Economic Development News: July 2024
Published on 24 July 2024
It’s a good question and one we often get asked. In a nutshell, Economic Development (ED) is the process of improving people’s living standards. Our work in the ED team focuses on helping to lift the economic wellbeing and quality-of-life of those in our district.
Economic Development encompasses any activity that supports greater economic and living opportunities for those in our district – that’s ED. Everyone can have an impact.
Our small, focused Economic Development team at Council prioritises initiatives that have lasting impact, can attract funding and resources, create employment opportunities, and are business or community-led.
We support business and industry development and capability – recognising that businesses and industry provide products and services our communities need and value, create employment opportunities, and contribute to a sense of vibrancy in our communities.
On a small scale some recent examples of this in action include; funding and running ChatGPT workshops for small business owners and community organisation leaders across the district, connecting organisations with tools and resources (more below), or meeting monthly with business associations across the district to support their organisations and the wider business community.
On a larger scale it’s about promoting and raising awareness about the needs and issues of the Coromandel’s key industries, supporting industry development and Research and Development opportunities.
We help attract funding and investment into the district. This work is especially gratifying when we can help our communities get support for an opportunity or need they’ve identified themselves. This could be new infrastructure, like the Kōpū Marine Servicing and Business Precinct, or a new tech business that is interested in setting up shop in town. We often meet with central government officials to talk through opportunities and needs, and support our colleagues with submissions, business cases and funding pitches.
We also feed into the strategic planning and investment functions of our Council which have a significant impact, particularly on infrastructure, commercial activity, and housing provision.
Our ED insights help prepare and inform our decision-makers. We share regular economic data and insights with our community too, including what can be found in this newsletter. Most recently we have been providing insights on the state of housing and the state of the district’s workforce to our Councillors.
We often use our work to advocate for more investment (particularly from central government) or for change or action. We advocate for our district’s economic development needs at regional and national levels, as well as locally. Maintaining relationships is a critical part of this.
If a community-led or Research and Development opportunity emerges but needs technical, economic, or business-case related expertise, or data and insights, to help get it off the ground, we can often help.
An example is our support of community-led development of tracks and trails. Tracks and trails are a special part of what makes our district a great place to live and visit. Our work centres on bringing interest groups together to develop a great trails community and network across our district. If you’d like to connect more on our tracks and trails programme email our Regional Tracks and Trails Co-ordinator, Ally Davey - ally.davey@tcdc.govt.nz.
And what else makes our communities thrive, and our lives that much more fun, than events? Big events, filming activities, and world class experiences bring plenty of opportunities for skills development, economic activity, and new experiences. Kirstin Scarrott is our district events and experiences co-ordinator, working to attract large events to our district, and support event organisers and our community to get the best from these experiences. Contact Kirstin: kirstin.scarrott@tcdc.govt.nz
This is just a snapshot of what our Economic Development activity entails in practice.
So, if you have a business, venture or investment idea, or perhaps hope to run an event, build a project, or create employment or skills opportunities and would like some help making it happen, please get in touch with our team: Mitch at mitchell.king@tcdc.govt.nz and Jess at jessica.black@tcdc.govt.nz
Quarterly results show limited growth
Latest economic data for our region shows stagnant GDP and limited spending growth over the past year, with our key economic markers lagging behind national figures.
Data for the quarter to March 2024 estimates Provisional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $1.7 billion, meaning no GDP growth in our region over the year prior.
The economy overall remains downbeat, with consumer spending in the district increasing by just 0.5 per cent over the year to March compared to a year earlier. This remains less than the 2.8 per cent increase in consumer spend experienced nationally, which also lagged inflation of 4 per cent.
Visitor spending in our district was $29 million in March 2024, which is $8 million more than in March 2023, and $1.5 million more than February 2024, noting the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.
The recovery of international tourism nationally, and the re-opening of State Highway 25A saw guest nights in the district reach their highest levels since June 2021.
While economic conditions overall remain difficult, some industries do look promising. Agriculture, forestry and fishing grew their contribution to Thames Coromandel’s GDP in the year to March, while industries more reliant on discretionary spending saw notable declines in GDP, particularly accommodation and food services and retail.
Employment across Thames-Coromandel rose 1.0 per cent in the March 2024 quarter, about a third of the growth recorded across the Waikato region and nationally. Healthcare, fishing, and agriculture were the largest contributors to job growth for Thames-Coromandel residents.
Despite facing noticeable economic pressures, industries like accommodation and food services, retail, and construction remain resilient, with all these sectors experiencing positive employment over the past year.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent in the year to March 2024 for Thames-Coromandel residents, nearing the district’s 10-year peak of 4.4 per cent in March 2015 and above the national average of 4.0 per cent.
Meanwhile, average house values have fallen by 6.3 per cent compared to a year earlier, but the price is still unaffordable at $1.16 million, reflective of the large proportion of holiday properties and retiree population.
Fun fact: Retail trade for groceries is an essential part of a thriving business community, meeting our daily needs for good health and nutrition, entertainment, and food for special occasions. Around 700 people are employed in supermarkets, grocery stores, and specialised food retailing in our district. Thanks to these wonderful people who keep these stores running smoothly.
The Waikato Regional Business Sentiment Survey for April this year shows nearly half of respondents feel the regional economy is slowing, which is reflective of our economic data.
47 per cent of those who took part in the survey say they’re experiencing a slow-down in the Waikato economy, compared to 38 percent who felt that way in November last year. Just over a third expect that to remain the same over the coming year, with 33 percent predicting improvement in the next 12 months.
Respondents were more upbeat about their own businesses, with 40 percent feeling confident rather than neutral or worried, and 50 percent looking to grow moderately, with just under a third expecting to hire more staff.
The survey also showed the majority of respondents feel there’s a skills shortage in our region and cited the shortage as the second-highest barrier to growth after inflation. Respondents signalled skills shortages are most prevalent for skills related to health (i.e. nurse, doctors), freight and logistics (i.e. transport/truck drivers), agriculture (i.e. fruit pickers/relief milkers/farm hands), engineering (i.e. civil, chemical, mechanical), and leadership/team leaders.
Roads, health and affordable housing were the businesses key priorities for local infrastructure spending, with most indicating that they’d prefer these projects be paid for out of general taxation or public-private partnerships.
Survey responses all come from businesses operating in our district, and you can review the full update here(PDF, 326KB).
The Waikato Regional Economic Development agency Te Waka is no longer operating, and there are some questions and conversations as to what might be next for Economic Development activity as a region.
We’re working with the Waikato Regional Council to learn more about the views of businesses, iwi, community groups and others on regional economic development priorities and future opportunities.
As a first step, we’re seeking your thoughts via a short survey
Complete the survey here
Please allow 5-10 minutes to complete the survey, which closes on Monday 5 August 2024. Insights will be shared in early September.
A large number of tools and resources are readily available to all New Zealand businesses and organisations looking to strengthen their offerings.
Our Economic Development team has a compiled a list of these resources on our business supports page here. We are always happy to connect you with the right people, opportunities, and resources to support your business. Please reach out if we can be of help.
Using ChatGPT in your business
Chat GPT is one of many Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools now available for general use. It’s a language model trained to analyse and respond by text, images, and speech, to requests issued through an instruction or ‘prompt’. You can think of it as the world's smartest intern or a virtual assistant.
If you’d like to give it a try you can do so here: ChatGPT | OpenAI. You can create a free account, which will give you a good sense of ChatGPT capability using text prompts and text responses. Upgrade to advanced ChatGPT-4o and you can also use speech to issue prompts, or upload raw files like images, documents, and data in excel to receive a response from ChatGPT.
Last month we had Mosaic Partners in our district running workshops on how Kiwi organisations can harness of the power of ChatGPT. Top tips for using ChatGPT from this workshop were:
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Assign ChatGPT a clear role. Imagine it is a person with a particular expertise, of a certain age, or who writes a certain way. Alternatively, you can set a role for your ChatGPT under ‘Customize ChatGPT’ or ‘My GPTs’.
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Don’t write in or upload anything to ChatGPT that you wouldn’t otherwise be happy to have on the internet. It’s best to anonymise any personal information for any data analysis. Like any new technology and tool ChatGPT, and OpenAI the company behind it, is just another company to trust with information.
If you missed the workshops you might like to find out more about Chat GPT by subscribing to ‘3 Things from Mosaic Partners, Mosaic’s fortnightly newsletter.
Podcast recommendations
Our Economic Development team enjoy a podcast or two in their spare time. Here’s a couple of podcast recommendations from Jess. She really enjoys podcasts that explore crunchy issues facing New Zealand in ways that are easy to understand.
When the Facts Change: Hosted by journalist Bernard Hickey, When the Facts Change is your essential weekly guide to the intersection of economics, business and politics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Presented by The Spinoff together with Kiwibank.
Richardsons Hauraki-Coromandel Business Awards – enter and nominate by Friday 16 August
The Richardsons Hauraki Coromandel Business Awards are delivered biennially by Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel District Councils and supported by members of the business community, as well as many generous sponsors, to date for 2024: Richardsons Real Estate, MoreFM, Harkness Henry, Seagull Centre, Craigs Investment Partners Waikato, Rolleston Motel, and Gastronomics.
Entering the awards offers you an opportunity to gain recognition for your organisation and the chance to gain expert advice on how your business can continue to prosper.
Public nominations are also open for the Service to Business and People’s Choice awards.
Entries and nominations are open until Friday 16 August. Full information on the award categories and how to enter and nominate is available here.
Leadership Bites Series for small businesses – Sign up now
HR Specialists, Everest, are running a workshop series in Paeroa for small business owners and leaders to master the foundational skills to successfully manage people. These workshops will be run as a weekly series of 4 x 2 hour in-person sessions, in the evenings, starting Wednesday 4 September.
Spaces are limited and co-funding is available for eligible businesses to reduce the attendance cost. Interested businesses from across the Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel Districts can find out more about the workshops and how to register here.
Regional Event Fund (REF)
The Coromandel’s Regional Events Fund is a seed fund to help new and existing events build and develop a long-term sustainable platform and achieve continued growth. Through the REF, Destination Hauraki Coromandel aims to build a stronger calendar of events. A full and active events calendar helps showcase the best of the Coromandel, providing significant flow-on benefits to tourism businesses (which includes the retail and hospitality sectors) in our district.
Timeline of Activity 2024:
- 9 July 2024 Applications open
- 25 July 2024 Applications close 5pm
- 27 August 2024 Successful applications notified
TCDC District Events Fund
Formerly known as the Major Events Fund, the Thames-Coromandel District Events Fund (DEF) aims to enhance our communities through vibrant and inclusive events. The goal of this fund is to support and expand existing events while fostering new initiatives, particularly during shoulder seasons, to promote positive social and economic outcomes across our district.
Timeline of Activity 2024
- 1 August 2024 Applications open
- 1 September 2024 Applications close
- 15 October 2024 Council award funding at their meeting
For further details about the criteria and application process see the TCDC website.
It’s been a few months since we announced the 20 winners of our Business Mentors NZ mentoring giveaway. Winners have been matched with professional mentors and are already gaining a lot of value from the mentorship experience. We’re very happy to hear the mentees report back that they’ve been “well matched with mentors”, “have had some thorough meetings”, and are “really pleased with how it’s going”. Mentorships run for a 12-month period.
Jen from Two Tides Bakery, and Steve from Build Good Architecture, members of the Tairua Business Association – two of 20 winners of a one-year business mentoring voucher thanks to BMNZ, the EMA, and TCDC.
We were pleased to support the Mercury Bay Business Association’s Business After 5 (BA5) networking event earlier this month. Hosted at Espy Café, attendees enjoyed the opportunity to network, share in some great kai, and hear from a range of speakers.
Hato Hone St John gave an overview of their First Aid courses available to businesses (many free), what is involved in becoming a volunteer, and the recognition given to businesses who support volunteers. You might be interested in supporting Hato Hone St John Whitianga through an upcoming Terminator movie fundraiser.
Georgie Parry, founder of Coromandel Youth Mentors spoke about the genesis of the newly established charity. She noted the need for financial support, as well as for mentors who could support youth between the ages of 8-20 across the Coromandel. Mentors are asked to dedicate two hours a fortnight for 12 months and attend a free mentoring training. The next training is on Saturday 17 August. Find out more here.
Jessica Black from our Economic Development team thanked the Mercury Bay Business Association for all the work they do for their local community, and the opportunity to host the networking event. She explained that at its core Economic Development is about lifting living standards, and supporting a thriving business community is a key part of this.
Project Director Lorenzo Canal spoke about our Council’s Whitianga Waterfront Redevelopment project. The waterfront area is used by many, so in the first stages of the project Lorenzo emphasised how good time is being taken to understand the distinct needs of local user groups. He invited interested businesses from the MBBA to join the user group discussions.
Our Economic Development team looks forward to supporting the Coromandel Colville Business Associations’ BA5 later this month – Wednesday 31 July - 5pm, Combined Club, Woollams Ave. Our team will give an overview of Economic Development at TCDC. We’ll also touch on interesting projects, and district insights and tools that might support businesses and community organisations. SODA Inc will also be presenting on the support services they provide for businesses (including funding, workshops, and startup coaching).
This month Enterprise Whangamatā is also holding their AGM and Business After Five.
Our Economic Development team also look forward to connecting with businesses at the Tairua Business Associations’ BA5 event on Monday 26 August alongside Destination Hauraki Coromandel, and the Thames Business Associations BA5 on Tuesday 12 November.
Get your tickets for the Whitianga Oceans Festival
Congratulations to the Whitianga Oceans Festival, which has been named a finalist in the Best Sustainability Initiative 2024 category in the 2024 New Zealand Event Awards.
Our Council supported Whitianga Oceans Festival in its earlier years with grant funding, and they’ve now grown independent of ratepayer funding. We were really pleased to support their application for the awards. The NZ Event Awards winners will be announced on Tuesday 27 August, so fingers crossed for the Oceans Festival.
Make sure to get your tickets to this years Festival, set for Saturday 14 September 2024.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Whitianga Harbour, the festival presents a range of New Zealand caught seafood, cooked in a myriad of different ways by renowned chefs, stall holders and local community groups. Complemented with an array of local and New Zealand beverages, festival goers will be entertained by live bands, buskers, seafood cooking classes and more.
Black Rock Cross Country Event – 21st September – Whangamatā Mountain Bike Park
We have had so much positive feedback from last year’s event. You do not want to miss out!
Categories:
- 20km loop
- 40km loop
- 60km loop
- Kids loop
- Single Speed
- E-Bike
- Mystery Challenge
Whether you are training for the Whaka100, XC season or just looking for an awesome weekend away riding bikes, the Whangamatā Black Rock Cross Country is not to be missed.
Hold the dates
- Spring Fling - 30 November at Pepe Reserve in Tairua
- Paradise Golf Tournament (Tairua, Pauanui and Whangamatā golf courses) - 29 November -1 December