Community Champions
“In 1987, the UN World Commission on Environment and Development’s report Our Common Future (the Brundtland Report) made it clear that humanity was living unsustainably and that future development would need to meet strict ecological and social limits. Since then, governments have largely failed to meet these conditions, and in many cases have not seriously attempted to do so.
As conditions have continued to worsen, it is now evident that our current political and economic systems are unable to resolve these challenges at the necessary scale and speed. This leaves bottom-up, community-led solutions as not just desirable, but essential. While the risks of inaction are severe, the potential benefits of locally grounded, workable alternatives are equally profound — offering the chance to move from breakdown to breakthrough.
For these reasons, this work must happen everywhere it can. The purchase of the Old Packhouse Market by FNRCCT represents a practical step toward rebuilding genuinely sustainable development in the Far North.”
Waimate North, May 2025
Kenn Ross
Ken Ross holds a B.Sc. (Zoology & Geography) and an M.Sc. (Hons) in Behavioural Ecology, and brings extensive experience in local government and community development. He now works with communities to build resilient, local food, energy, and democratic economic systems.
Justine Stuart
Justine Stuart is an independent contractor with extensive experience supporting regional food and beverage projects across Northland. Her work with Northland Inc has focused on strengthening connections, promotion, and growth across the value chain.
“Through extensive engagement with growers, food and beverage producers, restauranteurs, and related industries, I have seen both a strong appetite for collaboration and the potential for collective success. Events such as Savour Northland demonstrate what is possible when people come together around shared goals. Northland is rich in innovation, with a clear willingness to strengthen the sector from the inside out through better connection and cooperation.
The Old Packhouse Market has become an important hub, a genuine ‘third place’ for locals and visitors alike, making the community-led bid to purchase it especially exciting. The proposed expansion, particularly the development of stronger distribution links between growers, consumers, and the food service industry, addresses a widely recognised need for easier, more consistent access to local produce. Strengthening these networks is a recurring theme across regional engagement and aligns with initiatives such as Tuputupu – Grow Northland.
I strongly support this bid and the broader vision for the Old Packhouse Market, which has the potential to deliver layered, long-term benefits for the food and beverage sector and the wider community.”
May 2025
“I wholeheartedly support community development that helps secure a better future for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. For me, that means promoting good mental health, supporting families and healthy child development, and committing to a toxic-free Northland.
These goals can only be achieved through a conscious and cooperative community — and I believe the Packhouse Market is the natural place to bring this vision to life. It offers a physical location where isolated groups, initiatives, and services can come together, connect, and collaborate.
Communication and cooperation are the keys to sustainable growth, and to buffering the divisive and detrimental forces currently affecting Northland.
The social and economic future of this region stands to benefit enormously from establishing the Packhouse as a true community hub. The Far North Resilient Communities Charitable Trust is the most obvious host for such an innovative venture, and it could set a national example of what’s possible when communities invest in their own future.”
July 2025
Barbara Godding
Barbara Godding brings decades of experience in holistic health, education, and community leadership. A former osteopath, naturopath, and social services president, she is deeply committed to community resilience and supports initiatives protecting the Far North’s unique character, including the Old Packhouse Market.