Stuart Nash (right) with Whanganui MP Steph Lewis at Frank Bar in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
Stuart Nash (right) with Whanganui MP Steph Lewis at Frank Bar in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
Cabinet minister Stuart Nash was in Whanganui this week for a business breakfast and a visit to the city's port revitalisation project, Te Pūwaha.
Nash, who handles the economic and regional development, small business, forestry, and tourism portfolios, told the Chronicle he thought the future of Whanganui looked "very, verystrong".
"Successive governments have failed to invest in the regions in a way that was ever going to drive growth, opportunity or ambition.
"There has been a big independent report done on the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), and the one thing I took out of it was that it's growing optimism across regional and provincial New Zealand."
An evaluation report of the PGF was completed by consultancy firm Allen + Clarke and released in June.
"If you really want to drive wealth and growth in your CBD area, you need people to understand the value proposition of staying in Whanganui for one, two, or three days."
Whanganui MP Steph Lewis also backed a hotel.
"We're investing all this money into the Sarjeant, which will make it a destination in New Zealand, and we've got incredible events like the Masters Games, Cemetery Circuit and Vintage Weekend.
"Absolutely, the need is there."
The Whanganui District Council had commissioned a report from Whanganui & Partners on where plans for a new hotel were at, deputy mayor Helen Craig said.
That had been completed and was being shared with real estate companies in the national market to see who might be interested in establishing a hotel in Whanganui.
Stuart Nash says people are returning to provincial centres instead of heading to larger cities or overseas. Photo / Bevan Conley
"I'd argue you probably wouldn't get a hotel built for less than $50 million, and there are a number of major players in that market," Craig said.
It was about finding the right fit for Whanganui, she said.
"I'm really keen to supercharge this because it [lack of hotels] is holding back our economy."
In the forestry sector, carbon farming taking over agricultural land was a big issue, Nash said.
"I have concerns about this.
"For us, it's always about 'the right tree in the right place', and the last thing I want to see is whole farms converting into forestry.
"There are areas in farms that are marginal and uneconomic, which would be perfect for trees in terms of diversifying income, but not whole farms."
Last month, Manawatū/Rangitīkei Federated Farmers chair Murray Holdaway said momentum was building in Rangitīkei for hill country land to be converted to carbon farming, which could damage the region's lamb-finishing sector significantly.
The Government's national direction for plantation and exotic carbon afforestation consultation runs until November 18.
The PGF has provided $26.75m to Whanganui's port revitalisation.
"When local government, central government and the private sector all sat down together, we said, 'Hey, we can make this work as a partnership'," Nash said.
"Local iwi have a really important part to play as well - certainly in Whanganui, where the river is an entity.
"That four-way partnership, I believe, is a fantastic model for how to get things done in regional New Zealand."
In 2017, Nash asked Labour candidates to put in pitches for regional economic development projects, Lewis said.
"I wrote to him saying I had a meeting with the council and they had a whole plan around rejuvenating the port, but before that can happen, we need to repair the north and south moles.
"When we get into government, please fund it. Here's a copy of the business case.
"To be able to take him out to the port precinct now and show him what I was talking about in that pitch was really awesome."
