Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns says he is happy with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's majority stake in the company, despite a report that slams local authority ownership as a barrier to the growth of ports.
A report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research suggests ratepayer ownership of ports, such as the Port of Tauranga, stymies their ability to improve international competitiveness and export growth.

Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns says having a regional council as majority shareholder in the company is not a problem.

It also points out that local authority ownership is a barrier to rationalisation.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council owns 55 per cent of the Port of Tauranga and the remainder is largely owned by 'mum and dad' investors.
Mark says there are some recommendations in the report that he agrees with and some he does not.
He says the port's ownership model is working well and does not think it needs changing.
"The whole privatisation issue is quite a toxic one politically," says Mark.
"I think the model we operate under, being a listed company and partially privatised is a very good one.
"EBOP (BOPRC) is an excellent cornerstone shareholder and is really excellent in allowing the port to manage with complete commercial autonomy."
He says the report's general finding, that all New Zealand ports are underperforming financially is a valid conclusion.
Mark is against the report's recommendations of leasing out certain port services, such as stevedoring.
He says Australian ports use that model but points out that the Port of Tauranga is about 38 per cent more productive than the average Australian port.
"It's not a success over there generally. We are more productive in terms of productivity through the container terminal and our charges are considerably much lower to shipping lines."