Horticulture: 2025 NZ Young Plant Producer on why he thinks his sector is ‘underrated'
A young, award-winning plant producer says while plant production is critical to the success of primary industries and domestic gardens, he believes the sector's 'good mahi' goes under the radar.
Lincoln University conservation and ecology student Jake Linklater won the prestigious Young Plant Producer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
‘Shocking' KFC demand means Chch teen needs new logo
By Liu Chen of RNZ A 17-year-old entrepreneur has launched an appeal on social media to find a "unique" design for his fried chicken business after being instructed to rebrand by fast food giant KFC. High school student Ben Yang runs Yang's Fried Chicken from a food truck selling Korean fried chicken, bubble tea and dessert in Riccarton, Christchurch. Yang started the business in a physical store last year before moving it to a food truck in February. The teenager would work in the food truck after school every day and during the holidays, with his mother - and occasionally his grandmother - involved in the operation. The food truck's logo features an illustration of Yang wearing a red suit on a red background with "YFC" in white font. In June, Yang received a stack of legal documents from KFC that left him stunned. The teenager was surprised to receive the package. "It's quite shocking to see that KFC, this really big brand, would find out about this small food truck that's just parked down the road ... and just send legal documents without ... talking to us beforehand, without any communication," he said. Yang was initially given a deadline of 2 July to rebrand his operation and cease using "YFC", but it has since been extended to early August. Yang has called on designers to submit ideas for a new logo before 13 July, promising the winner a lifetime supply of free fried chicken. He said followers of the campaign could vote for their favourite design on Instagram. "It's pretty good to see that there's a lot of involvement within the community towards this," he said. Yang hoped to franchise his brand in future, wanting to open stores in Auckland and other cities. Born in Christchurch, Yang has been raised in the Garden City by his Chinese mother. Yang's South Korean father died when he was just 1 year old, and he would often visit his grandparents in the port city of Busan. The fried chicken his grandparents made him on such visits inspired Yang to start his business. "There's a bit of me just learning online and ... I kind of perfected it, like taking some parts of that one, mixing it with my one and then making an overall better recipe, I guess," he said. Ben's mother, Kathy Qiu, said Yang had worked hard from a young age. Yang had opened the fried chicken operation partly to give Qiu a job after being out of work, she said. "He's very busy with the shop," she said. "He had to go back to study, and he still does well in his studies." She said the logo did look a little similar to KFC's iconic design. "If we need to change it, we will," she said. "We're preparing to change the logo." KFC said it was unable to comment on the matter.
Otago Daily Times
20 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Covid inquiry: Future vaccine mandates 'won't work'
By Lucy Xia of RNZ Business leaders from Auckland and Northland have spoken about profound impacts on small to medium businesses coping with public health restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The comments were made at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's response to Covid-19, with one leader saying they didn't think vaccine mandates would work in the future. The legal challenges for businesses to implement the mandates, and the enduring financial repercussions that are still felt today, were among some of the issues raised. These are the first public hearings of the inquiry's second phase, which was called for by the coalition government last year. The hearings concentrate on the impact of the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland in 2021, vaccine mandates and safety, and the effects of public health measures on social division, isolation, health, education and business activity. Auckland was in lockdown for 17 weeks, and Northland and parts of Waikato for 12, after community transmission of the Delta strain in August 2021. Auckland's Heart of the City's chief executive Viv Beck said the pandemic was the "perfect storm" for CBD businesses, with the loss of tourists, international students, large events, and leaving many working from home. This left businesses dealing with the "eye of the storm" - particularly for the 1300 consumer facing businesses facing a 95% drop in sales during the level four lockdowns, she said. Beck cited data from banks which also showed a 38% drop in spending at CBD businesses during alert level two, and a 19% drop under alert level 1 restrictions. She said many were still trading below pre-Covid levels as of today. Wage subsidies at the time had helped, but didn't cover businesses' operating costs and rent, she said. The Employers and Manufacturers Association's (EMA) employment relations and safety manager, Paul Jarvie, told the inquiry that vaccine mandates had created legal challenges for businesses. "You've got conditions of employment, running in parallel to that you got the Bill of Rights, so people to have the right to say yes or no to treatment, and treatment includes injections. Those businesses that were mandated to have vaccines, that immediately creates employment law issues, if someone doesn't get mandated [sic] what do you do with them?" he said. When asked by the chairperson of the inquiry, Grant Illingworth, KC, whether employment legislation during the pandemic was adequate, Jarvie said it was "fit for purpose" at the time, but added that it would be helpful if there was a caveat under the employment law which allowed for certain public health measures under exceptional circumstances. Jarvie and Beck told the commissioners that if there was another similar event, they hoped businesses could be involved from the very beginning. Beck said while she had liaised with central government agencies from February 2020, she pointed out that being given information was different from being able to participate in decision-making. "We got to a point where we were actually getting asked about a decision about to be made, often at the last minute, but that's the point - if it happens from the start, businesses have to be a trusted voice in decision-making." A manager from the National Field Days Society also in her evidence spoke of feeling the events industry was not being listened to by decision-makers during the pandemic. Head of customer and strategic engagement Taryn Storey said they had spoken to government agencies multiple times about how they could host field days safely, but felt ignored. She said they were willing to integrate vaccine passports into its ticketing system, and thought their venue was well equipped to support the pandemic response. However, Storey said multiple visits by decision-makers to their venue - including by district health officials - had led nowhere. While they felt they had weathered the pandemic, the impacts were "exceptionally profound" and they're still financially trying to claw their way back, she said. Vaccine mandates 'not an option' in the future Representatives from Northland's Chamber of Commerce said in their evidence today that a community-based approach would have worked better hard-handed vaccine mandates in persuading people to get vaccinated. President Tim Robinson said rather than the "authoritarian" mandate path, he felt it would have been more effective to engage with Whānau Ora providers to talk to Northland communities and businesses about the vaccine. "Anybody that I dealt with or worked with during that whole period, said look, I got a much better chance of convincing somebody that the vaccination's a good idea, if there's no threat attached to it," he said. Robinson said the mandates made businesses feel that they were not trusted. When asked by commissioner Anthony Hill whether vaccine mandates would ever be a valid tool in future events from a business perspective, Robinson said no.
Otago Daily Times
20 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Future vaccine mandates won't work, Covid inquiry told
By Lucy Xia of RNZ Business leaders from Auckland and Northland have spoken about profound impacts on small to medium businesses coping with public health restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The comments were made at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's response to Covid-19, with one leader saying they didn't think vaccine mandates would work in the future. The legal challenges for businesses to implement the mandates, and the enduring financial repercussions that are still felt today, were among some of the issues raised. These are the first public hearings of the inquiry's second phase, which was called for by the coalition government last year. The hearings concentrate on the impact of the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland in 2021, vaccine mandates and safety, and the effects of public health measures on social division, isolation, health, education and business activity. Auckland was in lockdown for 17 weeks, and Northland and parts of Waikato for 12, after community transmission of the Delta strain in August 2021. Auckland's Heart of the City's chief executive Viv Beck said the pandemic was the "perfect storm" for CBD businesses, with the loss of tourists, international students, large events, and leaving many working from home. This left businesses dealing with the "eye of the storm" - particularly for the 1300 consumer facing businesses facing a 95% drop in sales during the level four lockdowns, she said. Beck cited data from banks which also showed a 38% drop in spending at CBD businesses during alert level two, and a 19% drop under alert level 1 restrictions. She said many were still trading below pre-Covid levels as of today. Wage subsidies at the time had helped, but didn't cover businesses' operating costs and rent, she said. The Employers and Manufacturers Association's (EMA) employment relations and safety manager, Paul Jarvie, told the inquiry that vaccine mandates had created legal challenges for businesses. "You've got conditions of employment, running in parallel to that you got the Bill of Rights, so people to have the right to say yes or no to treatment, and treatment includes injections. Those businesses that were mandated to have vaccines, that immediately creates employment law issues, if someone doesn't get mandated [sic] what do you do with them?" he said. When asked by the chairperson of the inquiry, Grant Illingworth, KC, whether employment legislation during the pandemic was adequate, Jarvie said it was "fit for purpose" at the time, but added that it would be helpful if there was a caveat under the employment law which allowed for certain public health measures under exceptional circumstances. Jarvie and Beck told the commissioners that if there was another similar event, they hoped businesses could be involved from the very beginning. Beck said while she had liaised with central government agencies from February 2020, she pointed out that being given information was different from being able to participate in decision-making. "We got to a point where we were actually getting asked about a decision about to be made, often at the last minute, but that's the point - if it happens from the start, businesses have to be a trusted voice in decision-making." A manager from the National Field Days Society also in her evidence spoke of feeling the events industry was not being listened to by decision-makers during the pandemic. Head of customer and strategic engagement Taryn Storey said they had spoken to government agencies multiple times about how they could host field days safely, but felt ignored. She said they were willing to integrate vaccine passports into its ticketing system, and thought their venue was well equipped to support the pandemic response. However, Storey said multiple visits by decision-makers to their venue - including by district health officials - had led nowhere. While they felt they had weathered the pandemic, the impacts were "exceptionally profound" and they're still financially trying to claw their way back, she said. Vaccine mandates 'not an option' in the future Representatives from Northland's Chamber of Commerce said in their evidence today that a community-based approach would have worked better hard-handed vaccine mandates in persuading people to get vaccinated. President Tim Robinson said rather than the "authoritarian" mandate path, he felt it would have been more effective to engage with Whānau Ora providers to talk to Northland communities and businesses about the vaccine. "Anybody that I dealt with or worked with during that whole period, said look, I got a much better chance of convincing somebody that the vaccination's a good idea, if there's no threat attached to it," he said. Robinson said the mandates made businesses feel that they were not trusted. When asked by commissioner Anthony Hill whether vaccine mandates would ever be a valid tool in future events from a business perspective, Robinson said no.
