From the chief executive: Port's Mark Cairns answers key questions about business and our economic future

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns. Photo / File

The economic effects of Covid-19 and New Zealand's subsequent nationwide lockdown have been felt far and wide by our business community. Journalist Stephanie Arthur-Worsop asks Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns to reflect on his own company's survival and what he thinks needs to be done to help the local economy bounce back.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your company?

​As an essential service, we had to keep going during the lockdown to ensure essential cargo could flow freely through the port.

We had to change the way we worked to keep our people and the community safe.

The forestry export industry came to a complete standstill for several weeks. Import volumes continue to be severely affected even now.

The financial consequences for Port of Tauranga and our shareholders, which include the region's ratepayers, are still difficult to forecast.

The remainder of the summer cruise ship season was also cancelled, which has been a big blow for the local tourism industry.

What are you doing to ensure the company survives the pandemic and/or thrives after it?

​Our biggest concern is the health of our people, so we will continue to ensure they can do their jobs safely.

We are taking a hard look at all our costs to ensure we can weather the impact on our finances.

We are now looking at what we can do, as a key piece of regional and national infrastructure, to support the economic recovery.

This will include capital investment to prepare Port of Tauranga for the future. We hope to accelerate our container berth extension project very soon as it won't require any Government funding.

What are the benefits and challenges of running a business in the Bay of Plenty?

Here at Port of Tauranga we are blessed by our location and our ability to serve the strong local agriculture and horticulture sectors.

Our strong relationships with local suppliers and service providers help ensure we are the most efficient port in Australasia.

Skilled labour availability is a big challenge for all port-related industries, even with the lifestyle benefits offered in the Bay of Plenty.

What do you believe should happen to revitalise and rebuild the local/regional economy?

​In recent times, the Bay of Plenty has had one of the fastest-growing regional economies in the country, which has meant some of our investment in infrastructure has fallen behind our needs, particularly transport infrastructure.

It's important there are no unnecessary hold-ups to capital investment because of red tape.

Given the recent issues in recruiting and retaining workers in port-related industries, we need education and skills training to help redeploy workers who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic.