Business News in Brief

The Royal Revue

The Waikato Queer Arts Festival (WQAF) makes its debut this month at Clarence St Theatre in Hamilton, culminating in headline event, The Royal Revue, a large-scale drag production featuring performers known to global audiences through RuPaul’s Drag Race. But behind the sequins and stage lights is something more personal. The festival’s connection to headliner Kween Kong began not in a boardroom, but during a late-night conversation with festival director Mel Martin-Booker, about growing up without much, chasing education and opportunity, and trying to leave the world better than we found it. The Royal Revue also brings to Hamilton internationally acclaimed artists Kita Mean, Spankie Jackzon and Anita Wigl’it, who have helped carry drag from underground spaces to global stages.

Musical storytelling

The New Zealand String Quartet is returning to Cambridge Town Hall later this month as part of its 2026 Storytellers season. The concert will be performed by musicians – violinist Peter Clark and violist Gillian Ansell – who have been with the ensemble since 1987. Joining them are two special guests, violinist Manu Berkeljon and cellist Lavinnia Rae.  The programme titled Origins celebrates the power of stories told without words.

Court housework 

Contractors are removing asbestos from the old Hamilton courthouse to improve building safety. Work is expected to be finished in July. The courthouse was built in 1931 and closed in 2007 when the new Hamilton District Court opened. The building is currently unoccupied. 

Inaugural dean 

The University of Waikato has appointed Professor Scott Wilkes as the inaugural Dean of the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine. An experienced academic leader and clinician, Wilkes led the establishment of a primary care-focused medical school at the University of Sunderland in the northeast of England, as its founding Head of School and Professor of General Practice and Primary Care.   

River fund opens 

The Waikato River Authority 2026 funding round will open in June and close in July. Up to $6 million will be made available for restoration projects in the Waikato catchment that meet the criteria and restoration priorities set out in the Waikato River Authority Funding Strategy. 

Apprentices ready 

Waikato and Coromandel building apprentices will compete in the New Zealand Certified Buildings Apprentice challenge this month at Mitre 10 Mega in Te Rapa, Hamilton. At the heats, apprentices will spend eight hours constructing pātaka - community sharing cupboards designed to hold books, toys, and food to support local neighbourhoods.  Each apprentice will nominate a local organisation to receive their completed pātaka, creating a practical community resource that will be used long after the competition ends.  

Airport extension 

The government will lend Waikato Regional Airport $6.5 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to activate the designation enabling the Hamilton Airport extension. The funding will support a $9.8 million project to extend the runway and expand apron and taxiway space, allowing the airport to accommodate a wider range of planes, including wide‑body jets. Work will start later this year. 

Unlocking houses 

Te Awa Lakes has welcomed Government’s use of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 to unlock 1500 houses in northern Hamilton’s largest greenfield development. The transaction, facilitated by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Limited will provide $50 million of funding toward delivery of bulk infrastructure such as upgrade of roads, stormwater lake and outlets and other key bulk infrastructure to be delivered by the developer. 

Plan B needed 

Talk to most charity leaders in New Zealand right now and the conversation quickly turns to funding, or more accurately, the uncertainty of it, says Hamilton charity All Good Ventures founder Rob Claycomb. Demand is rising. Donations are softening. Grants are tightening. Costs continue to climb. Many organisations feel they are working harder than ever simply to stand still. The sector needs to at least consider a Plan B. Funding you build, not funding you request, he said. 

New chair 

Former Speaker of Parliament Margaret Wilson is the new chair of Momentum Waikato Community Foundation and Susan Hassall is deputy. Wilson joined the board in December 2023 and was the first dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law at Waikato University. Hassall, currently the university’s chancellor, joined Momentum last year. 

Steel boost 

A structural steel manufacturing plant that will help build the future of New Zealand’s infrastructure has been approved through Fast-track. National Green Steel Limited lodged its application in July 2025 to build a structural steel manufacturing plant in Hampton Downs in Waikato. 

Shoof CEO 

Michaela Dumper has been appointed chief executive at Shoof International, a global supplier of agricultural and veterinary products.

She brings more than 25 years leadership across the food, beverage and consumer goods industries and succeeds Peter Reidie, who stays on the Shoof board. 

Yes to Spark 

More than 240 secondary school entrepreneurs from Waikato, King Country, and Thames-Coromandel shared their startup ideas with local business professionals at Wintec last month as part of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) regional Spark Tank event. Dr Shelley Wilson, Wintec’s Executive Director for Academic Delivery, highlighted the value of the event for the wider Waikato region and Wintec’s key role in supporting it. See Out and About page 14. 

Mews finalist 

Peake Mews housing development in Cambridge has been named a finalist in the Community and Affordable Housing Property Award category at the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards. Owned by Bridge Housing Charitable Trust and developed by the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, Peake Mews is a significant step forward in delivering high-quality, affordable housing solutions tailored to local needs. 

Ton is up 

Hamilton’s Braemar Hospital, one of New Zealand’s largest private hospitals and 100 per cent owned by a charitable trust, is celebrating its 100th birthday. The Braemar story began in Tainui Street, Hamilton, in 1924 with a maternity hospital called Tirohia, and a nurse called Frances Young who had bigger ideas. The centennial highlight is a comprehensive book – Making Lives Better: 100 Years of Braemar Hospital. 

Money raised 

Shoppers raised $15,703 for Whānau Āwhina Plunket, through Chartwell Shopping Centre’s annual gift-wrapping service. From early December through to Christmas Eve, a dedicated team of 50+ gift wrappers, made up of Plunket volunteers and Chartwell staff, worked tirelessly to ensure gifts were wrapped with love and care for shoppers throughout the busy holiday period. 

Project K help 

The Graeme Dingle Foundation is relaunching its flagship youth development programme Project K in the Waikato, marking the programme’s return to the region for the first time since 2009. The return has been made possible through the Mental Health Innovation Fund enabling a further 36 young people aged 13–15 across the Western Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Christchurch to access the programme. 

Solar panels 

Bupa New Zealand has boosted its renewable energy footprint with the installation of more than 1100 solar panels at five villages and care homes across the North Island, reducing emissions and strengthening energy resilience across its operations. The installations in Northland, Thames, Cambridge and Palmerston North will deliver a combined capacity of 566 kW of solar electricity and generate around 750,000 kWh per year, enough to power approximately 100 New Zealand households for an entire year. 

Banquet again 

Claudelands Conference and Exhibition Centre is again teaming up with Hospice Waikato to deliver the Bucket List Banquet next month. With government funding covering only part of hospice services, this event helps fund the balance, translating directly into care in the in‑patient unit and nursing support in homes across the Waikato. Every dollar raised translates into time with a doctor in the dedicated in-patient unit, a nurse at home, a better night’s sleep for a caregiver, and the confidence for a family to focus on love, not logistics. 

Zero waste 

Waikato District Council and Xtreme Zero Waste have signed a new waste services contract. Xtreme Zero Waste is a community enterprise that delivers weekly recycling and food scraps collection services under contract with the council in Raglan. Xtreme Zero Waste will provide comprehensive waste services for the community, in addition to kerbside services. 

Five stars 

Cambridge’s newest boutique hotel, The Clements, has been awarded a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award and a 5-Star Boutique rating on its first evaluation. The Clements Hotel is managed by Capstone Hotel Management and is housed in an 1866 restored building which was formerly the Masonic Hotel. 

Happy birthday 

Sport Waikato celebrated 40 years last month of supporting active, healthy communities across the region. Originally set up in 1986 as the Waikato Sports Foundation, Sport Waikato was created in response to declining physical activity and growing health concerns. Since then, it has evolved alongside the region it serves, expanding its focus to include wellbeing, connection and fair access to physical activity. 

No live exports 

SPCA is celebrating confirmation from Minister Andrew Hoggard that plans to reinstate live animal exports will not progress this term. This makes any future revival of the trade increasingly unlikely. Only 17 per cent of kiwis support resuming live export, and just 12 per cent trust the industry. The ban was introduced to prevent the suffering of animals transported on long sea journeys and concerns New Zealand cannot guarantee how animals are treated once they leave the country. 

KiwiSaver win 

Federated Farmers is celebrating a major win for young farmers, with the Government finally allowing them to use their KiwiSaver funds to buy their first home or farm. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson announced they will be making a technical change to the KiwiSaver Act which means farm staff in service tenancies (living on farm) will soon be able to use KiwiSaver to buy a house without immediately moving in. 

Profits up 

Strong returns and lower debt-servicing costs mean more farmers than ever are making a profit, according to the latest Federated Farmers Confidence Survey. Of 650 farmers who responded to the survey in late January and early February, 70% said their farm was currently profitable. More farmers are having difficulty recruiting skilled and motivated staff. When asked about their expectations for after-tax profit over the next 12 months, farmers’ optimism has dropped sharply, with more now predicting a fall in profits than an increase.