ENERGISING BUSINESS: Column

Living within means vital
One way to energise a business is to have an external party helping to influence it.
Tourism Bay of Plenty chairman Graeme Marshall wants our newly elected Tauranga City Council to energise the tourist sector, and to spend big and lobby hard to attract more international investment.
This would entice more people to Tauranga, and perhaps to stay longer throughout the year.
Then on top that, Mr Marshall wants more major iconic events to showcase Tauranga as a major destination.
Clearly, many businesses will benefit more than others. The direct beneficiaries will be event companies, restaurants, accommodation, retailers and the service companies that support the larger tourist sector.
I suppose, in the longer term, more people will be employed servicing these businesses too. The problem is the finance. What are we talking about here, about a $1 billion, $500 million, $200 million, or what investment?
Another businessman wants the council to spend up revamping The Strand, which I understand the council is doing, but not in the quick timeframe many businesses prefer.
The Strand is subdued because I suspect people have changed their eating habits. Has research been completed to find why people frequent it less than they did? Will having a plush waterfront with free parking bring them back?
And there lies the rub, these two business people may have valid reasons to be grumpy. But in a country not yet out of the economic woods, and a city that is reported to be one of the least affordable in which to live, are we in danger of being a playground for the wealthy, where the locals can no longer afford to live?
Do we want to be a St Tropez of the upper North Island, or the Queenstown of the South Island?
The council must work quickly to be absolutely clear of their vision for Tauranga and the supporting goals to achieve that vision. They must prioritise the actions that will have the most impact on those goals.
Is affordable housing a priority, is more economic growth a priority through tourism, or is it through export-led sectors - or both?
Is religious/ethnic/cultural cohesion a priority, is higher-level education and research a priority, is protecting the environment or better transport a goal?
Once these goals are agreed by the council, only then can it prioritise the key actions and provide the grunt to achieve the goals and inform ratepayers just how much we are spending now and might need to spend. The ratepayers cannot subsidise everything. Already the council is heavily in debt.
A business knows only too well, or should, that it is easy to spend money, but much harder to generate it. Mr Marshall should go back to his wishlist and prioritise the investment that will have the most impact on the tourism goal.
I wonder if, as a result of this process, one of the priority actions will be to make Baypark a truly international stadium along the lines of Eden Park, so that major sports events can really be held here.
Baypark was designed for speedway. The crowd has no intimacy because they are too far away and there is no natural sound echo.
Having been to an All Whites football match at the Cake Tin, in Wellington, the atmosphere was astounding. At Baypark any emotion disappears into the sky.
As for the Regional Council, previously Environment Bay of Plenty, several months ago I came across an interesting report on how the council was progressing towards its key regional environmental goals. It was, I recall, set in the early part of 2000. I could not find any updated reports.
It is hard to measure the success of the Regional Council's endeavours, but at the least we should have easily accessible key performance indicators so that ratepayers can truly decide if the Regional Council is performing re the environment.
We must all watch the quality of the councils' planning and prioritisation decisions so that they can respond in a business-like fashion to the wishlists that will be thrown at them. We must live within our means. That is true leadership.
Cliff Osborne and Associates is based in Tauranga. He can be contacted by email: cosborne@watchdog.net.nz or view: www.cliffosborne.com