One of the biggest Charity Ball Events for 2017 you will ever see. On the 12th May 2017, in support of the Act for Kids Charity, this exciting Arabian Nights-themed evening is hoping to raise much-needed funds and increase awareness for the Act for Kids Charity. The evening will boast a delicious three course meal accompanied by a five hour drink package, and raffles will be drawn throughout the night with prizes including a weekend away for two at the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island (valued at $5,000) and a Kristina Christ Photography package (valued at $5,000) - plus there are complementary gifts for each guest.

Details are as follows:

6:30pm – 11:30pm
RNA Showgrounds

TICKETS:

$220 inc. gst per person | Table of 10: $2,000 inc. gst

INCLUDES:

3 course dinner, 5 hour beverage package, networking and a night filled with entertainment

RAFFLE TICKETS:

$20ea | 5 for $75

All proceeds from the Raffle Draw will be donated to the Act for Kids Charity.

The night will be full of entertainment such as a live band, fire twirlers, stilt walkers and belly dancers. For more information, contact Lauren on lmccarthy@ccfqld.com or click here.

Art of Mentoring is running some new small group courses this year to train Mentoring Program Managers.

Our Sydney course is coming up next month on 10 and 11 April 2017.

The Melbourne course will be held on 30 and 31 May 2017.

Who is the course for?

Current mentoring program managers, people interested in setting up a mentoring program in their organisation, for employees, members or students.

Course Outline

Mentoring Program Management requires expert knowledge and understanding of what makes mentoring programs effective. If you have all the right skills and attributes for the job but lack mentoring program experience, we can train you so you can expertly design and set up a program, then handle the administrative and pastoral care functions.

Day 1: How to design, set up and market a mentoring program

This module aims to give participants a solid grounding in the basic elements of designing an organisational mentoring program, providing a foundation for building their own programs.

Day 2: How to effectively manage a mentoring program

This module aims to give participants an understanding of how to effectively manage an organisational mentoring program, with emphasis on working with mentors and mentees and managing program events.

Course Facilitators

The course will be led by Art of Mentoring Managing Director, Melissa Richardson and Senior Program Consultant, Lisa Taylor.

Bookings

For more details and to book your place, click on either of the buttons below. If you have any additional enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Kym Swaby, Operations Manager, Art of Mentoring on kym@artofmentoring.net. 

Book Now for Sydney 

Book Now for Melbourne 

Allen + Clarke is a public policy, evaluation and research consultancy firm based in Wellington, New Zealand. Our company purpose is to “mobilise passionate and capable people to tackle the challenges facing society”. We are a longstanding and well respected company with 36 experienced staff. Our focus is on partnering with government, private and not-for-profit organisations to lead important social change. We deliver a package of comprehensive and complementary services through our three practices (Secretariat and Programme Support; Policy and Business Change; and Evaluation and Research).

By contracting with Allen + Clarke for secretariat and programme support, our clients can expect to work with a friendly, credible team with significant experience in:

• project management
• grants and contract management for small and large programmes
• complaints management
• facilitation
• work programme development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and
• policy development and research services.

Our focus is on providing high quality, timely and cost-effective support. Our team delivers what our clients need, when they need it. More information about our work is available at www.allenandclarke.co.nz.

Please give Anna and the team a call on +64 275 646 388 or email agribble@allenandclarke.co.nz.

Deloitte – We Are Here to Help

“Deloitte is focused on helping our clients to be successful – including rapid growth, managing change, and creating sustainable organisations”.

Deloitte can add value to your organisation by taking a hands-on role in your financial operations and providing strategic insight.

As you look to grow the value your organisation can provide to its members or improve its efficiency and effectiveness of services and/or products it provides, we can help you drive this change. As a busy CEO, we can help you focus on:

• Implementing a more efficient finance administration function
• Providing timely and useful reports that will enable you to proactively make decisions and monitor organisational financial performance
• Offering insights and guidance for operational, strategic, and risk based decision making
• Build the financial skill set of your team We can support the Board by:
• • Helping you get out of the detail of the P&L and focused on the organisation’s financial position
  • Driving planning sessions and supporting the organisation through the delivery of those plans
  • Coaching the governance, leadership and delivery teams in best practices
  • Providing timely financial information, with increased transparency and clarity

Click here to download the PDF and contact Stephen Nicholas, Partner, Deloitte Private 044 953 902 stephennicholas@deloitte.co.nz.

River health is important to New Zealanders. The Cawthron Foundation acknowledges this and is delighted to announce from tomorrow it will be running the New Zealand River Awards.Cawthron Foundation taking over the New Zealand River Awards

River health is important to New Zealanders. The Cawthron Foundation acknowledges this and is delighted to announce from tomorrow it will be running the New Zealand River Awards.

Established by the Morgan Foundation and the NZ Rivers Trust in 2013, the Awards are enthusiastically supported by regional and local councils, and other key stakeholders in the freshwater space. They celebrate progress made by those who devote a great deal of science, time, effort, and money to improving the wellbeing of our rivers.

NZ Rivers Trust spokesman Andrew Gawith said the Trust and the Morgan Foundation, “wanted to find a permanent home for the Awards and Cawthron Foundation is a great fit. It has a strong scientific background in water and the resources and commitment to take the Awards to another level.”

Cawthron Foundation Chair Dr Morgan Williams explained, “the river space is important to Cawthron and the Awards are an opportunity to celebrate those making a positive difference. They are a way that we can showcase those rivers that are leading the way.”

The Most Improved River Award recognises long-term improvement based on a specific water quality indicator. Each year a different indicator is used, and 2017 will use e-coli levels, with the winner determined using monitoring data from the Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA.org.nz) database.

Dr Williams said, “The Awards, which are now into their fifth year, showcase efforts that are representative of a growing movement to improve waterways across our country. Many people have been working hard to clean rivers up, and their hard work is paying off. We must celebrate our champions.”

The Department of Conservation, Ministry for the Environment, and THL are past supporters of the awards and are looking forward to the relationship with Cawthron Foundation. Other supporters may come on board.

The Awards feature stories from around New Zealand about water management and the environment, as well as the Reo mō te Awa (voice for the river) Award for an individual who has been a strong advocate for rivers.

“There are many thousands of inspiring examples of individuals, communities, organisations and businesses working to restore New Zealand’s waterways. Their stories are just that – tales of people, passion, and pride in their local environment,” said Dr Williams.

Cawthron Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that works closely with Cawthron Institute. It provides impetus for scientists to progress understanding of the coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.

This media release was sourced directly from Scoop.nz.co and was written by Cawthron Foundation. 

Convene 2017 is just a week away but there is still plenty of time to pre-register. The free to attend event is at Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau for the first time, showcasing the new Vector Wero Whitewater Park at the Welcome function and the Sir Noel Robinson Conference Centre, with Austin’s Food Design Events, for the Convene 2017 Breakfast. Convene offers the opportunity for association executives and teams to meet face to face with more than 100 suppliers in the conference and meeting sector - either by free flow or by making pre-set appointments with key exhibitors (from just one right through to 20) to maximise your time. The Jet Park Knowledge seminars are also on during the day - details on the Convene website.

To Register, please click here. 

Volunteering New Zealand marks World Water Day today by promoting the ways and means volunteers ensure safe and clean water both domestically and internationally.Volunteering plays a role in water quality

Volunteering New Zealand marks World Water Day today by promoting the ways and means volunteers ensure safe and clean water both domestically and internationally.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.3 calls on New Zealanders to “improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.”

The Bonn Call to Action from 2016 calls for volunteers to be a part of the solution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, stating “We recognise that communities must be at the centre of their own development.”

The theme of this year’s World Water Day is wastewater. UN Water, the United Nations interagency mechanism for all freshwater issues, promotes the need to treat and reuse wastewater at home, in our cities and in agriculture. Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated and reused.

Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) support the role volunteers and volunteering will play in maintaining water quality. Citizen scientists for example, are helping local councils and community groups by extending water quality monitoring and embracing restoration programmes.

In fact, NIWA declares that citizen science monitoring of water is a win-win for scientists and volunteers—one gains access to new data, and the other the skills and confidence to become involved in discussions over what is happening to their streams, according to a December 2016 NIWA release of a study, led by freshwater ecologist Dr Richard Storey.

Dr Storey said public participation in citizen science monitoring, has increased dramatically around the world in the past 20 years. “We think that if communities are involved with the monitoring, that will lead to a better understanding of stream values and better equip them to get involved with freshwater planning processes,” he said following his recent study.

“VNZ is excited about citizen science as it can go beyond the crowd-sourcing of their data, building partnerships between the scientists, local councils and the broader community,” VNZ Chief Executive Scott Miller says. “We see it as New Zealanders mobilising to get involved in the issues that affect them.”

This media release was sourced directly from Scoop.co.nz and was written by Volunteering New Zealand. 

A report predicts populations in many regions will drop or stagnate within three decades.

The Maxim Institute's report said populations in about 44 of the country's 67 authorities would stagnate or decline within 30 years, compared to 11 areas now. That could place them under severe financial strain as they try to pay for infrastructure.

While centres such as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Queenstown are set for growth, the report painted a bleak picture for most other regions.

These included Rotorua, Taupō, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Kaipara, Southland and the West Coast.

Maxim Institute chief executive Alex Penk said the government's regional development programmes focused solely on economic growth - but the population trends posed a big challenge on that front.

"In fact they mean that for some regions growth is not going to be the reality."

Some towns, including Kawerau and Matamata, were already working to manage decline in their areas.

"They created a wrap-around programme that relocated workers from one region to where the jobs were in the other region.

"That's the kind of response that we could actually have on the table, if we start talking about the reality that's facing us and I think that's actually a really positive opportunity for us. It isn't something we should be afraid of."

Massey University demographer Paul Spoonley, editor of the book Rebooting the Regions: Why low or zero growth needn't mean the end of prosperity, agreed decline was something that needed to be accepted, especially by politicians.

"There aren't many politicians around the country who are going to want to talk about decline.

"When you begin to talk about the demographic challenges and the economic challenges that are coming, there's some mayors who are really in denial, and that's going to be an issue."

The mayor of Gisborne, Meng Foon, disagreed with the paper's findings as far as his region was concerned.

He said given Gisborne's high population of youth, and the work underway to create jobs to keep them there, the region was set to grow.

Gisborne District mayor Meng FoonGisborne Mayor Meng Foon disagrees with the paper's findings. Photo: New Zealand Government

"Whatever report that has come out to predict the future and decline is all a myth.

"In my term, we started off with a population of 42,000 and we're now at 47,900 ... we will definitely grow sustainably."

Kaipara mayor Greg Gent was optimistic about his region's future and growth.

"In the eastern side, in Mangawhai, we're issuing 30 building permits a month, so that is growing fast.

"And actually managing that growth is one of our biggest challenges as Auckland gets closer.

The future of the western side was equally positive, he said.

It was important to acknowledge the ageing population, which his region might benefit from.

A town such as Dargaville, with a population of 5000, had all the facilities an older population needed, he said.

"Older people can keep driving, for example, as there's less congestion compared to a bigger city. They can park right outside a shop they need to go to.

"I think it's going to have more appeal to the elderly - and that's great."

New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters has rubbished the report, calling it an "apology for the government's neglect".

"It is an academic piece which is utterly remote from the facts, doesn't seem to grasp what's going on in regional and provincial New Zealand, and thinks it can write a prescription which means that small towns will go on being ghost towns and be deserted.

"They're utterly wrong of course."

He said while many regions were in decline, they had a real future.

But he said that was reliant on the government investing in their development.

"If there is no planned support base to help the rural infrastructure and help the rural export base, then it will go on doing what it's doing now and be in decline.

"If you look at, for example, broadband extension... for every dollar they spend in the provinces, they're spending almost twice that amount in the big cities."

Mr Peters said many of the provinces were big exporters and would turn around if the New Zealand dollar fell.

This article was originally sourced from Radio NZ. 

Kirsten Patterson has been named as the new chief executive for the Institute of Directors (IoD).

A qualified lawyer, she is currently the NZ head of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

"Good governance makes a difference to our businesses, our economy, and through to our communities," Patterson said.

"In these globally uncertain and changing times, strong governance and leadership is needed now more than ever. The IoD has a significant role to play in ensuring the New Zealand governance community is ready for the challenges ahead and that their voice is heard in the policy debates impacting New Zealand."

IoD president Michael Stiassny​ said her leadership would help drive the IoD's strategies.

"When we began our search for a new chief executive, we needed someone who could take the IoD to another level on its strategic journey with knowledge to drive excellence in corporate governance for directors. It was important to us that the new CEO had the acumen and the gravitas that you would expect from an organisation that stands for the professionalism of directors."

Previously Patterson was the general manager, corporate services at New Zealand Rugby Union where she was responsible for the stakeholder relationship between NZRU, the Government and Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd to host the Rugby World Cup 2011.

This article was originally sourced from Stuff.co.nz

The forestry and logging sector is worth $1.4 billion to GDP, making a substantially larger contribution than either the sheepmeat or beef sectors, says a new report released in Rotorua today.

The report was commissioned by the New Zealand Forest Owners Association and Farm Forestry Association from NZIER.

Forest Owners Association chairman Peter Clark said the public had underestimated the forest sector's role and importance.

"Our sector is growing faster than horticulture," he said. "For the first time since 1882 ... the value of our forest product exports is now exceeding the total value of red meat exports. That represents a sea change in our primary export mix."

The Ministry of Primary Industries forecasts that New Zealand forest product export returns will reach $6.15 billion by 2020, from $5.14 billion in 2016. Increasing returns from sawn timber, wood panels, pulp and paper, would all contribute to the growth.

However, NZIER noted the fact that the significant environmental contribution of forestry was not usually factored into its economic value, and the lack of a ministry or department dedicated to forestry, were both constraints on the industry.

NZIER recommended the establishment of a "satellite account" to reflect the growing importance of this sector. Satellite accounts extend existing information on industries to include social and environmental values, and would assist in reflecting forestry's wider benefit to New Zealand, the report said.

Mr Clark said currently everybody, including NZIER, was making assumptions based on some studies in some regions.

"The Government's Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-20 set 2017 as the target date to investigate the need and potential to produce New Zealand environmental-economic accounts," he said.

"So in implementing this undertaking, we'd love to see the Government put the environmental ruler across our forest sector."

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said Rotorua Lakes Council was the first and so far only local body to promote a Wood First Policy.

She noted about 40 per cent of the country's wood was harvested within a 100km radius of the city. And she was fully supportive of NZIER's suggestion that a satellite account for forestry be established.

"The industry needs positive support from Government and for that to happen, the industry needs to be able to quantify its worth," she said.

Forest Owners Association chief executive David Rhodes said the report's release was timely, given the increasing interest in environmental issues, and the Government's focus on regional development.

"The contribution the forest sector is making in some regions is quite significant," he said. "We are hoping to get across through the report that there are a whole bunch of things that forestry delivers, which aren't being reflected in the market statistics and GDP figures."

According to the report, wood production has risen from 10 million cu m of timber in 1989, to 28.7 million cu m last year.

However, Bryce Heard, chairman of the Forest Wood Action Group, part of Bay of Connections, said wood supply was being forecast to diminish as a result of conversion to dairy and lack of replacement planting.

The wider Bay of Plenty region was cutting around 12 million cu m a year, which was expected to drop to around 10 million cu m by the year 2030 on current projections, he said.

"We're busily trying to get people to invest in processing, but they look at 10-15 years out and ask where the wood's going to come from," he said. "It's not a good scenario for increasing processing."

Economic contribution

Services such as carbon storage, erosion control, water quality, biodiversity and recreation could provide $9.6 billion of ecological and social value from plantation forestry to New Zealand every year, the report says.

This article was originally sourced from New Zealand Herald.