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RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Southland industrial park to be linked with new inland port in Otago
The steel fabrication site already built by Calder Stewart on the land where the Milburn development will be worked on. Photo: Supplied by Calder Stewart The lower South Island economy is to get a logistics and manufacturing boost through the integration of two separate developments. Developer Calder Stewart is planning to coordinate its Awarua Quadrant manufacturing and storage development near Invercargill with an inland port at Milburn near Milton in Otago . The privately funded projects have been costed to eventually cost as much as $5 billion, depending on the mix of tenants and activities. Lower South Island business development manager at Calder Stewart John D'Arcy said the projects would be operated as integrated export and logistics hubs with direct access to two deepwater ports, and close to Manapouri's renewable energy network. Awarua would have wind and solar power installations and function as a high-output industrial hub, while Milburn would handle logistics. "The project aims to create long-term employment, diversify the regional economic base and strengthen Southland's role in New Zealand's national supply chain," D'Arcy said. "While Awarua creates the volume, Milburn provides a staging area and facilitates the movement of hundreds of shipping containers by rail in alignment with vessel schedules." "We can offer tenants real-world export certainty even as shipping windows tighten and ports come under more pressure," he said. The chief executive of Southland's Regional Development Agency Chami Abeysinghe said the proposed development had the potential to become a cornerstone of the region's long-term plan. "Awarua Quadrant could provide much needed capacity for Southland as we diversify our economy and attract high-value industries." "It's also a strong signal to investors that Southland is open for business and committed to enabling innovation-led industries," she said. Calder Stewart's land delivery manager Mark Johnston said early discussions were being held with national and offshore businesses in various sectors, to attract high-value manufacturing to the region. He said the integrated approach to the two developments would ease pressures on port facilities through removing the need to store large numbers of empty containers. The Awarua development would also include a large native restoration project and public wetland and recreation reserve. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
NI university leaders unite to call for political agreement on tuition fee rise
University chiefs in Northern Ireland have jointly called on the region's political leaders to back a significant uplift in tuition fees, warning that failure to tackle a funding crisis in the sector will force them to cut places for local students. In an unprecedented step, the heads of Queen's University, Ulster University and The Open University, Ireland have co-signed a letter to the five largest parties at Stormont to warn the current financial arrangements are 'not sustainable'. In the letter to the party leaders, seen by the PA news agency, the vice chancellors of Queen's and Ulster University, Professor Sir Ian Greer and Professor Paul Bartholomew, and the director of The Open University Ireland, John D'Arcy, express fears the brain drain of young talent leaving Northern Ireland to study elsewhere will accelerate without 'urgent intervention'. The university heads outline in stark terms the consequences of continued inaction on the funding issue. They wrote: 'As leaders within the higher education sector in the region, we are committed to expanding access to the opportunities our institutions provide; but an underfunded higher education sector will inevitably lead to us having to take the difficult decision to reduce the proportion of local students in our institutions.' The three leaders acknowledge any increase in tuition fees agreed by Stormont should not be seen in 'isolation' and they also express support for a corresponding uplift in the maintenance grant available to students from low-income households. The letter has been endorsed by the principals of Northern Ireland's two dedicated teacher training colleges – Stranmillis and St Mary's – with Professor Peter Finn from St Mary's and Professor Jonathan Hegarty from Stranmillis sending a similar letter to Stormont Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, whose department has responsibility for higher education funding. The move by the university and college heads has also been backed by a range of leading business organisations in the region. A statement of support has been signed by the heads of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Centre for Competitiveness, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Belfast, Londonderry and Causeway chambers of commerce. Annual tuition fees for students from the island of Ireland studying in Northern Ireland are currently capped at £4,750. Students from the rest of the UK who study in Northern Ireland pay up to £9,250. That is the same amount paid by Northern Ireland students studying in universities and colleges in England, Scotland and Wales. The £9,250 cap is increasing to £9,535 at the start of the next academic year in the autumn. The Northern Ireland university chiefs are not pressing for major structural changes to the current funding model, rather an increase to the fee cap for island of Ireland students to reflect the inflationary pressures of recent years. Their letter expresses frustration that tuition fee increases in Northern Ireland since 2011 have 'consistently fallen below inflation' while costs have 'risen dramatically'. Citing an example, the higher education leaders said if 2021 was taken as a new baseline point to apply retrospective inflationary uplifts, the corrected fee cap would be £5,831. 'This level of fee is still well below fees in England and Wales, which will be £9,535 in the next academic year,' said the letter. 'Index-linking the funding level will also protect the shared-investment approach that has served Northern Ireland well and guard against future further erosion of the per-student funding model.' The funding model in Northern Ireland is different to England and Wales, where institutions are primarily funded through tuition fees. In Northern Ireland, the Stormont Executive provides much more direct funding to further education institutions – a reason why the tuition fees are lower in the region. Scottish students studying in Scotland pay no tuition fees, with the Scottish Government funding places for local students. Universities across the UK also raise funds through their own commercial activities and by offering places to international students, who usually pay significantly more than local students. The sector as a whole has been hit by a sharp decline in the number of overseas students coming to the UK to study – a drop attributed to recent changes to visa rules. The university leaders stressed any increase to the fee cap should not be accompanied by a decrease in the amount of direct funding from Stormont. The letter was addressed to Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Alliance leader Naomi Long, UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and SDLP leader Claire Hanna. It was also circulated to First Minister Michelle O'Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly, Economy Minister Ms Archibald and the leader of the official opposition at the Assembly, SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole. The letter concluded: 'We encourage all-party agreement in considering updating the current funding model by making this hitherto deferred, necessary inflationary adjustment – and by so doing preserve the distinctive philosophy of the Northern Ireland higher education funding model while delivering sustainability for the sector and maintaining opportunities for the students we support.'
