Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Covid-19: Bay of Plenty Regional Council believe Bay fearing better than anticipated

Bay of Plenty Times
28 Aug, 2020 03:07 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Bay of Plenty Regional Council say the regions economy is faring better than the country as a whole. Photo / File

Bay of Plenty Regional Council say the regions economy is faring better than the country as a whole. Photo / File

Economic data suggests despite the significant early impacts of Covid-19, the Bay of Plenty's economy is faring better than the country as a whole, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has announced.

A quarterly Infometrics report commissioned by the council shows as a result of alert levels 4 and 3, Bay of Plenty's GDP was down by 1.6 per cent for the year to June 2020 compared to a national drop of 2.1 per cent.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chair Doug Leeder said despite the relative resilience of the overall regional economy, due in part to sustained growth in dairy and horticulture, other industries within the rohe [area] have been badly hit.

"Tourism employs just over one in 10 people in our region, so the 11 per cent annual decline in tourist spend is causing significant hardship, particularly in Rotorua and also in Whakatāne, which had already been hard-hit by the Whakaari eruption aftermath.

"We can't forget that any significant business downturn causes job loses that can result in personal and family hardship which flows through to the wellbeing of our communities."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder. Photo / File
Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder. Photo / File

Leeder said the pandemic response had provided an unprecedented opportunity to work in partnership with central government to accelerate projects that had "far-reaching" benefits for the region.

Local government and iwi entities across the Bay have seized those opportunities, securing funds through the Provincial Growth Fund's and other funding channels such as the Department of Conservation's Jobs for Nature, Leeder said.

He commented that these funds have activated a range of projects to save and create jobs and incorporate training and development that will foster employment sustainability.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"While addressing job loss is an immediate result, the projects deliver core outcomes such as business infrastructure development and digital connectivity for the longer-term benefit of our towns and cities.

"Close to Regional Council's heart, of course, are the projects that also produce environmental gains and support safe and resilient communities."

Forestry was one of the first sectors to be hit in the region with a 26 per cent drop in annual performance but it has since bounced back as export orders recovered. Other sectors such as construction had continued to be hit hard.

"The 29 per cent decrease in non-residential consents up until the end of June reinforces just how critical it was to secure the Crown Infrastructure Projects (CIP) funding to activate projects and demand within the construction and engineering industry."

Discover more

New Zealand

High-priority port workers test negative for Covid-19

25 Aug 02:23 AM
Opinion

Dawn Picken: Changes needed as women do most of the heavy lifting at home post lockdown

28 Aug 09:30 PM
Business

Port's $90m profit bolsters region

28 Aug 06:00 AM

This is Us - Tauranga residents' stories told through waka hoe

30 Aug 04:00 PM

Leeder said the Infometrics report emphasised regional recovery must be co-developed in collaboration with people from all sectors and across the rohe.

"We should also note that in the post-Covid period up to the June Infometrics report around 960 fulltime equivalent jobs have been created through recovery funded projects. The number is currently over 2000, with further announcements anticipated."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

29 May 10:05 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

29 May 06:24 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

29 May 03:41 AM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

29 May 10:05 AM

Civil Defence warned Waikato weather remains 'highly dynamic'.

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

29 May 06:24 AM
Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

29 May 03:41 AM
Arts festival to become annual event

Arts festival to become annual event

29 May 01:35 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP