News: Stakeholder workshop priorities
14/07/2015
The following projects were considered to have the most potential for increasing jobs, incomes or investment in the region within the next 0-10 years. These projects were endorsed by the RGS Governance Group and will have plans developed to support their implementation.
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Priority area
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Opportunities
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Education and skills
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Creating a Bay of Plenty Youth Strategy.
Enhancing tertiary provision and aligning it to growth industries.
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Aquaculture
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Opotiki sea farm and harbour development.
Commercial trout farming.
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Water
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Collaboratively develop water catchment management and allocation mechanisms
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Visitor economy
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Rotorua wellness strategy.
Regional tourism strategy.
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Forestry and related products
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Develop export markets for processed wood products.
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Horticulture
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Land expansion for kiwifruit
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Geothermal
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Marketing geothermal opportunities to industry
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Agribusiness and land use change
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Māori land utilisation
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The project implementation plans will outline the what, how, who and when activities can happen. They will also take into consideration any infrastructure barriers and how they can assist in supporting the Māori economy.
The project implementation plans are being facilitated by members of the RGS Action Group. Central Government will also assign officials to work in each area, reflecting the partnership approach we have. The project implementation plans will be further prioritised according to regional readiness and likely impact, before being summarised in a draft regional action plan, which will be presented back to stakeholders in August.
Final RGS action plan sign off will occur through the RGS Governance Group (membership is Bay of Connections Governance Group, Deputy Secretary of MBIE and Mayors Crosby, Forbes and Chadwick representing the mayoral forum, chaired by Bay of Connections Chair Doug Leeder).
Progress on other opportunities not listed above will continue as business as usual through existing Bay of Connections action groups or relevant economic development agencies.
Water project update
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is establishing community groups in the water management areas of Rangitāiki and Kaituna/Maketū/Pongakawa. The groups will help identify local community values for freshwater, help set local limits for water quality and quantity, and develop solutions for managing water in their catchments.
This information will then help inform objectives for the management of water throughout other parts of the region, including the RGS Action Plan and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.
Stay connected
Keep up to date and share the latest RGS developments through www.bayofconnections.com and the Bay of Connections Linked In page here. You can also contact us and provide input here.