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Tairāwhiti Agribusiness Consultant Appointed To EIT Council

November 7, 2013
New EIT Council member Hilton Collier.

New EIT Council member Hilton Collier.

Newly appointed to the EIT Council, Gisborne-based agribusiness consultant Hilton Collier believes diversity in educational programmes enhances the interconnectedness of communities like Tairāwhiti.

Collier has a robust understanding of the tertiary educational needs of the people of the East Coast having served on the Tairāwhiti Polytechnic Council for 14 months before amalgamation with EIT early in 2011.

He is currently a member of EIT’s science advisory and animal ethics committees.

Having grown up on his family’s farm in Ruatoria, he gained a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Lincoln College in 1985.  In 1992, he became a registered farms management consultant and he is the current president of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management – an organisation that promotes excellence in rural professionals.

Professional interests encompass positions as managing director, director and trustee for a wide range of farming-related businesses and organisations.

Of Ngāti Porou descent, his passion is contributing to the transformation of Māori agribusinesses to achieve a level of performance that puts them in the top quartile for their farm types.

“Aside from our farming interest (700 hectares in Ruatoria), I have a general manager’s/farm supervision role on several large trust and incorporations in the northern Hawke’s Bay-East Coast region.”

Hobbies and interests include rugby, tramping, golf and fishing.

Collier fills a seat left vacant on the reconstituted EIT Council following the resignation of Tolaga Bay Area School principal Nori Parata late last year.

“EIT was sorry to lose Nori Parata as a member of Council,” says Council Chair David Pearson, “but we are very fortunate in having Hilton join Council given his extensive expertise in primary industries alongside his knowledge and commitment to the needs and communities within Tairāwhiti.”