Meeting a Minister of the Crown would not have been on the agenda for 11 young Kaikohe men six months ago.
As statistical representatives of an apparently decaying town they had no qualifications, were long-term unemployed or had never held down a job and most had little prospect of ever getting one.
On Thursday they met Te Ururoa Flavell, co-leader of the Maori Party, Whanau Ora and Maori Development Minister and Associate Minister of Economic Development, who was making a visit to view the manukau planting being undertaken on 230 hectares of Northland College-owned land on the outskirts of Kaikohe.
The manuka (a scientifically-developed hybrid with rapid-growth properties) will initially be used for medicinal purposes and later for honey production as part of a joint venture among Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry for Social Development and the Ministry for Primary Industries under the umbrella of the Tai Tokerau Economic Action Plan launched in February.
Hemi Stevens, one of the youths clearing gorse before planting the manuka, said it was a chance at life for him.