Palmerston North City Council
Minutes of
the Economic Development Committee Meeting Part I Public, held in the Council
Chamber, First Floor, Civic Administration Building, 32 The Square, Palmerston
North on 11 March 2020, commencing at 9.02am
Members
Present:
|
Councillor Tangi Utikere (in the Chair),
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar
Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee Dingwall, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta,
Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
Non Members:
|
Councillor Lorna Johnson.
|
Apologies:
|
Councillors Rachel Bowen, Zulfiqar Butt
(for early departure), Lew Findlay QSM, Billy Meehan and Karen Naylor.
|
NOTE: Prior to the commencement of the
meeting, Mr Ruma Karaitiana made a Declaration of Office.
Councillor Zulfiqar
Butt left the meeting at 10.39am
during consideration of clause 5. He entered the
meeting again at 11.46am during consideration of clause
8. He was not present for clauses 5 to 7 inclusive.
Councillor Lew
Findlay QSM was present when the meeting resumed at 11.08am.
He was not present for clauses 1 to 5 inclusive.
Mr Ruma
Karaitiana was not present when the meeting resumed at 1.09pm.
He was not present for clauses 9 and 10.
1-20
|
Apologies
|
|
Moved
Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The
COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Committee receive the apologies.
|
|
Clause 1-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno Petrenas,
Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
2-20
|
Public Participation at Meetings
Memorandum, presented by
Natalya Kushnirenko, Democracy & Governance Administrator.
|
|
Moved Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Economic Development Committee set aside a public comment section of not
more than 30 minutes at the commencement of each ordinary meeting of the Committee
to provide members of the community the opportunity to comment.
|
|
Clause 2-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno Petrenas,
Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
3-20
|
Presentation - Agriculture and Investment Services,
Ministry for Primary Industries
Messrs Andrew Clark and Blair
Jamieson made a presentation updating the Committee on Ministry for Primary
Industries (MPI) activity in the region.
MPI’s focus was on
encouraging provincial growth and developing and supporting rural
innovations. This was achieved by promoting and advocating for the
needs of primary industry, assessing and supporting grant proposals and/or
loans and building effective partnerships with government agencies and
industry.
Supporting Māori
agribusiness was a priority for MPI. With more land being returned to
Māori, MPI was providing assistance in deciding on the best use of the
land. Māori business teams were facilitating Māori in getting
products to market and producing feasibility studies and business
cases. Some Māori land blocks are too small to be productive on
their own, so a collective approach was being used to group several blocks
together to make them financially viable. In the next few years, the
biggest investment in agriculture would be from iwi.
Work was also being done to
plant one billion trees on unproductive land. Although there had been
criticism of the scheme when planting had occurred on productive soil, this was
an exception and most trees were planted on unproductive hill country land. MPI
worked with unsuccessful applicants to strengthen their applications.
MPI also focused on building
skills, encouraging people to attend agri-based training courses and
supporting the development of agri-technologies, eg. the rural-lab think-tank
at Massey University was developing digital technology to make agricultural
systems more efficient.
|
|
Moved Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Economic Development Committee receive the presentation for information.
|
|
Clause 3-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno Petrenas,
Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
4-20
|
Presentation - Central Economic Development Agency
Ms Christine Atkins (Talent Advisor)
and Ms Linda Stewart (CEO) made a presentation updating the Committee on recent
work done by Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA).
CEDA’s goals were to develop
talent in the city, attract talent into the city and retain
talent in the city.
Palmerston North was facing a
skills shortage in the construction industry and in filling middle management
positions. CEDA was encouraging the development of skills in secondary
schools and partnering with Immigration New Zealand to attract migrants to
Palmerston North.
The pilot programme Next Step
which promotes local organisations to skilled migrants had been successful at
promoting Palmerston North as a place to live and work. The pilot runs
for nine months and tracks people who register, interact with businesses and
apply for jobs.
CEDA had developed an
educational resource to promote what school was like in New Zealand to
international students, with a view to encouraging more international
students to study in Palmerston North.
The Careers Expo would be
held in May, which would be an opportunity to showcase the industries and
businesses in Palmerston North and the Manawatū.
|
|
Moved Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Economic Development Committee receive the presentation for information.
|
|
Clause 4-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno Petrenas,
Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
5-20
|
Summary
report on the December 2019 Palmerston North Quarterly Economic Monitor, 2019
Annual Employment Report for the Manawatū region, Major Developments and
Quarterly Retail Report for January 2020
Memorandum, presented by
Peter Crawford, Economic Policy Advisor and Linda Stewart, CEO, CEDA.
Councillor
Zulfiqar Butt left the meeting at 10.39am
|
|
Moved Leonie Hapeta, seconded Vaughan Dennison.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Summary report on the December 2019 Palmerston North Quarterly Economic
Monitor, 2019 Annual Employment Report for the Manawatū region, Major
Developments, and Quarterly Retail Report for January 2020, be received.
|
|
Clause 5-20 above was
carried 12 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Vaughan Dennison, Renee Dingwall,
Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha
Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
The meeting adjourned at 10.51am.
The meeting resumed at 11.08am.
Councillor Lew Findlay QSM was present when the
meeting resumed.
6-20
|
Manawatū Region Retail Health Check (2019) Report
Memorandum, presented by
Peter Crawford, Economic Policy Advisor and Linda Stewart, CEO, CEDA.
|
|
Moved Patrick Handcock ONZM, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Manawatū Region Retail Health Check (2019) and Manawatū Region
Retail Health Check Executive Summary (2019) be received.
2. That
the Chief Executive be instructed to identify and report on other retail
zones within the Central Business District.
|
|
Clause 6-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Vaughan Dennison, Renee Dingwall, Lew
Findlay QSM, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno
Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
7-20
|
Timetable for Updating Sector Profiles
Memorandum, presented by
Julie Macdonald, Strategy & Policy Manager.
During discussion Elected
Members acknowledged the timetable was a good starting point, but felt that
it needed to be confirmed and endorsed prior to publication.
|
|
Moved Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the timetable for updating sector profiles be received as outlined on page
124 of the Economic Development Committee Agenda dated 11 March 2020 be
confirmed.
2. That
all sector profiles be subject to the Economic Development Committee’s
endorsement prior to publication, and that the work schedule be updated to reflect
this.
|
|
Clause 7-20
above was carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Vaughan Dennison, Renee Dingwall, Lew
Findlay QSM, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Bruno
Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma Karaitiana.
|
8-20
|
International Relations 6-monthly update
Memorandum, presented by Toni
Grace, International Relations Manager.
Councillor
Zulfiqar Butt entered the meeting at 11.46am
|
|
Moved Susan Baty, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Committee notes the progress of International Relations activity over the
past six months, contributing to the International Relations Plan and
Economic Development Strategy.
|
|
Clause 8-20 above was
carried 14 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Lew Findlay QSM, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna
Johnson, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford, Tangi Utikere and Mr Ruma
Karaitiana.
|
9-20
|
Housing Portfolio Update (February 2020)
Memorandum, presented by
Councillor Susan Baty.
After discussion Elected
Members agreed that financial modelling should be undertaken regarding the possibility
of retaining one third of sections at Whakarongo for public rental housing at
market rates, in view of the current housing shortage.
The meeting adjourned at 12.01pm.
The meeting resumed at 1.09pm.
When the meeting resumed Mr
Ruma Karaitiana was not present.
|
|
Moved Susan Baty, seconded Lorna Johnson.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Housing Portfolio update report for February 2020 be received for
information.
2. That
the Chief Executive be instructed to undertake financial modelling on the
possibility of retaining one third of sections at Whakarongo for public
rental housing at market rates and reported back to the May 2020 Finance
& Audit Committee meeting.
|
|
Clause 9-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Lew Findlay QSM, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna
Johnson, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.
|
10-20
|
Committee Work Schedule
After discussion Elected
Members agreed to the additions to the Work Schedule.
|
|
Moved Tangi Utikere, seconded Leonie Hapeta.
The COMMITTEE RESOLVED
1. That
the Economic Development Committee receive its Work Schedule dated March 2020,
with the following additions:
- June
2020 CEDA Projects/Activities
Report
- June 2020 Portfolio
Update – Inner City/CBD
- June 2020 Sector
Profiles Timetable
- October 2020 Portfolio
Update – Science, Technology & Innovation
- December 2020 Portfolio Update –
Defence
- December 2020 Portfolio Update –
Education & Students
|
|
Clause 10-20 above was
carried 13 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:
For:
The Mayor (Grant Smith) and
Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee
Dingwall, Lew Findlay QSM, Patrick Handcock ONZM, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna
Johnson, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.
|
The meeting finished at 1.19pm
Confirmed 3 June 2020
Chairperson