Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

The Mayoral Delegation to Yantai, China, Japan's Hitachi, and Ansan in Korea was the most productive to date – so I've been told. Local leaders from export, education, tourism, business and logistics sectors joined the trip to pitch Tauranga's successes and opportunities.

Highlights of the trip for me included:

• Learning how well-prepared Hitachi was when the tsunami struck in 2011, where there were no fatalities
• Being mobbed by swarms of Yantai locals during a supermarket display of products from Tauranga
• Seeing how well Tauranga is positioned to contribute to international marine science and the ‘blue economy'
• Finding out how hard it is for foreigners to do business in these competitive countries, without having a relationship with cities or having friends on the inside.

These three Asian cities are similar to Tauranga. They are close to their nations' largest city, they're reliant on their coastal sea port – and their economies are largely based on the manufacturing and primary sectors.

Tauranga will never match the scale of these cities. But these cities see benefits in Tauranga, because we are the home of the admired kiwifruit and avocado, we have a great lifestyle and environment, and we welcome cultural diversity.

Tauranga has enjoyed formal sister city relationships with Yantai and Hitachi for more than 26 years. But Korea's Ansan has been a pleasantly surprising inaugural trip for the delegation. Neither Ansan nor Tauranga want to be tied into a formal relationship at this stage. We will just enjoy being ‘friends with benefits' and allow the relationship to naturally flourish.

Straight back into council business

Last week was full of formal and informal meetings straight off the plane. Just like our indoor venues, the city's sports grounds and public reserves now have a policy to prioritise who can book them. It reflects the pressure our growing city is putting on our open spaces.

Local groups are lining up to present to the community development committee. It's a great way for different community groups to raise issues or opportunities to elected members. For example, Tauranga's stray cat problem was raised by a community trust. They identified their proposed solutions for council to consider through the planning process.

Please email councillor Steve Morris (steve.morris@tauranga.govt.nz) if your community group would like to present to the community development committee in the future.

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 027 6989 548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice