Add value to our natural resources to
create a smarter future together
There’s heat beneath our feet and vitality in the community. Taupō is on the edge of
change, poised to lead New Zealand in harnessing natural resources, adding value
to primary produce and marrying industry with nature to create a sustainable high
value economy sensitive to environmental protection, a long-term quality of
life – a place where talent wants to live.
Adding value, find the nuggets
Taupō was the first place in
the Southern Hemisphere to
harness geothermal energy.
Peter Thiel, technological entrepreneur,
investor & philanthropist.
Electricity Gene
Digital Clus
Green Data Ce
Electric Vehi
Photovolta
LE
PE
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Events
Attractions
Accommodation
“For us and our
children after us
Mo tatou a mo ka uri
a muri ake nei”
TOURISM
The opportunity for Taupō to harness geothermal heat and use that
energy to add value to the raw material before export is significant. A log from a sustainable forest becomes a chair, crafted by
locals, using renewable resources to produce it. It’s not just
a chair. It’s science, energy, employment, creativity, innovation and industry made by people. The chair is part of
this place and the story will resonate. By taking any primary product and adding our natural strengths we can
increase its value on the world market, proving that
Taupō is a small town with global market potential.
“The best way forward
is to do something new … but you
have to paddle where the water is.”
(Maori proverb).
For centuries Maori used the power of ahi
tipua (sacred and enchanted volcanic fire), to
Art
Festivals
provide heat for hot water and cooking, and
the first European settlers built simple heat
exchanges using geothermal energy to warm
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their dwellings. Early tourists were attracted by
KA
thermal activity and today tourism continues to
PR
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Connections
Geothermal energy, forestry, agriculture and tourism are this district’s cornerstone businesses connected by the life force of water. People have the knowledge,
creativity, energy and inspiration to harness our natural and renewable resources
for new development and future benefits for generations to come.
EGLT has identified geothermal energy as a primary driver to progress the Taupō
economy. No other region in the country can maximise the benefits of geothermal
energy in the same way. To be successful we need to engage all facets of our community and develop diversity and wealth in all areas.
AGRICUL
ot
the world. And we can do more.
N
ltu
ki’s renewable steam makes milk powder and exports it to
W
cu
combine the two. In agriculture, Miraka using Tuaropa-
ua
such as at Wairakei Terraces and Huka Prawn Farm
aq
benefit from geothermal initiatives where businesses
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Using geothermal heat to add value to primary produce is our point of difference.
Taupō has natural resources and a willing community – we need to harness these
strengths and bring them together. Appropriate long-term economic growth will
help address many of the social issues highlighted by the community. Through
targeted growth and development EGLT can help return economic growth to the
Taupō community.
Community is key.
“Success is when they
dream of growing big global
business in New Zealand.”
It took people to collect the seeds and plant forests. Nature and science
helped grow the trees before people harvested them, cut them to size and
trucked them off for shipment abroad.
Fadi Mishriki.
CEO PowerbyProxi
Sensible, focussed economic growth within the region will employ
locals and return benefits to the community. Through collaboration, partnership & innovation EGLT will target development
and move beyond what we have to gain a higher equality
for all. Central government is a significant partner in regional economic development. As a region we need to
strengthen our partner relationships, hold hands with
our neighbours and connect and share resources for
mutual benefit remembering that people are fundamental to our success.
HERMAL
FO
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Generation
l Cluster
ata Center
Vehicles
voltaics
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“… change the way the
country operates and show
the world how clever we
really are.”
IC
AGR
Biofuels
Pellets
Resin
Processing Timber
Distribution
Transport
ULTURE /
AQU
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LU
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Horticultures
Mineral Mining
Nurseries
Sustainable
Farming
Sir Ray Avery.
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Smart, Green and Confident
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ry
,p
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C U LT U R E
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griculture, peo
ple
Growth and development must fulfil the individual
and the collective, and resonate as adding value to
their lives. People want to feel comfortable in their
place, respected in an environment that stimulates
a sense of community and gives them a sense of
the familiar without being bored. This is a tale
of togetherness to create an enviable community
where people dream of living.
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er
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o
Taupō can lead New Zealand in ‘green technologies’.
It’s already happening but for the ground swell, in the
community, politically, commercially and nationally, to
gain momentum we must get better at telling our stories and let people know what’s possible in this place and
how it can benefit them. These intersects are varied and each
audience needs a different approach, including those skilled,
expert and young, who we want to attract and keep here.
Taupō began as a frontier town, one of the last to be settled by Europeans, to get sealed roads, reticulated water and electricity. Geothermal energy has always been here and today Taupō is at the frontline of
new technology. When we marry our industries together, we’ll have shifted
gear and be doing a whole lot more a whole lot smarter.
TALK TO US to find out how we can help your company do business in
the Great Lake Taupo region. We want to hear from you and show you the benefits of
locating your company here. We are especially interested if you are a large user of heat, or cooling.
Please call Fritz on 021 322328 or email [email protected]. We look forward hosting you in our region.
Our Pathway
He Ara Tika
People
Development
• Mentor, train, increase the amplitude and have some fun.
• Find out what general support the business community needs
and make it happen.
• Success breeds success. Attract more business here and more
business will want to come, people will be employed, motivated
and stimulated.
How can we lift our
• Keep communicating to develop strong collaborative links
between industry and the public and private sectors
self-esteem, accelerate
• Confront stereotypes – develop meaningful partnerships
with local, regional, national and international organisations.
Understand each other’s needs.
business growth,
• Keep gathering & learning. Research and economic data will
develop businesses.
provide opportunities
for young people and
• Connect with schools.
Geothermal
develop the local
• Ask questions, build relationships, know what this industry
needs, be the interface and deliver it to them.
• Get commercial. Collaborate closely and encourage greater
secondary use of geothermal heat and add value to primary
produce.
economy?
Forestry
• Build on what we’re good at and encourage further investment
in wood processing and add value to the product
• Fresh relationships develop into long-term partnerships. Let’s
unlock the industrial symbiosis value chain by marrying forestry and geothermal resources.
Tourism
Industry
• Take the pulse and keep it beating. Collaborate closely with
our regional tourism partners to ensure future investment
happens here.
• Showcase the future. Make Taupo a place where visitors
understand opportunities and return to invest, develop new
businesses and share their skills in Taupō.
“Kids today grow up with
technology that wows us,
thinking it’s simply ordinary.”
Mark Britt, GM Consumer and
Online at Microsoft Asia Pacific
Agriculture &
Aquaculture
• The world needs food. We have an enviable environment. Tell
this story better. Find out what the industry needs and provide
the right support to grow it better.
• Aquaculture legislation reform is an opportunity to grow this
industry for the district. Find out how we can best support new
enterprises to maximise the prospect.
This journey is part-mystery, part-science with many junctions, turning points, and
crossroads. There is no crystal ball and we don’t know what we don’t know. Development, technology, environment and industry are in constant change. Our challenge is to
stay sharp, smart and ready to adapt and lead accordingly. Taupō’s cornerstone industries
are geothermal energy, forestry, agriculture and tourism, they are the constant. What will
develop and grow are the businesses in between, and our success can be measured by the
community wealth they create.
“Sick of diagnosis and keen for action.”
Andy Hamilton CEO of the ICEHOUSE
This is a living document prepared by Enterprise Great Lake Taupo. It is the start
of a discussion about who we are, what we are good at and a vision of what we would
like to become. We see it as the start of our pathway and we will take this document
out to the wider industry and community for their feedback.
To find out more about us please go to www.greatlaketaupo.biz.
Sue de Bievre
EGLT Chair