Hunt is on to find Kiwi candy saviours
Tania Thomson has battled fiercely against illness but, writes Lindy Andrews, she’s been failed by Work and Income’s ‘‘one rule for all’’ policy.
TIME is running out for investors interested in taking over production of New Zealand’s iconic sweets when Cadbury quits Dunedin.
A working group has been meeting, to determine the fate of New Zealand sweets such as Jaffas, Buzz Bars, Pinky and Pineapple Lumps, after the decision was made to close the Dunedin Cadbury factory next year, axing 350 jobs.
The group met again on Friday, spokesman Jake Hatton said.
He said the discussion focused on the information that had been made available to potential manufacturers that had expressed an interest in producing the products. "We’ve received initial expressions of interest from three existing confectionery manufacturers to date."
It is possible that manufacture could shift to Australia, or that another New Zealand company could take over when Cadbury quits Dunedin next year.
"This information is also available to any investors who may be interested in establishing a manufacturing facility to take on the work here in Dunedin."
But so far, no investors have indicated they want to set up a local Dunedin factory to make the products.
"We are urging any interested parties to reach out to us now. Given the timelines associated with a seamless transition when production ends in Dunedin in March 2018, we need to hear from interested parties in the next couple of weeks to have an opportunity to properly consider their capabilities."
He said expressions of interest would close in June.
It was possible the factory could be used for something else.
"The group also discussed the potential for an investor to take on the certified dairy processing plant currently manufacturing sweetened condensed milk in the standalone warehouse which could be repurposed to meet the needs of an existing dairy producer or potentially boutique operator."
Dunedin has had a chocolate factory since 1884. About 70 per cent of what it produced was exported, mostly to Australia.
It plans to keep its Cadbury World tourist attraction open.
About 130 staff are being kept on. A disabled, soon to be homeless Napier woman says she will be forced to sell or dump precious personal possessions because Work and Income won’t fund the full cost of moving her out of her home.
Breast cancer, a double mastectomy, 14 operations, lifethreatening post-surgical infections, breast reconstruction, persistent ‘‘chemo brain’’ that affects her ability to learn: Tania Thomson has risen above all that life has thrown at her in recent years.
She still needs two knee replacements, due to severe arthritis. In the meantime, she remains on a Work and Income supported living benefit.
Now 49-year-old Thomson and her 13-year-old son Jack have fallen victim to New Zealand’s property boom and growing housing crisis; their house is to be renovated and sold.
The fear of homelessness eclipses everything Thomson has gone through. Napier’s critical housing shortage means that, after 10 years in the same rented home, she and Jack are destined for motel living and there’s not enough money to move all of their possessions into storage.
She said the pain of knowing she can’t provide Jack with a safe, stable environment is more emotionally crippling than the
Tania does a fantastic job of helping people. It is such a shame that Tania, now in need herself, is apparently being let down by the system.’ MP STUART NASH
day she told her oncologist to remove not just her diseased right breast, but both.
Unable to lift heavy items, squat or kneel and with only Jack to help, Thomson was forced to spend more than half of a recoverable Work and Income household removal grant on packers.
But the grant covered only transporting her home’s contents, not packing. Thomson’s case manager applied for additional, discretionary funding on the basis of Thomson’s disability, but the branch manager declined it. It’s a decision that has her beaten.
Thomson is on a long Housing NZ waiting list. If she was moving into a house, her removal costs would be non-recoverable and paid in full.
But with no houses available and only a motel to move into, Work and Income policy means she’s faced with a shortfall and a $1750 debt to repay.
On Saturday, a removal company put Thomson’s and Jack’s possessions into storage. But not everything went on the