions.

It's to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Or put another way: stubborn goals, flexible methods↗.

Enabling a thriving horticulture sector in Tairāwhiti

As mentioned, I don't have a background in horticulture, but I have had a fruitful career in high- and low-tech hardware and software solutions in incredibly challenging markets.

It will be technology solutions — that cleverly and pragmatically address our needs — that shift us up the value chain. An ideal scenario becomes home-grown horticultural technology — proven on our fields — that is productised and exported at high margins.

However, right now we are short of visible pathways from secondary to vocational education to high-skilled work in our local industries. As a Councillor I will use this background to support a locally-focused, joined-up strategy for STEAM education connected to useful work here.

The most pressing challenges facing horticultural growers now and into the future

The costs of inputs and more volatile weather are what I see as the most pressing challenges. I also see challenges attracting and retaining highly-skilled workers.

With NZ's weak energy market, the cost of energy is increasing at an unreasonable rate. Supported by Council, our regional wealth holders need to continue to invest in energy self-sufficiency. While businesses themselves will need to continue a shift to electrification.

Attracting and retaining highly-skilled workers is harder and will take longer to address. Some of this goes back to my thoughts on education-to-work pathways. But for attracting the already-highly-skilled to the region, it is a problem of incomes and relative housing affordability associated with the poor supply of housing.

New Zealand's residential property-oriented political economy is a root-cause problem. I have to believe we can break free from this stifling model at a regional level with Council playing a role as an efficient enabler of increased supply of all housing types. It has worked in other regions.

Real regional wealth can only come from our high-productivity export businesses, and that requires a steady supply of affordable housing and talented people that can see a good useful life out here.

The importance of irrigation water security to our region’s growers and how to ensure a reliable, cost-effective irrigation water supply into the future

Incredibly important. Though this isn't an area where I have enough understanding to form a strong opinion as yet. So as I do, I'll go all-in to understand the problem by taking on the advice of the key stakeholders, experts, and fellow councillors who have this experience.

Broadly my goal is to press Council to be a conscientious enabler, with an increased risk appetite, while ensuring negative externalities are not passed on to the public.