Society Insider: Former MP Stuart Nash smooths Golden Visas for wealthy; Is Xero founder Rod Drury the king of Queenstown?; Lux weddings for Sophie Heatly and Murray Crane
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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Former minister hits out at carbon farming of pines
A tree industry expert and former minister of forestry has condemned "lock and leave" carbon farming, but says you still can not tell farmers what to do with their land. Former Labour minister Stuart Nash said in his time with the portfolio he had a dream for how the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would benefit the country. "With the ETS, for the first time ever there's been an economic incentive to plant up land that should have never been cleared in the first place," he said. But forestry conversions, since the incentive was introduced, where dense pines were planted with no plan to harvest the mature trees, were not good, he said. "You will end up with an ecological disaster in between 80 and 100 years," he said. He understood that some legislation was developing to help restrict the planting of pines, but said you still can not tell farmers what to do with their land and their money. "I don't know if that's the right route," he said. "Farmers get pretty p..... off ... because what it does mean is, their farm which may be worth, $10 million to a forester is now only worth $7m." The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme-Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill passed its first reading in June. It proposed restrictions to the quality and proportion of arable land that could be planted in trees. Mr Nash had a masters degree in forestry science and previously worked for construction, paper and forestry giants Carter Holt Harvey and Fletcher Challenge. His ideal for carbon farming was that pines would be planted low density, for no longer than 50 years, while at the same time seeding natives. Then after 50 years, the ministry would allow the grower to collect carbon credits of the native forest as the pines died off. In this ideal situation, carbon farmers would not be allowed to collect credits or money on pines past that 50-year cut-off. He said research by the sustainability charitable trust Pure Advantage showed that Mānuka could be a just as fast growing and carbon-absorbing alternative to pines. While he was the minister, he said the research needed more time to cook and the good thing about pines were that they were the most hardy. "It's the over-boiled Brussels sprouts of the trees," he said. "Not many people like it, not many [bugs and diseases] like it [either]." Coming from Napier, he had seen the devastation Cylone Gabrielle and Cyclone Hale had on the east coast of the North Island in 2023. This was where trees on farms would have come in handy, he said as roots made the ground more hardy, and would have prevented slips and other soft ground corrosion after the floods. A lot of New Zealand land should never had been cleared for farming and he said it was expensive to plant hilly, non-productive land, without incentive. He said despite seeing the benefit of forests and the ETS for the land, he by no means wanted to see highly productive farms and soil turned into carbon farms. "I'm really loathe to tell farmers what they should and shouldn't do," he said. "But I'm very happy to tell carbon farmers what they should do."
Techday NZ
3 days ago
- Techday NZ
Chris Teeling named Chief Executive Officer of Arlo Software
Arlo Software has announced the appointment of Chris Teeling as its new Chief Executive Officer. Chris Teeling will be based at Arlo Software's headquarters in Petone, Wellington, and will lead the company's plans for global expansion. Arlo Software currently has offices in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and North America, and its training management platform is used by thousands of training providers around the world. Leadership experience Teeling brings extensive leadership experience from the software as a service sector, having previously held executive roles at Xero and Lawvu. At these companies, he was involved in driving international expansion and business growth. His appointment was confirmed by Allan Dawson, Chair of the Arlo Board. Dawson highlighted both his leadership qualities and experience within the SaaS sector, stating: "Chris is a visionary and results-driven leader who deeply understands the SaaS space. He brings not only commercial excellence and global strategic acumen but also a passion for building values-led organizations that empower people and customers alike. His appointment marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Arlo." Teeling's immediate remit as CEO will be to lead Arlo's international growth strategy, utilising his background in working with high-growth global software businesses. Company background The Arlo platform is a training management solution supporting the needs of professional training providers. The company reports that its platform has reached more than 7.5 million learners and has facilitated over USD $3 billion in training sales. With a client base across several continents, Arlo Software is focused on further increasing its presence in the professional training market and supporting providers worldwide as they deliver learning at scale. CEO priorities In his first public statement following the appointment, Teeling commented on his new role and the direction he intends to take. He said: "I'm thrilled to be joining Arlo at such a pivotal time. This company has an incredible foundation – an exceptional product, a passionate team, and a meaningful purpose to revolutionize professional training globally. I look forward to working with the board, team, and customers to take Arlo to new heights." Teeling's previous roles have focused on scaling businesses internationally, which aligns with Arlo's objective of further growth in global markets. The company's leadership notes that it is set to accelerate its international strategy under his guidance. Market overview The market for professional training software remains active as organisations globally invest in upskilling and development offerings. Arlo Software positions itself as a solution that handles a variety of administrative and operational tasks for training providers, aiming to simplify processes from course creation through to delivery. The company stated that it is committed to supporting both training organisations and learners as demands evolve in the sector. Chris Teeling's tenure as Chief Executive Officer will begin this month as Arlo Software continues its strategic priorities and expansion initiatives. Follow us on: Share on:
Techday NZ
07-08-2025
- Techday NZ
Webinar: What CFOs can learn from Kieser outgrowing Xero
For CFOs leading high-growth businesses, the shift from day-to-day bookkeeping to driving the financial strategy is often the point when finance systems start to reveal their limits. That was the challenge facing Kieser - a clinical strength training and physiotherapy organisation operating multiple clinics across Australia - as it scaled nationally. When growth starts to strain the system Kieser was founded in Australia in 2006, blending Swiss-engineered strength equipment with exercise physiology to deliver long-term health outcomes. Growth was strong, even accelerating through the pandemic as demand for health and wellness services surged. Growth revealed just how tangled the processes had become. The finance function was running 27 separate Xero instances - one per entity - alongside more than 80 budget spreadsheets. Reporting was slow, reconciling accounts meant duplication of effort, budget cycles stretched out to three months and intercompany transactions required time-intensive manual workarounds. CFO Dianna Butterworth could see the impact on her team: "We were drowning in manual labour with data entry. We had bookkeepers to clinics at a one-to-five ratio, and the systems just weren't talking to each other." Building a finance function for scale To lay the foundations for future growth, Kieser needed to consolidate finance, unify data and remove the manual processing burden. Working with Annexa, they implemented a cloud ERP designed for multi-entity operations, real-time reporting and advanced planning. All 27 Xero instances were replaced with NetSuite's single ledger. A middleware integration connected NetSuite with Kieser's custom clinic management system, ensuring clean data flow from the front desk to finance. Spreadsheet-based budgeting was retired in favour of NetSuite Planning and Budgeting (NSPB). And NetSuite Account Reconciliation (NSAR) automated reconciliations, allowing the team to dig into insight instead of input. The impact was dramatic. Month-end close timelines dropped from 25 days to just three. Regional and clinic leaders gained access to real-time performance data, enabling faster, better-informed decisions. Finance went from reconciling the past to directing the future. "My team went from being data entry checkers to real analysts," said Butterworth. "We've just got complete visibility over what's happening in the business at the push of a button." Lessons for CFOs from Kieser's systems transformation Kieser's story is a textbook example of spotting system strain early and acting before it hardens into strategic debt. It also proves that transformation is as much about giving people the time and tools to operate at their best as it is about technology. With the manual workload stripped away, the finance team now channels its energy into forward-looking work – from strategic planning and accurate forecasting to stronger collaboration between finance, operations and marketing. For CFOs considering a move beyond Xero or other entry level accounting platforms, Kieser's experience shows that the sooner you address the cracks in your finance foundation – whether that's fragmented systems, sluggish closes or budget cycles that drag for months – the faster you unlock scale. Critical takeaways from Kieser's cloud ERP journey: Cut the close - Faster closes free up weeks of strategic bandwidth. One source of truth wins - A single ledger eliminates the reconciliation churn. Visibility is a growth tool - Real-time insights speed up decision-making beyond finance. People are the payoff - Reducing admin gives teams the space to think, not just transact. Go behind the scenes of Kieser's move to a single source of truth If any of these challenges sound familiar, this webinar is worth your time. Join Kieser CFO Dianna Butterworth and technology partner Annexa on September 4 at 11am AEST for a candid look at Kieser's move from Xero to a unified cloud ERP. You'll hear: What triggered the change and how the platform was selected How 27 Xero instances became one unified finance system What measurable improvements followed - from three-day closes to faster budgeting Practical advice for CFOs planning their own transition Reserve your place for the live webinar and see how Kieser redefined its finance function for scale, and how you can too. Register for webinar >
