Longtime chairman made life member of national association
Longtime chairman Ali Brosnan was made a life member of the New Zealand Community Licensing Trust Association last weekend.
It was a great honour, he said.
"Especially coming from a wee licensing trust like Oamaru, we're one of the smaller ones of the 16 licensing trusts that are left in New Zealand."
Mr Brosnan has been on the Oamaru Licensing Trust for 23 years and has been chairman for the last 18.
He also spent eight years on the New Zealand Licensing Trust serving as president, immediate past-president as well as junior and senior vice-president in his tenure.
When asked for his favourite part of the role, the answer was simple — the people.
"We don't have a huge turnover but we've had some great people."
He first joined the Oamaru trust in 2002 because he wanted to give back to the community.
"I had always been involved in Excelsior Sports Club over the years and we were always applying for funding through the licensing trust.
"I sort of thought I'd like to get involved in that side of it but I was a wee bit naive in some ways in that once I got on to the trust I found there was a lot more to it than just giving out grants."
After he joined, the trust downsized in 2004 selling off small country pubs and investing in the North Star, upgrading the restaurant and building the motel.
It now owns four businesses with roughly 60 fulltime equivalent staff.
Mr Brosnan has seen it all in his tenure from the 2008 World Financial Crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic put the trust back three to four years financially, he said.
"I'm pleased to say now we've turned the corner. We'll turn a profit this year.
"Tourism, which is a big part of what we do, is back up to about 80-plus-percent of what it was pre-Covid.
"If we can get it back to 100% or better, we'll be pretty happy."
The trust is "owned by the people for the people" .
"The board members are only representing the people of Oamaru.
"The more we can improve the value of our assets the better it is for the owners, the people of Oamaru.
"We just want people to be proud of the business they own."
Mr Brosnan will stand again in this year's election.
Nominations close next Friday.
"We'd like to see younger people involved in it as the trustees get older," Mr Brosnan said.
"A bit like all elections, all public office, there's not a queue of people lining up to take these positions."
nic.duff@oamarumail.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
10 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Whanganui's Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment comes in at just under $80m
On July 24, the gallery ticked over 100,000 visits since reopening on November 9, with surveys indicating 60% came from outside the region. 'It is estimated to be contributing about $17m of visitor spend into our local businesses, which will, over time, offset the cost to the ratepayer many times over,' Langford said. 'I would certainly like to see us, at the very least, sustain those [visitor] numbers, and potentially increase them.' He said the council was engaging with Tourism NZ to make sure Whanganui was well promoted internationally. Batty's report said in June 2020, the project had a total budget of $55.08m. 'In line with other major projects that have had to manage the combined impact of Covid-19 on programme, staff availability, material and labour cost escalations and disruptions in the supply chain, the project has significantly exceeded the original project budget,' it said. 'There was a 28.3% total cost increase in non-residential building costs over our construction period.' Gaye Batty in the gallery's heritage building in 2022. Photo / NZME In March 2022, the Chronicle reported that the forecast cost had blown out to $64.4m, with then-mayor Hamish McDouall saying restoring and earthquake-strengthening the gallery's heritage building had presented a number of challenges for the construction team. 'It's a unique and iconic building that has to be handled with great care,' he said. The $19.67m overspend since 2020 was due to several factors, including the pandemic, work on the heritage building, ground conditions, insurances and archaeology, Batty's report said. Council-approved scope changes and extras, including the fit-out of the cafe, additional AV/ICT infrastructure, and landscaping works, made up just over $4m of the overspend. In 2015, the council committed $5m to the project and then, in 2017, it voted in favour of being a guarantor of the project to secure Government funding. The redevelopment was expected to cost $34.9m at the time. Councillor Kate Joblin said the final cost was 'a whole chunk of money' and she hoped the council did better with significant projects in the future. But the gallery had tangible benefits, she said. 'I've been around long enough to remember, not in detail, but the number of bailouts the Cooks Gardens complex needed when that was built. 'Who can imagine what Whanganui would be like if we didn't have Cooks Gardens. 'I am in no doubt the Sarjeant will become the same treasure, the taonga of this community.' Councillor Rob Vinsen said he attended the first council meeting about the redevelopment in 1998. 'It is a great facility, but it's time now to move on from talking about the capex [capital expenditure]. That is spent money,' he said. 'Our attention as council should turn to operating costs of this institution, because $200 per ratepayer [a year] is too high.' The rates requirement to operate the gallery in 2025/26 is about $4.9m. Last year, Vinsen proposed a $15 entry fee for out-of-towners. During this week's meeting, he said he hoped that would still be considered. Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said significant projects of international standards cost a lot of money, but the Sarjeant would benefit the community for years to come. 'We have an incredible asset, and we are not going to unbuild it for the very few and diminishing number of detractors out there,' he said. 'Let's move forward and celebrate what we've got.' Councillor Kate Joblin says, like Cooks Gardens, the Sarjeant will be a "taonga of this community". Photo / NZME Langford said a 'broad and all-encompassing' project review was under way, with the council's executive officers already holding workshops with Batty, the project management team and review facilitators. The council would spend about $1.78m a year in loan repayments for the project, he said. Joblin asked if, with the benefit of hindsight, he still thought it was a good project. Langford, who is leaving his role in October, said it had been - 'absolutely'. 'While the cost is higher, the benefits that are being delivered are proportionately higher still,' he said. 'Could the project have been set up slightly differently and run slightly more smoothly? 'Yes, but that's probably the answer to every single project that's ever done.' Councillor Jenny Duncan said ratepayers had to be recognised for their contribution, especially those who would not use the gallery and were struggling to pay their rates. 'I also want to acknowledge Nicola [Williams, former Sarjeant Trust chair] because, if it wasn't for her, it wouldn't be $26m we were putting in," Duncan said. 'Who knows, it might have fallen over at one point or another, because we didn't have that additional funding we needed to keep going.' Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Scoop
NZ Hit With 15% Trump Trade Tariff, Trade Minister Says He Will Push Back
New Zealand exports to the US will face a 15 percent tariff rate, it has been announced. The White House has revised its list of tariffs for particular countries and New Zealand has been put on a 15 percent base rate, up from the original 10 percent announced earlier. Trade Minister Todd McClay told Midday Report 's Charlotte Cook that New Zealand was being unfairly penalised for what is a small trade deficit with the United States. "It appears it has been done based upon countries that have a trade deficit with the US, who sell them more than they buy. "In New Zealand's case, that's about half a billion US dollars and in a scheme the size of the US economy it's really not significant or meaningful." McClay told Midday Report he had asked Treasury for urgent advice about Friday's development. "Many of the exporters are saying they have been able to absorb the 10 percent, or in many cases pass it on, but at 15 percent it is going to start having a greater effect on our exporters. "We sell about $9 billion worth of goods into the US every year and so a 15 percent tariff rate is meaningful, but again the difference in trade is not significant in the scheme of things." He maintained New Zealand had good relations with the US. "The first step will be to talk to them directly and we've been engaging a lot. In fact, it's been very good engagement, both at official level, [Foreign Minister] Winston Peters has been to Washington and I've met with my counterpart a number of times now." McClay said he had put in a request for a call with Ambassador Jamieson Greer and would expect that to happen over the weekend so he could "start making the case" for a lower tariff rate. US President Donald Trump announced the tariffs back in April and said he they would be imposed on more than 125 countries. Tariffs are paid by importers of products from other countries to their own governments, like taxes, effectively making imported goods more expensive for local consumers. Advocates say they protect local economies, while detractors say they reduce trade and push up prices. In announcing the initial range of tariffs in April, Trump caused confusion when he held up a chart saying New Zealand charged US goods a 20 percent tariff, which the New Zealand government denied. It ended up being 10 percent, which Finance Minister Nicola Willis at the time called "extraordinary". Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand would not respond in kind. Two-thirds of Kiwi businesses in a survey earlier this year thought the tariffs would have a more severe global impact than Covid-19 and the global financial crisis over the next 12 months. Trump has repeatedly threatened a range of different tariffs on various nations since returning to the White House - most recently India, citing its own trade barriers and purchasing of energy and arms from Russia, and Canada, over its newfound support for Palestinian statehood.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Will Auckland's Sky World Ever Be Returned To Its Former Glory?
, Senior journalist If you ask an Aucklander about Sky World Indoor Entertainment, once known as the Metro Centre, chances are they'll have a story to tell about getting lost inside the labyrinth-like interior, loitering outside Burger King or celebrating a birthday at the long-gone Planet Hollywood. But over the last decade the Queen St building has slowly decayed with numerous businesses shutting up shop and foot-traffic dropping dramatically. In 2017, RNZ reported the building remained open without a warrant of fitness for more than a year despite a 'high risk' to public safety. Auckland Council confirmed the building does now have a valid warrant of fitness through to 24 August. The building spent two years on the market and as of October 2024, the owner of the building James Kwak from JNJ Holdings, said there were plans for redevelopment. Kwak has owned the building since 2011 when he paid $37 million for it. In 2026 the City Rail Link (CRL) is set to open with a stop called Te Waihorotiu Station just 50 metres from the building – it is expected to be the busiest station, catering for up to 54,000 passengers per hour. While it could be an opportunity for Sky World to attract more customers, remaining tenants inside the building said they had been 'left in the dark' about any refurbishment plans. Most of the stores inside Sky World are empty, and the international food court has been demolished, leaving Event Cinemas, Metro Lanes, Game On arcade and Odyssey Sensory Maze. A Jack's Fried Chicken has opened within the past year. A worker at GameOn said they had 'no idea' what was going on in terms of the building being renovated or sold. 'I don't know… I would love it to be developed or sold. When I first heard about it I was looking forward to that.' The food court now being empty and closed off by false walls, stopped people being able to walk through a large section of the building, the worker said, making it uninviting for customers. The worker said the building, and most of Auckland's mid-town, had taken a big hit during the Covid-19 pandemic and this was when many remaining tenants made the decision to leave. 'I had a big walk-through mid-town the other day, it's a bit sad. Our building is one of the worst ones.' The arcade had been a tenant at Sky World in some form, since 1999, the year the building, then Force Entertainment Centre, first opened. The worker said they had been on level two, until 2018 when they moved to the upper basement. 'It's not been a great experience [recently] the building was badly hurt by Covid, and it hasn't refilled.' The arcade was lucky to have survived, and the worker said he believed this was only due to them having an entrance to the store from Queen St. He said he believed if the building could only be accessed from inside the complex, it would not still be in business. 'I would like to see it in its former glory – the council, everyone, wants to see this part of town fixed.' The manager of Odyssey Sensory Maze, which is hidden down in the basement of Sky World, said they had also been kept in the dark about renovations. The state of the building and their positioning in the basement did impact business, she said. 'Customers often get lost trying to find us or leave bad reviews online because of the state of the building, which is something we can't control, it's not ideal. 'Things look messy and dirty – for me, it would be nice to have some more life in it.' Former tenant of Sky World, Brad Jacobs, the director of Coffee Club, said the final straw for many tenants was the cost of rent during the pandemic. 'We used to trade well there, it was a good store prior to 2020, but when things got tough during the lockdowns we could not reach any fair rental agreement – we tried very hard, we begged even.' But Jacobs said there was no support offered by the landlord. Coffee Club exited the building in March 2021, and Jacobs said by that stage most of the other food places had already closed. 'The whole thing was ridiculous, bizarre, I still don't know what the landlord was trying to achieve. 'By then we could see the writing on the wall – the city was falling apart, and it was not the place to be.' For Sky World to thrive again, Jacobs believed it would need a clear vision. 'Everyone has a story about that building, I remember I used to hang around the Borders bookstore and go to the movies, but the design is past its used by date now. 'It will be sad if it just sits like that for another ten years.' 'An awkward building' Speaking to people passing through Sky World on a week day, one woman said she still visited to watch a movie or go bowling. She remembered the food court was thriving when she was a child and hoped the complex could be rebuilt in some way. 'It's quite sad seeing it so empty.' Another passer-by said he had been involved with the opening of Planet Hollywood, an international movie-themed restaurant chain, when the complex was built. He remembered actor Robin Williams came down for the opening and the premier of his movie Bicentennial Man at the IMAX cinema which caused a serious buzz. 'It just deteriorated over the years … it's an awkward building to get around. It's confusing with the sky ways going in every which way, it's hard to find which level you're exactly on. 'I just use it to cross through to the other side now.' Another woman passing by described it as a 'ghost town', while another queried whether it was closed altogether. One of the three architects behind the design of the building agreed it was past its used by date. Ashley Allen said he had been inspired by the film Blade Runner when he designed the building 25 years ago with Jamie Simpkin and Peter Diprose. 'The brief was to create a space that becomes a dynamic escape from city living and working life. The intention was this building would be without doubt memorable and the hub for entertainment for all in Auckland City. 'I have a sadness that the generation of children who enjoyed this space now as adults see its demise due to minimal maintenance, minimal refurbishments or any new innovations'. He said the building was designed to be maze-like, to give people a sense of escapism and make it feel as though they had entered another world. 'I wanted people to get lost and discover things within the building. I liked the playfulness of it, the rocket lift, the bridges almost to nowhere.' Entertainment centre 'still relevant' The building had gone down hill dramatically, Allen said, and every building needed to be refurbished and re-energised throughout its life. 'You need to put money into it. Successful buildings need to be constantly refreshed and it's so unfortunate the owner seems to not want to spend any money on it – it's very sad.' An entertainment centre needed to be refreshed every four to five years, Allen said, as technology moved on. 'Entertainment is not a static approach – what's needed to entertain a 12-year-old today is not the same as what was needed 15 years ago.' He did not believe it would take much to make the building successful again, but it would need someone to agree to spend the money. 'It needs a new owner; it needs to be refurbished to get good tenants back in there or it needs to be demolished and rebuild with higher density.' Allen said he did not want to see the building demolished, but he found it hard to see it in its current state. 'It feels like someone is abusing your child – I'd do anything I possibly could to help the current owner out or help a new one fix it. 'I just want someone to refurbish it. I'm keen for Auckland to have an entertainment hub again. All it takes is one person to start refurbishing and then people will join in.' Heart of the City's Viv Beck would not comment directly on the state of Sky World, but said in general, next year's opening of the CRL would be great for the mid-town area. 'It's certainly an opportunity… it has been challenging for businesses operating there with the ongoing construction.' Beck said they were thinking about how to bring people back to the area, and she was optimistic about the long-term. 'I see next year as a milestone. I think the concept of an entertainment centre is still relevant, but it needs to be an immersive experience with new technology. The concept is something that people still want.' Attempts by RNZ to reach the owner of the building James Kwak or his company JNJ Holidings have been unsuccessful. The number listed on a 2022 renovation plan belonged to a man who said he had 'no idea' why his number was listed. Voice messages left for numbers which were listed for lease enquiries on signs inside the building went unanswered, as did emails to Kwak and his company. A number listed as accounts on the company's office led to a man who said he had not worked at the company for two years and he requested RNZ 'stop calling'. The building's manager Tristan Kim, confirmed to RNZ the email had been received and said he would get back in touch with RNZ about whether there were any renovations underway. 'I'm at a restaurant with my son – I'll call you back.' By time of publication, he had not responded.
