Media Releases

April 2001

30 April 2001
The Eco City Gets Down To Business

18 April 2001 
Pacifica 2001 gets underway

18th April 2001 

Pacifica 2001 gets underway

The 5th annual Waitakere Pacifica Living Arts Festival was launched on Sunday 29 April, with a special church service and gospel singing at the Kelston Community Centre attended by hundreds of local Pacific Island residents. 

The guest of honour was Corrections Minister, Matt Robson, who attended on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Anderton. Local MPs Chris Carter and David Cunliffe were also present. 

Festival organisers are now gearing up for the "Fusion" youth and fashion night on Wednesday 2 May, 7-9pm, which will include a show of vibrant cultural performance and colourful Pacific fashion. 

Week-day visitors to the community centre can take in a number of Pacific Islands-related exhibitions and displays and participate in a range of workshops on Pacific Islands performance, arts and crafts. 

Large crowds are expected to pack into the community centre on Saturday 5 May (9am-5pm) for the main festival day, which will include dancing, music, arts, crafts, exhibitions and stalls - all in a marketplace atmosphere. Guided tours are also offered.

30 April 2001

The Eco City Gets Down To Business

Waitakere City is hosting a major economic development summit on Friday, April 27. 

The summit will be followed by the annual Waitakere Business awards, which recognise excellence and innovation in a number of categories. 

The economic development summit is focussing on e-business and e-commerce opportunities. Keynote speakers include Ian Taylor (executive vice-president of Business Development with Virtual Spectator), and John O’Hara (director of Applied Logic Systems). 

The interest from Waitakere businesses has been so high that registrations were full within a week. More than 80 small, medium and large businesses will be represented. Major sponsors of the day are the City Council’s business development arm Waitakere Enterprise, the Internet Society of New Zealand and UNITEC’s New Zealand Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

Waitakere, Mayor Bob Harvey says his Council has targeted economic development at its number 1 priority. "Quite simply we don’t think that the core business of Councils is just roads, rates and rubbish," he says. 

"Jobs and a strong local economy have direct flow- on social effects. So in creating a business friendly environment and attracting new business investment we are building a better City for all our residents."

As well as providing the latest information on the world of e-commerce to key business people, the Council is hoping that the debate and discussion will provide it with valuable information to enable it to formulate a formal economic development strategy for the future. 

"So this isn’t just a talk-fest," says Mr Harvey. "It’s about providing local business with practical information and opportunities that they can use on a day to day basis, and also hearing from them about what they need from the Council." 

In the evening of April 27, following the summit, Waitakere’s annual business awards will be held. The black-tie event sees local companies recognised in a number of categories, including best new business, an export award, and environmentally friendly business. 

A highlight will be the induction of a nationally prominent business person into the "Business Hall of Fame". Previous inductees have included the likes of Sir Tom Clark (Crown Lynn), Graeme Douglas (Douglas Pharmaceuticals), Henry B. Norcross (Norcross Printing) and Peter Babich (Babich Wines). 

The Economic Summit comes just as Waitakere City has released a report which shows its economy is strong, and growing (report enclosed). 

Waitakere is the fifth largest City in the country and the figures show that over the year to March 2000 its gross domestic product grew by 7%. The wider Auckland region’s GDP increased by just 5.4%. 

It’s also good news on the employment front, with Waitakere’s job numbers up 5.7%. That compares to 4.8% for the Auckland region as a whole. 

The forecasts are for Waitakere’s economy to continue growing over the next two years, in spite of a worsening world economic outlook. The report, prepared by Infometrics Ltd, says that growth will most likely be greater than the national average and that the low New Zealand dollar will continue to attract tourists to the country, offering growth opportunities in Waitakere’s service sector.