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Leaderbrand chief executive Richard Burke.
The greatest need in the Tairawhiti region is better and secure infrastructure, in particular the roading network.
Leaderbrand is the biggest fresh vegetable grower in the region and a major employer. Its chief executive Richard Burke says a roading network that keeps getting damaged and causing delays is making companies like his think twice about expanding in the region. He says trucks having to take long diversions around blocked roads adds to the cost of products it sends to consumers around the country.
Burke says his company has already done a lot to mitigate the severe weather events such as building a huge glass house.
“But the ability to guarantee – in Leaderband’s case – a daily supply of fresh produce makes you think about where you base your operation or look closely at plans for expansion,” he told Rural News.
Burke says Leaderbrand is very committed to the Tairawhiti community, but it has now established commercial growing operations in other regions to mitigate the risk of being isolated by road closures in the East Coast region.
“Infrastructure is a national issue and not something that we can invest in,” he adds.
“At some point, we may have no choice but to leave because we can’t run a daily business that’s requiring truck access in and out of Gisborne every day if we don’t have a road that is open every day.”
Burke says the company is well aware of the challenges that Tairawhiti faces around infrastructure. However, he says there needs to be a plan now to look at the big picture, set the direction and implement this and build long-term resilience into the roading network.
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