Category: Events Economic Development

Source: Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED)

Headline: Auckland employment hubs benefit over 500 young job seekers

Minister of Employment Willie Jackson today visited the Auckland CBD Jobs and Skills Hub and the Southern Initiative in Auckland that have benefitted over 500 young workers and rangatahi in the city. 
 
“There is outstanding work going on in the Hub in response to employment demands in the construct…

Published
09 MAR 2018

Minister of Employment Willie Jackson today visited the Auckland CBD Jobs and Skills Hub and the Southern Initiative in Auckland that have benefitted over 500 young workers and rangatahi in the city. 
 
“There is outstanding work going on in the Hub in response to employment demands in the construction industry,” says Mr Jackson.
 
“Auckland’s inner city skyline is testimony to the intense infrastructure development that is taking place in the largest commercial centre in New Zealand,” says Mr Jackson. 
 
“Since the Hub’s establishment nearly a year ago it facilitated training for 500 job seekers and over 150 people have been placed into employment with early indicators of success, with 47 percent under the age of 25; 37 percent of Māori descent; and 32 percent of Pacific Island descent.
 
“The Auckland city centre, including Wynyard Quarter and the downtown waterfront, is the commercial, cultural and educational heart of the city as New Zealand’s ‘shop front’ for international tourists, migrants and investors.
 
“The Jobs and Skills Hub’s purpose is to support commercial activity in the city by connecting employers and local job seekers, facilitating workforce skills development opportunities and supporting sustainable employment.
 
“The Jobs and Skills Hub is a testament to how good collaboration is vital to improving outcomes for young people. These two initiatives are a partnership between a number of central and local government agencies, construction sector stakeholders, the Auckland Tourism, Employment and Economic Development (ATEED), and community groups. 
  
“In the Wynyard Quarter alone, one of the largest urban regeneration projects in New Zealand, around 2,500 construction workers are needed within the next two years,” says Mr Jackson.
 
“It’s been pleasing to hear that the Hub is focused on ensuring that we have those workers in place to support the city’s growth and development projects.
 
“It’s also encouraging to see a programme like The Southern Initiative making significant contributions to the community of South Auckland.
 
“The place-based initiative included in the Auckland Plan works with a range of groups including whānau, local social change agents, grassroots entrepreneurs, local businesses and government agencies to create a prosperous and resilient South Auckland where children and whānau thrive.
 
“It’s important that we do more to reduce a lot of the disparities we have in places like South Auckland, and I like the way The Southern Initiative is doing that through various partnerships and a diverse range of programmes.
 
“The Southern Initiative places a major focus on shared prosperity which can be created by lifting the incomes of South Auckland households through quality and sustainable employment and enterprise opportunities.
 
“I’m particularly interested by the whānau-centric approach that they’ve adopted to build whānau capability, leadership and knowledge. We all know that strong whānau are essential to creating strong communities, and with that, a strong workforce.
 
“South Auckland is rich in job and investment opportunities, but our people here still experience high levels of unemployment, underemployment and low wages. This is something that I’d like to see addressed as the Minister of Employment,” Mr Jackson says.
 

Source: Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED)

Headline: Island getaway for a couple of kiwi chicks

Island getaway for a couple of kiwi chicks, some eco warrior sailors and a passionate group of Aucklanders

Release summary

Volvo Ocean Race team ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ gets up close and personal with kiwi chicks. 
Some of the team visited the picturesque Motuora Island, in Auckland’s Hauraki…

Published
09 MAR 2018

Some eco warrior sailors and a passionate group of Aucklanders

Release summary

• Volvo Ocean Race team ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ gets up close and personal with kiwi chicks. 
• Some of the team visited the picturesque Motuora Island, in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. 
• Motuora Island which when translated means the island of life is one of two kiwi crèches in the Hauraki Gulf
• Motuora Island public conservation land is managed in partnership with iwi 
   

A couple of kiwi chicks have left a lasting impression on a group of sailors on a mission to Turn the Tide on Plastics, as they sail around the world competing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Turn the Tide on Plastics crew members Bianca Cook (a New Zealander), and her crew mates Bernardo Freitas and Lucas Chapman, spent a day on Motuora Island, a kiwi sanctuary crèche in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, assisting with the release of two, three-week old kiwis.

The team were also given the chance to name one of the kiwi chicks, which weighed in at 447 grams on its release day.

“It was an amazing experence, something that was very special to me and my team,” says Cook. 

“As most New Zealanders know we don’t often get the chance to even see a kiwi in the wild so having the opportunity to actually release one was incredible and very humbling.” 

“We called the kiwi mōhio, the Maori word for wisdom, which is very close to us because the mascot for the Volvo Ocean Race is an albatros called wisdom.” 
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage, says as New Zealand’s largest marine park, Hauraki Gulf is an important part of Auckland’s appeal as a place to visit.

We know we have a shared responsibility to protect and preserve Auckland as a destination, as a community, and as an economy for future generations. 

“ATEED puts kaitiakitanga or guardianship, at the core of what we do. That’s why working in partnerships with DOC, Kiwis for Kiwi, mana whenua, and organisations like Seacleaners and Sustainable Coastlines is so important for us. It helps to spread the word to our visitors and locals about how important preserving our natural environment is,” he says.

“It’s great to have the opportunity to give a team like Turn the Tide on Plastics, which is focused on the environment, an update on some of the great work on sustainability that’s going on in Auckland, as well as showing them the natural wonders that our region offers to visitors.”

The kiwis were released as part of Operation Nest Egg, a progamme managed by charity organisation Kiwis for kiwi, in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC). 

The programme involves collecting eggs from the wild, incubating and hatching them at facilities like Auckland Zoo, then transferring them to crèches like at Motuora Island, where they stay for a year or so until they are around 1 kg in weight and able to fend off most predators. 

They are then transferred back to where they were found as eggs, or are used to start new kiwi populations on pest free islands in the Gulf.

Motuora Island is managed by the Department of Conservation(DOC) in partnership with Motuora Restoration Society. There are no rats, stoats, possums or other introduced predators on the island, making it safe for kiwi and other threatened native birds. 

It is one of 44 pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. DOC and Auckland Council are working to keep these native wildlife sanctuaries free of introduced predators and weeds.    

“Everyone travelling to these island sanctuaries needs to make sure they’re not transporting any predators, pests or weed seeds on their boat, kayak, yacht or any other vessel. And we remind them that cats and dogs are not allowed on pest-free islands,” says DOC Auckland Inner Islands Operations Manager Keith Gell.
 

Source: Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED)

Headline: Island getaway for a couple of kiwi chicks, some eco warrior sailors and a passionate group of Aucklanders

A couple of kiwi chicks have left a lasting impression on a group of sailors on a mission to Turn the Tide on Plastics, as they sail around the world competing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Turn the Tide on Plastics crew members Bianca Cook (a New Zealander), and her crew mates Bernardo Freitas and Luca…

Published
09 MAR 2018

A couple of kiwi chicks have left a lasting impression on a group of sailors on a mission to Turn the Tide on Plastics, as they sail around the world competing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Turn the Tide on Plastics crew members Bianca Cook (a New Zealander), and her crew mates Bernardo Freitas and Lucas Chapman, spent a day on Motuora Island, a kiwi sanctuary crèche in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, assisting with the release of two, three-week old kiwis.

The team were also given the chance to name one of the kiwi chicks, which weighed in at 447 grams on its release day.

“It was an amazing experence, something that was very special to me and my team,” says Cook. 

“As most New Zealanders know we don’t often get the chance to even see a kiwi in the wild so having the opportunity to actually release one was incredible and very humbling. 

“We called the kiwi mōhio, the Maori word for wisdom, which is very close to us because the mascot for the Volvo Ocean Race is an albatros called wisdom.” 
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage, says as New Zealand’s largest marine park, Hauraki Gulf is an important part of Auckland’s appeal as a place to visit.

We know we have a shared responsibility to protect and preserve Auckland as a destination, as a community, and as an economy for future generations. 

“ATEED puts kaitiakitanga or guardianship, at the core of what we do. That’s why working in partnerships with DOC, Kiwis for Kiwi, mana whenua, and organisations like Seacleaners and Sustainable Coastlines is so important for us. It helps to spread the word to our visitors and locals about how important preserving our natural environment is,” he says.

“It’s great to have the opportunity to give a team like Turn the Tide on Plastics, which is focused on the environment, an update on some of the great work on sustainability that’s going on in Auckland, as well as showing them the natural wonders that our region offers to visitors.”

The kiwis were released as part of Operation Nest Egg, a progamme managed by charity organisation Kiwis for kiwi, in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC). 

The programme involves collecting eggs from the wild, incubating and hatching them at facilities like Auckland Zoo, then transferring them to crèches like at Motuora Island, where they stay for a year or so until they are around 1 kg in weight and able to fend off most predators. 

They are then transferred back to where they were found as eggs, or are used to start new kiwi populations on pest free islands in the Gulf.

Motuora Island is managed by the Department of Conservation(DOC) in partnership with Motuora Restoration Society. There are no rats, stoats, possums or other introduced predators on the island, making it safe for kiwi and other threatened native birds. 

It is one of 44 pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. DOC and Auckland Council are working to keep these native wildlife sanctuaries free of introduced predators and weeds.    

“Everyone travelling to these island sanctuaries needs to make sure they’re not transporting any predators, pests or weed seeds on their boat, kayak, yacht or any other vessel. And we remind them that cats and dogs are not allowed on pest-free islands,” says DOC Auckland Inner Islands Operations Manager Keith Gell.
 

Source: Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED)

Headline: Island getaway for a couple of kiwi chicks

Some eco warrior sailors and a passionate group of Aucklanders

Release summary

Volvo Ocean Race team ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ gets up close and personal with kiwi chicks. 
Some of the team visited the picturesque Motuora Island, in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. 
Motuora Island which when translated…

Published
09 MAR 2018

Some eco warrior sailors and a passionate group of Aucklanders

Release summary

• Volvo Ocean Race team ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ gets up close and personal with kiwi chicks. 
• Some of the team visited the picturesque Motuora Island, in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. 
• Motuora Island which when translated means the island of life is one of two kiwi crèches in the Hauraki Gulf
• Motuora Island public conservation land is managed in partnership with iwi 
   

A couple of kiwi chicks have left a lasting impression on a group of sailors on a mission to Turn the Tide on Plastics, as they sail around the world competing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Turn the Tide on Plastics crew members Bianca Cook (a New Zealander), and her crew mates Bernardo Freitas and Lucas Chapman, spent a day on Motuora Island, a kiwi sanctuary crèche in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, assisting with the release of two, three-week old kiwis.

The team were also given the chance to name one of the kiwi chicks, which weighed in at 447 grams on its release day.

“It was an amazing experence, something that was very special to me and my team,” says Cook. 

“As most New Zealanders know we don’t often get the chance to even see a kiwi in the wild so having the opportunity to actually release one was incredible and very humbling.” 

“We called the kiwi mōhio, the Maori word for wisdom, which is very close to us because the mascot for the Volvo Ocean Race is an albatros called wisdom.” 
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage, says as New Zealand’s largest marine park, Hauraki Gulf is an important part of Auckland’s appeal as a place to visit.

We know we have a shared responsibility to protect and preserve Auckland as a destination, as a community, and as an economy for future generations. 

“ATEED puts kaitiakitanga or guardianship, at the core of what we do. That’s why working in partnerships with DOC, Kiwis for Kiwi, mana whenua, and organisations like Seacleaners and Sustainable Coastlines is so important for us. It helps to spread the word to our visitors and locals about how important preserving our natural environment is,” he says.

“It’s great to have the opportunity to give a team like Turn the Tide on Plastics, which is focused on the environment, an update on some of the great work on sustainability that’s going on in Auckland, as well as showing them the natural wonders that our region offers to visitors.”

The kiwis were released as part of Operation Nest Egg, a progamme managed by charity organisation Kiwis for kiwi, in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC). 

The programme involves collecting eggs from the wild, incubating and hatching them at facilities like Auckland Zoo, then transferring them to crèches like at Motuora Island, where they stay for a year or so until they are around 1 kg in weight and able to fend off most predators. 

They are then transferred back to where they were found as eggs, or are used to start new kiwi populations on pest free islands in the Gulf.

Motuora Island is managed by the Department of Conservation(DOC) in partnership with Motuora Restoration Society. There are no rats, stoats, possums or other introduced predators on the island, making it safe for kiwi and other threatened native birds. 

It is one of 44 pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. DOC and Auckland Council are working to keep these native wildlife sanctuaries free of introduced predators and weeds.    

“Everyone travelling to these island sanctuaries needs to make sure they’re not transporting any predators, pests or weed seeds on their boat, kayak, yacht or any other vessel. And we remind them that cats and dogs are not allowed on pest-free islands,” says DOC Auckland Inner Islands Operations Manager Keith Gell.