Business Central September 2020

6 | Volume 5 | Issue 3 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT » Palmerston North Facing the future with optimism Richard Loader “Our sectors are strong and we can thrive again. Palmerston North has weathered the storm reasonably well because of our diversity and we know our city’s roots.” I f there was a silver lining in the wake of Covid19, Palmerston North City Mayor Grant Smith reckons it would be people taking the time to smell the roses, being kind to each other and the spirit of community. “Nationwide we’re seeing people being put ahead of profit - businesses letting the bottom line take a hit and burn some reserves to keep people and families in jobs.,” he says. “We’ve seen that from some of our region’s big- gest employers - Norwood, Toyota and some of the transportation firms.” Amidst the hazy uncertainty of Covid-19, Grant called a meeting of leaders from 40 of Palmerston North’s biggest employers collectively representing 20,000 jobs with the aim of preserving as many of those jobs as possible. Stipulating ‘Chatham House’ rules—share with- out fear—overwhelmingly the message voiced was ‘people over profits’. “There is hurt and pain—but the responses were surprisingly optimistic,” he says. “It was survive, then thrive as the opportunity allowed from this challenging environment. “Our sectors are strong and we can thrive again. Palmerston North has weathered the storm reason- ably well because of our diversity and we know our city’s roots.” One of the key outcomes was if businesses were going to shed staff or didn’t need staff for a six month period, was there an opportunity to job-share by collaborating between sectors? The creation of a job-sharing app has already seen promising results. Central to the city’s resilience is it’s historical foundation as a transport and logistics hub for rail, road and air. “The main trunk line comes through here. In terms of rail, it splits to the East Coast and up to the central north Island. Five state highways dissect here – even though we’re slightly off SH1.” The region’s very diverse agri-business sector takes root from early Maori who used the area as a food basket, trading up and down the Manawatu River. Today with more fertile class one and class two soils than any other region in New Zealand, agri- business plays a key role in the region’s economy. Along with a sizeable dairy herd, the region boasts everything from large deer holdings in the upper Manawatu, through to a significant produce and horticultural sector in the lower Manawatu. “With our friends and colleagues in Feilding, Rangitikei and Whanganui we’re the nation’s sheep and beef capital,” Grant says. “And we have one third of the country’s goat herd in the lower Opiki. We feed the lower North Island with vegetables and produce. The major su- permarket chains have their big Lower North Island and South Island distribution hubs here. Forestry is quite big, as is arable farming.” Home to Massey University, education and re- search is a key player in Palmerston North’s diver- sity, and it has the largest cluster of food scientists in the Southern Hemisphere. New Zealand’s largest university; Massey’s size and broad reach reflect a strong research focus around food innovation and science, agriculture and forestry. The university along with several Crown Re- search Institutes are part of the FoodHQ network, which offers food companies and innovators access to one of the world’s leading clusters of food sci- ence expertise and facilities. An aviation school along with New Zealand’s largest business school complement Massey’s offering to a broad cross section of national and international students. Government or quasi-Government organisations account for 39% of the city’s wage bill - a welcome safety net provided during challenging times like Covid19 and 2008’s GFC. A large NZDF sector employs 7000 people at either Linton Military Camp or RNZAF Base Ohakea, with head quarters for NZDF Command and Staff College also based in Palmerton North. Health is Palmerston North’s largest sector with Palmerston North Hospital providing some specialist services to Whanganui, Hawke’s Bay and Taranaki regions. Norwood and Toyota NZ have their Head Offices in Palmerston North, with corporates like Plumbing World, and FMG Insurance having large inner city offices. “We’re also a regional retail hub with a large number of people visiting for shopping throughout the Manawatu. But like everywhere, the shop win- dow was broken. Our retail sector is hurting, and our hospitality and accommodation sectors are just starting to come back now. With level two we’ve seen retail numbers and some other indicators jump back quite quickly and they’re staying there. Even though our visitation numbers are surprisingly high, ours is very much a business market—you come here to do business, visit family and friends or go to a conference or an event. So we will not be affected to the same extent as some of the tourist hotspot areas.” With a population of 93,000, Palmerston North is poised to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2021— a celebration of economic and social diversity. “We’re actually a lot bigger than 93,000 because we have a sizeable commuting population from smaller towns and even some of the cities like Whanganui.” Going forward, Grant says businesses under- stands their people are their most important asset and it will get better. “But we are going to have to be collaborative and agile.” Grant Smith

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