MPs from a little known government committee were blown away by the scale of the kiwifruit industry and level of technology being used, says their host Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller.

Todd, a former Apata Group CEO before turning to politics, took members of the visiting caucus regional development committee through the industry from orchard to packhouse to the port.

Committee members; Brett Hudson, Jonathan Young, host and Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, and Joanne Hayes.

For the MPs from New Plymouth, Wellington and Christchurch, it was their first exposure to the kiwifruit industry, says Todd.

'They know what it is but, they have never seen the industry in action.

'I always find it fascinating because we are from here, we are like ‘kiwifruit ho-hum' we have seen it. We see it every day, many of us work or have worked on orchards in our youth.

'But for these guys they have never seen it before. They were blown away by the scale of the industry, the level of technology both on-orchard but particularly in the pack houses – and of course everyone gets blown away by the scale of our port, the largest in the country and just booming.

'It's a really good experience for them.”

The end to end view of the industry included Broughton Orchard tour, a discussion with Zespri representatives Apata coolstore, and a tour of the Port of Tauranga.

The regional development committee is one of a number of committees with the National Party caucus of 59, and is a popular one.

'Regardless of where you come from politically, you bring your own experience to the table. And invariably it's relatively unique to you and probably quite narrow and so the opportunity to go and visit other areas and get a sense of how other regions tick, is normally quite a popular thing to do,” says Todd.

Committee chair New Plymouth MP Jonathan Young says the committee members visit significant industries to gain understanding of the industry and challenges they face, particularly around government regulations, hearing if they are fit for purpose.

'As a Regional Development Caucus committee, we meet with different cabinet ministers on a regular basis and discuss our observations and views. This becomes part of the ongoing development of thinking that works to support industries and employment in the regions,” says Jonathan.

'It's a very positive and beneficial exercise where we've discussed policies on: immigration in relation to the regions; the link between social development and regional development; Ultrafast Broadband and the Rural Broadband initiative.

'We recently met with the Minister of Primary Industries and discussed a range of issues. This is part of the government listening to the regions and being responsive to needs of the regions to succeed and flourish.”

In addition to the kiwifruit industry tour, the committee members also visited Basestation and WNT Enterprises in Tauranga and saw what they are doing to encourage new business initiatives and how they work in relation to Callaghan Innovation – the government agency for business innovation.

'Our visit to Port of Tauranga was an important learning for us, to get a sense of the scale and future of the port as our strongest export port,” says Jonathan.