Tūpore this month

The big news for us this month is our resource application for the expanded quarrying operation at Maraekakaho was granted by the independent panel of commissioners.

This is good news for Tūpore, for our people and for our customers, and our region.

This has been a long journey for Robbie and Michelle Gale, and team Tūpore to get this across the line. The benefits of the quarry for Hawke’s Bay and for our people are great, and we look forward to implementing all that is needed, including to work with local mana whenua, to get work underway.

This month I took part in the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA)’s PACE framework feedback group, helping NZTA to improve how it captures the performances of suppliers and the outcomes of projects. The working sessions have concluded and NZTA are now working through the feedback to finalise a revised performance framework moving forward.

My hope is that NZTA will use the feedback from those sessions to see that there is a better way to reward contracts, one that scores suppliers on the ‘over and above’ factors taken by the companies to lift their performance and outcomes before issues occur.

Basketball court constructed for Whatever It Takes.

Robbie’s word: Making a difference

An important report was released by the government last month. The report lifted the lid on how hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders, many of them children, were abused while in state ‘care’ between 1950 and 2024.

It’s a hard read, and a long one. The full report, when printed, is about 14kg.

I’ve heard a lot of similar stories already, from people and situations I’ve got to know since I started my working life.

I know that young people who are treated badly – whether it’s at home or in institutions they’ve been sent to – will often grow up to act badly themselves, and often towards the people they are supposed to be loving and caring for. Many have ended up in prison and have been cut off from their families, opportunities and the chance of a healthy life. And the cycle goes on.

What can be done about it? For me Tūpore has never been about making money for its own sake. We are a profitable company and we have big plans, including the new quarry at Maraekakaho that’s just been given the green light by a panel of independent commissioners.

You can learn more about the full decision here.

The money we make from serving our local government and other customers means we can keep employing people, and helping the community we are a part of.

Often that’s work the public isn’t going to read about, and certainly not in a government report. But it’s going on every day and it’s making a real difference to the lives and families of the individuals, organisations and communities we can help.

It’s the best sort of cycle we can be part of, rather than the ones we read about from the government last month.

Hapori/Community

This month Tūpore built a basketball court for the ‘Whatever it Takes Trust’, a peer support organisation for mental health and those on their addiction recovery journey. The Trust delivers a range of services to assist with the recovery of people experiencing mental health and addiction difficulties.

When we asked our team who would be interested in helping out, we didn’t lack volunteers, getting the basketball court built and ready for residents to enjoy.

• Supported Mohaka Marae during its annual fund-raising initiative, we’ll look at future opportunities to work with the folks there.
• Shortlisted as one of three finalists for the Social Impact Award at the Building Nations Conference.  Our submission focussed on our social purpose linked to the work we’ve been doing in Central Hawke’s Bay – awards in Auckland 28th August

Welcome to the very first issue of Tūpore Times. The clue is in the name… This is a new way of saying something interesting (hopefully) about the work we do at Tūpore across Hawke’s Bay – and why we do it.

Here you’ll get some stories – told in not too many words – about our achievements and, especially, about the Tūpore whānau. And we’ll be reflecting, now and then, on what matters to us.

There were a number of projects that were on tight funding deadlines this month, however more projects have started up too. It wasn’t easy sailing as weather throughout June has made the progress on key construction projects and activities more difficult than usual.

I’ve also been thinking about some of the announcements that came out of the Government’s Budget. It’s clear that the difficult economic situation is being felt across all industries and that has affected the Government’s ability to fund projects.We should remain confident that our work is essential though, and we’re committed to the rebuild of Hawke’s Bay post Cyclone Gabrielle.

Some of the highlights from the month included:

• Completing the SH51 Napier to Hastings safety improvements on behalf of NZTA, adding intersection improvements, barrier works and road widening.
• Construction of the Waimarama Road project on behalf of Hastings DC was completed.
• Helped to clean-up nearly 110,000 cubic metres of silt, as part of the Cyclone Gabrielle recovery.
• Commenced works on three projects for Hastings District Council – Nottingley / Lyndhurst roundabout, Mill Road/Lawn Road Area Wide Pavement Treatment and Farndon Road Area Wide Pavement Treatment.

Hapori/Community

This month Tūpore welcomed four new members to the team from the Mana in Mahi programme. The programme is all about bringing more talent into the infrastructure sector with those who might not have considered joining the industry otherwise. A great way for the Tūpore whānau to grow.

In sponsorship news Tūpore continues to back our community’s sporting teams:

• The Flaxmere Bulls under 10s Rugby team are playing in their new Tūpore sponsored jerseys (checkout the photo above)
• Central Hawke’s Bay Thunder Football team are also heading to their next game with the support of Tūpore.

There are a few more sponsorships and happenings that we can’t wait to talk about next month also. Our people are behind Tūpore every step of the way, and these sponsorships are one way we like to show we back our people in and outside of work too.