Tauranga Innovation Park

Waikato Innovation Park, Hamilton

I have just returned from Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton. It is my fourth trip in six weeks.

Waikato Innovation Park has been established from a public/private partnership to enhance Waikato economic growth by strengthening Innovation in the region's world leading Agritech and Ag-Bio sectors and is currently home to over 50 companies.

The Waikato is already the country's leading location for science research, with approximately 1000 research scientists working in Hamilton, giving the city one of the highest ratios of scientists per capita in the world. A quarter of the research undertaken in New Zealand occurs in Waikato organisations. Hence my recent trips.

Hamilton has one big advantage over Tauranga. Hamilton has a University; Tauranga does not. That fact hurts businesses in Tauranga / Bay of Plenty. It is a situation that has to be addressed.

My own take on this is that Tauranga, as the one of the fastest growing cities in New Zealand, should do a deal with the University of Waikato. Up-front and now. I've heard the talk. It's time to do the walk. So in election month, this is my Manifesto.

1. Make land available at Windermere on the outskirts of Tauranga to enable the University of Waikato to build a campus.

2. Focus on a core area of research activity. Let's call it 'ICT'.

3. Build the Tauranga Innovation Park and attract a cluster of private companies to it. Locate it adjacent to the campus and create active engagement between the research scientists and the commercial sector. Build great, innovative businesses and throw in a free surf board to remind them that they are only minutes from the Mount's Main Beach.

Now I'll vote for that.