Draft:Manu Caddie

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Manu Caddie is a New Zealand entrepreneur and activist. He was elected as a councillor to Gisborne District Council in 2010 and 2013, then resigned in April 2014. Caddie had a background in youth work and community organising before starting a business career in 2015.

Biography

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Caddie was born in 1972 and grew up in Tauranga[1] before studying and teaching design in Wellington and moved to Gisborne after marrying in 1998.[2]

Community work

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After moving to Gisborne in 1998, Caddie got involved with youth work and community organising,[3] including residents association Ka Pai Kaiti,[4] and co-founding Te Whare Whai Hua, a school for teenage parents and their children at Lytton High School.

Local government

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Elected representative

Caddie stood for election to Gisborne District Council in 2007 but missed out by 100 votes.[5] In 2010 he stood again and was elected as a City Ward councillor[6] and in 2013 was elected again. In April 2014 Caddie resigned from the role.[7]

Opposition to oil and gas exploration

Caddie's time as a councillor included criticism of on-shore and off-shore oil and gas exploration by Canadian and Brazilian companies.[8][9]

Forestry and sustainable land use advocacy

Nearly ten years after leaving Council, Caddie returned to involvement in local government issues through involvement with the formation of environmental advocacy group Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti that was established in the aftermath of ex-tropical Cyclone Hale. Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti organised a petition signed by nearly 10,000 people in two weeks[10] calling on Gisborne District Council to support an independent inquiry into land use in the region, strengthen land management rules, plan for a transition from pasture and pine plantations on highly erodible Tairāwhiti land, and for stronger action on consent compliance for the forestry industry in the form of Enforcement Orders.

Two weeks after the petition was presented to the Council, Cyclone Gabrielle struck New Zealand, causing billions of dollars worth of damage to public and private infrastructure[11] in the Gisborne district. In response to Gisborne District Council support for the Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti petition and a request to central government, a Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and Te Wairoa was announced on 23 February 2023 by Minister for Forestry Stuart Nash and Minister for the Environment David Parker.

Business career

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In 2015 Caddie moved with his family onto his wife's tribal lands at Makarika near Ruatoria, and Caddie joined Panapa Ehau in co-founding a number of social enterprises including Hikurangi Enterprises, Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership and Hikurangi Cannabis Company (which changed its name to Rua Bioscience in 2020).

Rua Bioscience

In May 2018, Hikurangi Cannabis Company raised $2m through a crowd-funding campaign that twice crashed the fund-raising platform PledgeMe[12] and it became the first company to be licensed in New Zealand to cultivate medicinal cannabis.[13] In 2019 the company was licensed to impost cannabis seeds and, after changing its name to Rua Bioscience and a pre-IPO raise of $20 million, in October 2020, the company (RUA:NZX) became the first company founded by a Māori community to list on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the stock increased 40 percent on the first day of trading.[14] Over the next few years of trading the value of RUA shares dropped well below the listing price.

Caddie stood down as CEO of Rua Bioscience ahead of the 2020 NZX listing and was replaced by ex-Roche pharmaceutical executive Rob Mitchell. [15] Caddie resigned from the company in May 2022.[16]

Kānuka Research

Caddie has been involved in a number of research projects and commercial ventures involving kānuka oil, Māori landowners and New Zealand research institutions and companies.[17] A joint venture involving Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership, one of the original companies co-founded by Caddie, formulated a cream using kānuka oil to treat eczema and sponsored a successful clinical trial that was subsequently published[18] in the peer-reviewed medical journal eClinicalMedicine by The Lancet. The eczema product is now being licensed internationally.[19][20]

Psychedelics research

Caddie is a co-founder of Tū Wairua, a collaboration between Rangiwaho Marae, medical researchers at the University of Auckland, Mātai Medical Research Centre, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Tūranga Health, NZ Drug Foundation, community mental health workers, Rua Bioscience. The initiative is undertaking clinical trials using psilocybin to treat methamphetamine addiction.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ Husband, Dale (15 August 2020). "Manu Caddie: Focusing on the good from cannabis". E-Tangata / Mana Trust.
  2. ^ Mikaere, Buddy (2020). "Speakers: Manu Caddie". Whakapiki i te Putea: Raising Maori Investment Capability, Mana Taiao Events. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ^ Wanwimolruk, Michelle (29 November 2015). "Aotearoa New Zealand's 'Bright Spots': Tiakina ō Tātou Tamariki - Titirangi, Gisborne" (PDF). Inspiring Communities.
  4. ^ Nga Kohinga o Ngati Porou (February 2009). "Waitangi Day Kaiti Style" (PDF). Te Runanga o Ngati Porou.
  5. ^ "Elections 2007 Final Result". Gisborne District Council. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007.
  6. ^ Gisborne District Council. Elections 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2025
  7. ^ Campbell, Zita (2 January 2025). "'I'm satisfied': Gisborne deputy mayor won't seek re-election". 1News.
  8. ^ Reid, Neil (21 January 2012). "Oil company to woo East Coast council staff". Stuff. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  9. ^ Rangitauira, Rosemary (7 March 2013). "Te Manu Korihi News for 7 March 2013". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. ^ Campbell, Zita (24 August 2024). "Environmentalists celebrate court victory but question insurance cover for fines". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. ^ Green, Kate (14 February 2024). "Cyclone Gabrielle's impact on Gisborne: 'We lost everything that could break'". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  12. ^ Reidy, Madison (10 May 2018). "Medicinal cannabis company's investment round crashes crowdfunding site". Stuff. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  13. ^ Madden-Smith, Zoe (26 August 2018). "Māori Company Granted New Zealand's First Medicinal Cannabis Licence". Vice. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  14. ^ Hatton, Emma (22 October 2020). "RNZ Midday Business News for 22 October 2020". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Former Roche executive takes helm of New Zealand cannabis firm Rua Bioscience". MJBizDaily. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. ^ Muir, Jeremy (17 March 2023). "Outgoing Caddie proud of Rua's achievements". The Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. ^ Mayron, Sapeer (19 July 2025). "How kānuka leaves could help thousands of organ transplant patients". The Post.
  18. ^ Short, Nick (September 2022). "Efficacy of a 3% Kānuka oil cream for the treatment of moderate-to-severe eczema: A single blind randomised vehicle-controlled trial". eClinicalMedicine. 51 101561. The Lancet. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101561. PMC 9294249. PMID 35865740.
  19. ^ Nati Link, Ngahuru (Autumn 2025). "Kanuka Industry Gains Momentum in Tairawhiti". Te Runanganui o Ngāti Porou. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  20. ^ Ryan, Kathryn (11 April 2025). "Plans for a kanuka based, Maori-led industry". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  21. ^ Paewai, Pokere (18 January 2025). "Marae-based study into psychoactive mushroom for treating methamphetamine addiction completes first phase of trials". Radio NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  22. ^ Helfend, Molly (4 July 2025). "How Māori People Are Reclaiming Psychedelic Mushroom Medicine". Atmos: Climate & Culture. Retrieved 29 August 2025.