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NZ Herald
19 minutes ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Waikato tourism sector shows growth and resilience, celebrates events funding
At least 22 events in Waikato have also received Government support as part of the recent round of the Regional Events Promotion Fund. 'Events remain a cornerstone of our visitor strategy, a key reason for manuhiri [visitors] to head to the mighty Waikato,' Greenwell said. After Waikato was initially excluded from the first round of the Regional Events Promotion Fund, Hamilton and Waikato Tourism successfully lobbied to be included in round two. 'For Waipa and Waikato district events to secure over $250,000 in funding was a definite win for the individual events, the district and the wider region.' Among the events receiving funding were Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, Fieldays, Equifest, Whangamatā Half Marathon, National Waka Ama Sprint Championships 2026 and Motofest. Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly said he was happy to see Hampton Downs' Motofest receiving funding. Among the events receiving funding from the Regional Events Promotion Fund was Motofest. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer 'This is a stand-out event on our local calendar that brings motorsport fans to the region, supports local businesses, and showcases what makes north Waikato such a great destination.' Waipā District Mayor Susan O'Regan said the funding was also a 'big win for Waipā' as the district focused on creating vibrant and connected communities. 'These events ... give our community something to celebrate and enjoy together. 'It's not just about continuing our flagship events but also expanding into new ones that strengthen our place on the national events calendar.' Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell. The Regional Events Promotion Fund was a contestable fund over two financial years to support regions in hosting local events attracting domestic tourists. The fund was established using $5 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy ($2.375m for round one and $2.652m for round two). In total, 284 regional events were supported. Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said she was 'thrilled' with the variety of events. Fieldays 2025 held at Mystery Creek near Hamilton is the largest agricultural show in the southern hemisphere. 12 June 2025 New Zealand Herald photograph by Mike Scott 'Investing in these events has a direct impact, with visitors spending money in local cafes, businesses and accommodation providers, driving economic activity in our communities. 'Events are excellent drawcards to get more visitors into our regions, particularly in quieter parts of the year for the tourism and hospitality sector.' Upston said last week the controversial Everyone Must Go campaign had been a success, exceeding its target of bringing 6750 additional Australians to New Zealand over autumn. She said nearly 8000 extra Australian visitors had pumped an estimated $22m into the economy – $5m more than was initially targeted. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Tourism Minister Louise Upston talk to media about the announcement to pump another $13.5 million into international tourism marketing. Photo / Dean Purcell Greenwell said while the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data was only available up until May this year, there had been a small increase in visitor spending in the Waikato region in May compared with the year before. 'We're encouraged by the success of Tourism New Zealand's Everyone Must Go campaign in the Australian market. 'With Waikato featuring as part of wider regional storytelling, this campaign supports international recovery by reigniting interest in our unique offerings – particularly our natural landscapes, cultural experiences, and growing food and wine scene.' Greenwell said reintroducing international direct flights from Sydney and Coolangatta to Hamilton had also added 'hype'. 'Hotel developments under way and announced couldn't come soon enough. We know these beds will be keenly sought after by groups travelling and events in particular.' The inaugural Jetstar international flights arrives in Hamilton from Sydney. Photo / Stephen Barker, Barker Photography Meanwhile, the results of the impact of the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund, which was set up after the Covid-19 pandemic, have been released recently. The final 48 events supported by the fund were completed in April this year. The 'economic impact assessment' revealed the $3.75m fund had generated $220m for communities in the Thermal Explorer regions of Waikato, Rotorua, Taupō and Ruapehu. The events it supported catered for a total audience of 532,468 people, including 249,909 visitors from outside the regions the events were hosted in. 'One of the purposes of the fund was to stimulate domestic visitation so it's a real testament to its success that around half of the people who attended the events it funded came from out of the region,' Greenwell said. Popular funded events included the Middle-earth Half Marathon in Hobbiton, the inaugural ITM Taupō Super400 motorsport event, the New Zealand Blues and BBQ Festival in Rotorua and the Ohakune Blues and Roots Festival. 'Not only has the funding brought some entirely new events to our communities ... but it has also helped build local capability, creating a legacy that will last for decades.' Waikato events supported by the Regional Events Promotion Fund $10,000 to Australasian Open 2026 (disc golf) $10,000 to Campsaver Motorhome Show $30,000 to Equifest $20,000 to Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge $13,550 to Motomania $12,500 to Pillar to Pou $20,000 to Taupo Historic GP $5500 to New Zealand Women's Surfing Festival 2026 $6000 to Whangamatā Half Marathon $5000 to Wings and Wheels $7314 to Karioi Classic 2025 $5350 to Raglan Country & Blues Festival 2025 $50,000 to Fieldays $10,000 to National Waka Ama Sprint Championships 2026 $25,000 to Night of Champions $20,000 to NZ Boat, Fish and Dive Expo $25,000 to NZMCA Motorhome, Caravan & Leisure Show $20,000 to Sika Show $30,000 to Summernats NZ $9,000 to Motofest $25,000 to NextGen Round 1 – Hampton Downs $25,000 to NextGen Round 2 – Hampton Downs The full list of funding recipients of funding from the Regional Events Promotion Fund is available on the MBIE website. – Additional reporting by Tom Raynel and Tom Rose
Metro
17-07-2025
- Metro
TikTok-less iPhone promises 'to reconnect children with life' - for £99 a month
No internet, no social media, no scrolling. No, this isn't a Nokia 3410 – even that had Snake and a web browser – but a new phone that claims to be the 'world's only healthy iPhone for kids'. Sage Mobile is a modified iPhone 16 being offered in the UK on a £99 a month contract by the American tech company Techless. The basic handset, launched today, comes installed with software that limits the iPhone's use to texts, calls and taking photos and videos. The stripped-back App Store, meanwhile, only offers a few apps, such as for navigating public transport, banking or checking weather forecasts. 'Harmful websites and adult content are filtered automatically,' the Sage website adds. Chris Kaspar, CEO and founder of Techless, told Metro that the idea for the 'health-first' handset came from personal experience. 'I'm a foster parent, and a few years ago, I welcomed two children into my care who weren't allowed to have smartphones because of past issues,' he said. 'One night, I realised how unfair it was that there wasn't a safe option, something that gave kids a connection without exposing them to the risks that so many smartphones are designed to create.' It's almost common knowledge these days that too much time spent on smartphones and social media can increase anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, especially among young people. Almost every child owns a phone by the time they're 12, according to an official report. But youngsters are online long before that – by eight years old, children were plugged in for an average of two hours and 45 minutes a day, according to the media regulator Ofcom. Some schools have banned smartphones during school hours, with teachers arguing that children being too glued to glowing screens can be detrimental to their education. Campaigners are increasingly calling on parents and guardians to give their children 'dumbphones', also known as feature phones. Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood, told Metro: 'The truth is, the standard smartphone is simply not designed with children's wellbeing in mind. 'It's designed to capture their attention, mine their data, and keep them scrolling.' Parents tell the campaign group 'all the time' that as much as they want to give their children a phone to contact them, they worry they'll be 'sucked into TikTok', which can contribute to low confidence and self-esteem. Greenwell doubts that dumbphones, like the Sage Mobile, could act as 'gateways' to further phone usage down the line. 'Smartphones are part of life, they're everywhere and they're not going anywhere,' she said. 'We're not anti-tech, it's just about making sure that our kids, whose brains are still being built, are ready for everything that the internet and social media apps bring before we hand over a full-fat smartphone – we'd suggest that's not before 14, and no social media before 16.' But Greenwell worries that the Sage phone's price point is out of reach for low-income families, who often spend more time on their phones. 'While it's encouraging to see innovation in this space, safer phones shouldn't be a luxury item,' she said. 'This price point risks sending the message that safety is only for those who can afford it.' Kaspar said Techless, which partnered with Apple and Vodafone for Sage, intends to offer cheaper contracts in the future. The £99 price tag is down to it being on a contract, which can be cancelled at any time, and the removal of the app store and web browser. 'At the end of the day, we're not selling phones, we're selling trust. Our launch pricing is what is required for us to provide trustworthy, world-class service,' Kaspar said. 'Our sincere purpose is to serve as many UK families as possible and we recognise that our launch pricing isn't right for everyone… yet.' Academics have never quite agreed about the negative effects of social media and smartphones on children. In 2020, researchers combed through about 40 studies that have examined the link between the two among teenagers. They found that as much as excess phone use can worsen the mental health of vulnerable youngsters or keep children away from outside activities like exercise, many young people would suffer the issues they do with or without a phone. A study in the US last month found that children's troubled mental health around phone usage had less to do with the amount of hours a day they're staring at a screen, but their attitudes towards it. Children at higher risk for suicidal behaviours were those who told researchers their use of technology had become 'addictive', struggling to put their mobiles down, even if they used them infrequently. Addiction, the study stressed, can be the root cause, not just time. More Trending Ioana Axinte, an educational consultant and the founder of Play Moments, said that ensuring children and adolescents have meaningful real-world experiences is vital. 'Do I think Sage Mobile is a bad thing? No, it's a conversation starter for a conversation we simply have to start having,' she told Metro. 'But it must be paired with education, empathy, and engagement. A phone can't raise a child, relationships do.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: All the dangers of 'slushies' after under-sevens warned not to drink them MORE: Pass the parcel? My child is invited to parties with hummers and helicopters MORE: 'This is one of my best purchases as a mum'
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Business Standard
06-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Bad Company: Megan Greenwell's book explores human cost of private equity
Bad Company details how cliched abstractions like "consolidation" and "efficiency" have given cover to real betrayals NYT BAD COMPANY: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell Published by Dey Street 294 pages $29.99 In 2019, Megan Greenwell had only a 'vague sense' of how powerful private equity had become. Sure, she had heard the stories about Toys 'R' Us, the beloved retailer that went bankrupt after private equity firms bought out the company. 'I knew private equity was a problem,' she writes in her new book, Bad Company. 'I just thought it wasn't my problem.' Greenwell was the editor of Deadspin, an online sports magazine whose mix of investigative reporting and cheeky commentary had attracted a devoted readership. But the magazine and its sister sites were also losing $20 million a year. Enter a private equity firm named Great Hill Partners to the rescue — or not. Greenwell recalls how Deadspin's new owners seemed determined to come up with bad ideas that would run the website's brand into the ground. After three months of being micromanaged she resigned in disgust: 'The firm's goal was never to make our website better or grow its readership. Great Hill Partners, and private equity at large, exists solely to make money for shareholders, no matter what that means for the companies it owns.' It's a business model that Greenwell writes about to potent effect in Bad Company, which emphasises the human costs of private equity. She says she started writing her book 'not out of spite, but out of pure curiosity.' Why did Great Hill Partners flourish financially after reducing Deadspin to a husk of its former self? (Last year the site was sold to a Maltese gambling outfit that uses it to 'drive traffic to online casinos.') Shouldn't a private equity firm make money when the company it buys makes money, and consequently lose money when it doesn't? How could a firm continue to bring in revenue while its acquisitions flounder? Twelve million Americans work for companies owned by private equity, which amounts to about 8 per cent of the labour force. In Bad Company, Greenwell tells the stories of four people whose lives have been upended by the industry. Liz Marin worked for six years at Toys 'R' Us; Roger Gose was a doctor in rural Wyoming; Natalia Contreras was a journalist for a local paper in Texas; Loren DePina lived in a private equity-owned apartment complex in Alexandria, Va. Their stories share a similar arc: Tentative hopefulness followed by a rude awakening. Greenwell offers stories that are textured, not one-note tales of woe. When Liz Marin started working for Toys 'R' Us in 2012, private equity had owned the company for seven years. Although Marin didn't know it, Toys 'R' Us was a retailer in name only; in actual fact, it was a debt-payment machine. Its profits were used to repay the money borrowed by the private equity firms to buy it in the first place. While Toys 'R' Us limped toward bankruptcy, top executives were awarded $16 million in bonuses; the 33,000 rank-and-file employees were simply laid off. But all businesses are part of a larger community: A shuttered store not only inconveniences consumers but also deprives a municipality of tax revenue. And then there is private equity's incursion into health care and housing. Greenwell's chapters on Roger Gose, the Wyoming doctor, show what happens when private equity tries to squeeze rural medicine for profits it cannot produce. The local hospital stopped providing obstetrics services. It also had to pay rent on land it once owned. Greenwell reports that, compared with their peers, companies acquired by private equity firms are 10 times as likely to go bankrupt. Of course, proponents of private equity maintain that this figure isn't surprising, given that private equity specialises in trying to turn around struggling companies, selling itself as 'the hero when no one else is brave enough to shoulder the risk.' But as Greenwell and other critics of the industry have pointed out, private equity firms charge management fees and benefit from tax breaks that sever risk from reward. If a company makes money, its private equity owners make money. If a company loses money, its private equity owners can still make money. Private equity firms collect money from outside investors, including pension funds, to buy companies and run them. Consequently, they like to proclaim that their money making is often done on behalf of public workers like firefighters and teachers. 'The private equity industry argues that working people would be far worse off without it,' Greenwell writes, 'because the returns it generates allow them to retire.' Bad Company details how clichéd abstractions like 'consolidation' and 'efficiency' have given cover to real betrayals. The people in this book wanted only to raise their families and contribute to their communities. Instead they were unwittingly drawn into an opaque system of financial extraction and debt peonage, for which no amount of hard work was ever enough.
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tourism Events Fund Creates $220 Million Impact For Thermal Explorer Region
Press Release – Hamilton and Waikato Tourism Across all funded events in the Thermal Explorer region, the average out-of-region visitor stayed for 1.9 nights and spent an average of $322 per day, in addition to spending generated by local attendees. 23 June, 2025 A tourism events fund set up after the Covid-19 pandemic has generated $220 million in direct economic impact for communities in the 'Thermal Explorer' regions of Waikato, Rotorua, Taupo and Ruapehu. That's the finding of an economic impact assessment released by the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund Investment Management Panel this month, following the completion of the last of the 48 events the fund supported – the Karapiro Marathon – in April. Set up in 2020 to stimulate domestic tourism, the $3.75 million Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund provided contestable event grants across three separate funding rounds. The events it supported catered for a total audience of 532,468 people, including 249,909 visitors from outside the regions the events were hosted in. 'From sports events and major expos to cultural events and music, food and arts festivals, the fund helped support and invigorate the events sector and communities at a time that help was sorely needed,' said Hamilton & Waikato Tourism General Manager Nicola Greenwell. 'The impact assessment shows the fund generated an impressive $58 return across the region for every dollar of government funding, with a large portion of that coming from visitor spending on things like accommodation, food and visits to local bars and restaurants.' Across all funded events in the Thermal Explorer region, the average out-of-region visitor stayed for 1.9 nights and spent an average of $322 per day, in addition to spending generated by local attendees. 'One of the purposes of the fund was to stimulate domestic visitation so it's a real testament to its success that around half of the people who attended the events it funded came from out of the region,' Greenwell said. Among the funded events was the Sika Show – Australasia's largest hunting and outdoor trade show, attracting more than 10,000 people to Mystery Creek near Hamilton. Sika Show organiser Mike Penn said the funding helped the Sika Show bounce back after Covid-19, primarily by supporting marketing and awareness raising efforts outside the Waikato. 'Without that I don't know if we would have survived; my wife Natalie and I had just taken on the event as a mum and dad team along with John and Jacki Cook a year earlier and then had to cancel both the 2020 and 2021 shows and reschedule the 2022 event because of the Covid-19 pandemic.' Taupō Trail Festival organiser Aaron Carter told a similar story, saying the funding was key to enabling the family-friendly event to get started during a particularly challenging period. 'Without that funding, we wouldn't have done the event,' he said. On its debut in 2024, the Taupō Trail Festival attracted around 2,000 people, with 82% coming from outside the Thermal Explorer Region. It brought around $500,000 in spending to the Taupō region that year, was held again in March 2025, and will return again in 2026. Other popular funded events included the Middle-earth Half Marathon in Hobbiton, the ITM Taupō Super400 motorsport event in Taupō, New Zealand Blues and BBQ Festival in Rotorua and the Ohakune Blues and Roots Festival. Greenwell said in addition to directly supporting events, the fund also enabled creation of resources for event organisers, as well as a multi-year capability building workshop series attended by hundreds of people in event management to up-skill the local event industry. 'Not only has the funding brought some entirely new events to our communities generated significant economic impact for the Thermal Explorer region, but it has also helped build local capability, creating a legacy that will last for decades.' The Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund was managed collectively through the Event Investment Panel, which is made up of eight representatives from Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Destination Great Lake Taupō, RotoruaNZ and Visit Ruapehu. It was part of the $50 million Regional Events Fund, set up in 2020 and overseen by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. At a glance: Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund impact Direct economic impact: $219,876,859. Total attendance at funded events: 532,468. Out of region attendees: 249,909. Average attendee daily spend: $322. Average length of attendee stay: 1.9 nights. About Hamilton & Waikato Tourism Hamilton & Waikato Tourism is the regional tourism organisation charged with increasing visitor numbers, expenditure and duration of stay in the Waikato region. It leads destination management, destination marketing, business events and conventions, major event coordination and the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund for the region. The organisation is funded through a public/private partnership and covers the heartland Waikato areas of Hamilton City, Matamata-Piako, Waikato and Waipā Districts. Find out more at
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tourism Events Fund Creates $220 Million Impact For Thermal Explorer Region
A tourism events fund set up after the Covid-19 pandemic has generated $220 million in direct economic impact for communities in the 'Thermal Explorer' regions of Waikato, Rotorua, Taupo and Ruapehu. That's the finding of an economic impact assessment released by the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund Investment Management Panel this month, following the completion of the last of the 48 events the fund supported – the Karapiro Marathon – in April. Set up in 2020 to stimulate domestic tourism, the $3.75 million Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund provided contestable event grants across three separate funding rounds. The events it supported catered for a total audience of 532,468 people, including 249,909 visitors from outside the regions the events were hosted in. 'From sports events and major expos to cultural events and music, food and arts festivals, the fund helped support and invigorate the events sector and communities at a time that help was sorely needed,' said Hamilton & Waikato Tourism General Manager Nicola Greenwell. 'The impact assessment shows the fund generated an impressive $58 return across the region for every dollar of government funding, with a large portion of that coming from visitor spending on things like accommodation, food and visits to local bars and restaurants.' Across all funded events in the Thermal Explorer region, the average out-of-region visitor stayed for 1.9 nights and spent an average of $322 per day, in addition to spending generated by local attendees. 'One of the purposes of the fund was to stimulate domestic visitation so it's a real testament to its success that around half of the people who attended the events it funded came from out of the region,' Greenwell said. Among the funded events was the Sika Show – Australasia's largest hunting and outdoor trade show, attracting more than 10,000 people to Mystery Creek near Hamilton. Sika Show organiser Mike Penn said the funding helped the Sika Show bounce back after Covid-19, primarily by supporting marketing and awareness raising efforts outside the Waikato. 'Without that I don't know if we would have survived; my wife Natalie and I had just taken on the event as a mum and dad team along with John and Jacki Cook a year earlier and then had to cancel both the 2020 and 2021 shows and reschedule the 2022 event because of the Covid-19 pandemic.' Taupō Trail Festival organiser Aaron Carter told a similar story, saying the funding was key to enabling the family-friendly event to get started during a particularly challenging period. 'Without that funding, we wouldn't have done the event,' he said. On its debut in 2024, the Taupō Trail Festival attracted around 2,000 people, with 82% coming from outside the Thermal Explorer Region. It brought around $500,000 in spending to the Taupō region that year, was held again in March 2025, and will return again in 2026. Other popular funded events included the Middle-earth Half Marathon in Hobbiton, the ITM Taupō Super400 motorsport event in Taupō, New Zealand Blues and BBQ Festival in Rotorua and the Ohakune Blues and Roots Festival. Greenwell said in addition to directly supporting events, the fund also enabled creation of resources for event organisers, as well as a multi-year capability building workshop series attended by hundreds of people in event management to up-skill the local event industry. 'Not only has the funding brought some entirely new events to our communities generated significant economic impact for the Thermal Explorer region, but it has also helped build local capability, creating a legacy that will last for decades.' The Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund was managed collectively through the Event Investment Panel, which is made up of eight representatives from Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Destination Great Lake Taupō, RotoruaNZ and Visit Ruapehu. It was part of the $50 million Regional Events Fund, set up in 2020 and overseen by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. At a glance: Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund impact Direct economic impact: $219,876,859. Total attendance at funded events: 532,468. Out of region attendees: 249,909. Average attendee daily spend: $322. Average length of attendee stay: 1.9 nights. About Hamilton & Waikato Tourism Hamilton & Waikato Tourism is the regional tourism organisation charged with increasing visitor numbers, expenditure and duration of stay in the Waikato region. It leads destination management, destination marketing, business events and conventions, major event coordination and the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund for the region. The organisation is funded through a public/private partnership and covers the heartland Waikato areas of Hamilton City, Matamata-Piako, Waikato and Waipā Districts. Find out more at
