In The Lions' Den: 'My first powhiri completely blew my mind'

There's no better sight in New Zealand than looking over the fields of Waitangi on a sunny day and soaking in the picturesque scenery that is the Bay of Islands.

You just knew you were in for a magical day when you found yourself locked into the convoy of Lions' campervans driving over the hill and into the treaty grounds.

For the majority of the Red Army it was their first time witnessing a powhiri, let alone any Māori cultural event.

Does tourism trump taonga?

In a country marketed for its sparsely-populated landscapes, some of our tourist destinations are now bursting at the seams.

Just under a decade ago New Zealand was throwing out the welcome mat to an annual 2 million visitors, with hopes of attracting twice that number.

Former Prime Minister John Key signalled tourism's importance to the government's economic strategy early into its first term - taking on the portfolio himself for most of his time at the helm.

Since National's first Budget, direct government spending on tourism - most of it on marketing - has nearly doubled, gradually rising from $81 million a year in 2009 to about $150m in the Budget announced last month.

CL2IMB - Collaborative Leadership 2 Inspire Māori Business
 

CL2IMB - Collaborative Leadership 2 Inspire Māori Business is the coming together of organisations who provide support and services to Māori businesses, and of Māori business owners. This is a collaboration to accelerate Māori economic development by providing information, connections and access to resources. There is an event in Queenstown on 28 June, and Invercargill on 29 June. Please email missy@poutama.org to register.

Institute to host Super 9 kapa haka competition in memory of Jojo Waaka

The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute is hosting a "two-week Matariki extravaganza" to kick off their 50th anniversary celebrations.

An inaugural Super 9s Kapa Haka competition in honour of the late Jojo Waaka will be one of the many events.

New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts general manager Eraia Kiel said it was a fitting way to pay tribute to a woman who was "really loved" by all the staff and students.

Funding for Women's Leadership Development

Scholarships are available across three key management levels:

• Experienced senior and executive leaders are eligible to apply for an $8,000 partial scholarship to assist their participation in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP).

• Mid-level managers are eligible to apply for a $4,000 partial scholarship to assist their participation in the Executive Ready program (WER).

• Early career managers are eligible to apply for a $3,000 partial scholarship to assist their participation in the Accelerated Leadership Performance Program (ALPP)

Expressions of Interest close Friday 16th June 2017.

A conversation on trade

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with partner organisations, will host meetings to discuss New Zealand’s trade negotiations agenda. 

Each event will include brief presentations from New Zealand’s lead trade negotiators for the following processes:

• the proposed European Union-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
• the upgrade of the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement
• the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (also known as RCEP)
• the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement
• the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (also known as PACER Plus)

Members of the public and businesses are welcome to attend any of the following sessions:

Auckland

• 20 June 2017 at 5:30pm until 7pm, a public panel discussion hosted by Auckland University of Technology (free);

Christchurch

• 22 June 2017 at 5:30pm until 7pm, a public panel discussion hosted by the University of Canterbury (free);
• 23 June 2017 at 7:30am until 9am, a business breakfast hosted by the Ministry at the Novotel Cathedral Square (free);

Wellington

• 26 June 2017 at 5:30pm until 7pm, a public panel discussion hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, Rutherford House, lecture theatre 2 (free);
• 27 June 2017 at 7:30am until 9am, a business breakfast event hosted by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce (tickets $15).

Please RSVP to fta_outreach@mfat.govt.nz