Prime Minister Chris Luxon paid a whistle stop visit to Hamilton’s inland port and spoke to Waikato Business News writer Chris Gardner about the port, progress on the Medical School, science, technology and the rural sector.
Tainui Group Holding’s Ruakura Superhub in Hamilton has been described by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as “a great example of what we want to see a lot more of in this country”.
The commercial arm of the tribe is building New Zealand’s largest integrated commercial hub: a 30ha inland port operated in a joint venture with Port of Tauranga Ltd, surrounded by a 263ha industrial and logistics park.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and dignitaries during his visit.
“What we need to do is build modern, reliable infrastructure that has economic, social and environmental benefits,” the Prime Minister told the Waikato Business News after a visit to the Superhub last month.
“It’s critical for us to upgrade our economic productivity and when we do that, we get a higher quality of living for everybody.”
He described the facility as a fantastic facility that connected the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.
“There’s work that we need to do around infrastructure. A big part of it is making sure that we have a good clear 30-year pipeline of projects rather than just ideas.
“We want to have a 10-year focus around city and regional deals and we also want to build out a national infrastructure agency that actually can get the right funding and financing in place to do more infrastructure.
Waikato’s tech sector is worth more than $1.15 billion, with the Cultivate Trust in the midst of a Tech in the Tron campaign to attract 500 workers and their families to the region. So, what’s the Government doing to help the sector?
“We’ve got to embrace science, technology, innovation, a lot more,” Luxon said.
“We have to make sure we better educate our kids, get rid of red tape, and obviously have stronger international connections. So those are the five things that will create more economic productivity and more prosperity for New Zealand.
“When you look at the tech ecosystem in Hamilton, it’s incredibly diverse and it’s something that’s incredibly exciting when you think about the quality of life, the affordability, location, lifestyle. You know, Hamilton is a pretty attractive place to live. We are very, very interested in making sure we can accelerate tech and innovation.”
It was important, he said, for businesses to invest in research and development to compete on a world stage.
What about the rural sector?
The Government was doing everything it could to encourage businesses, including the rural sector, he said.
“The previous administration went to war with farmers. It loaded up a huge amount of regulations and as a result, farmers ended up spending 25 per cent to 30 per cent of their week doing paperwork rather than farming. We’re working our way through getting rid of the red and green tape that’s getting in the way of farming.”
The Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Waikato in February 2024 to develop a third New Zealand medical school in the Waikato They are working on a business case with a view to the first intake of 120 students starting in early 2027.
Asked whether there was anything the Government could to speed the process up, Luxon said the business case and feasibility study was well underway.
“We need to look at the cost benefit analysis and make sure that we’ve got a very good robust financial case for progressing further. So that’s really the focus of the Government right now. Once we’re in agreement that a cost benefit analysis has been delivered and it makes sense then we can progress on the medical school.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon inspects a model of Tainui Group Holdings’ Ruakura Superhub while chief executive Chris Joblin looks on. Photo: Erica Sinclair.
