The Waitaki District Council economic development manager is moving on, after three years in the role.
On October 18, he will start a new job as director of the University of Canterbury’s Centre for Entrepreneurship.
The opportunities and possibilities of two big projects — the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark and the Oamaru Harbour Plan — were what attracted Mr Quinn to the economic development role in June 2018.
Waitaki was also a ‘‘place of difference’’ for him, after working in Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch.
He was proud of what he had achieved in his role, and believed in the potential of the district.
‘‘The landscape, the harbour, our built heritage in the Victorian precinct, it’s our stories that go with it. Increasingly, it’s the iwi story as well, which is largely untold here.
‘‘We got all these potentials, we just have to use them.
‘‘There’s no point sitting on this treasure trove of assets unless we use them.’’
Now there was a plan for the Oamaru harbour, he was looking forward to its activation.
‘‘I would love to come back here in 10 years’ time, and see that harbour as a place that people not only go for its wonderful vista and amenity value ... but where there are vibrant restaurants celebrating our food, looking back at the Victorian precinct, dare I say it, lit at night.’’
He supported the council’s review of economic development and tourism delivery and the development of the destination management plan, and he believed new council chief executive Alex Parmley would be ‘‘very good for the district’’.
Mr Quinn also chaired an Otago regional economic development group and was the deputy chairman of an Otago regional skills leadership group, and was manager of the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark.
He believed the geopark’s recent shift in focus from tourism to education, conservation and storytelling would help get more people on board with the concept.
He believed the geopark project had been the ‘‘single best platform to strengthen the council’s relationship with iwi’’ and had great potential.
‘‘It’s a simple project. It encapsulates much of what Waitaki is about — the land, the sea, how it’s shaped everyone’s lives here, past, present, and future.
Mr Quinn finishes in his role at the council on October 8. Because of the council’s planned economic development and tourism review, it is not advertising for his replacement at this stage.
