Northland Chamber of Commerce
Local Government Policy Document
With local government elections approaching in October this year, The Chamber of Commerce has issued this document containing policies on a range of local government areas which we consider promote the interests of Northlanders and New Zealand as a whole.
As the elections approach, The Northland Chamber of Commerce intends to scrutinise candidate’s policies and publicise findings.
To facilitate this, in addition to this document, we have produced a questionnaire for mayoral and councillor candidates to establish their views on key issues impacting on the business environment and a summary table template of candidates’ policies so that comparisons can be made and assessed.
Local Government Policy
This Policy Document touches on each of the following:
1. The role of local government
2. Council spending and rates
3. Rating differentials
4. Itemised rates assessments/benchmarking
5. Fees and Charges
6. Infrastructure
7. Debt
8. Asset ownership and investments
9. Local government democracy/Consultation
10. Economic development
11. Resource Management Act
12. Cooperation and amalgamation
1. The role of local government
Local government is a vitally important institution. It has an important role in improving the overall living standards of New Zealanders. It is important however that local government remains efficient in undertaking its role and does not stray too far from its core business.
The core business of local authorities is to provide local public goods and services that cannot be better provided by the private sector or central government.
Circumstances where local government is better able to provide than central government are where local knowledge is required or the costs and benefits of government action accrue locally.
Core business comprises activities related to emergency management; roading and related activities; storm water and wastewater systems; parks and reserves; and public health and safety such as the control of contagious diseases and food safety.
The Northland Chamber also believes that Local Government is best positioned to undertake, plan, govern and implement regional Economic Development efforts in all decision making activities.
2. Council Spending and Rates
Local government is expanding both in terms of areas of activity and in volume of spending. Nationwide, rates per head of population have grown almost 30% in the last 20 years when adjusted for Inflation. This amounts to a per capita increase of around 1.3% per annum above the inflation rate on average.
The chart below shows that local authority rate increases have far outstripped growth in the consumer price index and the “central and local govt charges” sub-component of the CPI. In the year to June 2007, local authority rates increased 7.4% compared with 2.0% overall.
There is a misconception amongst a large part of the community that recent rate rises have been a consequence of the buoyant property market. It is true that when property values rise relative to the average those property owners face higher than average rate rises but it is not property values which determine rates and overall level of funding generally, it is the cost of council activities.
Quite simply, the main reason for the growth in the aggregate rate take over the recent period, has been the increasing cost of council activities as local government has expanded and efficiencies have not been great enough to compensate. Another driver has been the funding of increasing depreciation as assets are revalued.
In general, the NZ Chambers of Commerce believes that councils are expanding their sphere of activity too widely. Overall councils do a good job and have made an important contribution to the development and living standards of local communities. However, this is coming at an ever increasing cost to rate-payers. Because councils have a monopoly in the provision of many of their services and because much of their income is guaranteed by legislation, many activities could potentially be inefficiently delivered and/or overpriced.
Local government is not well placed to provide many of the non-core services it is increasingly providing. Overall local government politicians need to be focused on holding costs. One important way to do this is to be sure that new activities, particularly those that involve funding from rates or taxes are subject to close scrutiny.
3. Rating policies must not penalise business / Rating Differentials
Too often councils endeavour to shift the burden of rates and the costs of services onto minority groups such as business. The business sector, for example, pays about half of the country’s total rates bill but consumes a relatively small proportion of council services. Businesses are often charged more under the dubious grounds that they benefit more from council services but this is seldom substantiated.
It is not in councils’ interests to shift the rates burden onto business. Businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They provide employment, pay wages, produce goods and services, and determine the depth of the rating base. If businesses are ill-treated by council rating policies (for example rating differentials) they either relocate, closedown or contract -or, in some rare cases where they can, simply pass the cost onto customers. If businesses flourish cities and districts prosper; if business is in recession the standard of living of the people suffers.
When councils distribute their funding burden across ratepayers two alternative principles are available to dictate how this best be done: the “benefits principle” - payment in proportion of consumption of services received; and “ability to pay” -payment according to how much the ratepayer can afford.
The Northland Chamber believes that funding of local government activities needs to better reflect the benefits principle than is currently the case. That is, ratepayers should pay for the services they benefit from. Ability to pay should always be taken into account but as a rule income distribution is the responsibility of central government not local government. Unlike central government (with the information it has through income tax), local authorities have no information on the incomes of their residents so any decisions they make to assist people in this regard have the potential to be flawed.
Not only does putting the impost unduly on business often disregard where the benefit lies, it does not reflect ability to pay. For example, the rateable value of commercial and industrial property represents only 22% of Wellington city's total rateable value but the city collects 50% of its total rate from the commercial and industrial sector.
The most common way of shifting the rates burden on to business is by way of differential rates. These are commonly applied to rateable property used by business ratepayers so that they pay more than residential ratepayers per dollar of rateable land. Currently businesses pay 4.2 times as much as residential ratepayers in Wellington City; 3.1 times as much in Dunedin City; 2.8 times in Christchurch City 2.1 times in Auckland City and a staggering 5.0 times in Whangarei.
The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses. The higher rates are seldom justified.
Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
4. Itemised Rates Assessments/Benchmarking
The Northland Chamber supports the use of itemised rates assessments. This practice helps ratepayers see exactly how much they are paying for certain council activities. It enhances transparency, enables improved scrutiny by ratepayers and facilitates benchmarking comparisons across councils. Compliance with the legislative requirement, and the degree that itemisation is currently occurring, varies across the country but overall the practice of providing itemised rates assessments has not been good.
Increased use of benchmarking across councils would enable ratepayers to better assess council performance and allow best practices to come to the fore. Consistent reporting standards and procedures across councils are very important for this.
5. Fees and Charges
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
6. Infrastructure
New Zealand and Northland has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Local authorities have major infrastructure responsibilities and much can be done to improve the way they purchase and develop infrastructure.
The use of public private partnerships (PPPs) can help accelerate the process and provide improved access to capital and expertise. It can also ensure that whole-of-life costs are considered upfront and the right balance between initial capital cost and ongoing maintenance is achieved (i.e. to avoid both gold-plating and cost cutting in the initial purchase).
PPPs can have advantages even where the private partner doesn’t take the risk on earning income from users. Local authority contracts that pay the private partner for availability at an agreed standard have resulted in better use of resources over the lifetime of the asset.
Introducing PPPs is not a panacea. However, local authority politicians should actively consider PPPs as part of their approach to building, operating and maintaining its infrastructure.
7. Debt
Councils generally are not highly geared and not making full use of debt. In aggregate, across New Zealand, ratepayers’ equity amounts to 94% of total assets. Almost 70% of local authorities do not come with 20% of their self-imposed debt limits at any time between now and 2012/13.
During the next 10 years, councils in aggregate expect to spend almost $31 billion on capital expenditure, 2.4 times as much as they spent in 10 years to 2004/05. Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing to fund these projects to ease the rates burden on today’s ratepayers.
The main argument for increased debt relates to inter-generational equity. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
An appropriate level of debt would encourage more scrutiny from lenders. It would also restrict the scope of councils to undertake large, low-priority projects without going to ratepayers.
8. Asset Ownership / Investments
We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of trading activities such as ports, forestry, farming operations, and property investment. Such investments are not risk free and while they may be a good revenue source in the current environment, ongoing profitability is not guaranteed.
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that in general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector. Many councils hold such assets while at the same time their infrastructure (such as stormwater, sewerage and roading assets) is in a poor state of repair.
We believe that there is a case for councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
Where councils do have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
9. Local Government Democracy/Consultation
Relative to national politics, there is apathy towards local government in this country as evidenced by low voter turnouts and poor participation in the consultative process. Councils are also subject to much less scrutiny by the media and independent agencies than central government. This lack of interest in local government politics goes a long way to explaining the creeping growth of local authority activities and expenditure and the consequential increase in the rating burden.
Local authorities are required by the Local Government Act 2002 to consult with their communities about their Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs), the financial policies that underpin them, the levels of service being delivered, and the rates that will be required.
The local government sector places considerable weight on this consultative process to justify its expenditure and rating policies. However much of the consultation is not meaningful. Busy councillors have a lot of submissions to read and listen to and in many hearings submitters are given limited time to make their points.
Consequently, we consider additional mechanisms are necessary to improve accountability of local government. Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them.
10. Economic Development
The Local Government Act (2002) requires local government to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities. Since 2002, “Economic Development” has been a growing role for local government.
Care needs to be taken in identifying where local government can make a difference to the local economy.
The biggest criticisms of Economic Development activities are that they:
• crowd out private sector initiatives;
• get involved in promoting activities that would happen anyway; or
• simply end up spending to attract businesses from other locations.
There are also issues around the cost effectiveness of Economic Development programs and whether targeted funding ends up where it is meant to.
The Controller and Auditor General has set out a number of ways to reduce the risk Economic Development activity is unsuccessful. These are to:
• make sure there is a strategy for economic development, and develop measures to judge it by;
• make sure the local authority has the skills necessary to implement the strategy (and consider combining with others as a way of achieving this);
• give preference to low cost, low risk activities,
• facilitating other agencies to undertake the activities, rather than the local authority directly running them; and
• have an exit strategy for programmes in case they don’t work .
Add to this the idea that local authorities should focus on the big picture, so they and local government politicians don’t get captured by pork barrel politics.
Local government politicians must understand where local authorities can facilitate economic growth, understand the limits of that role, and avoid getting sucked into the detail of specific interests.
Perhaps the best thing councils can do to contribute to local economic development is to create an environment which attracts people and is conducive to business. This includes running an efficient operation where bureaucracy is limited and rates are constrained and not distributed disproportionately on businesses vis a vis residential properties.
11. The Resource Management Act
The Resource Management Act (RMA) sets out the process local authorities have to follow to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
Even without changes to the RMA, local government politicians can improve the implementation of the Act.
Local authorities need to decide if they should regulate to promote sustainable resource management, or whether there are other more appropriate responses (including doing nothing). There are a lot of pressures on local authorities to regulate. This pressure arises even when there are better alternative methods for achieving objectives, or when any intervention is likely to make matters worse off.
The RMA anticipated these problems and sets down steps local authorities must follow before introducing regulations. In essence they must:
• address the extent to which regulation is needed at all, explore other possible means apart from regulation, and provide reasons for and against the proposed method and the principal alternative means;
• evaluate the benefits and costs of the proposed option and of the principal alternative means; and
• decide whether the proposed means is necessary to achieve the purpose of the RMA and is the most appropriate in terms of effectiveness and efficiency .
Local authorities are over-using regulation to promote sustainable resource management. This is having an adverse impact both on sustainability (because resource use is overly encouraged by regulation) and on growth (because of the inflexibility of regulation).
Local government politicians can help overcome this problem by insisting on rigorous analysis before accepting that regulation is the only option. If staff of the local authority lack the capability to do the required scientific and economic analysis then the councils should seek external advice (while developing their own capability).
Local government can further improve the outcome of the RMA by ensuring that the pursuit of economic growth is explicitly incorporated into local policies and plans prepared under the Act.
12. Cooperation and Amalgamation
A number of local authorities have moved in the direction of cooperating to provide services across their combined areas. This should be encouraged, not just for the potential efficiencies involved, but also in the case of regulatory activities, because users find it easier to meet a single standard. A more collaborative approach particularly benefits smaller local authorities where they often do not have the necessary expertise to deliver on legislative requirements
This raises the question of combining local authorities. There are many situations where the benefits of combining local authorities appear to outweigh the costs. No local government politicians should take discussion and analysis of this off the agenda.
It doesn’t always follow that amalgamation will lead to a better outcome. The risk is that the lowest common denominator will become the norm for the amalgamated authority. However, if overall efficiencies can be achieved from amalgamations, then they should be supported
Summary
Financial management
• Financial management should be transparent.
• Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them;
• The quality of information about council activities (core, trading and investments) should be improved to aid benchmarking;
• Formal processes for appointing boards to trading enterprises should always be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed;
• Rates should be used sensibly. A target should be set of not increasing income from rates more than the combined rate of inflation and population growth per year. New functions should only be taken on when the cost benefit is clear;
Differential/User Charges
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that ratepayers should pay for the services they use but too often councils shift the rates burden on to business. The most common way is by differential rates (i.e. where a greater rate is applied per dollar of rateable land used by business than residential land.)
• The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses.
• Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
Infrastructure and Debt
• New Zealand has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Economic growth is dependent on sound infrastructure and infrastructure should anticipate growth
• Charging and other market approaches should be sympathetically assessed as an option when Councils wish to fund new infrastructure;
• Private partnerships should always be considered when Councils are looking at building, operating or maintaining infrastructure. Independent advice should be sought when evaluating this option;
• Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing. The main argument for increased debt for infrastructure development relates to inter-generational equity and the future benefits of that development. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
Asset Ownership and Investments
• We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of activities such as ports, forestry, farming, and property investment. In general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector.
• We believe that there is a case for many councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
• Where councils have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
Economic development
• Economic development activities undertaken by local authorities should be realistic in their aims, carried out within a clear strategy, be carefully evaluated, and focus on facilitation rather than direct provision.
The RMA
• The RMA should be used to enable growth, not stifle it;
• Resource management rules should be flexible and encourage innovation, not lock in the status quo. Regulation should be the option of last resort;
• Independent scientific and economic advice should be taken to help make sure Councils are using the RMA to encourage innovation and growth;
Cooperation and Amalgamation
• Combining service delivery with neighbouring authorities should always be considered as an option as part of the annual planning cycle;
• Amalgamation with neighbouring authorities, or the creation of more unitary authorities should be pursued where efficiencies are to be found;
27 August 2007
Northland Chamber of Commerce
Local Government Policy Document
With local government elections approaching in October this year, The Chamber of Commerce has issued this document containing policies on a range of local government areas which we consider promote the interests of Northlanders and New Zealand as a whole.
As the elections approach, The Northland Chamber of Commerce intends to scrutinise candidate’s policies and publicise findings.
To facilitate this, in addition to this document, we have produced a questionnaire for mayoral and councillor candidates to establish their views on key issues impacting on the business environment and a summary table template of candidates’ policies so that comparisons can be made and assessed.
Local Government Policy
This Policy Document touches on each of the following:
1. The role of local government
2. Council spending and rates
3. Rating differentials
4. Itemised rates assessments/benchmarking
5. Fees and Charges
6. Infrastructure
7. Debt
8. Asset ownership and investments
9. Local government democracy/Consultation
10. Economic development
11. Resource Management Act
12. Cooperation and amalgamation
1. The role of local government
Local government is a vitally important institution. It has an important role in improving the overall living standards of New Zealanders. It is important however that local government remains efficient in undertaking its role and does not stray too far from its core business.
The core business of local authorities is to provide local public goods and services that cannot be better provided by the private sector or central government.
Circumstances where local government is better able to provide than central government are where local knowledge is required or the costs and benefits of government action accrue locally.
Core business comprises activities related to emergency management; roading and related activities; storm water and wastewater systems; parks and reserves; and public health and safety such as the control of contagious diseases and food safety.
The Northland Chamber also believes that Local Government is best positioned to undertake, plan, govern and implement regional Economic Development efforts in all decision making activities.
2. Council Spending and Rates
Local government is expanding both in terms of areas of activity and in volume of spending. Nationwide, rates per head of population have grown almost 30% in the last 20 years when adjusted for Inflation. This amounts to a per capita increase of around 1.3% per annum above the inflation rate on average.
The chart below shows that local authority rate increases have far outstripped growth in the consumer price index and the “central and local govt charges” sub-component of the CPI. In the year to June 2007, local authority rates increased 7.4% compared with 2.0% overall.
There is a misconception amongst a large part of the community that recent rate rises have been a consequence of the buoyant property market. It is true that when property values rise relative to the average those property owners face higher than average rate rises but it is not property values which determine rates and overall level of funding generally, it is the cost of council activities.
Quite simply, the main reason for the growth in the aggregate rate take over the recent period, has been the increasing cost of council activities as local government has expanded and efficiencies have not been great enough to compensate. Another driver has been the funding of increasing depreciation as assets are revalued.
In general, the NZ Chambers of Commerce believes that councils are expanding their sphere of activity too widely. Overall councils do a good job and have made an important contribution to the development and living standards of local communities. However, this is coming at an ever increasing cost to rate-payers. Because councils have a monopoly in the provision of many of their services and because much of their income is guaranteed by legislation, many activities could potentially be inefficiently delivered and/or overpriced.
Local government is not well placed to provide many of the non-core services it is increasingly providing. Overall local government politicians need to be focused on holding costs. One important way to do this is to be sure that new activities, particularly those that involve funding from rates or taxes are subject to close scrutiny.
3. Rating policies must not penalise business / Rating Differentials
Too often councils endeavour to shift the burden of rates and the costs of services onto minority groups such as business. The business sector, for example, pays about half of the country’s total rates bill but consumes a relatively small proportion of council services. Businesses are often charged more under the dubious grounds that they benefit more from council services but this is seldom substantiated.
It is not in councils’ interests to shift the rates burden onto business. Businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They provide employment, pay wages, produce goods and services, and determine the depth of the rating base. If businesses are ill-treated by council rating policies (for example rating differentials) they either relocate, closedown or contract -or, in some rare cases where they can, simply pass the cost onto customers. If businesses flourish cities and districts prosper; if business is in recession the standard of living of the people suffers.
When councils distribute their funding burden across ratepayers two alternative principles are available to dictate how this best be done: the “benefits principle” - payment in proportion of consumption of services received; and “ability to pay” -payment according to how much the ratepayer can afford.
The Northland Chamber believes that funding of local government activities needs to better reflect the benefits principle than is currently the case. That is, ratepayers should pay for the services they benefit from. Ability to pay should always be taken into account but as a rule income distribution is the responsibility of central government not local government. Unlike central government (with the information it has through income tax), local authorities have no information on the incomes of their residents so any decisions they make to assist people in this regard have the potential to be flawed.
Not only does putting the impost unduly on business often disregard where the benefit lies, it does not reflect ability to pay. For example, the rateable value of commercial and industrial property represents only 22% of Wellington city's total rateable value but the city collects 50% of its total rate from the commercial and industrial sector.
The most common way of shifting the rates burden on to business is by way of differential rates. These are commonly applied to rateable property used by business ratepayers so that they pay more than residential ratepayers per dollar of rateable land. Currently businesses pay 4.2 times as much as residential ratepayers in Wellington City; 3.1 times as much in Dunedin City; 2.8 times in Christchurch City 2.1 times in Auckland City and a staggering 5.0 times in Whangarei.
The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses. The higher rates are seldom justified.
Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
4. Itemised Rates Assessments/Benchmarking
The Northland Chamber supports the use of itemised rates assessments. This practice helps ratepayers see exactly how much they are paying for certain council activities. It enhances transparency, enables improved scrutiny by ratepayers and facilitates benchmarking comparisons across councils. Compliance with the legislative requirement, and the degree that itemisation is currently occurring, varies across the country but overall the practice of providing itemised rates assessments has not been good.
Increased use of benchmarking across councils would enable ratepayers to better assess council performance and allow best practices to come to the fore. Consistent reporting standards and procedures across councils are very important for this.
5. Fees and Charges
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
6. Infrastructure
New Zealand and Northland has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Local authorities have major infrastructure responsibilities and much can be done to improve the way they purchase and develop infrastructure.
The use of public private partnerships (PPPs) can help accelerate the process and provide improved access to capital and expertise. It can also ensure that whole-of-life costs are considered upfront and the right balance between initial capital cost and ongoing maintenance is achieved (i.e. to avoid both gold-plating and cost cutting in the initial purchase).
PPPs can have advantages even where the private partner doesn’t take the risk on earning income from users. Local authority contracts that pay the private partner for availability at an agreed standard have resulted in better use of resources over the lifetime of the asset.
Introducing PPPs is not a panacea. However, local authority politicians should actively consider PPPs as part of their approach to building, operating and maintaining its infrastructure.
7. Debt
Councils generally are not highly geared and not making full use of debt. In aggregate, across New Zealand, ratepayers’ equity amounts to 94% of total assets. Almost 70% of local authorities do not come with 20% of their self-imposed debt limits at any time between now and 2012/13.
During the next 10 years, councils in aggregate expect to spend almost $31 billion on capital expenditure, 2.4 times as much as they spent in 10 years to 2004/05. Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing to fund these projects to ease the rates burden on today’s ratepayers.
The main argument for increased debt relates to inter-generational equity. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
An appropriate level of debt would encourage more scrutiny from lenders. It would also restrict the scope of councils to undertake large, low-priority projects without going to ratepayers.
8. Asset Ownership / Investments
We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of trading activities such as ports, forestry, farming operations, and property investment. Such investments are not risk free and while they may be a good revenue source in the current environment, ongoing profitability is not guaranteed.
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that in general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector. Many councils hold such assets while at the same time their infrastructure (such as stormwater, sewerage and roading assets) is in a poor state of repair.
We believe that there is a case for councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
Where councils do have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
9. Local Government Democracy/Consultation
Relative to national politics, there is apathy towards local government in this country as evidenced by low voter turnouts and poor participation in the consultative process. Councils are also subject to much less scrutiny by the media and independent agencies than central government. This lack of interest in local government politics goes a long way to explaining the creeping growth of local authority activities and expenditure and the consequential increase in the rating burden.
Local authorities are required by the Local Government Act 2002 to consult with their communities about their Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs), the financial policies that underpin them, the levels of service being delivered, and the rates that will be required.
The local government sector places considerable weight on this consultative process to justify its expenditure and rating policies. However much of the consultation is not meaningful. Busy councillors have a lot of submissions to read and listen to and in many hearings submitters are given limited time to make their points.
Consequently, we consider additional mechanisms are necessary to improve accountability of local government. Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them.
10. Economic Development
The Local Government Act (2002) requires local government to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities. Since 2002, “Economic Development” has been a growing role for local government.
Care needs to be taken in identifying where local government can make a difference to the local economy.
The biggest criticisms of Economic Development activities are that they:
• crowd out private sector initiatives;
• get involved in promoting activities that would happen anyway; or
• simply end up spending to attract businesses from other locations.
There are also issues around the cost effectiveness of Economic Development programs and whether targeted funding ends up where it is meant to.
The Controller and Auditor General has set out a number of ways to reduce the risk Economic Development activity is unsuccessful. These are to:
• make sure there is a strategy for economic development, and develop measures to judge it by;
• make sure the local authority has the skills necessary to implement the strategy (and consider combining with others as a way of achieving this);
• give preference to low cost, low risk activities,
• facilitating other agencies to undertake the activities, rather than the local authority directly running them; and
• have an exit strategy for programmes in case they don’t work .
Add to this the idea that local authorities should focus on the big picture, so they and local government politicians don’t get captured by pork barrel politics.
Local government politicians must understand where local authorities can facilitate economic growth, understand the limits of that role, and avoid getting sucked into the detail of specific interests.
Perhaps the best thing councils can do to contribute to local economic development is to create an environment which attracts people and is conducive to business. This includes running an efficient operation where bureaucracy is limited and rates are constrained and not distributed disproportionately on businesses vis a vis residential properties.
11. The Resource Management Act
The Resource Management Act (RMA) sets out the process local authorities have to follow to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
Even without changes to the RMA, local government politicians can improve the implementation of the Act.
Local authorities need to decide if they should regulate to promote sustainable resource management, or whether there are other more appropriate responses (including doing nothing). There are a lot of pressures on local authorities to regulate. This pressure arises even when there are better alternative methods for achieving objectives, or when any intervention is likely to make matters worse off.
The RMA anticipated these problems and sets down steps local authorities must follow before introducing regulations. In essence they must:
• address the extent to which regulation is needed at all, explore other possible means apart from regulation, and provide reasons for and against the proposed method and the principal alternative means;
• evaluate the benefits and costs of the proposed option and of the principal alternative means; and
• decide whether the proposed means is necessary to achieve the purpose of the RMA and is the most appropriate in terms of effectiveness and efficiency .
Local authorities are over-using regulation to promote sustainable resource management. This is having an adverse impact both on sustainability (because resource use is overly encouraged by regulation) and on growth (because of the inflexibility of regulation).
Local government politicians can help overcome this problem by insisting on rigorous analysis before accepting that regulation is the only option. If staff of the local authority lack the capability to do the required scientific and economic analysis then the councils should seek external advice (while developing their own capability).
Local government can further improve the outcome of the RMA by ensuring that the pursuit of economic growth is explicitly incorporated into local policies and plans prepared under the Act.
12. Cooperation and Amalgamation
A number of local authorities have moved in the direction of cooperating to provide services across their combined areas. This should be encouraged, not just for the potential efficiencies involved, but also in the case of regulatory activities, because users find it easier to meet a single standard. A more collaborative approach particularly benefits smaller local authorities where they often do not have the necessary expertise to deliver on legislative requirements
This raises the question of combining local authorities. There are many situations where the benefits of combining local authorities appear to outweigh the costs. No local government politicians should take discussion and analysis of this off the agenda.
It doesn’t always follow that amalgamation will lead to a better outcome. The risk is that the lowest common denominator will become the norm for the amalgamated authority. However, if overall efficiencies can be achieved from amalgamations, then they should be supported
Summary
Financial management
• Financial management should be transparent.
• Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them;
• The quality of information about council activities (core, trading and investments) should be improved to aid benchmarking;
• Formal processes for appointing boards to trading enterprises should always be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed;
• Rates should be used sensibly. A target should be set of not increasing income from rates more than the combined rate of inflation and population growth per year. New functions should only be taken on when the cost benefit is clear;
Differential/User Charges
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that ratepayers should pay for the services they use but too often councils shift the rates burden on to business. The most common way is by differential rates (i.e. where a greater rate is applied per dollar of rateable land used by business than residential land.)
• The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses.
• Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
Infrastructure and Debt
• New Zealand has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Economic growth is dependent on sound infrastructure and infrastructure should anticipate growth
• Charging and other market approaches should be sympathetically assessed as an option when Councils wish to fund new infrastructure;
• Private partnerships should always be considered when Councils are looking at building, operating or maintaining infrastructure. Independent advice should be sought when evaluating this option;
• Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing. The main argument for increased debt for infrastructure development relates to inter-generational equity and the future benefits of that development. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
Asset Ownership and Investments
• We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of activities such as ports, forestry, farming, and property investment. In general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector.
• We believe that there is a case for many councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
• Where councils have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
Economic development
• Economic development activities undertaken by local authorities should be realistic in their aims, carried out within a clear strategy, be carefully evaluated, and focus on facilitation rather than direct provision.
The RMA
• The RMA should be used to enable growth, not stifle it;
• Resource management rules should be flexible and encourage innovation, not lock in the status quo. Regulation should be the option of last resort;
• Independent scientific and economic advice should be taken to help make sure Councils are using the RMA to encourage innovation and growth;
Cooperation and Amalgamation
• Combining service delivery with neighbouring authorities should always be considered as an option as part of the annual planning cycle;
• Amalgamation with neighbouring authorities, or the creation of more unitary authorities should be pursued where efficiencies are to be found;
Local Government Policy Document
With local government elections approaching in October this year, The Chamber of Commerce has issued this document containing policies on a range of local government areas which we consider promote the interests of Northlanders and New Zealand as a whole.
As the elections approach, The Northland Chamber of Commerce intends to scrutinise candidate’s policies and publicise findings.
To facilitate this, in addition to this document, we have produced a questionnaire for mayoral and councillor candidates to establish their views on key issues impacting on the business environment and a summary table template of candidates’ policies so that comparisons can be made and assessed.
Local Government Policy
This Policy Document touches on each of the following:
1. The role of local government
2. Council spending and rates
3. Rating differentials
4. Itemised rates assessments/benchmarking
5. Fees and Charges
6. Infrastructure
7. Debt
8. Asset ownership and investments
9. Local government democracy/Consultation
10. Economic development
11. Resource Management Act
12. Cooperation and amalgamation
1. The role of local government
Local government is a vitally important institution. It has an important role in improving the overall living standards of New Zealanders. It is important however that local government remains efficient in undertaking its role and does not stray too far from its core business.
The core business of local authorities is to provide local public goods and services that cannot be better provided by the private sector or central government.
Circumstances where local government is better able to provide than central government are where local knowledge is required or the costs and benefits of government action accrue locally.
Core business comprises activities related to emergency management; roading and related activities; storm water and wastewater systems; parks and reserves; and public health and safety such as the control of contagious diseases and food safety.
The Northland Chamber also believes that Local Government is best positioned to undertake, plan, govern and implement regional Economic Development efforts in all decision making activities.
2. Council Spending and Rates
Local government is expanding both in terms of areas of activity and in volume of spending. Nationwide, rates per head of population have grown almost 30% in the last 20 years when adjusted for Inflation. This amounts to a per capita increase of around 1.3% per annum above the inflation rate on average.
The chart below shows that local authority rate increases have far outstripped growth in the consumer price index and the “central and local govt charges” sub-component of the CPI. In the year to June 2007, local authority rates increased 7.4% compared with 2.0% overall.
There is a misconception amongst a large part of the community that recent rate rises have been a consequence of the buoyant property market. It is true that when property values rise relative to the average those property owners face higher than average rate rises but it is not property values which determine rates and overall level of funding generally, it is the cost of council activities.
Quite simply, the main reason for the growth in the aggregate rate take over the recent period, has been the increasing cost of council activities as local government has expanded and efficiencies have not been great enough to compensate. Another driver has been the funding of increasing depreciation as assets are revalued.
In general, the NZ Chambers of Commerce believes that councils are expanding their sphere of activity too widely. Overall councils do a good job and have made an important contribution to the development and living standards of local communities. However, this is coming at an ever increasing cost to rate-payers. Because councils have a monopoly in the provision of many of their services and because much of their income is guaranteed by legislation, many activities could potentially be inefficiently delivered and/or overpriced.
Local government is not well placed to provide many of the non-core services it is increasingly providing. Overall local government politicians need to be focused on holding costs. One important way to do this is to be sure that new activities, particularly those that involve funding from rates or taxes are subject to close scrutiny.
3. Rating policies must not penalise business / Rating Differentials
Too often councils endeavour to shift the burden of rates and the costs of services onto minority groups such as business. The business sector, for example, pays about half of the country’s total rates bill but consumes a relatively small proportion of council services. Businesses are often charged more under the dubious grounds that they benefit more from council services but this is seldom substantiated.
It is not in councils’ interests to shift the rates burden onto business. Businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They provide employment, pay wages, produce goods and services, and determine the depth of the rating base. If businesses are ill-treated by council rating policies (for example rating differentials) they either relocate, closedown or contract -or, in some rare cases where they can, simply pass the cost onto customers. If businesses flourish cities and districts prosper; if business is in recession the standard of living of the people suffers.
When councils distribute their funding burden across ratepayers two alternative principles are available to dictate how this best be done: the “benefits principle” - payment in proportion of consumption of services received; and “ability to pay” -payment according to how much the ratepayer can afford.
The Northland Chamber believes that funding of local government activities needs to better reflect the benefits principle than is currently the case. That is, ratepayers should pay for the services they benefit from. Ability to pay should always be taken into account but as a rule income distribution is the responsibility of central government not local government. Unlike central government (with the information it has through income tax), local authorities have no information on the incomes of their residents so any decisions they make to assist people in this regard have the potential to be flawed.
Not only does putting the impost unduly on business often disregard where the benefit lies, it does not reflect ability to pay. For example, the rateable value of commercial and industrial property represents only 22% of Wellington city's total rateable value but the city collects 50% of its total rate from the commercial and industrial sector.
The most common way of shifting the rates burden on to business is by way of differential rates. These are commonly applied to rateable property used by business ratepayers so that they pay more than residential ratepayers per dollar of rateable land. Currently businesses pay 4.2 times as much as residential ratepayers in Wellington City; 3.1 times as much in Dunedin City; 2.8 times in Christchurch City 2.1 times in Auckland City and a staggering 5.0 times in Whangarei.
The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses. The higher rates are seldom justified.
Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
4. Itemised Rates Assessments/Benchmarking
The Northland Chamber supports the use of itemised rates assessments. This practice helps ratepayers see exactly how much they are paying for certain council activities. It enhances transparency, enables improved scrutiny by ratepayers and facilitates benchmarking comparisons across councils. Compliance with the legislative requirement, and the degree that itemisation is currently occurring, varies across the country but overall the practice of providing itemised rates assessments has not been good.
Increased use of benchmarking across councils would enable ratepayers to better assess council performance and allow best practices to come to the fore. Consistent reporting standards and procedures across councils are very important for this.
5. Fees and Charges
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
6. Infrastructure
New Zealand and Northland has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Local authorities have major infrastructure responsibilities and much can be done to improve the way they purchase and develop infrastructure.
The use of public private partnerships (PPPs) can help accelerate the process and provide improved access to capital and expertise. It can also ensure that whole-of-life costs are considered upfront and the right balance between initial capital cost and ongoing maintenance is achieved (i.e. to avoid both gold-plating and cost cutting in the initial purchase).
PPPs can have advantages even where the private partner doesn’t take the risk on earning income from users. Local authority contracts that pay the private partner for availability at an agreed standard have resulted in better use of resources over the lifetime of the asset.
Introducing PPPs is not a panacea. However, local authority politicians should actively consider PPPs as part of their approach to building, operating and maintaining its infrastructure.
7. Debt
Councils generally are not highly geared and not making full use of debt. In aggregate, across New Zealand, ratepayers’ equity amounts to 94% of total assets. Almost 70% of local authorities do not come with 20% of their self-imposed debt limits at any time between now and 2012/13.
During the next 10 years, councils in aggregate expect to spend almost $31 billion on capital expenditure, 2.4 times as much as they spent in 10 years to 2004/05. Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing to fund these projects to ease the rates burden on today’s ratepayers.
The main argument for increased debt relates to inter-generational equity. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
An appropriate level of debt would encourage more scrutiny from lenders. It would also restrict the scope of councils to undertake large, low-priority projects without going to ratepayers.
8. Asset Ownership / Investments
We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of trading activities such as ports, forestry, farming operations, and property investment. Such investments are not risk free and while they may be a good revenue source in the current environment, ongoing profitability is not guaranteed.
The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that in general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector. Many councils hold such assets while at the same time their infrastructure (such as stormwater, sewerage and roading assets) is in a poor state of repair.
We believe that there is a case for councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
Where councils do have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
9. Local Government Democracy/Consultation
Relative to national politics, there is apathy towards local government in this country as evidenced by low voter turnouts and poor participation in the consultative process. Councils are also subject to much less scrutiny by the media and independent agencies than central government. This lack of interest in local government politics goes a long way to explaining the creeping growth of local authority activities and expenditure and the consequential increase in the rating burden.
Local authorities are required by the Local Government Act 2002 to consult with their communities about their Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs), the financial policies that underpin them, the levels of service being delivered, and the rates that will be required.
The local government sector places considerable weight on this consultative process to justify its expenditure and rating policies. However much of the consultation is not meaningful. Busy councillors have a lot of submissions to read and listen to and in many hearings submitters are given limited time to make their points.
Consequently, we consider additional mechanisms are necessary to improve accountability of local government. Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them.
10. Economic Development
The Local Government Act (2002) requires local government to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities. Since 2002, “Economic Development” has been a growing role for local government.
Care needs to be taken in identifying where local government can make a difference to the local economy.
The biggest criticisms of Economic Development activities are that they:
• crowd out private sector initiatives;
• get involved in promoting activities that would happen anyway; or
• simply end up spending to attract businesses from other locations.
There are also issues around the cost effectiveness of Economic Development programs and whether targeted funding ends up where it is meant to.
The Controller and Auditor General has set out a number of ways to reduce the risk Economic Development activity is unsuccessful. These are to:
• make sure there is a strategy for economic development, and develop measures to judge it by;
• make sure the local authority has the skills necessary to implement the strategy (and consider combining with others as a way of achieving this);
• give preference to low cost, low risk activities,
• facilitating other agencies to undertake the activities, rather than the local authority directly running them; and
• have an exit strategy for programmes in case they don’t work .
Add to this the idea that local authorities should focus on the big picture, so they and local government politicians don’t get captured by pork barrel politics.
Local government politicians must understand where local authorities can facilitate economic growth, understand the limits of that role, and avoid getting sucked into the detail of specific interests.
Perhaps the best thing councils can do to contribute to local economic development is to create an environment which attracts people and is conducive to business. This includes running an efficient operation where bureaucracy is limited and rates are constrained and not distributed disproportionately on businesses vis a vis residential properties.
11. The Resource Management Act
The Resource Management Act (RMA) sets out the process local authorities have to follow to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
Even without changes to the RMA, local government politicians can improve the implementation of the Act.
Local authorities need to decide if they should regulate to promote sustainable resource management, or whether there are other more appropriate responses (including doing nothing). There are a lot of pressures on local authorities to regulate. This pressure arises even when there are better alternative methods for achieving objectives, or when any intervention is likely to make matters worse off.
The RMA anticipated these problems and sets down steps local authorities must follow before introducing regulations. In essence they must:
• address the extent to which regulation is needed at all, explore other possible means apart from regulation, and provide reasons for and against the proposed method and the principal alternative means;
• evaluate the benefits and costs of the proposed option and of the principal alternative means; and
• decide whether the proposed means is necessary to achieve the purpose of the RMA and is the most appropriate in terms of effectiveness and efficiency .
Local authorities are over-using regulation to promote sustainable resource management. This is having an adverse impact both on sustainability (because resource use is overly encouraged by regulation) and on growth (because of the inflexibility of regulation).
Local government politicians can help overcome this problem by insisting on rigorous analysis before accepting that regulation is the only option. If staff of the local authority lack the capability to do the required scientific and economic analysis then the councils should seek external advice (while developing their own capability).
Local government can further improve the outcome of the RMA by ensuring that the pursuit of economic growth is explicitly incorporated into local policies and plans prepared under the Act.
12. Cooperation and Amalgamation
A number of local authorities have moved in the direction of cooperating to provide services across their combined areas. This should be encouraged, not just for the potential efficiencies involved, but also in the case of regulatory activities, because users find it easier to meet a single standard. A more collaborative approach particularly benefits smaller local authorities where they often do not have the necessary expertise to deliver on legislative requirements
This raises the question of combining local authorities. There are many situations where the benefits of combining local authorities appear to outweigh the costs. No local government politicians should take discussion and analysis of this off the agenda.
It doesn’t always follow that amalgamation will lead to a better outcome. The risk is that the lowest common denominator will become the norm for the amalgamated authority. However, if overall efficiencies can be achieved from amalgamations, then they should be supported
Summary
Financial management
• Financial management should be transparent.
• Complex planning documents should be presented in a transparent way. In particular, they should be independently reviewed against benchmarks to help residents and ratepayers engage genuinely in consultations on them;
• The quality of information about council activities (core, trading and investments) should be improved to aid benchmarking;
• Formal processes for appointing boards to trading enterprises should always be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed;
• Rates should be used sensibly. A target should be set of not increasing income from rates more than the combined rate of inflation and population growth per year. New functions should only be taken on when the cost benefit is clear;
Differential/User Charges
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes that ratepayers should pay for the services they use but too often councils shift the rates burden on to business. The most common way is by differential rates (i.e. where a greater rate is applied per dollar of rateable land used by business than residential land.)
• The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses.
• Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
• The Northland Chamber Of Commerce believes the application of fees and charges for services should reflect who benefits from them. We do not support fees and charges which are simply another revenue raising mechanism for councils. To justify a shift towards user pays for certain services good information on cost recovery and where the benefits lie should be made available.
Infrastructure and Debt
• New Zealand has experienced insufficient investment in infrastructure over the last two decades and consequently has infrastructural weaknesses in a wide range of areas. Economic growth is dependent on sound infrastructure and infrastructure should anticipate growth
• Charging and other market approaches should be sympathetically assessed as an option when Councils wish to fund new infrastructure;
• Private partnerships should always be considered when Councils are looking at building, operating or maintaining infrastructure. Independent advice should be sought when evaluating this option;
• Councils should be encouraged to use appropriate levels of borrowing. The main argument for increased debt for infrastructure development relates to inter-generational equity and the future benefits of that development. A considerable amount of local authority capital spending on infrastructure is paid for by today’s ratepayers but provides benefits for future ratepayers. Increased debt would spread this cost.
Asset Ownership and Investments
• We believe councils should focus on their core business assets and steer away from ownership of activities such as ports, forestry, farming, and property investment. In general, ownership of these activities should be left to the private sector.
• We believe that there is a case for many councils to look at divesting some of their current assets and investments and reinvesting the proceeds in improved infrastructure.
• Where councils have trading enterprises, they should be run at arms length from the council. Formal processes for appointing boards should be used, and councillors should disqualify themselves. Investments should be professionally managed.
Economic development
• Economic development activities undertaken by local authorities should be realistic in their aims, carried out within a clear strategy, be carefully evaluated, and focus on facilitation rather than direct provision.
The RMA
• The RMA should be used to enable growth, not stifle it;
• Resource management rules should be flexible and encourage innovation, not lock in the status quo. Regulation should be the option of last resort;
• Independent scientific and economic advice should be taken to help make sure Councils are using the RMA to encourage innovation and growth;
Cooperation and Amalgamation
• Combining service delivery with neighbouring authorities should always be considered as an option as part of the annual planning cycle;
• Amalgamation with neighbouring authorities, or the creation of more unitary authorities should be pursued where efficiencies are to be found;
Local Elections – It’s vitally important that you have your say.
In the Run up to the Local Body elections the Northland Chamber of Commerce has 20 questions to ask all candidates regarding their positions on various issues that directly affect Northland Business. These questions are available for viewing at the Northland Chamber website ( www.northchamber.co.nz )along with any answers received from candidates. The questions include candidate’s response on their vision, key infrastructural priorities, business friendly initiatives, debt position and their vision for the district over the next 5 years
Local government is a vitally important institution. It has an important role in improving the overall living standards of Northlanders. It is important however that local government remains efficient in undertaking its role and does not stray too far from its core business.
The core business of local authorities is to provide local public goods and services that cannot be better provided by the private sector or central government.
Circumstances where local government is better able to provide than central government are where local knowledge is required or the costs and benefits of government action accrue locally.
Core business comprises activities related to emergency management; roading and related activities; stormwater and wastewater systems; parks and reserves; and public health and safety such as the control of contagious diseases and food safety. The Northland Chamber also believes that Local Government is best positioned to undertake, plan and govern regional Economic Development efforts.
One topic the Northland Chamber has lobbied on for a number of years is the UNFAIR Differential Rating system
Too often councils endeavour to shift the burden of rates and the costs of services onto minority groups such as business. The business sector, for example, pays about half of the country’s total rates bill but consumes a relatively small proportion of council services. Businesses are often charged more under the dubious grounds that they benefit more from council services but this is seldom substantiated.
It is not in councils’ interests to shift the rates burden onto business. Businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They provide employment, pay wages, produce goods and services, and determine the depth of the rating base. If businesses are ill-treated by council rating policies (for example rating differentials) they either relocate, closedown or contract -or, in some rare cases where they can, simply pass the cost onto customers. If businesses flourish cities and districts prosper; if business is in recession the standard of living of the people suffers.
When councils distribute their funding burden across ratepayers two alternative principles are available to dictate how this best be done: the “benefits principle” - payment in proportion of consumption of services received; and “ability to pay” -payment according to how much the ratepayer can afford.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that funding of local government activities needs to better reflect the benefits principle than is currently the case. That is, ratepayers should pay for the services they benefit from. Ability to pay should always be taken into account but as a rule income distribution is the responsibility of central government not local government. Unlike central government (with the information it has through income tax), local authorities have no information on the incomes of their residents so any decisions they make to assist people in this regard have the potential to be flawed.
Not only does putting the impost unduly on business often disregard where the benefit lies, it does not reflect ability to pay. For example, the rateable value of commercial and industrial property represents only 22% of Wellington city's total rateable value but the city collects 50% of its total rate from the commercial and industrial sector.
The most common way of shifting the rates burden on to business is by way of differential rates. These are commonly applied to rateable property used by business ratepayers so that they pay more than residential ratepayers per dollar of rateable land. Currently businesses pay 4.2 times as much as residential ratepayers in Wellington City; 3.1 times as much in Dunedin City; 2.8 times in Christchurch City 2.1 times in Auckland City and a staggering 5.0 times as much in Whangarei.
The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses. The higher rates are seldom justified.
Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
Please log on to the Northland Chamber of Commerce website for Business position on policies, the questions we forwarded to candidates and their answers.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
In the Run up to the Local Body elections the Northland Chamber of Commerce has 20 questions to ask all candidates regarding their positions on various issues that directly affect Northland Business. These questions are available for viewing at the Northland Chamber website ( www.northchamber.co.nz )along with any answers received from candidates. The questions include candidate’s response on their vision, key infrastructural priorities, business friendly initiatives, debt position and their vision for the district over the next 5 years
Local government is a vitally important institution. It has an important role in improving the overall living standards of Northlanders. It is important however that local government remains efficient in undertaking its role and does not stray too far from its core business.
The core business of local authorities is to provide local public goods and services that cannot be better provided by the private sector or central government.
Circumstances where local government is better able to provide than central government are where local knowledge is required or the costs and benefits of government action accrue locally.
Core business comprises activities related to emergency management; roading and related activities; stormwater and wastewater systems; parks and reserves; and public health and safety such as the control of contagious diseases and food safety. The Northland Chamber also believes that Local Government is best positioned to undertake, plan and govern regional Economic Development efforts.
One topic the Northland Chamber has lobbied on for a number of years is the UNFAIR Differential Rating system
Too often councils endeavour to shift the burden of rates and the costs of services onto minority groups such as business. The business sector, for example, pays about half of the country’s total rates bill but consumes a relatively small proportion of council services. Businesses are often charged more under the dubious grounds that they benefit more from council services but this is seldom substantiated.
It is not in councils’ interests to shift the rates burden onto business. Businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They provide employment, pay wages, produce goods and services, and determine the depth of the rating base. If businesses are ill-treated by council rating policies (for example rating differentials) they either relocate, closedown or contract -or, in some rare cases where they can, simply pass the cost onto customers. If businesses flourish cities and districts prosper; if business is in recession the standard of living of the people suffers.
When councils distribute their funding burden across ratepayers two alternative principles are available to dictate how this best be done: the “benefits principle” - payment in proportion of consumption of services received; and “ability to pay” -payment according to how much the ratepayer can afford.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that funding of local government activities needs to better reflect the benefits principle than is currently the case. That is, ratepayers should pay for the services they benefit from. Ability to pay should always be taken into account but as a rule income distribution is the responsibility of central government not local government. Unlike central government (with the information it has through income tax), local authorities have no information on the incomes of their residents so any decisions they make to assist people in this regard have the potential to be flawed.
Not only does putting the impost unduly on business often disregard where the benefit lies, it does not reflect ability to pay. For example, the rateable value of commercial and industrial property represents only 22% of Wellington city's total rateable value but the city collects 50% of its total rate from the commercial and industrial sector.
The most common way of shifting the rates burden on to business is by way of differential rates. These are commonly applied to rateable property used by business ratepayers so that they pay more than residential ratepayers per dollar of rateable land. Currently businesses pay 4.2 times as much as residential ratepayers in Wellington City; 3.1 times as much in Dunedin City; 2.8 times in Christchurch City 2.1 times in Auckland City and a staggering 5.0 times as much in Whangarei.
The main argument advanced by councils for the differential is that businesses benefit disproportionately from the services provided and so the higher rate is justified. We say councils should be required to substantiate the benefits before applying rating differentials to businesses. The higher rates are seldom justified.
Differentials should be used only to facilitate equitable distribution of rates such that ratepayers bear the cost of the services they benefit from. They should not be used as a revenue raising tool.
Please log on to the Northland Chamber of Commerce website for Business position on policies, the questions we forwarded to candidates and their answers.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
24 July 2007
Climate Change and Opportunities!
To my mind there is no doubt that New Zealand is taking the issue of climate change seriously. Government says that Climate Change is a reality which could have significant impacts on our economy, environment and the way we live. We have all noticed the effects of a warming planet in our changing climate patterns.
Whilst not wanting to enter the climate change debate I can see that the country is taking proactive steps to counter the effect of the impact that we have on the planets environment. More increasingly international companies are asking what steps businesses and exporters are taking in eradicating Carbon Footprints and reducing the use of limited resources.
The Ministry for the Environment has released reports that predict increasing temperatures, rising sea-levels and more extreme weather events. As ninety percent of New Zealand's population lies within 50km of our coast making us vulnerable to climate change, our coastal areas, roads, cities, towns, waterways and farms are all likely to be affected. We need to take action so we can be more resilient in our current climate and less susceptible to the future climate.
Despite measures we take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now, the levels of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to affect and change the climate over our and our children's lifetimes. This means that as well as working to reduce emissions, we need to prepare for climate change and adapt to its impacts. It is important that both kinds of actions are taken. The risks of inaction will be far more costly to us than the cost of any action.
Everybody has a role to play in addressing climate change, whether it is the government, businesses, communities or individuals. If you have already made your home more energy efficient, why not think about getting your workplace or community involved?
At work, improving the management of waste or introducing a policy of turning off lights and computers at night can make a big difference to the environment and to overheads. Businesses need to be thinking about sustainability. This does not mean suppressing business innovation, or reining in economic growth. Businesses need to consider using sustainable practices and looking for new ways of doing business that improve economic, environmental and social performance e.g. look for the business opportunities in using natural resources efficiently.
While the adverse impacts of climate change are evident, there may also be opportunities arising from a changing climate, for example, the growth of different crops and the development of new ways to produce renewable energy. In addition, effective planning can bring about benefits such as improved water quality and better management of scarce resources. Taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also bring other benefits. For example, improved energy efficiency means lower power bills, insulated houses lead to warmer homes and less winter-related illnesses, and regularly-tuned cars improve air quality and health.
Forward planning is more effective and less costly than reacting to crises when they occur. It is like taking out an insurance policy for our future.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
To my mind there is no doubt that New Zealand is taking the issue of climate change seriously. Government says that Climate Change is a reality which could have significant impacts on our economy, environment and the way we live. We have all noticed the effects of a warming planet in our changing climate patterns.
Whilst not wanting to enter the climate change debate I can see that the country is taking proactive steps to counter the effect of the impact that we have on the planets environment. More increasingly international companies are asking what steps businesses and exporters are taking in eradicating Carbon Footprints and reducing the use of limited resources.
The Ministry for the Environment has released reports that predict increasing temperatures, rising sea-levels and more extreme weather events. As ninety percent of New Zealand's population lies within 50km of our coast making us vulnerable to climate change, our coastal areas, roads, cities, towns, waterways and farms are all likely to be affected. We need to take action so we can be more resilient in our current climate and less susceptible to the future climate.
Despite measures we take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now, the levels of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to affect and change the climate over our and our children's lifetimes. This means that as well as working to reduce emissions, we need to prepare for climate change and adapt to its impacts. It is important that both kinds of actions are taken. The risks of inaction will be far more costly to us than the cost of any action.
Everybody has a role to play in addressing climate change, whether it is the government, businesses, communities or individuals. If you have already made your home more energy efficient, why not think about getting your workplace or community involved?
At work, improving the management of waste or introducing a policy of turning off lights and computers at night can make a big difference to the environment and to overheads. Businesses need to be thinking about sustainability. This does not mean suppressing business innovation, or reining in economic growth. Businesses need to consider using sustainable practices and looking for new ways of doing business that improve economic, environmental and social performance e.g. look for the business opportunities in using natural resources efficiently.
While the adverse impacts of climate change are evident, there may also be opportunities arising from a changing climate, for example, the growth of different crops and the development of new ways to produce renewable energy. In addition, effective planning can bring about benefits such as improved water quality and better management of scarce resources. Taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also bring other benefits. For example, improved energy efficiency means lower power bills, insulated houses lead to warmer homes and less winter-related illnesses, and regularly-tuned cars improve air quality and health.
Forward planning is more effective and less costly than reacting to crises when they occur. It is like taking out an insurance policy for our future.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
25 June 2007
Bridging the Skills Gap – Be part of the Solution!
“Forty two percent of firms believe it will be harder to employ people with the right skills, compared to 37% a year ago. Those finding it difficult to recruit unskilled workers also increased, from 15% a year ago to 17%. Those sectors most affected are manufacturing, technology and trades…. Auckland Chamber of Commerce Business Confidence Survey June 2007.”
If New Zealand wants to remain competitive in a global marketplace where the majority of workers earn a fraction of the salaries paid here, we must have the most competent and innovative workforce possible. Yet New Zealand has one of the worst records for skill shortages – we are near the top of the OECD skill shortages list and the gap is widening. We now recognise that our widening skills gap is one of the major barriers to our growth as a competitive nation.
The skills gap has resulted from a shift in our economy. The number of jobs for the unskilled has declined steadily over the past several decades and we are seeing an increase in semi-skilled jobs. In the next ten years, there will be a huge growth in skilled jobs as more semi-skilled jobs are automated. Impacting on the problem is the rapid development of technology, the increase in technology based jobs and the development of new industries based on technology advances.
Add to this, the expected change in demographics in the years ahead as the number of people in the workforce declines relative to those above the traditional retiring age, and it is obvious that we must find a way to prepare all our population, including those with disabilities and limited English proficiency, to become contributing members of the work force.
We cannot afford to delay our response to the problem, since as we seek to be more productive as a nation we will have to concentrate even more on the skills of our workers. We need to focus on the issue from many angles, both regionally and nationally, both short and long term, from an education and an industry perspective, and from the perspective of individual employers and employees.
Recent discussions with Northland employers have indicated a high level of dissatisfaction with the skill level and ability of job seekers. This seems to be particularly prevalent in the Engineering, Electronics and Marine related Industries. These sectors also report aging workforces.
Concerns expressed are a lack of basic literacy and numeracy along with very little understanding of employee responsibility. Add to this that a high percentage of our youth are missing out on the opportunities to become employed in certain Trades due to the fact that they don’t have a clear idea of where their interests really lie.
There has been some indication from Industry that an intensive generic Pre Trade Training Course may go some way to addressing these problems. Local company Steelcom, Advance Training and the Chamber of Commerce are spearheading an initiative to be part of the solution in our ever widening skill gap.
To achieve funding for such a course, Industry Support and Input into the Course Content is essential. This support and input also ensures the course would be meeting Industry needs.
A meeting is planned for 19 July 2007 at Advance Training Centres Limited, Level 1, Farmers Building, 58 Bank Street
Whangarei, 4 pm – 5 pm
Those invited will be Industry Representatives, Modern Apprenticeship Co-ordinators, Northland Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Northland, Ministry of Social Development. You are invited to attend to register your interest for a motivated, pre trade trained keen employee.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Wayne Hyde 027 278 1401 at Advance Training or RSVP by contacting the Northland Chamber of Commerce on info@northchamber.co.nz or 4384771
“be part of the solution”
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
“Forty two percent of firms believe it will be harder to employ people with the right skills, compared to 37% a year ago. Those finding it difficult to recruit unskilled workers also increased, from 15% a year ago to 17%. Those sectors most affected are manufacturing, technology and trades…. Auckland Chamber of Commerce Business Confidence Survey June 2007.”
If New Zealand wants to remain competitive in a global marketplace where the majority of workers earn a fraction of the salaries paid here, we must have the most competent and innovative workforce possible. Yet New Zealand has one of the worst records for skill shortages – we are near the top of the OECD skill shortages list and the gap is widening. We now recognise that our widening skills gap is one of the major barriers to our growth as a competitive nation.
The skills gap has resulted from a shift in our economy. The number of jobs for the unskilled has declined steadily over the past several decades and we are seeing an increase in semi-skilled jobs. In the next ten years, there will be a huge growth in skilled jobs as more semi-skilled jobs are automated. Impacting on the problem is the rapid development of technology, the increase in technology based jobs and the development of new industries based on technology advances.
Add to this, the expected change in demographics in the years ahead as the number of people in the workforce declines relative to those above the traditional retiring age, and it is obvious that we must find a way to prepare all our population, including those with disabilities and limited English proficiency, to become contributing members of the work force.
We cannot afford to delay our response to the problem, since as we seek to be more productive as a nation we will have to concentrate even more on the skills of our workers. We need to focus on the issue from many angles, both regionally and nationally, both short and long term, from an education and an industry perspective, and from the perspective of individual employers and employees.
Recent discussions with Northland employers have indicated a high level of dissatisfaction with the skill level and ability of job seekers. This seems to be particularly prevalent in the Engineering, Electronics and Marine related Industries. These sectors also report aging workforces.
Concerns expressed are a lack of basic literacy and numeracy along with very little understanding of employee responsibility. Add to this that a high percentage of our youth are missing out on the opportunities to become employed in certain Trades due to the fact that they don’t have a clear idea of where their interests really lie.
There has been some indication from Industry that an intensive generic Pre Trade Training Course may go some way to addressing these problems. Local company Steelcom, Advance Training and the Chamber of Commerce are spearheading an initiative to be part of the solution in our ever widening skill gap.
To achieve funding for such a course, Industry Support and Input into the Course Content is essential. This support and input also ensures the course would be meeting Industry needs.
A meeting is planned for 19 July 2007 at Advance Training Centres Limited, Level 1, Farmers Building, 58 Bank Street
Whangarei, 4 pm – 5 pm
Those invited will be Industry Representatives, Modern Apprenticeship Co-ordinators, Northland Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Northland, Ministry of Social Development. You are invited to attend to register your interest for a motivated, pre trade trained keen employee.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Wayne Hyde 027 278 1401 at Advance Training or RSVP by contacting the Northland Chamber of Commerce on info@northchamber.co.nz or 4384771
“be part of the solution”
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
07 June 2007
7 June 2007
“Another kick in the guts for growth….”
Responding to the Reserve Bank announcement raising the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 8%, Jeff Smith, Northland Chamber of Commerce CEO noted that part of the justification was that the rise in dairy sector incomes will add to inflation pressures.
“Once again we are told that the more successful we are, the more we will be punished.”
Meanwhile the continuing high government sector spending gets only the briefest of mentions, when clearly this sector going back over the last 2-3 years is the main inflation culprit.
“Blaming inflation on growth success shows we have a deep seated problem in the fundamentals of the economy. On the one hand Government wants businesses to grow and increase wealth, but when businesses do so the Reserve Bank stifles that success and blames the very growth we want for adding to inflation.”
“We should be encouraging and rewarding export-led growth – not constraining it. We should be hammering Government to keep price increases in non-productive areas like rates and water to below inflation – not passively accepting these rises.”
This is the third rise since March. Is this what he will continue to do until growth is squeezed out of the economy? “What we are doing is not working. It’s time the Government and Reserve Bank inquiry launched last year into a better way to encourage growth and control inflation was given some urgency.”
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
“Another kick in the guts for growth….”
Responding to the Reserve Bank announcement raising the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 8%, Jeff Smith, Northland Chamber of Commerce CEO noted that part of the justification was that the rise in dairy sector incomes will add to inflation pressures.
“Once again we are told that the more successful we are, the more we will be punished.”
Meanwhile the continuing high government sector spending gets only the briefest of mentions, when clearly this sector going back over the last 2-3 years is the main inflation culprit.
“Blaming inflation on growth success shows we have a deep seated problem in the fundamentals of the economy. On the one hand Government wants businesses to grow and increase wealth, but when businesses do so the Reserve Bank stifles that success and blames the very growth we want for adding to inflation.”
“We should be encouraging and rewarding export-led growth – not constraining it. We should be hammering Government to keep price increases in non-productive areas like rates and water to below inflation – not passively accepting these rises.”
This is the third rise since March. Is this what he will continue to do until growth is squeezed out of the economy? “What we are doing is not working. It’s time the Government and Reserve Bank inquiry launched last year into a better way to encourage growth and control inflation was given some urgency.”
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
29 May 2007
Thanks once again Northland Businesses & property owners for subsidising those who choose not to contribute
The Government is looking at the way the Fire Service is funded.
At the moment, the service is funded through a levy charged on premiums for property insured against fire. For those who choose not to insure, the service is effectively free. The Government seems to be happy with this model and is proposing that will still involve collecting the levies from insurance premiums, but will widen the number of policyholders affected.
Chamber member and Northland Insurance leader Ahlers Insurance have pointed out some concerns in what has been proposed as options by Central Government.
Ahlers are preparing a submission in conjunction with the Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand to Government on their proposed new fire legislation – “A framework for New Zealand’s fire and rescue services and their funding”.
The new framework is to replace existing legislation with a new Fire and Rescue Act.
To summarise the new Act would establish a framework to ensure that:
There is a comprehensive fire risk management system in New Zealand.
New Zealanders receive consistent and acceptable standards of service
fire response providers are able to integrate and co-ordinate their operations
there is an effective fire response organisation that is able to assist with non-fire emergencies
there is an equitable funding source for services
Sounds fair enough to us…..
The Funding would be based on calculating and collecting a levy on all property insured against any kind of loss or damage. The range of property would include:
residential dwellings, household and personal property
commercial and industrial buildings and their contents
industrial plant and equipment
stocks of raw materials and other goods
forests and agricultural crops
motor vehicles
What draws our attention is that other changes include the Fire Levy being based on Replacement value (even if your property is insured for indemnity value)
Also…….for multi building owners insuring under a first loss policy the requirement may be to impose the levy on the combined value of all property.
These proposals have the potential to significantly increase the amount being paid through your insurance policies.
Under the proposed changes, costs will increase putting additional pressure on businesses. We also believe that the proposed system is not equitable and put simply; it is a tax which places sole obligation on responsible property owners who elect to insure themselves.
Other solutions are to centrally fund through Taxes (Like Police) or locally through Rates. These options appear to be discounted in the meantime.
Ahlers are pro-actively soliciting feedback on the framework. If you elect to ignore this then your business could feel the impact of these changes in your future premium notices.
The Northland Chamber through the NZ Chambers of commerce will also be submitting to the Government to adopt a fair way of financing (for example through rates)
Either contact Ahlers now on 430-4870 or Go to our website (http://www.northchamber.co.nz/) and complete our one question snap poll which we will present to Ahlers for their submission
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and http://www.farnorthchamber.co.nz/
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on http://www.northchamber.blogspot.com/
17 May 2007
“What should you do if your business is constrained by a skilled labour shortage: - Fester? Or Fix It?”
The Northland Chamber of Commerce in Conjunction with Malcolm Pacific are holding a Short informative and interesting lunchtime Seminar on the 23rd may 2007 to assist businesses in recruiting skilled staff.
Aussie Malcolm will present a short presentation on how painless and cost effective it can be to recruit staff internationally. Aussie Malcolm says ‘there is a significant, low cost, pool of skilled labour available out of the migrant market to which employers deny themselves access because they don’t know how do go about tapping in to it. A new skill-set is required and if that is understood, the process can become easy, timely, and inexpensive.,
There are three ways in which we can increase the supply of skilled people to the Labour Market. We can MAKE – Educate and guide our younger citizens into the relevant skillsets, BUY – through importing skilled migrants or FIX - Upskilling the work force we have.
Chambers of Commerce all over New Zealand are telling us that a shortage of skilled labour has been identified nationally as a major restraint on business growth. Malcolm Pacifics Seminar is obviously an attempt to ‘BUY’ a solution which can provide Northland Business with some realistic solutions today
‘In a provincial centre the problems become compounded. Lack of skilled staff hampers growth; but recruiting in a skill-short market itself creates significant extra one-off direct costs; while the incentives that may be needed to attract staff can fundamentally and permanently change wage relativities and internal cost structures’.
Hon. Aussie Malcolm will be lead presenter, supported by a team from his Auckland office. Malcolm Pacific has worked out of Whangarei for a number of years and Aussie himself lives in Tutukaka where he is major shareholder in award winning Dive! Tutukaka, commuting weekly between, as he puts it, “the biggest and the best two cities in NZ”.
The format will be a workshop directed towards giving employers the skill sets that will enable them to solve skill shortages painlessly. The Seminar is to be held on 23rd May.
at 12 oclock. Lunch provided, workshop free. Venue: Northland Cricket Pavilion, Okara Drive.Whangarei.
All Northland Businesses are invited to attend this seminar, including Councils, Government Agencies and anyone that would benefit from skilled labour.
Contact Janette at the Northland Chamber of Commerce to register.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
The Northland Chamber of Commerce in Conjunction with Malcolm Pacific are holding a Short informative and interesting lunchtime Seminar on the 23rd may 2007 to assist businesses in recruiting skilled staff.
Aussie Malcolm will present a short presentation on how painless and cost effective it can be to recruit staff internationally. Aussie Malcolm says ‘there is a significant, low cost, pool of skilled labour available out of the migrant market to which employers deny themselves access because they don’t know how do go about tapping in to it. A new skill-set is required and if that is understood, the process can become easy, timely, and inexpensive.,
There are three ways in which we can increase the supply of skilled people to the Labour Market. We can MAKE – Educate and guide our younger citizens into the relevant skillsets, BUY – through importing skilled migrants or FIX - Upskilling the work force we have.
Chambers of Commerce all over New Zealand are telling us that a shortage of skilled labour has been identified nationally as a major restraint on business growth. Malcolm Pacifics Seminar is obviously an attempt to ‘BUY’ a solution which can provide Northland Business with some realistic solutions today
‘In a provincial centre the problems become compounded. Lack of skilled staff hampers growth; but recruiting in a skill-short market itself creates significant extra one-off direct costs; while the incentives that may be needed to attract staff can fundamentally and permanently change wage relativities and internal cost structures’.
Hon. Aussie Malcolm will be lead presenter, supported by a team from his Auckland office. Malcolm Pacific has worked out of Whangarei for a number of years and Aussie himself lives in Tutukaka where he is major shareholder in award winning Dive! Tutukaka, commuting weekly between, as he puts it, “the biggest and the best two cities in NZ”.
The format will be a workshop directed towards giving employers the skill sets that will enable them to solve skill shortages painlessly. The Seminar is to be held on 23rd May.
at 12 oclock. Lunch provided, workshop free. Venue: Northland Cricket Pavilion, Okara Drive.Whangarei.
All Northland Businesses are invited to attend this seminar, including Councils, Government Agencies and anyone that would benefit from skilled labour.
Contact Janette at the Northland Chamber of Commerce to register.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and www.farnorthchamber.co.nz
You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on www.northchamber.blogspot.com
11 May 2007
Submission to:
The Whangarei District Council
Submission regarding:
2007 – 2008 Draft Annual Plan – 20/20 plan
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
Decision sought from District Council
To implement the 20/20 design principles in all decisions made regarding the future look and feel of the Whangarei CBD
The Whangarei Plus CBD Guideline Development 20/20 Plan
The Northland Chamber of Commerce congratulates the Whangarei District Council for having a vision.
We applaud in particular, the leadership shown by this council in ‘putting a concept’ out there and point out for special commendation the Design lead Approach to the plan.
We have commented below on various aspects of the plan and included principles that our members would like to see. Our members appreciate the opportunity to influence the look of the Whangarei CBD so our members can operate in a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper.
Northland Chamber
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
Development Principle
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
Survey of Northland Chamber of Commerce Members
The Whangarei District Council
Submission regarding:
2007 – 2008 Draft Annual Plan – 20/20 plan
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
Decision sought from District Council
To implement the 20/20 design principles in all decisions made regarding the future look and feel of the Whangarei CBD
The Whangarei Plus CBD Guideline Development 20/20 Plan
The Northland Chamber of Commerce congratulates the Whangarei District Council for having a vision.
We applaud in particular, the leadership shown by this council in ‘putting a concept’ out there and point out for special commendation the Design lead Approach to the plan.
We have commented below on various aspects of the plan and included principles that our members would like to see. Our members appreciate the opportunity to influence the look of the Whangarei CBD so our members can operate in a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper.
Northland Chamber
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
Development Principle
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
Survey of Northland Chamber of Commerce Members
A recent survey in August 2006 asked Northland Chamber of Commerce members to rate issues by importance and impact on themselves, their businesses and Northland. Our members outlined two Whangarei specific Issues
The Future of the Whangarei CBD – 20/20 Plan
Whangarei Parking & Traffic Flows
Submission for Consideration
Section 1 – Introduction:
Outlines the processes used thus far. Also outlines some of the current issues.
Our Submission
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is happy to see the 20/20 Vision fit in with the WDC ‘creating the ultimate living environment’ vision. Also applaud the Design lead Approach to the plan.
Section 2- Analysis:
Our Submission
Nil
Section 3 – Concept Framework: Outlines themes and gives us a vision of what the CBD could look like in the future.
We would like to comment on this part of the 20/20 plan using the headings in the Concept Framework plan in Section 3.
More Green Connections and Spaces
Our members support any concept which enhances the CBD and the feel of the CBD.
Physical Connections to link to Water
As Water and Coast is one of our natural attributes the Chamber of Commerce supports concepts of making the most of our coast and Waterways. Any concept which draws people to ; and removes obstacles in drawing people to the water is supported by the Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber supports the concept of designing better physical access to the water.
Introduction of Residential mix into CBD
The Chamber of Commerce would support this concept after careful consideration to Traffic Flows and Parking is given.
One concept from Chamber of Commerce members is to look to the perimeter of the CBD to give people walking access to the CBD.
The Chamber of Commerce has Quality of Life aspirations for Northlanders and as such would prefer to not see High Density accommodation but to replace this with medium density living and in doing so preserve / promote a good quality of life.
Strategic Location of new Focal Points / Developments / Facilities
Chamber members considered that there was not enough information on the specifics of focal points / developments / facilities. To make an informed comment on these, however;
The concept of having focal points in general was supported once again contingent on parking & traffic flows.
Extend CBD Activities into evening and weekend.
Members supported the concept of having a vibrant and alive CBD and although the concept has been raised in the CBD development plan and were sure that business / commerce would lead this concept with local authorities adding to this by removing or altering any minor legislative / compliance obstacles.
Create a series of pedestrian scaled areas
Our understanding of Pedestrian Scaled areas is those areas that lend themselves for pedestrians as opposed to motor vehicular traffic. We presume that the Cameron Street Mall is a pedestrian scaled area. The Chamber would support a series of pedestrian scaled areas as we feel if done with good design the CBD could become a destination
Introduce new building typologies that encourage a greater mix
Our members would encourage a greater mix of building type however would encourage town planners to make the type of building ‘fit’ the precinct that the building is proposed in.
Section 4 – Town Basin:
The Whangarei 20/20 plus plan outlined 4 concepts for the Town Basin area.
Our Submission
The Northland Chamber of Commerce would encourage development which enhances the special character of the Town Basin. Of the four options outlined in the 20/20 plus plan the Northland Chamber of Commerce favours any concept which will
Add to the feel and vibrancy of the city
Draw people to / from CBD
Protect the nature and feel of the town basin area.
Line up with the proposed precinct areas
The Grand Canal Concept. The Chamber of Commerce fully supports this concept as one that would add vibrancy and give Whangarei a special character. This support would be contingent on the Whangarei Ratepayer not being financially responsible for
The development or;
The maintenance of such an iconic feature
The Chamber of Commerce would support, however, ratepayers’ funds being used in designating land use and facilitating / brokering private funds to bring this concept to fruition.
Section 5 – Development Proposal:
Our Submission
The Northland Chamber of Commerce recognises that the Aspirations of the Northland Chamber are well catered for within the 20 / 20 development plan. With that in mind the Chamber would generally support development plans which add to our members’ business success, profitability and the enhancing of Northland as a great place to live.
General Submission Principles
The Northland Chamber of Commerce in line with NZ Chambers of Commerce does advocate that Local Government should not be involved in ownership of non essential infrastructure property and would see future development of the CBD as a good reason to release holdings in land after placing covenants to protect and promote the design principles in the 20/20 Plan.
We encourage local communities to fully explore the PPP (Private Public Partnership) model of development for community assets
We would welcome the opportunity to be heard on this application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is Northland’s Premier Business Advocacy, Networking, Education and Marketing Group. The chamber is part of a nationwide group of 30 Chambers of Commerce and 22000 globally.
Jeff Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Northland Chamber of Commerce
3-5 Hunt Street
Whangarei
09-4384771
info@northchamber.co.nz
Submission to:
The Whangarei District Council
Submission regarding:
2007 – 2008 Draft Annual Plan
WDC Application Number
N/-
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
Decision sought from District Council
To Commit to reducing and eventually removing the commercial differential rating system
To budget a CBD Mainstreet Levy for the promotion and marketing of the CBD or allocate funding from the CBD ratepayers differential rates to be used for this purpose.
The Application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
From the Northland Chamber of Commerce survey with members carried out in 2006 one of the roles that our members wanted to see was an advocacy role in removing the differential rating system.
1. Rating Differential – General Rates
The Northland Chamber of Commerce agrees with the following principles in deciding on the rates take;
The Rating System should be simple and transparent
User charges should be adopted for all services where there is a private benefit and the user/beneficiary can be identified and the service quantified either directly or by proxy
A Uniform Annual General Charge should be adopted to pay for the costs of those services which benefit each ratepayer equally (such as democracy, parks and sports facilities) and to pay for those private benefits which accrue to all ratepayers equally but are not practical to collect separately
Public Benefits should be paid for by an undifferentiated rate based on Capital or Annual Value.
Targeted Rates (eg Mainstreet) may be applied to fund specific activities or where there is a need to fund specific programmes in specific areas Ability to Pay issues should be addressed, not through a distortion of the rate structure, but by transparent specific measures such are rebates, remissions and postponements.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that it is It is not the job of Local Government to undertake wealth redistribution. That is the responsibility of Central Government and the same redistributive rules in New Zealand should apply uniformly through the country. The value of a property or its use is not a good indication of ability to pay.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce also strongly disputes the assertions made by some local authorities that businesses are rated more due to a greater ‘ability to pay’. The vast majorities of New Zealand businesses are very small (around 85% employ fewer than five people) and most have very low taxable incomes. Statistics from Inland Revenue indicate that 77% of companies have no assessable income at all, while another 15% earn less than the average wage. Rates differentials are therefore an onerous burden on the business sector. Unfortunately, however, it seems that businesses are an easy target from which to raise revenue, simply because there are far more residential ratepayers (i.e., voters) for councils to be concerned about.
Another argument states that businesses impose greater costs on local authority infrastructure than residential properties. This argument misses the point that the commercial sector is used by everybody – example the CBD is just as beneficial to those that go there to work, shop, eat and drink as it is to the businesses located there.
Rates differentials are also unfair on businesses competing with those operating as home-based businesses. Specific examples include that of those in the accommodation sector paying a commercial differential whilst those B&B operators paying residential differential only or an online retailer operating from a residential premises.
While local authorities should be able to tax a clearly identified set of ratepayers who largely benefit from particular public goods or services (through targeted rates), safeguards need to be in place against the abuse of powers to discriminate against classes of ratepayers.
We note that the Rating Differential on Commercial and Industrial Premises within the Whangarei District is 5 times the residential benchmark rate. This is among the highest differential rates that the Chamber has come across in New Zealand.
Wellington 4.2
Auckland City 1.6
Christchurch 2.3
Wanganui 1.7
Whangarei 5
Commercial rate differentials
In general the Northland Chamber of Commerce advocates on behalf of its members for the differential in this case to be reduced over the long term leading to the sharing and distribution of the rates burden among all Whangarei General Ratepayers. Therefore the finalized Annual Plan should set out to include policy into the LTCCP which reflects the following outcome – ‘the phasing out of the Commercial differential rating over the next x years’
We also note that in setting the differential rate the Local Authority is required to justify the differential We have not been able to locate this in the LTCCP 2006 – 2016.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce would like to make it very clear that our members find a differential system unfair, not transparent, unjustified and feel that the Whangarei District Council are taking advantage of the fact that there are less Commercial Ratepayers v Residential
We feel that a move in this direction would send a clear message that Business is welcome in the District.
2. CBD Business
In the absence of a reduction of the differential the Whangarei CBD Business Committee of the Chamber of Commerce CBD Committee have identified a need for a coordinated approach to Promotions and Marketing of the Whangarei CBD. Other areas strike a special rate or levy however we feel that reallocating a $ amount from the existing differentiated commercial rates from properties in the CBD would go some way to justifying the differentiated rate on these particular premises.
We would welcome the opportunity to be heard on this application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is Northland’s Premier Business Advocacy, Networking, Education and Marketing Group. The chamber is part of a nationwide group of 30 Chambers of Commerce and 22000 globally.
Jeff Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Northland Chamber of Commerce
3-5 Hunt Street
Whangarei
09-4384771
info@northchamber.co.nz
The Whangarei District Council
Submission regarding:
2007 – 2008 Draft Annual Plan
WDC Application Number
N/-
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
Decision sought from District Council
To Commit to reducing and eventually removing the commercial differential rating system
To budget a CBD Mainstreet Levy for the promotion and marketing of the CBD or allocate funding from the CBD ratepayers differential rates to be used for this purpose.
The Application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
From the Northland Chamber of Commerce survey with members carried out in 2006 one of the roles that our members wanted to see was an advocacy role in removing the differential rating system.
1. Rating Differential – General Rates
The Northland Chamber of Commerce agrees with the following principles in deciding on the rates take;
The Rating System should be simple and transparent
User charges should be adopted for all services where there is a private benefit and the user/beneficiary can be identified and the service quantified either directly or by proxy
A Uniform Annual General Charge should be adopted to pay for the costs of those services which benefit each ratepayer equally (such as democracy, parks and sports facilities) and to pay for those private benefits which accrue to all ratepayers equally but are not practical to collect separately
Public Benefits should be paid for by an undifferentiated rate based on Capital or Annual Value.
Targeted Rates (eg Mainstreet) may be applied to fund specific activities or where there is a need to fund specific programmes in specific areas Ability to Pay issues should be addressed, not through a distortion of the rate structure, but by transparent specific measures such are rebates, remissions and postponements.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that it is It is not the job of Local Government to undertake wealth redistribution. That is the responsibility of Central Government and the same redistributive rules in New Zealand should apply uniformly through the country. The value of a property or its use is not a good indication of ability to pay.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce also strongly disputes the assertions made by some local authorities that businesses are rated more due to a greater ‘ability to pay’. The vast majorities of New Zealand businesses are very small (around 85% employ fewer than five people) and most have very low taxable incomes. Statistics from Inland Revenue indicate that 77% of companies have no assessable income at all, while another 15% earn less than the average wage. Rates differentials are therefore an onerous burden on the business sector. Unfortunately, however, it seems that businesses are an easy target from which to raise revenue, simply because there are far more residential ratepayers (i.e., voters) for councils to be concerned about.
Another argument states that businesses impose greater costs on local authority infrastructure than residential properties. This argument misses the point that the commercial sector is used by everybody – example the CBD is just as beneficial to those that go there to work, shop, eat and drink as it is to the businesses located there.
Rates differentials are also unfair on businesses competing with those operating as home-based businesses. Specific examples include that of those in the accommodation sector paying a commercial differential whilst those B&B operators paying residential differential only or an online retailer operating from a residential premises.
While local authorities should be able to tax a clearly identified set of ratepayers who largely benefit from particular public goods or services (through targeted rates), safeguards need to be in place against the abuse of powers to discriminate against classes of ratepayers.
We note that the Rating Differential on Commercial and Industrial Premises within the Whangarei District is 5 times the residential benchmark rate. This is among the highest differential rates that the Chamber has come across in New Zealand.
Wellington 4.2
Auckland City 1.6
Christchurch 2.3
Wanganui 1.7
Whangarei 5
Commercial rate differentials
In general the Northland Chamber of Commerce advocates on behalf of its members for the differential in this case to be reduced over the long term leading to the sharing and distribution of the rates burden among all Whangarei General Ratepayers. Therefore the finalized Annual Plan should set out to include policy into the LTCCP which reflects the following outcome – ‘the phasing out of the Commercial differential rating over the next x years’
We also note that in setting the differential rate the Local Authority is required to justify the differential We have not been able to locate this in the LTCCP 2006 – 2016.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce would like to make it very clear that our members find a differential system unfair, not transparent, unjustified and feel that the Whangarei District Council are taking advantage of the fact that there are less Commercial Ratepayers v Residential
We feel that a move in this direction would send a clear message that Business is welcome in the District.
2. CBD Business
In the absence of a reduction of the differential the Whangarei CBD Business Committee of the Chamber of Commerce CBD Committee have identified a need for a coordinated approach to Promotions and Marketing of the Whangarei CBD. Other areas strike a special rate or levy however we feel that reallocating a $ amount from the existing differentiated commercial rates from properties in the CBD would go some way to justifying the differentiated rate on these particular premises.
We would welcome the opportunity to be heard on this application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is Northland’s Premier Business Advocacy, Networking, Education and Marketing Group. The chamber is part of a nationwide group of 30 Chambers of Commerce and 22000 globally.
Jeff Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Northland Chamber of Commerce
3-5 Hunt Street
Whangarei
09-4384771
info@northchamber.co.nz
30 April 2007
Submission No 2 to NRC Annual Plan 2008
Submission to:
The Northland Regional Council.
Submission regarding:
Proposed Amendment in the Draft Annual Plan to the Northland Long Term Council Community Plan regarding the establishment of a council controlled trading organisation for the establishment of an infrastructure development authority
NRC Application Number
Nil
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.
General Nature of Submission
In support of the amendment to the LTCCP to add the scope of work to the levels of service section viz; 5.2.8 – Undertake a detailed feasibility study of regional infrastructure priorities, establish a funding vehicle and develop funding strategies to enable major infrastructure projects.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
- The Northland Chamber supports this application as one that would practically support the growth of the region.
- The Northland Chamber of Commerce prefers to see economic and infrastructure development happening on a regional level and the formation of a CCTO through our Regional Council would be the best way of facilitating this.
- The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that the Governance of such an organisation would benefit from recruiting the best people from the Government and Private sectors.
- We are heartened to see that investigation into an infrastructure development authority will be undertaken within existing budget.
We do not wish to be heard on this submission
www.northlandbusinessawards.co.nz
“News of our win in 2006 reached suppliers & people well beyond Northland, boosting our profile within the industry as well.” – Sciadopities
‘Do it now… go to www.northlandbusinessawards.co.nz and register your interest in entering the 30th anniversary Northland naturally business awards!’
The 2007 Northland Chamber of Commerce Northland Naturally Business Awards are an annual event run by the Northland Chamber of Commerce that honour Northland businesses who have demonstrated excellence in key business areas. They are also a celebration of the positive contribution local businesses have made towards the economic development and growth of Northland
This premier business event of the year provides opportunity for all businesses within the Northland area, no matter how large or small; to receive recognition for their achievements, and celebrate contributions that individual businesses have made to Northland, with winners guaranteed prestige, profile and recognition.
Last years Excellence in Retail winner Sciadopities said “As first-timers, we were initially a little alarmed at the written component of the entry process. However a call to the Chamber, and subsequent visit from one of the friendly team there, made us much more relaxed about things. We were assured that the judges were business people too, and that the expectation was really that entrants take a step back from their day-to-day operation and focus on what makes their business tick.’
“Winning our category was just great, as much as a positive affirmation for all the fabulous staff and customers who have faithfully supported us over the years, as it was for ourselves. As single-store, independent operators, we found the accolade added credence to our business, generating increased sales from curious new customers, hopefully now cemented into our “regulars”. News of our win reached suppliers and fellow nursery people well beyond Northland, boosting our profile within the industry as well.’
“We have the award hanging in a prominent position in the shop – a tangible reminder to keep up performance to meet both our own and our customers’ expectations.”
We encourage any business that is keen to look at entering to go to the official awards website and register for an entry pack to be sent out to you
This year we also have a keen team of Northland Chamber of Commerce members, business consultants and partners willing to guide you to putting an entry together…FREE of charge.
Remember…the competition offers entrants
- A chance to put your business in the spotlight with key local publicity
- Free, independent feedback and assessment from expert judges
- A useful benchmark of your progress and achievements against competitors and other sectors in the local business environment.
- Networking opportunities with other business leaders and professionals.
- Public recognition of outstanding business success and achievement
- A reward and acknowledgement of the contribution made by employees in growing and developing your business
- A means of engendering pride in your organisation
- An opportunity to focus on your business, its core strengths and the competitive advantages that make it a worthy candidate for business excellence
- On-going promotional opportunities for winning businesses to demonstrate leadership and excellence.
- An opportunity to receive on-going business mentoring assistance
- A high profile platform to showcase your products and services to a wider audience
For details check out www.northlandbusinessawards.co.nz website
The
You can have a say on this by going to the
20 April 2007
Submission to:
The Northland Regional Council.
Submission regarding:
Proposed Amendment in the Draft Annual Plan to the Northland Community Plan regarding the Marsden Rail link
NRC Application Number
Nil
Submission by:
The Northland Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.
General Nature of Submission
In support of immediate action to designate and acquire land for the proposed Marsden Rail Link to the
Decision sought from Regional Council
Looking for Regional Council to amend the LTCCP to release $3.34m to $10m funds to designate & acquire immediately the land required for the rail link in the first instance and begin a campaign to ensure Crown, Ontrack and Private Players to invest in the Designation / Purchase investment.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce
The Northland Chamber of Commerce currently has 340 financial members that employ the equivalent of 4000 full time employees.
Since 1903, the Northland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of the Northland business community through its public policy and advocacy initiatives and its business development programs and services.
The Chamber also works to ensure that Northland has a business-friendly environment where all businesses can grow and prosper. With this, also comes paying close attention to the quality of life the region offers our members’ employees and families. The Chamber works to make a difference in Northland’s future and to help Northland grow.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce generally favour well researched development projects that add value to the economy, community and infrastructure of the region especially those projects that undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the community and environment are protected.
- The Northland Chamber supports this application from an economic development perspective as one that will build Northlands Quality of Life. As far as Economic Development we feel the project will pay back by acting as the biggest catalyst for Development / Growth in the region.
- From the Northland Chamber of Commerce survey with members carried out in 2006 one of the major roles that our members wanted to see was the encouragement of development projects and industry to the region and in particular the Development of the Rail Link as a priority for our Region.
- In considering the Three Options outlined by the NRC proposed amendment the Northland Chamber of commerce favour Option 2 in the first instance followed quickly by the actions to ensure the other partners Crown and On track invest in the Project.
- Although the cost of designating and acquiring property is high The Northland Chamber business community feel the long term risk to ratepayer’s funds is minimal as the investment can be recouped through the eventual selling of the land acquired should the project fail.
- If the Project to Designate and Acquire land was amortized over a five year period the capital cost to each of the regions 80125 ratepayers would be .48c per week for $10m and .16c per week if partners contribute 66%
- The Northland Chamber of Commerce believes that for projects like this to occur we need to be approaching Central Government and Agencies with a NORTHLAND INC. approach. This includes Regional & local Government, Industry and Business and advocacy groups all combining resources and speaking as one voice. The Northland Chamber commits to playing a pro-active role in lobbying and supporting the combined Northland Inc. approach when dealing with the Crown and its agencies.
Option one
Even though The Northland Chamber agree with the comment that Doing Nothing will not impact on NRCs Capacity to meet the present and future needs of the region in relation to any statutory responsibilities We believe that the LOST DEVELOPMENT opportunity will cost the region dearly in flow on development of the whole region.
Option 2 Designate & Acquire
Northland Chambers preferred option.
Designate / Acquire in the first instance
Then solicit crown / Ontrack
Our reasoning for this is we can ensure that the opportunity is not lost through third party reasons
Option 3 – Designate / Partnership with stakeholders
Option 3 would be the preferred option if option 2 was not acceptable to the ratepayer.
We would welcome the opportunity to be heard on this application
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is Northland’s Premier Business Advocacy, Networking, Education and Marketing Group. The chamber is part of a nationwide group of 30 Chambers of Commerce and 22000 globally.
| Jeff Smith Chief Executive Officer Northland Chamber of Commerce Whangarei 09-4384771 info@northchamber.co.nz | | |
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