2011 Conference Speaker Profiles
John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
Opening Address
Prime Minister John Key graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Canterbury University. He launched his investment banking career in New Zealand in the mid-1980s, and went on to work in Singapore, London, and Sydney for Merrill Lynch, becoming head of global foreign exchange and European bond and derivative trading. In 1999 Mr Key was invited to join the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In 2001, Mr Key returned to New Zealand. He was elected MP for Helensville in 2002, becoming National Party Leader in November 2006, and then Prime Minister following the 2008 General Election.
Dave Sharp, Chairman, New Zealand Seafood Industry Council
SeaFIC Welcome
Dave Sharp has worked in the seafood industry since 1969. For over twenty years he was employed by the Dunedin-based company Wilson Neill which owned some very substantial fishing assets throughout New Zealand and Australia during the 1970's and 1980's. As an executive director of that company he had responsibilities for both the acquisition of those assets and for their subsequent sale in the early 1990's. Since 1992 Dave has owned his own business. He remains based in Dunedin and has been involved in both quota ownership and management and advisory work in the seafood industry.
He has always played an active role in the various industry trade associations. Dave has been an executive member of the Fishing Industry Association since the early 1970's and served as president of that organisation during the 1980's. From 1989 he was an industry member of the Fishing Industry Board until that organisation was disestablished in the mid 1990's. He acted as interim chairman of SeaFIC when that body was being established and was confirmed in that role in 1997. Outside the fishing industry his interests include family and most kinds of sport.
David Green, Managing Director, Institutional New Zealand, ANZ
ANZ Welcome
David leads ANZ’s Institutional business in New Zealand. The Institutional business manages client relationships and provides specialised markets, transactional and financing products and solutions to the bank's customers. With more than 20 years experience in the finance and banking sector, David has held roles in senior management, advisory, structuring, underwriting and markets.
Prior to his current role, David led the team responsible for ANZ’s Institutional clients in New Zealand and was a member of the leadership team in New Zealand and Institutional globally. In 2005 he joined ANZ from Deutsche Bank Australia, where he was responsible for leading acquisition financing, refinancing and leveraged financing assignments for the bank in Australia and New Zealand.
David is a member of INFINZ, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand (College of Chartered Accountants), and the New Zealand Institute of Management.
Cameron Bagrie, Chief Economist, ANZ
Presentation: Economic Overview - Predictions for the next decade
Cameron is the Chief Economist of ANZ New Zealand. Cameron has worked as an economist in New Zealand for the past 15 years. As Chief Economist, Cameron leads a team of economists and strategists working in ANZ’s financial markets operation. The responsibilities of the team include the forecasting of the New Zealand economy, analysis of New Zealand monetary policy as well as the forecasting and strategy work associated with fixed income research. On top of this, he provides considerable strategic input to clients and the bank.
Cameron travels extensively providing economic and financial advice to ANZ’s customers in New Zealand as well as overseas. He appears regularly in the media. He is a member of ANZ Private Bank's Regional Investment Committee.
Cameron has previously held posts at The National Bank of New Zealand and New Zealand Treasury. He gained a BCom from University of Otago and a MCom from the University of Canterbury.
Outside of work he enjoys all sports, Central Otago Pinot Noir and spending time with his family.
Martin Exel, Chair, Commonwealth Fisheries Association (Australia)
Presentation: Resolving the tension over the environmental impacts of fishing
Martin Exel is current Chair of the Australian Commonwealth Fisheries Association; a Director of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania); and President of the international Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO). He has been the General Manager, Environment and Policy with Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd since 1996. Austral Fisheries’ operates in sub-Antarctic toothfish fisheries, Indian Ocean high seas, and the Northern Prawn Fishery in the Australian tropics.
Martin began working in fisheries in New Zealand over 30 years ago. He has a BSc from New Zealand and a Graduate Diploma of Fisheries Technology from Australia, and has fished on longline and trawl vessels in both countries. Martin was employed in various fisheries management roles with the Australian Government from 1984 - 1996, culminating as General Manager of Fisheries for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. During that time he was responsible for oversight of all Commonwealth fisheries including international, national, and joint authority management arrangements.
Alastair Morrison, Director General, Department of Conservation
Presentation: Fishing for an investment model of marine conservation
Al Morrison joined the Department of Conservation in 2002 and was appointed as Chief Executive and Director General in November 2006.
Al began his working life as a teacher, graduating from the Dunedin Teachers College. He then moved into journalism, spending several years in newspaper in reporting, commentary and management positions before joining Radio New Zealand in 1996, where he became Political Editor.
Al is a graduate of Otago University, where he studied philosophy and education. During his time as a journalist he spent a post graduate year under a Rotary Foundation Fellowship studying science writing at the University of Columbia, Missouri. He is an alumni of the public service Executive Leadership Programme.
He has contributed to several journalism texts on the issue of objectivity, reporting the news and commentary and opinion writing, and to political texts on the issue of reporting under MMP, and the 2002 General Election.
Al is 62 years old and is married with four adult children and five grandchildren.
Robert Oliver, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
Presentation: What the Chinese think about our seafood – opportunities & risk
Robert Oliver is Consulting Chef for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) in China. His role is a key part of NZTE's wider strategy to promote New Zealand food and beverage in China, in response to Chinese consumer trends.
Robert is involved in leading and contributing to a number of initiatives, events and activities in the market, which are aimed at generating values for New Zealand food and beverage suppliers. His responsibilities include establishing relationships with the Hotel, Restaurant and Institution (HRI) and other food industry professionals, assisting with new product development and product launches, educating chefs and other F&B practitioners on New Zealand products, in particular seafood, meat, dairy and fresh produce, as well as developing and producing menus and recipes that highlight New Zealand food and beverage products.
Robert is based at New Zealand Central, NZTE's world-class business centre in downtown Shanghai, which includes a demonstration kitchen and bar area for food and beverage promotions and a multi-purpose function and event space. He frequently visits Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
New Zealand born Robert Oliver's passion for the flavours and foods of the South Pacific were developed during his childhood in Fiji. Over the past 20 years, Robert has worked around the world including in Fiji, the US, Australia, the US Virgin Islands, Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and more. He has created a number of restaurant ventures that are focused on tropical themes, including NOA (Noodles of Asia) on Miami Beach; Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas one of the largest restaurants in the US which offers a blend of cuisines of the world's tropical zones. He has also conducted culinary workshops in Fiji, taught a series of tropical cuisine workshops at New York City's Institute of Culinary Education, and worked with the Almond Resort group in Barbados to develop restaurants for their St Lucia properties.
In 2010 Robert released his first book "Me'a Kai: The Food and Flavours of the South Pacific", profiling the traditional foods and food culture of the South Pacific addressing the "Farm to Table Concept". Me'a Kai was named the Best Cookbook in the World for 2010 at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards held in Paris in March 2011. The prestigious Awards honour the best food and wine books from around the globe.
Robert regularly blogs from China. For this, and more information about doing business in China visit www.nzte.govt.nz
John Sackton, President of Seafood.com and editor and publisher of Seafood.com News
Presentation: World wild fish & aquaculture production
John Sackton has been active in the seafood industry for over 30 years. He is recognized as one of the top seafood market analysts and his daily seafood commentary is read by thousands in the industry. After 15 years working for global seafood companies lastly as General Manager for Baader North America, he founded Seafood Datasearch in 1994 to provide market data, foreign trade information, and price forecasts to the industry. A few years later he founded Seafood.com News with Urner Barry Publications. Seafood.com news is a daily electronic seafood news report that is the most widely read seafood industry news service in North America. Through Seafood.com News, John has written extensively about all aspects of producing, marketing and selling all species of seafood, from warm water shrimp to Alaska cod, salmon and pollock and Canadian snow crab, shrimp and lobster.
John has served as a price arbitrator and market analyst for the Newfoundland crab and shrimp industries, and the Alaska crab industry. For more than twelve years, John has provided independent in-season market reports on crab and shrimp markets to Canadian harvesters and processors in Newfoundland. For nine years, these bi-weekly reports have adjusted crab ex-vessel prices under bargaining agreements in response to market conditions. In 2005, Sackton was selected to be the industry market analyst and price formula arbitrator for the Alaskan king crab, snow crab, bairdi fisheries. Each year, in consultation with harvesters and processors, Sackton provides a market analyst report and a model non-binding pricing formula as the basis for price negotiations. This ‘Sackton Price’ has become the industry standard for red king crab and snow crab. With Northern Shrimp, John has provided a market outlook for the coming year for FFAW and FANL, now ASP, on shrimp each year for the past eight years, as well as in season market reports. Sackton also has written and commented extensively on US shrimp anti-dumping tariffs since 2004, when anti-dumping duties were first imposed on shrimp imports from six countries.
John has done studies of processing issues in New Brunswick and Newfoundland. In 2007 he addressed the Canadian Council of Fisheries Ministers on the impact of globalization on Canadian fisheries. Since 2007 John has done extensive research for the lobster industry in Atlantic Canada, providing an overview of global lobster markets, and contributing to the national lobster marketing strategic plan, completed in November, 2010. He has also spoken extensively about the impact of the Economic crisis on the seafood industry, and was hired by several Canadian provinces and seafood companies to address price and market issues. John provides a full range of seafood consulting and speaking services in the areas of price forecasting, market analysis, trade analysis, and price formation. He is a graduate of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has a Masters Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. John lives and works in Lexington, Massachusetts outside of Boston.
Hon Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture,
Minister of Housing
Political Panel Discussion
Phil Heatley is the electorate MP for Whangarei.
Phil Heatley was born, raised and educated in Whangarei. He has strong personal ties to the electorate with both his immediate and extended family residing there.
In 1990 he completed a Masters with Honours degree majoring in Horticultural Engineering at Massey University in Palmerston North.
He completed a Certificate of Adult teaching at the Northland Polytechnic.
Thereafter from 1991 – 1993, he taught Maths and Science at the Tikipunga High School in Whangarei.
In 1993, Phil and his wife Jenny, a registered nurse, worked and studied with an international relief agency aboard a nine-story, 12,000-ton hospital ship. When in port the crew, all volunteers, undertook medical, agricultural and construction work in developing countries.
After returning from overseas in 1995 and through to 1998, Phil was employed as a Professional Engineer for a NZ Dairy Board subsidiary, Livestock Improvement Advisory. Nationally, Phil was responsible for working on behalf of the dairy industry in relation to the Resource Management Act (1991) and also designed large scale water supply and drainage systems, farm dairies and undertook rural surveying work. He left the engineering profession to stand as Member for Parliament representing his hometown of Whangarei
Phil has always had a keen interest in politics. He was first elected to represent Whangarei in 1999.
When the National Government came into Government in 2008, Phil was given a Cabinet role, holding two portfolios, 'Housing' and 'Fishing and Aquaculture'.
Phil's personal interests include carpentry, tennis, boating and fishing. He and Jenny have three young children.
Hon Shane Jones, Member of Parliament, Labour Party
Political Panel Discussion
Shane Jones was born on 3 September 1959 in Awanui, Northland. His tribal links are to Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto and he has Welsh and Dalmatian heritage.
Local elders raised money to send him to board at St Stephens College in Bombay. From there he went to Auckland and Victoria Universities to study politics. He also studied at the University of Western Australia, and at Harvard University.
Between 1988 and 1990 Shane set up the Maori Policy Unit at the new Ministry for the Environment and later did a year in the PM’s Department under Geoffrey Palmer. With four children in tow he then spent a year at Harvard completing a Masters in Public Administration degree on a Harkness Fellowship.
He returned home in 1992 just as the Maori Fisheries Settlement deal was being completed and was appointed to the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission. He took over as chair in 2000. His task was to get approximately 70 iwi to agree on how to divide up the fisheries assets. This was completed in 2004 when the distribution legislation was passed.
Shane entered Parliament in 2005. He served as chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee before being promoted to Cabinet in November 2007 as Minister for Building and Construction. He was re-elected to Parliament in 2008 and is spokesman for Transport, aquaculture and fisheries, Maori Economic Development and Infrastructure..
Shane and Ngareta have seven children.
Gareth Hughes, Member of Parliament, Green Party
Political Panel Discussion
Gareth Hughes is a Member of Parliament for the Green Party, and is the spokesperson on Oceans issues. Since he became an MP in 2010 Gareth has campaigned to improve New Zealand’s rental housing stock, and been a passionate advocate for better trains and buses throughout the country. He’s also an active champion for marine conservation and protecting our fisheries.
Gareth, who grew up in Gisborne, has a degree in Religious Studies, History and Politics from Victoria University and has previously worked for Greenpeace. In 2009 Gareth co-ordinated Greenpeace's Sign On campaign where more than 200,000 Kiwis ‘Signed On’ to protest government inaction on Climate Change.
Gareth is married to Meghan and they have two young children, Arlo and Zoe.
Hilary Calvert, Member of Parliament, ACT New Zealand Party
Political Panel Discussion
Hilary Calvert was elected as an ACT list MP in September 2010. Her portfolio responsibilities include Justice, Law and Order, Maori Affairs, Agriculture and Transport. She sits on the Law and Order and Commerce Select Committees, and the Privileges Committee. As Maori Affairs spokesman, Hilary has been a driving force behind the ACT campaign to halt the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill.
Hilary has lived and worked in Dunedin all her life, and graduated a LLB/BA from the University of Otago. She has practiced law in Dunedin, specialising in commercial and property law. She was also a founding trustee of the Otago Central Rail Trail, and served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 16 years. She has stood as the ACT candidate for Dunedin North in the 2008 General Election.
She is married, and has three adult daughters.
Wayne McNee, Acting Chief Executive of the Ministry of Fisheries and Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Presentation: The advantages to the fisheries sector of the merged ministry
Wayne has been appointed Acting Chief Executive on the announcement in March 2011 of the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Fisheries, which will take effect from 1 July 2011. He is currently also Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Wayne was Chief Executive of the Ministry of Fisheries from January 2008 until November 2010. Prior to this, Wayne was Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC), a position he had held since 2001. Wayne was also seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for 18 months ending in December 2007, where he was a policy advisor primarily on transport, local government, and land policy.
After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy at Otago University in 1985, Wayne undertook a series of pharmacy roles both in New Zealand and England before taking up the Therapeutic Group Manager role at PHARMAC in July 1995. He then followed a career pathway within PHARMAC, where he was appointed General Manager in 1998 and then Chief Executive. In 1998 Wayne was awarded a post graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy at Otago University. He has also undertaken leadership, management and strategic leadership programmes at Oxford University and Stanford Business School.
Roger Beattie, Director NZ Kelp Ltd
Presentation: 20 years... Wasted Resources and Missed Opportunities
Roger is currently Director of Sea-Right Investments and Eyris Blue Pearls. As well as being half of the R & N Beattie Farming Partnership, Roger is joint Director of NZ Kelp alongside his wife Nicki.
Having established his fishing and fisheries investment company on diving paua and sea urchin, Roger has since expanded the scope of Sea Right Investments Ltd into comprehensive quota management and acquaculture processing and export.
Roger established Eyris Blue Pearls in 1999 to develop the sales and marketing of the sea-based abalone aquaculture and blue pearl production. Eyris Blue Pearls has achieved international recognition and sales within the pearl community and continues to expand its supply of this unique and beautiful New Zealand product, to a wider market.
Roger has enjoyed presenting internationally on property rights, economics, the environment, branding & marketing, and European fisheries management. Sea Right Investments is at the forefront of the move within the whole of the New Zealand fishing Industry, away from expensive government administration of fish stocks towards cost effective industry management of improving fisheries.
“The philosophy underpinning my approach to the business of fishing and fisheries management is based on a strong commitment to entrepreneurship, secure property rights and industry organisation.”
David Redshaw, Southern Clams Ltd & Southern Rainbow Ltd
Presentation: Southern Clams’ Fight for Success
Dave Redshaw has worked for Southern Clams Ltd, a thriving New Zealand seafood fishery and the principal supplier of Littleneck Clams and Southern Queen Scallops, for over 10 years.
Dave joined the company during its early stages as a harvester and is currently the Operations Manager working alongside two managers and a total of 30 staff.
Southern Clams Ltd currently exports over 700 tonnes of live clams to multiple destinations including the United Kingdom, United States of America and Hong Kong and as of recently the Arabic countries.
Dave also works for Southern Clams Ltd subsidiary company Southern Rainbow Ltd, a New Zealand seafood exporter which has been operating since 1996.
Since Dave has been working for Southern Clams Ltd they have complemented their shellfish operation by diversifying into fresh fish both in the domestic and export markets.
Dave lives in the Otago peninsula and has two daughters and a son.
Peter Sopp, Coromandel Scallop Fishermen's Association
Presentation: Optimisation of the Scallop Industry through Collective Action
Peter is the Manager of family business Whangamata Seafoods, wholesalers and processors of NZ scallops and seafood. He has been involved in the Coromandel scallop fishery for over twenty years and seen the fishery move from a controlled fishery into the QMS. Peter is currently Chairman of the Coromandel Scallop Fishermen’s Association and is actively involved in leading and contributing to a number of initiatives in the scallop fishery to improve the overall return.
Before joining his father-in-law in fish processing, Peter was involved in agriculture being a regional buyer for Affco and responsible for the establishment of fruit orchards and dry stock farming operations.
Born in Taumarunui to a farming family and educated at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, Peter is married to Dianne and together they have two adult daughters.
Bill Mansfield, Southern Seabird Solutions
Presentation: Building the NZ fishing industry's "seabird smart" reputation
Bill Mansfield is a Barrister in Wellington, with a particular interest in public international law, international environmental law, law of the sea, oceans and Antarctic issues. He is a consultant to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A former Head of the Legal Division of that Ministry, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Justice and Director-General of the Department of Conservation in New Zealand he was a member of the New Zealand delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and was Counsel for New Zealand before ITLOS and the Arbitral Tribunal in the 1999/2000 Southern Bluefin Tuna case. During the 1980s he led the New Zealand delegation to many sessions of law making conferences under the Antarctic Treaty, including that which adopted CCAMLR, and he was a Director of Antarctica New Zealand from 1999 to 2006. He served a term as a member of the United Nations International Law Commission from 2002 to 2006 and in February 2006 he was elected Chair of the International Consultations on the Establishment of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation which concluded with the adoption of a Convention in November 2009. In July 2010 he was elected Chair of the Prepratory Conference for the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Commission.
Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Tukaha Global Consultancy
Presentation: Changing lives through training
Marcus Akuhata-Brown grew up on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
His father is from Te Whanau o Tuwhakairiora of Te Araroa on the East Cape, also the tribes of Ngai Tahu, Ngati Kahungunu, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngati Paoa. His mother is a fifth generation New Zealander with European ancestry.
An experienced educator and gifted communicator, Marcus has led a number of innovative programmes around the world. In New Zealand his work has focused on addressing the learning and developmental needs of youth at risk and young offenders.
From 1996 to 2004 Marcus travelled all over the world as an international representative and delegate to multilateral meetings. Marcus was elected to Head the Commonwealth Youth Caucus a position he held for three years and was appointed as a Director on the international board of CIVICUS.
Marcus founded Tukaha Global Consultancy Ltd in 2000 and currently divides his time between speaking and consultancy work, hapu and community development activities in his tribal area and studies through Te Wananga o Raukawa, a tribal university.
Gerry McCusker, Engage ORM
Presentation: Communication Opportunities - What you need to know about the power of social media
Issues management specialist Gerry McCusker is the author of the book "PR Disasters', so he really understands all the dynamics and key issues relating to corporate, governmental and personal reputation.
He's an IABC “All Star Speaker” who runs Engage ORM (Online Reputation Management), an Australian training and campaign consultancy specialising in digital PR and social media communications.
As a former Fairfax blogger and current contributor to Australia's pre-eminent Business News, Finance and Politics website - Business Spectator - his expertise on digital reputation matters is widely sought. His PR Disasters blog is widely read by reputation management advisers the world over.
Engage ORM's training and consultancy expertise spans corporations, government agencies, industry associations, private enterprises and even police forces.
Geoff Henley, Network PR
Presentation: The Price of Seafood: Myth or Media Hype?
Geoff is the Executive Director of the Wellington office and a director of Network PR. He has managed many of Network PR’s largest client projects in the public, private and community sectors.
Geoff has extensive experience in the health sector, including Government reform programmes and advice to individual, public and private delivery organisations. Geoff also has long term involvement in the primary sector including fisheries, forestry and wood processing, land use and irrigation and a number of intensive livestock industries such as dairying, poultry and eggs.
Geoff has also tackled a number of major public education and social marketing assignments as diverse as health education and generic industry branding and promotion.
The common theme in much of Geoff’s practice is effective interfaces between public and private interests. Geoff is able to use his analytic and facilitation skills to find solutions between diverse and conflicting interests.
Geoff has an MA in Social Administration and is a PRINZ Fellow.
Peter Bodeker, The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council
Presentation: Seafood Industry Council Update
Peter grew up in Christchurch and graduated from Lincoln College in 1980 with a Batchelor of Agricultural Science degree.
He worked as a farm consultant with the New Zealand Dairy Board in Canterbury prior to share-milking 400 cows with his wife between 1984 and 1987. In 1989 he moved to Hamilton where he managed the Dairy Board funded Consulting Officer Service, operating out of Livestock Improvement. During that time, he established the dairy consultancy business Farm Wise and an education unit.
In 2000, he moved to Wellington to establish Dairy InSight, which funded industry good activities such as research and development, TB eradication, extension and promotional activities.
In 2005 Peter established the Wood Processors Association, an advocacy organisation representing the pulp and paper, wood panels and sawmilling sectors.
Peter moved to his current position as Chief Executive Officer of the Seafood Industry Council in July 2010. The Seafood Industry Council represents the interests of commercial fishing and aquaculture interests and is based in Wellington.
Peter is married to Suzanne and has two adult children. He is a non stipendiary Anglican Priest at the Lower Parish of Waiwhetu and is a keen recreational fisherman and golfer.
Graeme Sinclair, Managing Director, Frontier Television (NZ) Ltd
Closing Conference Speaker
Graeme Sinclair’s story is amazing! Since 1993 he has been on TV3 with his programme “Gone Fishin”.
Graeme has a very diverse and interesting background. He majored in Physical Education at Teachers Training College. He later joined a pharmaceutical company where he moved from sales representative to National Sales Manager before setting up a partnership handling advertising accounts for several pharmaceutical companies. He began organising and guiding white water rafting trips, for hunters, divers and fishermen. He later established a company specialising in the development of outdoor management and team building courses and incentive outdoor and leisure programmes. He planned and led expeditions to Fiordland, Marlborough Sounds and Three Kings Island to hunt, dive and fish as well as research subjects of historical significance.
Then in 1993, after numerous TV appearances, writing various articles for outdoor publications in NZ & Australia, Graeme purchased an interest in a TV production company and fronted the first series of ‘Gone Fishin’. A year later he formed Frontier Television; and became producer, director, and underwater cameraman
for 26 Gone Fishin’ episodes, and an Inside NZ documentary titled “Fiordland – Coastline of Adventure”.
In 1997 Graeme was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He also produced his 6th series of Gone Fishin’ and became TV3’s weatherman in Feb 1998. After 18 years on TV3 with his programme Gone Fishin’, Graeme has become one of NZ’s most popular personalities.
As well as living his passion Graeme is also a very successful author. Since his first book “New Zealand - A Wild Place to Play” published in 1993”, he went on to write an extensive range of fishing stories; several cookbooks; and more recently his 9th book encapsulating his own story in a biographical style.
His 2007 Antarctic Encounters documentary about the rare capture of the colossal squid inspired interest both here and from overseas.
In 2009 he was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen and awarded as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his services towards television.
Because of Graeme’s passion for life in the face of a debilitating illness that would daunt most people out of action, his story is one of inspiration and motivation. In his own way Graeme covers material on living every day as though it was your last. He speaks to many business groups on a positive level about attitude, coping with change, teamwork (essential for fishing) and the power of the human spirit, inspiring audiences wherever he goes.
To this day Graeme lives a very demanding and full life continually finding ways to keep enjoying all his interests, particularly in the outdoors. From the wheelchair, he continues to produce the Gone Fishin’ series, and is constantly exploring and creating new opportunities along the way. He has very strong views on life and you will be inspired by his personal philosophy.