Eco-Park plan up in the air
The future is unclear for a $60 million ‘Eco-Park’ focused on developing Maori and Pasifika businesses, although two Cabinet ministers say it is not dead in the water.
The proposal from Auckland Council had been worked up in conjunction with government departments and ministries and was hoped to attract up to $1 billion of investment in future decades, creating higher-tech recycling work.
It missed the cut in the Government’s May 19 Budget, prompting the plan’s architect to warn Auckland’s Maori and Pasifika faced ‘‘more of the same’’ with high unemployment and poor access to skilled work.
‘‘This will be a test of our moral compass,’’ Tania Pouwhare (Ngai Tuhoe), the general manager of Community and Social Innovation (CSI), said of the challenge to create more and better jobs.
Despite missing out, the scheme was cited by Climate Change Minister James Shaw in a keynote address to the Auckland’s Future, Now conference on Tuesday.
‘‘It’s an example of a locally led initiative of the council working with businesses and communities to put together something the likes of which we haven’t seen in Aotearoa before,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t know if it’ll get over the line, but I hope so and then I hope it will then inspire more like it around the rest of the country.’’
Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash described himself as a supporter of the proposal.
‘‘It plugs into the circular economy ambition – it can have a big impact,’’ Nash said.
When asked how it had missed out on funding, Nash said: ‘‘In a Budget there are so many good initiatives that don’t make the cut.’’
Shaw said it still had to be decided which pot of funding the scheme might be successful in accessing. It initially had missed out on the Climate Emergency Response (CER) Fund.
‘‘We’ve also got to remember the waste minimisation fund, which is funded by levies on landfill so whether it got up under the CER Fund, there may well be other avenues that make more sense for it.’’
Both ministers spoke of the project as an environmental project.
However, Pouwhare highlighted its importance for Maori and Pasifika businesses and workers to move into higher-value sectors.
‘‘There’s a view in Wellington that needs to be disrupted, or it’s more of the same [for Maori and Pasifika],’’ Pouwhare told the Auckland’s Future, Now gathering.
She said Maori and Pasifika unemployment (6.9% and 6.6% respectively) in Ta¯maki Makaurau was nearly double the general rate (3.6%). Without intervention, it could hit 15%, she said.
Shaw said the Eco Park scheme might get consideration in funding decisions during the next 12 months.
Nash said after finishing discussing this year’s Budget with groups, he would be back in touch with the promoters.