MP Chester Borrows: Whanganui gives NZ 'the slip'

Te Kotuku - built in Whanganui, ferrying Aucklanders.

I guess I need to be careful what I say about Aucklanders.

After all, many of the residents of New Zealand's biggest city fly or drive to this area to visit family and friends and experience our unique tourist attractions ... and long may that continue.

But I wonder how many from the "Big Smoke" would realise that their harbour ferries are the proud product of slipways on the Whanganui River, where world class vessels are beautifully crafted without fuss or fanfare and their months in production have become an integral and essential component of the local economy.

When the brand new Te Kotuku sailed off the slip and headed into service on Auckland harbour in December 2014, its owners were so impressed that they ordered two more vessels. And they were also to be products of Whanganui.

And because excellence in marine technology is a continual moving target, the local team have made even more refinements to the 400-passenger catamarans which will enter service in the north, one this summer and its running mate due to be completed next July.

This sort of tangible success coming from the Heads Road industrial area makes last week's announcement from Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce even more significant. In partnership with the district council, the Government will invest half a million dollars to develop a comprehensive plan to revitalise Whanganui port precinct.

That word "precinct" is quite important because of the potential we have to create a marine services centre, to expand the existing boat-building industry and develop a visitor services and recreational area.

In recent years some of our boat-builders have been hampered by lack of depth in the river which restricts the size and type of vessels that can be worked on. The type of refit and maintenance work on the likes of fishing trawlers is just the sort of expansion that the industry here will thrive on. The flow-on effects to businesses right through the region are endless.

Preliminary work indicates that a port revamp will support around 135 jobs in boat-building and its allied marine services sector. That's before the possibilities of diversified enterprises servicing recreational boating and visitor attractions are looked into.
This investment will help the Whanganui District Council develop an exciting way forward for the port - and the great thing is that the council is working with iwi, key business leaders, NGOs, Horizons Regional Council and UCOL.

That's wonderful co-operation and also a golden opportunity to strengthen specialised engineering trades training as apprentices will be able to hone their skills on site, and so establish Whanganui as one of New Zealand's centres of excellence in industry-led education.

Revitalising the port and surrounding lands is a key priority for the Manawatu-Whanganui Economic Action Plan which forms part of the Government's Regional Growth Plan.

Whanganui has its tail up and we expect good growth and prosperity on the back of investments just like this. I look forward to the day when we can call ourselves New Zealand's marine engineering centre of excellence .