A&P shows get funding boost from government
Gore A&P Association president Martin Powley said the government funds will be helpful in attracting a younger audience and in keeping people coming back.
"We're struggling and that's an exceptionally nice present," he said.
Royal Agricultural Society Southern District chair Rob Hall said the money works out as $1000 a year for four years, for each of the 94 shows across the country.
He said the money has been earmarked for the many volunteers that help with the show.
"We're all volunteers," Mr Powley said.
"Everyone that puts stuff up, puts stuff down, comes to meetings every month, does the ram shows, they're all volunteers."
Mr Powley said the money could also be used for advertising and entertainment to attract the younger audience and to keep them coming back.
In the Gore association, only the secretary and the show secretary were on a wage, because they do "a heck of a lot" of work, Mr Powley said.
They charge vendors a minimal fee for power, and the rest of the money is earned from admission.
"We make money out of our gate and that's the only way we make money to keep the wheels going," Mr Powley said.
Wyndham A&P Society president Mike Henderson said they were lucky in that their show was one of the bigger, stronger ones.
"I say we're lucky, but I don't think we are, we work really hard to get those people on the gates," he said.
"Lucky is not the right word for it, but we do have a good following."
Mr Hall said it was the smaller, and therefore smaller budgeted, shows in the district who needed more help and were more volunteer-led.
Mr Henderson said the Wyndham show had a "really, really good", young, enthusiastic committee which made their show a little stronger than the others.
The Wyndham president said they were happy with the funding, as it recognised the importance of A&P shows in the rural sector.
Minister of Agriculture Todd McClay said he had seen first hand the tireless hours volunteers put in to these shows.
He also said he had seen how the much the small town committees had struggled to stretch a dollar, and wanted to ease some of the financial strain.
"In every part of the country I've visited, people have told me the same thing — A&P shows are a fixture on the rural calendar, and they want their local show to keep going, but organisers have told me even small costs add up," he said.
'This funding sends a clear message: we see the work of rural New Zealand, we value your contribution, and we're making practical investments that are felt on the ground.'
ella.scott-fleming@alliedpress.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Southern councils reluctantly agree to jointly deliver water services
Clutha River Mata-Au. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton The Clutha District Council has reluctantly agreed to partner with other southern councils to deliver water services with councillors saying they feel backed into a corner. Councils have less than a month to submit their water service delivery plans to the Department of Internal Affairs. Four southern councils had been working towards a jointly owned, council-controlled organisation, but last month, the Waitaki District Council pulled out , leaving the others to work out if they should stick with the plan or strike out on their own. Earlier this week, the Central Otago and Gore district councils both voted to stay the course and continue with the Southern Water Done Well model. On Wednesday, Clutha District councillors met to consider if the updated figures for only three councils stacked up and they should stick with their earlier decision to adopt the Southern Water Done Well model. Analysis by Morrison Low Advisory, that was tabled at the extraordinary meeting, found that ratepayers across the three councils would collectively save approximately $392 million by 2054 through setting up the joint entity. This was $220 million less than the estimated savings if the Waitaki District Council remained in the partnership, but the analysis suggested the figures used conservative assumptions and more savings could be made if other councils joined in the future. The decision was not unanimous, with multiple councillors on both sides of the vote expressing their frustration and concerns. Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan said he was gutted and furious, but the new entity was the only option they had to avoid government intervention as they faced rising debt, costs, rate rises above 20 percent and a looming deadline. It was the worst process that he had ever seen a government push through, he said. "Most councils walk out of this totally enfeebled. There's going to be some ghastly costs and ghastly decisions moving forward." But he urged councillors not to vote against the partnership, saying the council could not afford to go it alone and if it tried, the government would step in and councillors would not have a seat at the decision-making table. Clutha district Mayor Bryan Cadogan Photo: supplied Councillors had a moral and democratic responsibility to protect their ratepayers from having a complete stranger from Wellington intervene and call the shots for their district, he said. Councillor Dane Catherwood said they were being pushed into a corner, but he was worried about ratepayers facing separate rates and water bills and that it would be more expensive if the entity went ahead. Clutha Deputy Mayor Ken Payne said it felt like they only had one option, even if he did not like it. Councillor Gaynor Finch said she did not want to hand over the district's assets, but she thought this option was the only way to avoid government intervention. Councillor Brent Mackie said he resented the feeling their ratepayers were being threatened and their district was being bullied and pushed around. Councillor Jock Martin said he believed if the council backed its own staff and process, they could do a better, cheaper job. The analysis was peer reviewed by Concept Consulting and Infometrics, and considered by the Department of Internal Affairs, with all three noting that this model remained the best and most viable option for the three councils to deliver water services. Councillors also voted to agree that the Timaru District Council and Waitaki District Council might join the partnership and they were willing to explore future opportunities to collaborate with other southern councils. During the meeting, they were told that the Waitaki District Council, which has been hosting weekly workshops on its own water plan, had been advised by the Department of Internal Affairs that its plan had significant gaps. On that basis, the department staff told them a specialist would likely be sent in to take over decision-making and they were expected to get the council to rejoin the southern partnership. Councillor Alison Ludemann said no extra costs should fall on the councils already in the partnership if another council sought to buddy up and any request needed to be discussed by the councils. For Clutha ratepayers, the analysis found that a new joint water services entity would mean three waters debt and revenue no longer impacted the council's borrowing limits and the council would improve its debt to revenue ratio, allowing for an increase of approximately $8 million of additional borrowing capacity. The analysis also found, while this model was the best overall, there was a risk that some local control was eroded and some high value jobs might be lost in some districts as the work was centralised. It also said the benefits of the model would be derived over the long term and the transition to a regional price might increase charges for some customers. Southern Water Done Well chair and Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley said the entity would be designed to protect local communities and ensure fair, effective governance. "The model is regionally focused, community-driven, and ensures that decisions about water services remain in local hands," she said. Working together remained the best way for councils to achieve their shared goal to provide the best most efficient services for their communities today and into the future, she said. "We remain committed to collaboration and would welcome future conversations with any council interested in being part of a community-led, regional solution." The new water services entity was due to start operations by July 2027, covering 24 urban water supplies and 10 rural supplies. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
PGG Wrightson a stand-out as NZX 50 slides 1.2%
'Well done. Those guys have been through a tough time. We know that PGW is a cyclical business and they've been doing a lot of work to improve that,' he said. 'There is a reason to own these businesses at low points in the cycle. Today is one of them.' Three announcements Solly flagged a couple of 'interesting' corporate announcements that dropped on the exchange throughout the day. Spark shares dropped 2.5% to $2.54 after it announced it had sold a 75% stake in its datacentre business to Australian private equity fund Pacific Equity Partners (PEP). Spark anticipates receiving about $486m in cash upon completion, with a further $98m possible if specific performance targets are met by the end of 2027. The funds will be used to reduce the company's net debt. Solly said the market liked the transaction but was still looking for more details around costs, land and commitments to capital expenditure. 'But otherwise, people have been anxious about the debt levels within Spark. This helps resolve that,' he said. Gentrack also dipped after it released a presentation it gave at a Canaccord Genuity conference in Boston. 'The management team has come out and confirmed previous indications in terms of revenue and margins, and that's in itself helpful,' Solly said. He added there was still 'wariness' surrounding Gentrack associated with the rapid rate of technological change, and what that means for software companies. The stock tumbled 5.08% to $9.35 after trading at nearly $13 as recently as early July. Travelling in the other direction was SkyCity Entertainment Group, which lifted 2.06% to 99 cents, after an Australian commissioner concluded that SkyCity Adelaide is suitable to hold the SkyCity Adelaide casino licence. The market had been anticipating that SkyCity would get approved as a suitable operator, Solly said, but there was always a risk. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led the market in volumes, with over $14m in value traded. The index's largest constituent lost 0.33% to $36.78. Last week, analysts at Craigs Investment Partners upgraded the stock to 'Overweight' and raised their 12-month target price to $39.90. Stats incoming Speaking before the Reserve Bank of Australia issued its decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, Solly said it was almost a given and that the market would respond favourably to it. Shortly afterwards, the S&P/ASX 200 rose to an all-time high of 8,880.2 points. At 5pm, the Australian benchmark had dipped slightly and was trading up 0.3%. Solly said that investors would also be looking towards the United States consumer price index (CPI) release, which will occur overnight. 'The markets are anticipating the number comes in at 0.2% which takes you to an annualised number of around 2.8%. 'The Federal Reserve has been on hold since December, with [US President Donald] Trump and others really putting pressure on them to cut, so that is perhaps holding the markets back at the moment, as well as people are weary about.' Trump removed the head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier in August, accusing her of manipulating job numbers.
NZ Herald
08-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Late selling drives NZ sharemarket down
'It's been a good week and the markets seem to be taking the US tariffs in their stride as we head into the reporting season next week,' he said. 'We are confident that we'll see an Official Cash Rate cut from the Reserve Bank [on August 20], which I think will be good for the market and the economy overall. 'We've managed to get through this week without any profit warnings, so that's good,' Lister said. Spark firmed 4c or 1.6% to $2.59 after a difficult period. Lister said the telco appeared to be enjoying the beginnings of a recovery after two years in the investment wilderness. 'It's still got a long way to go, but I think there is a general feeling among the analyst community that there might be a little bit of value there because it's fallen as much as it has,' he said. Also firming were KMD Brands, up 1c at 25c, and Sky TV, up 6c at $3.02. Infratil dropped by 18c or 1.59% to $11.84. The infrastructure investor earlier announced that it and the NZ Superannuation Fund had entered a binding agreement to sell their 100% interest in RetireAustralia to Invesco Real Estate, for A$845m ($925m). As of March 31, the carrying value of Infratil's investment in RetireAustralia was $404m, with the transaction expected to result in an accounting loss on sale of about $80m, the company said. Market heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which has a 16% weighting on the S&P/NZX50 index, fell 31c to $36.69. Retirement village operator Summerset dropped by 25c (2.25%) to $11.08. Transport software specialist Eroad took back some of Thursday's gains, which were on the back of New Zealand's plan to introduce universal road user charges, the stock dropping 6c to $1.95. In the second-tier stocks, major apple exporter T&G Global rallied by 15c (6.7%) to $2.40 after posting a turnaround in its first half to a $1.7m profit from a loss of $18.76m in the previous comparable period. 'As we head into the second half of the year, T&G is in a strong position to build on this momentum,' the company said. 'We're confident in our ability to continue delivering improved financial performance.' T&G's majority owner, Germany's BayWa, has put its stake up for review. BayWa, which has interests ranging from food to construction and energy, first made its play in 2011 for what was then Turners and Growers, with the intention of a complete takeover. T&G's shares have gained 53% in the last 12 months. With a 15% tariff on New Zealand exports to the US now in place, ASB Bank expects beef, dairy and wine exports to be the most heavily affected. 'We think beef is currently under the most risk, but there are opportunities to mitigate the hit,' the bank said. Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.
