Regenerate Taupō District - Taupō, He Tupu Ururua

Recovery Plan Finalised

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback over the past two months. It has informed the creation of this final recovery plan.

This plan, Regenerate Taupō District, He Tupu Ururua, focuses on key issues for the district, identifying opportunities for recovery, and ensuring a locally-led response to COVID-19 that also leverages regional and national support.

It highlights eight key opportunities to support recovery:

Dedicated resource to secure funding sources for critical projects.
Immediate job creation through conservation.
Social housing provision for those who need it.
Supporting our visitor economy.
Creating new construction jobs for locals.
Ensure education and training opportunities exist.
Looking after our most vulnerable.
Supporting our existing business community to rebound.

The next steps will be to deliver the specific actions outlined in the plan over the next six months. Along with this, the various groups, organisations and agencies involved in the creation of this plan will be encouraged to incorporate the wide range of ideas and opportunities identified by the community into their recovery programmes and plans. The plan also identifies areas where individuals and organisations can take ownership and be involved in various aspects of the action plan, and encourages those that are keen to raise their hand.

To read the full plan, including the focus areas and specific actions, click below.

Regenerate Taupo District Action Plan (PDF, 2.41MB)

To check the status and progress made against action points in the Regenerate Taupō District Action Plan, click the link below.

View monitoring dashboard

UPDATE: Positive outcomes from collaborative community plan
December 10, 2020 Following six months of collaborative work, the Regenerate Taupō District team and wider agencies and organisations, have seen positive impacts across the community. Read the full story.

What is Regenerate Taupō District?

A new sector-led group has been brought together to support the Taupō District’s COVID-19 recovery.

The recovery plan will focus on key issues for our district, and aims to ensure a locally-led response to COVID-19, that can be supported at a regional and national level. It will identify opportunities to recover across four key pillars – economic, social, environmental and cultural - how we can create opportunities that will complement government initiatives at a local level.

Whakapūpūtia mai ō mānuka, kia kore ai e whati.

Cluster the branches of the mānuka, so they will not break — Unite with a shared vision, and know which direction you are taking.

Together, we can Regenerate Taupō District.

Why is a recovery plan needed?

Since the beginning of 2020, New Zealand has been feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, those effects became wide-spread, when unprecedented measures were taken by central government to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the lives of New Zealanders.

These measures included the closure of all non-essential businesses for five weeks, the banning of all non-essential domestic travel, and the closure of all New Zealand borders to international visitors.

As a tourist destination, with the wider tourism sector responsible for a third of our district’s employment, we know that COVID-19 will have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences across the Taupō District, with estimates of more than 2400 jobs lost across our community by March 2021 and an economy that will shrink by over 9%.

That economic shock has wide-spread effects on the wellbeing of our communities. To date, support across the district has been provided from both a national and local level. However, we know further measures will be needed to facilitate the recovery of our communities.

Sector-led recovery approach

The sector-led group is made up of local government, business, community and iwi representatives and has helped to guide the direction of our district and identify opportunities for the Taupo District to not only recover, but flourish, in a post-COVID-19 context.

Along with this, extensive community engagement was undertaken to help inform the plan.

State of the district report

The ‘state of the district’ report helped to stimulate discussion on the opportunities to reduce the impacts of COVID-19 on the Taupō District, and foster resilience across our communities.

It was viewed as imperative to begin to share with our community our understanding of the potential impacts of a downturn in our economy as a result of COVID-19.

Following the report, we developed a series of stakeholder engagement activities to ensure we were hearing from as many people as possible, including wider ideas and voices to feed into the plan.

To read the initial report click below.

Regenerate Taupo District background report (PDF, 1MB)

Work to support community already underway

Of course, work to support our community is already well underway.

LOCAL SUPPORT

Council committed to a 0% general rates rise for 2020/21 financial year, a fee waiver for commercial and community tenants, and no increases on the majority of its fees and charges. A ‘locals supporting locals’ campaign was also launched.
Enterprise Great Lake Taupo (EGLT - our economic development agency) increased business support capacity and have worked directly with over 200 businesses to help them with planning, HR, marketing, cashflow management and strategy; as well as providing over $80,000 of fully funded external expertise.
A series of webinars (plus blogs and other resources) has been developed and made freely available to provide open access to specialist information for any business in the district
An interactive ‘business readiness tool’ was built by EGLT and made freely available for business owners to work through the necessary requirements to trade at Alert Level 3, and subsequently refreshed for the Alert Level 2 framework
An ‘outreach’ programme was launched by EGLT with hundreds of Taupō business owners/managers receiving a phone call and advice in terms of business readiness to trade at Alert Level 2
A data and insights portal was developed by EGLT to house the various research reports and data/dashboards to monitor the impacts of Covid19
Civil defence and emergency management operations, social service providers and multiple Marae and Iwi entities around the district provided immediate support, including temporary housing for the homeless, kai and sanitation packs, wrap around support services. Iwi have indicated their desire to be included in conversations/planning going forward in the recovery effort
Destination Great Lake Taupo (DGLT – our tourism agency) has worked closely with the hardest hit businesses in the tourism sector, to support and assist them in reshaping their business
DGLT has launched a funded intensive marketing support programme directly for the primary tourism sector; and EGLT has prepared a free ‘marketing 101’ business development programme for non-tourism businesses to access
DGLT has held regular industry webinars and briefings to ensure the industry are connected and engaged in the sector recovery process
The Hub agencies collaboratively developed and launched a ‘shop local’ campaign (Love this Place).

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Subsidy for those having to isolate with suspected or actual COVID-19 (subsequently combined with wage subsidy)
Wage subsidy for 12 weeks to support employers adversely affected by COVID-19 to retain employees (awaiting data from MSD in terms of how many Taupō businesses have received this support); with later iteration allowing more businesses to access the support
Bank loan scheme; with later iterations removing the barriers that had made it difficult for most SME owners to access the funds
Taxation changes; with immediate effect for provisional tax savings, and longer-term benefits for depreciation and other below the line costs
Small business finance scheme; managed through the IRD with interest free loans up to $100,000 available shortly
MSD Work Brokers change of focus to working alongside businesses, rather than jobseekers

Timeline

MAY 2020

State of the district report completed to focus primarily on economic impacts that will have roll on effects in social, environmental and

MAY - JUNE 2020

Consultation with stakeholders and the community to help the creation of a recovery plan.

JULY 2020

Complete recovery plan
Deliver the actions identified in the recovery plan and work with key stakeholders and the community to ensure the ideas and opportunities identified are built upon to support the district’s regeneration

JULY ONWARDS

Deliver the actions identified in the recovery plan and work with key stakeholders and the community to ensure the ideas and opportunities identified are built upon to support the district’s regeneration

A message from our Mayor and Regenerate Taupō District Chair – David Trewavas

“The effect on our district from COVID-19 is likely to be long lasting and far-reaching and the need for a collaborative approach to recovery is imperative.

As a tourist destination, we know that we are going to be one of the most affected areas in the country and it is going to be a long road ahead for our economy to bounce back. That has wide-spread effects across our community – not just in terms of our businesses but also in terms of the wellbeing of our people.

We need to ensure that we understand what those effects are and how to address them. The best way to do that is to ensure a local, sector-led response that has the ability and insight to identify opportunities for our district, that can then be supported at a regional and national level.

In essence, it’s about taking a collaborative approach and making decisions that are united and clearly focused on how we will not only recover, but ideally flourish, in a post-COVID context.”

This work is about providing a clear direction for restoring and reimagining the Taupō District. Of course, work is already underway in this space and it is also heartening to see many groups and communities across the district initiating proactive programmes and activities to help the local community recover. We need to harness this positivity.

We know there are people hurting from this and it is up to us as a community to take the lead in developing what our new normal will be.”