Alex Rogers is the CEO of the Hauraki Gulf Forum. Photo / Alex Rogers
Alex Rogers, a former diplomat, is now chief executive of the Hauraki Gulf Forum, an organisation dedicated to the protection and improvement of the Hauraki Gulf. To learn more about the people, islands and wonders of this 1.2-million-hectare body of water, listen to the podcast series Hauraki Gulf Kōrero, stories from the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, Tīkapa Moana, Te Moananui-ā-Toi, available free on Spotify or Apple Music.
I was born in Tāmaki Makaurau, but I always had one foot in Waikato because mum and dad grew up in Hamilton and I spent lots of time there with my grandparents. My dad's father was the mayor of Hamilton in the 1960s and I have happy memories of learning to ride a bike on their big lawn with the massive beech tree. Going even further back, my great-great-great-grandfather, Reverend Richard Davis, arrived in New Zealand in 1824. He was with the Christian Missionary Service, based at the mission station in Waimate North. He had a pen pal in England and the two of them were prodigious letter writers. After his death, his friend published those letters in a book called Thirty-Nine Years a Missionary so we have a complete memoir. He was super religious, of course, and he was troubled by the damage done to the fabric of the country by more unscrupulous settlers. He was also instrumental in bringing iwi to Waitangi for the signing of Te Tiriti. I think he fell on the right side of history, but I still feel a personal burden to live up to the Treaty, because my whanaunga was part of that early history.
When I was 10 my dad, an Earth scientist, was sent to Malaysia to set up Tonkin + Taylor's first office there. I howled when I was told we were going but, in spite of my protests, we moved to Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia was so formative and exotic for me and my sister. Huge thunderstorms rolled in at three each afternoon and the food was amazing. A confluence between India and China. My favourite place was called Ok Boss, which is how the staff would answer every question. We'd order tandoori chicken, garlic naan and lime juice and sit on the street in the heat to eat. It was so far removed from Milford.
We were there for three years and travelled all over Southeast Asia, India and South Africa which surely helped form the genesis of my future career as a diplomat. Although I'm also told that when I was 5 my aunt gave me a present and when I opened it in front of her I had no idea what it was, but I said: "Oh, I've always wanted one of those." After my aunt left mum called me a little diplomat. So perhaps the seed was planted then?
I was 17 when I started studying commerce at university. I loved the freedom, the independence, and my goal was to get into law school. That same year, 1999, Apec came to town and I managed to wrangle a spot as a junior delegate which was a most pivotal moment, because I knew for sure I wanted to be a diplomat. I also fell in love during a reception for the junior delegates. Nicole and I met over mocktails, as we were both too young to drink, and here we are 22 years later.
I graduated with law and commerce degrees and there was still only one job in the world I wanted, so I applied to join Mfat [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]. Mfat is an intimidating organisation with a lot of tradition. There are so many talented people, heaps of linguists, and so much to learn. For example, there's a perfect layout for a dinner party and you never seat couples together. Always follow your host's lead. Be deferential. Mindfulness is drilled into you and you become super aware of dynamics and how to read rooms, whether in a negotiation or at a dinner party. You're constantly alert to expressions and emotions, how people phrase things. You have to gauge what they're doing, before making your next move. As for diplomatic immunity, New Zealand makes it really clear it will revoke yours if you do something stupid, while some other countries use it to get off everything from speeding tickets to parking fines.
When I joined Mfat, New Zealand was negotiating the free trade agreement with Malaysia and I went back and forth to Kuala Lumpur, immersed in the world of trade negotiation. The following year Nicole won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Yale, and I was like heck, I have to go to America. We'd been together six years and I was lucky to find a spot at our Mission to the United Nations, my dream job. We moved to Manhattan and our tiny apartment looked out to the Statue of Liberty. It was such a thrill to represent New Zealand at the UN Security Council and General Assembly, in the cauldron of global politics. I worked with every country in the world and I also had the unique privilege to represent Kiribati. It didn't have someone stationed in New York so its President asked New Zealand to be its honest broker and that role came to me. I remember sitting in the general assembly for weeks on end casting Kiribati's vote in a protracted Security Council election. New York was also three functions a night every night, and that is a lot of commitments for an introvert.
At the end of my diplomatic career, I was supporting Papua New Guinea when it hosted Apec in 2018 during the showdown between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. We got as far as we possibly could negotiating between America and China over the Leaders' Declaration and, after putting out our final text, we literally went dark and holed ourselves in our room. We turned off our phones and didn't answer the door, despite delegations banging on it, trying to influence the final outcome. We had a whiteboard with every country's name on it, and if they supported or rejected the final declaration. At the end, we couldn't find consensus, but what I remember was how impressive, gracious and dignified the local PNG team was. Later that night, after it all fell apart, Jacinda Ardern kindly gave me a ride home with the NZ team, from Port Moresby to Whenuapai. We were all flat from the failure to reach a deal but the PM came back down the aeroplane and had a lovely chat to cheer us up. She even made a little video to show my kids once I got home.
Following stints in Brussels and Singapore, now with two kids now in tow, we knew it was time to come home. Nicole was appointed associate professor of law at the University of Auckland, but I had no idea what I might do, beyond wanting to find something local and meaningful, where I could use my diplomatic background. When I saw the job with the Hauraki Gulf Forum - an organisation I'd never heard of, in spite of growing up on the shores of the Gulf - I discovered that it's a 21-member political board that helps the Hauraki Gulf become healthier and more abundant and the role would involve working with ministers and local politicians, mana whenua and community groups. I took the plunge.
The degradation of the Hauraki Gulf is one of the most urgent environmental challenges we face today. Our selfish actions at sea and on land have almost stuffed it, and we've witnessed a dramatic loss of biodiversity. Progress to repair it has been slow, but we are finally at a major turning point. Mana whenua are laying down rahui that crisscross the Gulf, and protect key kaimoana species. Central Government's recently released Revitalising the Gulf proposal offers a whole raft of new marine and seafloor protection areas. The forum, under a co-governance leadership model, has agreed to an ambitious core vision, which includes protecting 30 per cent of the gulf by 2030, large-scale shellfish restoration, an end to marine dumping, and riparian planting of waterways flowing into the gulf. Underlying all of that is huge community support for restoring and protecting the gulf with everyone from America's Cup superstars, to fisher people and small communities stepping up to say enough is enough.
What stands in the way of progress? Some people don't like to give up what they think is theirs. Past attempts also suffered from a lack of political courage, which allowed an influential minority opposing change to out-manoeuvre, or outspeak, the voices of the many who want it. My background drives me to understand where people come from, to find a way to work with everyone and accommodate their ideas. You can still have difficult conversations, but if you demonise people, you won't make progress. The good news is that we are now seeing courage from all sides. I envisage a couple of really positive years ahead for the Hauraki Gulf if everyone sticks to their word.
Much of the South Island is set to plunge below 0C tonight and tomorrow.