Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says the infrastructure is now in place for Ōpōtiki to thrive, and it’s time for the people in the town to play their bit.
Mr Jones and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters were in the eastern Bay of Plenty last week to open the new harbour and breakwaters, which were funded through the Provincial Growth Fund.
The government has also invested in the offshore mussel farm which is providing raw product to Whakatohea’s new processing factory.
Mr Jones says risks to the business include the vagaries of Tangaroa, weather, climate change, and labour supply.”Winston Peters laid down the law to the pakeke and rangatira of Whakatōhea that the crown would meet them halfway but it was their job to motivate, encourage, and shepherd along the young people to accept that there’s no option but work and they have to turn up to work on a regular basis and staying on the dole in Ōpōtiki will no longer be an option,” he says.
