“E kore te mata o tēnei hapori e rite anō ki te mata o nāianei” This community will never be the same.
That's the call from Far North Mayor Moko Tepania following the opening of the Ngāwhā Innovation & Enterprise Park.
Iwi and business leaders in the Far North gathered this morning to open the first stage of the park, which will boost an area that has suffered from severe underinvestment.
The park provides modern facilities, including laboratory spaces, co-working spaces, video conferencing, café, and meeting rooms.
The Ngawha Innovation & Enterprise Park also has an education and training precinct focused on working with providers to deliver skills needed by the businesses at the Park and wider district.
Enticing industries to the north
Far North Holdings chief executive Andy Nock says the park encourages more collaboration between businesses, the goal being to entice primary industries to develop their products here in Northland.
"This reflects the fact the Far North primarily exports a lot of raw materials and does not add many jobs to that mix. So the park is here to create employment opportunities and education and training opportunities."
The park received significant funding, $20m, through the Provincial Growth Fund, and former minister Shane Jones was on hand to celebrate the opening. He says one of the real keys to the park is the opportunity for higher education: "So rangatahi can come and strengthen and fill the education kete up with skills they are looking to learn."
Ngāpuhi Asset Holding Company (“NAHC”) has partnered with Far North Holdings to establish Kaikohe Berryfruit, one of the Park’s anchor tenants.
NAHC chief executive Paul Knight says it's about bringing pride back to Kaikohe.
“By providing meaningful employment on a large scale, the hope is we can keep the community that is around here, and put some pride back into it. Kaikohe Berryfruit’s been really proud of putting the name of Kaikohe right in front of its premium product in the market. So everybody can associate Kaikohe with a premium brand”