Advocacy

Business resilience, parking strategies, and regional growth

In response to the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic, which continue to impact businesses, Business North Harbour (BNH) recently conducted a Business Resilience Survey.

WE ASKED FOR members’ feedback on the main issues they were facing and what support they required from both a financial and capability perspective to enable them to mitigate these issues as far as is practicable. The information received from hundreds of responses allowed me to continue to advocate directly to government ministers and local MPs, highlighting that 86 per cent of respondents noted major concerns regarding the effects of Covid-19 on their business.

I asked for Government action in several areas, including additional financial support, the use and availability of RATs testing, easing MIQ requirements, easing supply chain issues, and providing a reliable roadmap out of lockdowns and restrictions to enable businesses to make both short and long-term plans with some degree of certainty. The letters can all be viewed on the BNH website: businessnh.org.nz/ formal-submissions

We remain proactive in encouraging consumers to continue buying local and utilising locally available services. We understand that many members still face an uphill battle to regain financial sustainability as they try to manage rising costs, rising interest rates, supply chain issues, and labour shortages, as noted in my GM’s intro on page 3.

BNH made a formal submission to Auckland Council (AC) on the Annual Budget 2022-2023, about which I encouraged members to take the opportunity to have their say. I also submitted on AC’s proposed Removal of Car Parking Minimums, asking that each development be viewed case-bycase. Additionally, I attended an online advocacy session giving feedback to Finance Minister Grant Robertson on the proposed NZ Income Insurance Scheme.

Sarah de Zwart has continued to provide feedback to Auckland Transport (AT) on several of their proposals within our area. She asked for feedback from members on AT’s highly controversial Parking Strategy, which has been included in our most recent submission on this topic.

Following a series of meetings, the working group for the Activate North initiative received support for the project from four of our five ward councillors – a very positive outcome. The group will continue to raise awareness and gather support for the project as they look to work closely with central and local government and other key stakeholders to achieve positive growth and development north of the Harbour Bridge.

We remain proactive in encouraging consumers to continue buying local and utilising locally available services.