Every child in Tairāwhiti has an economic future

Activate Tairāwhiti is leading local economic development:

unlocking our region’s potential to activate growth for the benefit

of our whole community. We are here to ensure that

every child in Tairāwhiti has an economic future.

Establishment timeline 3

Who we are and what we do 4

Report from Chairman and Chief Executive; the Executive Board 6

The collaborative approach in action 7

Strategic projects and key results to June 2015 8

Community benefits 11

Financial summary 11

Company directory 12

CONTENTS

Annual Report 2015 | Activate Tairāwhiti 3

Establishment Timeline

ADVOCATE

MAY 2014 OCTOBER 2014 MARCH 2015 MARCH 2015 APRIL 2015 MAY 2015 ONGOINGAPRIL–JUNE 2015

CONSULT WORKPLAN PRIME FUNDING CEO ESTABLISH ENGAGE

Local business leaders advocate for the

establishment of a new, business-led regional

economic development agency.

Community consultation and workshop on economic

development carried out.

The regional economic development strategy,

‘Activate Tairāwhiti Economic Development

Workplan 2015’, is produced and adopted.

Prime sawmill site negotiations commence.The Mind Lab by Unitec

opens.

Activate Tairāwhiti is established by the business

community. Three years of base funding

provided by Gisborne District Council and

Eastland Community Trust.

CEO Steve Breen is appointed.

Business Hub opens.Project delivery

commences.

Annual budget for Activate Tairāwhiti finalised. Activate

Tairāwhiti Trusts and Company legal structures established. Trustees and Directors appointed and officers recruited. Office

space secured and website launched.

Engagement with key stakeholders is being

broadened as Activate Tairāwhiti’s operational capacity is expanded.

4 Activate Tairāwhiti | Annual Report 2015

The Gisborne City and Tairāwhiti region has a wealth of natural resources. An enviable lifestyle. A well-networked and proactive business community. A local authority that knows the importance of supporting our businesses and making this a place where people want to live and work. What had been missing was a dedicated resource purely focused on growing the Tairāwhiti economy.

So, in April 2015, the local business community established New Zealand’s newest economic development agency.

Activate Tairāwhiti is a business-led organisation supported by the Gisborne District Council and the Eastland Community Trust. The backing of business leaders gives us the strength, insight and credibility that is critical to securing better economic outcomes for the region.

Who we are and what we do

Our emphasis is on a collaborative approach to deliver sound economic development actions:

Generate jobs and grow GDP

Build our region’s competitive advantages

Work with key public and private sector partners to deliver projects that stimulate business growth and productivity

Create a business environment that supports sustainable economic growth

Help develop a skilled and talented workforce

Retain regional wealth for re-investment

Attract investment into the region

Monitor and benchmark our region’s performance against other regions, to inform allocation of resources

Gisborne’s annual economic growth to June 2015

Regional exports rose 20.8% compared with June 2014

Local retail spending lifted 9.9% in the June quarter

secured from central government for High Performance Work Initiative

5new jobs

$440,000external investment into the region

3,000students engaged

$50,000 per year for 3 years from the Gisborne District Council

Financial & marketing support from Air New Zealand

$10,000 from Gisborne Chamber of Commerce

$10,000Gisborne Herald in kind support

1 stop shop for businessTairāwhiti Business Hub established

3.3% 9.9% $20,00020.8%

Air New Zealand InitiativeThe Mind Lab by Unitec

6 Activate Tairāwhiti | Annual Report 2015

Report from Chairman and Chief Executive

EXECUTIVE BOARD (AS AT 30 JUNE 2015)

Chairman: John Rae, FJ Hawkes & Co. Limited

Jasper Holdsworth, Pultron Composites Ltd

CEO: Steve Breen, Activate Tairāwhiti

Fraser Brown, Craigs Investment Partners

mindset. Activate Tairāwhiti has brought together a group of committed local stakeholders to work on promoting the region nationally and internationally. The thinking that is emerging as a result is truly exciting, and will have significant ongoing benefits for the community as a whole.

The Board would like to thank all the local business leaders who saw the need for Activate Tairāwhiti and supported and championed its establishment. Our achievements to date are the result of their combined effort to make things happen. We thank Eastland Community Trust and Gisborne District Council in particular for their vision and funding support.

We have a genuine window of opportunity to effect change and are just out of the starting blocks with the real work ahead. Activate Tairāwhiti’s team and Executive Board are committed to seeing the Tairāwhiti region reach its full potential, ensuring every child in Tairāwhiti has an economic future.

The national economic performance indicators identify that we have work ahead of us if we’re to realise the kind of future we would like for our children. However, these indicators don’t reflect the opportunities that exist, nor those that we can make happen through applied effort. What’s apparent is that we are a big enough regional economy to matter, and small enough to be able to make a difference.

Activate Tairāwhiti facilitates local economic outcomes by developing the partnerships, alliances, networks and information flows across the region, New Zealand and internationally that deliver tangible results.

It’s to the credit of the fledgling Board and Eastland Community Trust that The Mind Lab by Unitec was the first initiative delivered by Activate. This initiative is tasked with increasing regional digital literacy and by the end of June 2015, 3,000 students from 29 schools had attended programmes and 37 local teachers enrolled in postgraduate diplomas. This is a long-term investment in our community. It will make an enduring contribution to the local economy, as

businesses increasingly employ people with the digital skills needed to adopt new technology and to improve competitiveness and productivity.

One of the emerging themes from the early work of Activate Tairāwhiti is the importance of the wider collaborative approach between our local business, civic and educational networks. To retain and grow our existing businesses, attract new businesses and promote the region as a visitor destination, we need to continue working closely together.

We’re competing with other regions for business growth and the jobs and people that go with them. Our ability to demonstrate quality education and health services, civic amenities, a vibrant town centre, unique tourist attractions and affordable housing is equally as important as having business growth opportunities, reliable infrastructure, effective transport links and a skilled workforce.

The Air New Zealand initiative is an excellent example of this collaborative

This year has seen the rapid transformation of Activate Tairāwhiti from a bold idea into a fully-fledged and operational legal entity, delivering results right from the outset. The ‘can-do’ approach shown by the stakeholders

involved demonstrates one of the major strengths of our region.

Annual Report 2015 | Activate Tairāwhiti 7

The collaborative approach in actionActivate Tairāwhiti sits at the heart of business, local government and economic activity in the region, with access

to the information and contacts that businesses need. We’re a small team – less than two fulltime-equivalent officers – reinforcing the wider collaborative approach to success.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT

Activate Tairāwhiti has been endorsed by Minister Joyce as the conduit between central government and the Tairāwhiti region for economic development initiatives. Significant outcomes include:

• Central government support for the Activate Tairāwhiti Regional Economic Development Workplan 2015.

BUSINESS TRAINING AND SUPPORT

Through the Regional Business Partner, a comprehensive programme of business training and support is now in place. This includes co-funding, training and development to increase capability in eligible businesses; connecting exporting businesses to NZTE; Callaghan Innovation research and development grants and introductions to advisors and incubators.

• Additional funding provided by Callaghan Innovation to support the introduction of the High Performance Work Initiative to the region, which will improve business productivity.

• Development of a bid to attract a Regional Research Institute to the region.

• Engagement with the NZTE inward investment team and improved economic analysis information.

THE TAIRAWHITI BUSINESS HUB

We’ve established the Tairāwhiti Business Hub at our premises at 46 Childers Road. This is a one-stop-shop for business support services and includes the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce, The Regional Business Partner programme, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Callaghan Innovation.

The Hub complements the on-line services provided by our website. Local and visiting business people are welcome to use the office facilities and meeting rooms.

The Hub concept continues to evolve, and work is now being undertaken to assess the feasibility of providing enhanced digital capabilities, business incubator space, hot desking, and participation of a wider range of business support services.

WESTPAC GISBORNE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Activate Tairāwhiti was contracted to deliver the Westpac Gisborne Business Excellence Awards 2015.

Strategic projects and key results to June 2015Our Economic Development Workplan 2015 identifies four Driver Sectors that support the region’s long-term economic prosperity and employment future: Wood Product, Food Product, Quality of Life (Tourism) and Digital/New Economy. We’ve moved rapidly from establishing Activate Tairāwhiti as a functioning agency to taking a leadership role, identifying opportunities and implementing practical actions within each of these sectors. Success here will lead to growth for the entire region.

Annual Report 2015 | Activate Tairāwhiti 9

WOOD SECTOR

Activate Tairāwhiti facilitated the involvement of the Eastland Community Trust in the purchase of the Prime sawmill site in Dunstan Road. Negotiations with commercial operators on the re-commissioning of the site are well advanced.

FOOD SECTOR

Activate Tairāwhiti’s Regional Business Partner is fully engaged with the honey cluster and other important food, wine, horticultural and agricultural businesses. We regularly host a representative from the New Zealand Food Innovation Network, and are connecting businesses in this sector to a number of R&D, funding and business development opportunities.

QUALITY OF LIFE (TOURISM)

Air New Zealand initiative: We secured Air New Zealand’s commitment to provide financial and marketing support for the promotion of the region. We also established a core group of local stakeholders to progress this initiative, including iwi, Tourism Eastland and the Eastland Group. Funding

and in-kind support has been committed by Gisborne District Council, Gisborne Chamber of Commerce and the Gisborne Herald. An important outcome will be attracting more visitors to the region from the Wellington market, with Air New Zealand’s decision to double the size of airplane servicing the Gisborne – Wellington route from August next year.

Regional Master Value Proposition: The Air New Zealand initiative is also helping to crystallise the development of the Tairāwhiti Regional Master Value Proposition. This will be used to promote the region across all areas: tourism, business attraction, skilled worker retention and attraction, international student attraction and out-of-region stakeholder engagement.

Amalgamation: Activate Tairāwhiti supports the Gisborne District Council’s intention to amalgamate Activate Tairāwhiti, Tourism Eastland and Heart of Gisborne. We see this as a “best for region” approach, delivering improved regional marketing through having one coordinated agency, reduced overheads and the multiplier effect of collaborative working.

DIGITAL/NEW ECONOMY

Activate Tairāwhiti is capitalising on the success of the Gigatown competition to deliver a range of actions under the Gisborne Plan for Gig Success.

Digital Steering Group: The Digital Steering Group re-formed and Chorus has committed to two years’ sponsorship of a gigabyte of high-speed fibre access to a building of our choice within the City. We’re working with the Digital Steering Group and business operators to determine how best to use this valuable resource.

The Mind Lab by Unitec: We secured the support of Eastland Community Trust to establish The Mind Lab by Unitec in Gisborne, the first location outside of Auckland to achieve this. To date:

• 3,000 students have participated in The Mind Lab by Unitec digital literacy programmes.

• 29 of the region’s schools have been engaged.

• 37 local teachers have enrolled in a postgraduate diploma in digital literacy teaching.

Digital projects: Activate Tairāwhiti gained funding from Eastland Community Trust to support a series of digital projects, including a digital showcase evening, a three-day visual effects workshop, and the launch of the Co.Starters business start-up and development programme. Gisborne, along with other Gigatown finalists Dunedin, Wanaka, Porirua and Nelson, was granted the license to run Co.Starters in the region. ECT’s funding has enabled 18 local businesspeople to become trained as Co.Starters facilitators, and four nine-week programmes to be run over the next year.

Digital Business Hub: Consideration is being given to creating a Digital Business Hub within the wider Tairāwhiti Business Hub, and feasibility work is being undertaken.

Website: Activate Tairāwhiti’s website is a virtual central hub for businesses looking for support services and people seeking economic information on the region. The website will continue to be developed and expanded in response to the requirements of our business community.

Annual Report 2015 | Activate Tairāwhiti 11

STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS Trading Income

GDC Funding 180,000

Regional Business Partner 20,000

Local Government Grant 86,957

Total Trading Income 286,957

Direct Expenses

Digital Workstream 4,246

Economic Appraisal 7,288

Events/Forums 2,556

Project Due Diligence 5,748

Workshops 20,862

Total Direct Expenses 40,700

Net profit / (loss) from trading 246,257

Other Income

Digital Workstream Funding 5,600

Interest Receivable 456

Sponsorship Income 29,500

Total other income 35,556

TOTAL INCOME 281,813

Expenses

Operating Expenses 335,945

Depreciation 990

Total Expenses 336,935

Net Profit / (loss) before taxation

(55,122)

Net profit / (loss) for the year (55,122)

BALANCE SHEETASSETS

Current Assets

Cash 157,754

GST Receiveable 8,817

Accounts Receivable 133,233

Total Current Assets 299,804

Non Current Assets

Property, plant and equipment 16,417

Total Non Current Assets 16,417

Total Assets 316,221

LIABILITIES

Current Liabilities

Accounts Payable 20,193

Wages Deductions Payable 3,710

Accountancy Fees Provision 2,590

Inland Revenue Department (149)

Total Current Liabilities 26,343

Non Current Liabilities 26,343

Activate Tairāwhiti Regional Development Trust Loan

345,000

Tota Non Current Liabilities 345,000

Total Liabilities 371,343

Net Assets (55,122)

Equity

Retained Earnings (55,122)

Total Equity (55,122)

A strong and prosperous local economy benefits our entire community

It provides employment opportunities through retaining and growing our existing businesses and attracting new businesses to the area.

It creates education, training, research, business and employment opportunities that increase the desirability of the region as a place to live, work, invest, grow and enjoy.

It supports increased investment in our local infrastructure, health, social services, the environment, arts and culture and recreation.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2015

COMPANY DIRECTORY

Board of Directors Chairman: John Rae Jasper Holdsworth Fraser Brown

CEO Steve Breen

Registered Office Activate Tairāwhiti Ltd 1st Floor, 46 Childers Road Gisborne 4010 PO Box 897 Gisborne 4040

www.activatetairawhiti.co.nz

Page 5 economic growth stats: ANZ regional trends research.Page 7 photo credits: The Mind Lab by Unitec; Coxco.Page 9 factory photo credit: Harvest Cidery.

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