OIA (Official Information Act) documents given to Stuff showed ASET applied for $3.5m, but officials from the Provincial Development Unit, an arm of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, recommended giving $2m.
A letter to the Provincial Development Unit obtained by Stuff said that ASET was “not appropriately resourced” to manage the project.
It was taking staff away from their core job of employment and pastoral care, Stuff reported. And it appeared ASET didn’t know exactly what it wanted to do with the proposed facility.
It said “due diligence” was being carried out on the market for the trust’s fresh produce to determine what equipment should be installed in the factory.
The plan had been to instal washing equipment in the factory but most of the produce the trust grew did not require washing, so the rationale for that was questionable.
ASET was requesting an amendment to the funding agreement “to allow for detailed due diligence to be carried out to determine what the best use of this factory will be”.
The trust was considering calling for proposals from food and beverage producers in the region, and the project might be better taken over by the owners of the land the factory was to be built on.
In mid-2020, the Government announced a reset of the PGF, with over $600m of funding reallocated to support regions through the Covid pandemic.
The OIA documents do not say what became of the Gisborne project, Stuff reported.
In a statement to Stuff, Kānoa — the regional economic development and investment unit — said ASET undertook a rescope of the plant’s operational viability and decided the project should not continue.
However, $187,813 for building consent, compliance and consultation had already been spent and that was “non-redeemable”.
The remaining $1.8m was returned to the PGF and reallocated for Covid-19 projects.
Responding to The Gisborne Herald yesterday, Mr Foon said ASET “knew exactly what it needed to do” to sustain training employment and be independent of government funding.
“That’s why ASET is a social enterprise. ASET has done a great job in training and getting people into work. We had a great team.
“I have built many facilities and buildings in my lifetime. I am a project manager. I knew exactly what I was doing for this project but cost overruns initially with prices going up caused us to rethink the project and it was wise not to continue as ECT (Eastland Community Trust) owned the land and we had no security.
“The produce we grew was sold to Pak’nSave and other parts of the country. The produce was of first grade and well received.”
Mr Foon added his support for the PGF initiative.
“During my time as mayor, Tairāwhiti benefited from over $400m for roading, manuka honey factory, wharf development, new airport, Kiwa Pools, bridges, safer passing lanes, cycle lanes and much more. The PGF definitely benefited all parts of our community.
“It’s election year and politicians talk rubbish of great initiatives like the PGF.
“I applaud NZ First for this initiative and I hope it comes around again as provincial regions like Tairāwhiti need focused attention of government support — especially for infrastructure — and an environment of good policy to enable businesses and communities to thrive.”
