New Zealand postal service changes leave rural communities disappointed
Changes to New Zealand’s postal service has left rural communities disappointed.
Marie Fitzpatrick, who will take over as chief executive of Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) on 1 July, says it’s important to keep people front and centre as the world evolves and changes.
Fitzpatrick comes to the role after approximately 20 years in the public sector, with six of those years spent working in the Fisheries New Zealand team at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
She says that when she started her work with Fisheries New Zealand, she was doing work surrounding a ‘digital transformation’.
“I guess all of my experience about this kind of human-centered part of designing and delivering services and change management… really came to the fore in that role,” she told Rural News. She says that, at the time, MPI was asking fisheries to perform a significant shift towards digital technology “in an industry that isn’t necessarily particularly sophisticated from a digital perspective”.
“People set these policies, but don’t necessarily understand the nuance of how you can use the technology on your vessel or your farm or whatever it is,” Fitzpatrick says.
“Commercial fishers are an interesting bunch as I imagine the rural sector is in general. I’m very fond of them,” she says. “I would say I’ve gotten to know them really well and I’m looking forward to learning a new primary sector group.”
Fitzpatrick says that over the course of her career she has “seen the pain” that poorly designed regulatory frameworks can cause.
“I’m really passionate about, you know, that these things that happen and often need to happen, you know, the world needs to evolve and evolve with technology and policies and things like that, but let’s keep the humans front and centre as we evolve those policies and regulations and make sure that they are something that can be absorbed effectively, to make the changes as good and effective as possible.”
Outside of work, Fitzpatrick is also co-founder of the Good Bitches Baking Charitable Trust.
She says the charity, which started in 2014, is about providing a moment of kindness to someone having a bad day.
“I guess the two universes have aligned in this job, and it feels like a good fit for me.”
OPINION: Public pressure has led to Canterbury Police rightly rolling back its proposed restructure that would have seen several rural police stations closed in favour of centralised hubs.
When I interview Rachel Cox, she is driving - on her way to her next meeting.
With Fonterra's UHT plant at its Edendale site less than a year from completion, demand continues to grow for products the plant will produce, such as Anchor Whipping Cream.
A new $50,000 scholarship fund designed to support and empower women in the New Zealand dairy industry through leadership development has been launched.
Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.
In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…