I urge Tauranga region voters to quiz their candidates for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council election as to what their attitude is to reducing BOPRC’s shareholding in Port of Tauranga from 54% down to a potential 28%. On May 16, 2024 I, along with many others, participated in a public submission against any reduction. Unfortunately, that was not heeded by the majority of BOPRC members and they voted to proceed.

My submission said that the shareholding in our local Port was a jewel in the crown of investments and should be separated from the normal investment philosophy of spreading your investments. The BOPRC in its lack of wisdom decided to ignore two risks. Firstly, that some 177 hectares of land in the Sulphur Point and Mount Maunganui district was at risk of being foreign owned. Secondly, I have never heard of an investment adviser telling a client to sell their residential home and put the funds in shares. That is effectively what the majority of councillors have decided to do.

I don’t know if the sell down has commenced. I implore voters to firstly ask if our candidates in the three local constituencies whether or not they would have supported the original resolution bearing in mind that even if a sell down has commenced, BOPRC can easily buy further shares on the market and restore majority control.

I was a director of Port of Tauranga for 16 years up until 2012 and am absolutely disgusted with the attitude of the majority of councillors who voted to sell down our crown jewels which have been built up by many pioneers in the Tauranga and BOP district since 1912.

Bill Capamagian, Avenues