Gisborne District Council awarded $51k from forestry company in Environment Court decision
Gisborne District Council has recovered half of just over $100,000 spent on what its legal representative described as 'avoidable' legal costs in an Environment Court decision against a Chinese-owned forestry company.
, which the council says have resulted in forestry operators reducing risks and improving compliance.
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NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
On tariffs Malaysia finds itself caught squarely between the US and China
United States President Donald Trump wants to stop that trade. Last week he unveiled a new layer of tariffs — set at a global rate of 40% — on all goods that move through a third country before they get to the United States. The tariffs are aimed at stopping transshipment, a practice the Administration says has allowed Chinese-made goods to skirt punitive tariffs. The policy landed with a thunderbolt in Southeast Asia, where Chinese investment has helped the economies of poorer neighbours grow more quickly. A crackdown on transshipment will be an economic blow. It also complicates the supply chain in Southeast Asia, which depends heavily on Chinese raw materials and components. From Vietnam to Cambodia to Indonesia, officials and executives are rushing to assess the consequences. The new tariffs raise hard questions for countries that have long used Chinese components to make the final products they ship to the US. Does the Trump Administration, which has yet to detail how it would enforce the new transshipment tariffs, want to tax it all? One country offers a case study others could follow for what to do next: Malaysia. Over the past decade, Malaysia rose to become one of the world's biggest makers of solar panels. Ten companies, most of them Chinese, shovelled US$15 billion ($25.3b) into factories around the country, creating tens of thousands of jobs. Then, under President Joe Biden, the US put tariffs on solar equipment coming from Malaysia of as much as 250%. Today, just two solar panel makers remain and one of them has ceased much of its production. The upheaval has been a wake-up call for Malaysia, a nation of more than 35 million people that is rethinking how to power its future economic growth. 'We're trying to think about ourselves not just as recipients of investment, but actually creators of technology,' said Liew Chin Tong, the deputy minister of investment, trade and industry. 'We want to think of ourselves not as a production site, but also as a consumer site with a sizeable middle class.' Officials in Malaysia, who had been trying to work out a trade deal, had said they were ready to work with the Trump Administration to stop companies from passing off Chinese-made goods as their own. But they learned they would be hit with a base tariff of 19%. An additional 40% would be added for any goods deemed to have originated in China. Those are set to take effect this week. The country finds itself caught squarely between the United States and China. Malaysia believes that Chinese solar companies can play an important role in its attempts to increase renewable power sources. Its goal over the next five years is for half of the country's energy consumption to use clean sources like solar power. Warehouses are stuffed with solar equipment that can no longer be exported to the US, and the Government wants companies to sell it to local solar farms. One challenge for Malaysia is that it still needs China's solar industry on its side. More than 75% of the solar panels that Malaysia uses locally are imported from China, where prices are much cheaper because of Beijing's industrial policies that encourage exports. Longer term, Malaysia wants the Chinese companies to restart their mothballed factories to make solar panels for the domestic market. More than any other region, Southeast Asia has felt the brunt of the trade war between the US and China that began in earnest during Trump's first presidency. Southeast Asian countries profited as Chinese and global multinationals relocated their factories out of China to avoid Trump's first-term tariffs. For Malaysia, the aim now is to blunt the collateral damage from the battle between the world's two largest economies. 'I don't like to see us just having to choose between US and China,' Liew said. 'I want to see us strengthening ourselves.' Both superpowers have loomed large in Malaysia. American tech companies Nvidia, Intel and Texas Instruments built huge facilities to make semiconductors, seeing the country as a good location to hedge against the risks of doing business in China. More than 600 American companies invested in Malaysia last year, said Siobhan Das, chief executive of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. Chinese investment has shaped Malaysia's manufacturing sector, and China has ranked as a top investor in the country for the past decade. Malaysia's imports from China have nearly doubled over the past decade, according to Lee Heng Guie, executive director of the Socio-Economic Research Centre, a Malaysian think-tank. It was also about a decade ago when Chinese solar companies began to invest in factories in Malaysia. The factories made everything for export to the US and other major markets like Europe. 'We knew we could not compete with the Chinese companies in the long run,' said Lisa Ong, chief executive at Malaysian Solar Resources, a solar company that shut its panel production facilities in 2013. After seven years, the company found it was being outperformed on price and production capacity. Today it has switched its focus to building solar farms and importing panels from China. After the Biden Administration initiated an investigation into unfair practices by Chinese solar companies in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, Chinese companies began to slow some of their operations. The investigation led to steep tariffs on a handful of Chinese solar companies operating in these countries and prompted most of them to abandon their factories in Malaysia. The only Chinese company still making some solar panels in Malaysia is Longi, an industry giant. When it opened its third Malaysian factory on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2023, it heralded the opening as a 'pivotal moment in Longi's global endeavours'. Its executives boasted of creating 900 jobs and promised to increase the openings to 2000. Instead of expanding, Longi has shut down several production lines at the facility. Today, much of the space at Longi's plant is unused. On one weekday last month, the parking lot was less than half full. Longi declined to comment for this article. Longi has met Malaysian officials to discuss how to support more of the local supply chain, according to Justin Sim, the president of the Malaysian Photovoltaic and Sustainable Energy Industry Association. He is pressing the Government to rebuild a domestic solar panel industry by harnessing the knowledge of Chinese companies like Longi. 'All the Chinese companies came here when there was not really any capacity or interest in building the local market,' Sim said. 'And then they all went bust or left because they were hit with tariffs from the US and Europe.' Ong of Malaysian Solar Resources said she would not rule out her company going back to solar panel manufacturing, especially after the Chinese Government announced plans to scale back subsidies to companies. Still, she is hesitant, citing the intense competitiveness of Chinese firms. 'I'm worried and a bit concerned about our future,' she said. 'Many Chinese nationals are migrating to Malaysia and they are a lot more industrious than many of us.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Alexandra Stevenson and Zunaira Saieed ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Infrastructure Report: Downer gears up for $111.6b in funded projects
Murray Robertson, Downer New Zealand managing director Robertson says a stable, bipartisan-backed pipeline is seen as critical to investor confidence. It reduces perceived risk and enables better financing terms for public-private partnerships. This is especially important for long-term asset management and maintenance investment. 'We are seeing a shift to design-and-construct projects, rather than construct-only, and this changes the type of workforce we need – such as more engineering and design management personnel. 'We are going through a review of the work expected to come through and making sure we are resourced to a sustainable level based on what we can secure through tender. We have to do this in a measured manner. The key thing is that the industry responds by having the right people to deliver well when the initiatives start flowing. We are seeing a shift to design-and-construct projects, rather than construct-only, and this changes the type of workforce we need – such as more engineering and design management personnel. - Murray Robertson, Downer New Zealand managing director 'We acknowledge that the growth in public-private partnerships will likely see increased involvement from overseas contractors. However, it's important to recognise that delivering these projects successfully will still rely heavily on the capabilities and support of strong local teams like ours – and those of Fulton Hogan, McConnell Dowell, HEB Construction, Higgins, Naylor Love and LT McGuinness. 'By moving away from the boom-bust cycle (for project development), we can retain key talent and skills,' says Robertson. 'We are big with on-the-job training and bringing operational management up to speed with New Zealand regulations and compliance.' Robertson says there's a constant degree of interest from South Africa and the UK in terms of project and design management and onsite supervisors. Interest is also being shown from some of the bigger companies out of Australia and Europe for large public-private partnerships across the country.' In transport infrastructure, the NZ Transport Agency has started procurement of the roads of national significance, each of which presents significant opportunity to the industry, says Robertson. Downer is part of a consortium tendering for the Northern Corridor public-private partnership that involves extending the four-lane highway 26km from Warkworth to Te Hana, including a tunnel section and interchanges. The project is part of the 100km-long Northland Corridor from Puhoi to Whangārei. Three consortia are bidding for the work and the preferred contractor is expected to be confirmed early next year, with detailed design and early construction starting mid-year. For Downer-owned Hawkins, the commercial construction pipeline reflects substantial investment in key sectors, says Robertson. Health NZ released its first long-term infrastructure plan earlier this year, outlining $20b worth of (new and upgrade) projects over 10 years. Health NZ said the plan provided 'a consistent approach to how and when we invest in public health infrastructure across the country based on clinical service planning and equitable healthcare access.' Downer-owned Hawkins has recently completed the new Totara Haumaru building, which includes 150 beds and eight operating theatres, as part of the $600m North Shore hospital upgrade. Robertson says this highly successful project was preceded by a thorough early contractor involvement phase, during which Hawkins collaborated closely with the client to proactively identify risks and ensure that practical construction strategies were well established in advance. He says fair risk allocation is important for any major project to ensure continuity of delivery. Clear, balanced risk-sharing avoids disputes and delays, and early risk clarity helps contractors plan and price accurately. Structured risk registers and delegated authority frameworks ensure accountability and strengthen governance. The transparent risk model fosters collaboration with clients and stakeholders and builds trust. Hawkins is delivering Auckland Airport's $850 million domestic jet terminal, which will connect to the present international terminal, creating a smoother, more spacious experience for travellers. The project is expected to be completed in 2029. Downer is a core member of the Link Alliance, contributing one-third of the management and construction effort for the Auckland City Rail Link (CRL). 'While there is a necessary degree of tension over delivery and cost, the project's quality, safety and productivity are impressive relative to similar large rail builds in Australia and other parts of the world. That comes down to being very clear about risk allocation, and an excellent project team,' says Robertson. 'The alliance is in the final stages of delivering CRL and the public will be impressed when the project is released. The way the project has delivered on social impact and sustainability outcomes is world-class. The innovation and contributions have happened because of understanding and sharing the risks.' Downer has 8000 people - both permanent and contingent workers - operating out of 73 locations in New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands. The transport and infrastructure business is half-and-half maintenance and construction. 'We are located around the country from tip to toe,' says Robertson. 'It's important, particularly for road maintenance, because many of the areas we service are quite remote and we provide reactive as well as routine maintenance.' Downer has 50 staff in the Tasman region but that number more than tripled to 180 to support the recovery work following the recent flooding. 'We deployed people from across the South Island – the team has been working long hours and we have had to carefully manage fatigue.' Downer maintains more than 50,000km of urban and rural roads in New Zealand Australia. It has also stretched to the Pacific Islands, recently constructing airfields in Niue Solomon Islands and Nauru. Other completed projects include the Court Theatre performing arts venue in Christchurch, the award-winning Auckland University Hiwa Recreation centre, the Burnham Health and Rehabilitation Centre for the New Zealand Defence Force, and stage two of the Wakefield private hospital in Wellington. Hawkins is presently delivering the Manaaki Hohonu building at Waitakere Hospital – a modern, two-storey facility housing intensive care and inpatient wards and designed to support contemporary models of care and future clinical expansion. Other current projects include a paediatric facility at the Tira Ora Child Health Centre in Whangārei, and the Kenepuru Science Centre for PHF Science in Porirua. Robertson says aligning investment decisions with community wellbeing and long-term regional development reinforces confidence. Downer has developed a New Zealand Infrastructure Resilience Index – a strategic tool designed to measure and strengthen infrastructure resilience across regions. Created in collaboration with NZIER, the index helps identify vulnerabilities in the system and guides where investment should be prioritised to ensure infrastructure continues to function with minimal disruption during future shocks. Robertson agrees there's plenty going on. The infrastructure pipeline is growing with more than 8000 initiatives listed nationally. 'A level of confidence is building in the industry, and we want to see this flowing through to major projects that are not held up for any reason, whether it's consenting or designing. 'The Government is intent on making New Zealand open to foreign direct investment, and substantiate special purpose vehicles for public-private partnerships. The first significant one is the Northern Corridor. 'New Zealand is an attractive place to do business and to live. We can deliver superb engineering and training capabilities. And a lot of people who might have gone away are now coming back, and this gives clients the confidence that contractors can deliver.' Robertson says even though the overall sentiment in the infrastructure industry is positive, it is measured. 'Confidence is at its highest when funding is confirmed, political alignment is strong and delivery capability is mature.' Downer is an advertising sponsor of the Herald's Infrastructure report.
NZ Herald
18 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Gisborne District Council welcomes benchmarking but says context is key
Gisborne District Council has welcomed the release of the Government's new Council Performance Profiles while urging the public to look beyond the numbers. 'These profiles give the public easier access to financial data – and that's a good thing,' Mayor Rehette Stoltz said in a media release. Metrics in the
