When the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan was launched back in 2016 it brought into focus an initial group of projects to drive the transformation of the Tai Tokerau economy. It came off the back of a regional growth study which highlighted a range of opportunities for Northland. These were narrowed down in the development of the plan to coalesce our limited resources around the projects that would make the greatest short to medium term difference, over a 10-year period.
The first iteration of the plan was to get us on the road and included projects already in progress such as containerisation of Northport, the study of economic opportunities from better water use and a new tourism product, the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail. This phase we colloquially called our "pick and go".
Next came the "building momentum" phase, a series of projects and actions set to have a major impact on our economic growth. We were fortunate in the last three years to have significant private and government investment, and many projects were prioritised through the Provincial Growth Fund and those are well under way or complete. Momentum projects included rail upgrades, flood mitigation, the Hawaiiki International Submarine Cable, Kingfish aquaculture, Manea Footprints of Kupe and the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
Alongside of these phases, we've had our "game-changers'', fundamental to unlocking our potential. We're set to benefit from: - Water storage and distribution - through the Tai Tokerau Water Trust and Joint Te Hiku Work Programme; and Skills and Capability – numerous skills pathways initiatives and an interim (three-year) workforce plan almost complete.