Obituary - Alistair Waters

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Alistair Waters, who died suddenly on Thursday 7th December, aged 47. Alistair was a passionate educator and well-known figure in the horticulture industry.

Alistair began his career 30 years ago working for Don Liddle at Liddle Wonder nursery in Waikanae in the school holidays. After leaving school, Alistair worked full time with Don followed by roles in a number of well-known nurseries, including Twiglands in Wellington, G2 Ltd in Palmerston North and Container Nurseries Ltd in Auckland.

In the late 90’s Alistair moved to Tauranga and became crop manager for Omaio Nurseries where he developed a strong interest in pest management. In 2001, Alistair established IPM Services Ltd, which provided pest and disease management services to local nurseries, garden retailers and flower growers.

Alistair was well known for his work in agrichemical training and certification, becoming accredited as a Growsafe trainer and EPA Test Certifier in 2003. He was highly respected for his extensive knowledge of pest and disease management and the rules and regulations covering hazardous substances.

In 2009 Alistair joined forces with Andrew and Fiona Boylan and between them grew IPM Services Ltd into a successful pest management business, working across the Bay of Plenty. IPM also grew to become one of the largest agrichemical training businesses in the country.

Education was Alistair’s passion and he worked tirelessly with an astonishing schedule, delivering training courses across the country. It was not uncommon to receive a message from him in the early hours of the morning about some new information, or his latest idea.

He was involved in the development of many industry education programmes, in particular the new horticulture apprenticeship and diploma qualifications which are due to be launched in 2018.

Alistair was an active participant in the industry, with involvement in the NZ Nurseryman’s Association, Nursery and Garden Industry Association and NZ Plant Producers Inc. He was also a member of International Plant Propagators Society and had a strong association with a number of other industry groups.

Alistair will be sadly missed and our thoughts and wishes go out to his friends and family, his partner Erica and to Brier, aged 18.

Alistair’s funeral is on Saturday 16th December, Pyes Pa Cemetery Chapel, Tauranga. Flowers: Elliotts Funeral Services 25 9th Ave Tauranga. Donations: St Johns Tauranga www.stjohn.org.nz

Myrtle Rust update

The latest data from MPI shows that the development and spread of myrtle rust is accelerating rapidly, with almost 200 confirmed sites now identified in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Wellington.

… read latest MPI situation update here

MPI have indicated that they will change the way that they respond to new finds of the disease and are considering moving from response, to a long-term management plan.

NZPPI & MPI have visited many nurseries and held industry meetings in the affected regions over the last few weeks, providing updates and answering questions.

Further meetings are planned, including this Thursday 14th, Hamilton Airport at 4pm. MPI will be present to provide a situation update. Both NZPPI members and non-members are welcome.

New Rules for Agrichemicals

On 1 December 2017, the regulation of agrichemicals moved from HSNO, into the Health & Safety at Work Act. The rules for managing agrichemicals remain largely the same, with the exception of a few new rules, including;

1. Training and certification – Approved Handler certification will only be required by a few people as it will apply to only a small number of substances, with hazard classification 6.1 A & 6.1 B. However, gaining and renewing a certificate will be a lot more difficult.

   There are also a number of new rules for Class 9 “Ecotoxic substances” (which includes most agrichemicals). Ecotoxic substances have moved from HSNO into EPA Notices, including a new requirement to hold a GROWSAFE Certificate, or some specific unit standards.

2. Agrichemical Inventory – There is also a new rule which requires all workplaces that store hazardous substances (including agrichemicals) to hold an inventory.

GROWSAFE has published a good description of these changes on their website and have updated their courses to line up with the new requirements.

NZPPI will provide information and recommendations for these new rules and agrichemical management in the future as part of its Toolbox for Members.

IRD offers pay-as-you-go provisional tax

In April 2018, Inland Revenue is making more changes to simplify the way your business manages its tax.

AIM – the ‘Accounting Income Method’ – is a new ‘pay-as-you-go’ option to manage provisional tax using approved accounting software. AIM bases the payments on the current year’s cashflow, and the business pays provisional tax only when it’s making an accounting profit.

Read more www.ird.govt.nz (Search: AIM).

It’s going to be easier for employers to submit their PAYE information online, and to make corrections.

Parliament is considering legislation, so employers would submit PAYE information every pay day rather than monthly. This would be voluntary from April 2018 and compulsory from 2019. More employers would have to file PAYE information electronically, but the dates for payment won’t change.

Businesses will also be able to manage Fringe Benefit Tax online.

There will be more information for you next year about what to expect.

NZPPI 2018 Conference - save the date

27 & 28 June, Rotorua

Christmas wishes and office closure

We wish you a very happy Christmas Day and hope you have the opportunity for some time away from the coal face, with family and friends.

The NZPPI office will be closed from noon Friday 22 December, reopening Monday 8 January. During this time, for retailers requiring help with processing gift cards, the numbers to call are:

1. Go Gardening brand cards – call Ecards 0508 432 273
2. Gift Station brand cards – call EPay 0800 64 9999
3. And to check a gift card balance, go to gardenvouchers.co.nz

Snippets

• Nursery & Garden Industry Australia - 2018 National Conference (19-21 February) programme released. The program features a variety of workshops, sessions and keynote speakers to suit all sectors of the industry. Read here.

Like us on Facebook

Like the NZPPI Facebook page and be regularly informed on the latest industry news and events. Plus stay up-to-date with trends, products and technical papers from overseas. Also check out the Go Gardening and Greenlife Matters Facebook pages and encourage your customers to like these too.

©2017 NZPPI
New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated
PO Box 3443, Wellington 6140
Level 5, 23 Waring Taylor Street, Wellington
P: 04 918 3511 | F: 04 499 9589
E: info@nzppi.co.nz | W: www.nzppi.co.nz