"There's ram raids, gangs, domestic violence. The police don't have enough resources and staff to manage all that."
Daniel Williams is a father of three children and owns Kai Fusion Catering. Photo / Supplied
Tauranga father-of-three Daniel Williams would like to see GST removed from fruit and vegetables to help families afford healthy food.
"I'll go to Pak'nSave and I'll see families buying really poor-quality food because they can't afford the healthy stuff.
"That's what I'd love to see in a Budget - just more support for eating healthily ... and support for low-income families that don't have access to foods that are good for them."
Williams, who also owns Kai Fusion Catering, said he had to pass the rising costs of food on to customers.
"I'm definitely feeling the pinch there."
Hugo and Carter's Backpackers and Motel general manager Maria Cruz said it would be "great" if the Budget included financial support for tourism businesses during winter, as she did not expect most backpackers to arrive until about October.
Cruz was "really happy" that the border was reopening but said it would take "a little bit longer" for tourists to arrive.
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of strategy and insights Stacey Linton. Photo / Supplied
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of strategy and insights Stacey Linton said the return of international visitors would be a "slow burn". It did not expect there would be many visitors in the Bay until October or November due to it being a coastal region.
"This means some businesses still have a hard slog ahead."
Additional pressures such as staffing issues and high inflation were "causing headaches".
"Our hope is that Budget 2022 will take these continuing pressures into account, with policies that acknowledge there are still some hard times ahead for tourism and which will tangibly support the businesses which struggled the most while our border was closed as they rebuild."
Tourism Bay of Plenty wanted to see more spending on infrastructure such as rail, cycleways and EV charging stations, which would enable locals and visitors to get around in a "more environmentally friendly" way.
Before Covid, tourism was New Zealand's biggest export industry and contributed one-fifth of the country's total export earnings, she said.
"It would be ideal to see the importance of our sector being recognised and reflected in this week's Budget announcement."
Fifth Avenue Medical Centre GP Dr Luke Bradford. Photo / George Novak
In the health sector, Fifth Avenue Medical Centre GP Dr Luke Bradford said there needed to be a "fundamental review" of the primary health care model to address ethnicity and comorbidities.
Bradford said the primary care model was "inequitable" due to funding constraints, which meant people often avoided seeing their family doctors for cost reasons.
"We know that staying on top of your comorbidities or preventing them in the first place in primary care is the most cost-efficient way of managing health rather than waiting for people to break."
He called for funding tagged to the delivery of services.
"We've got huge waiting lists across the board and that is because of under-resourcing in physical structures, especially in the Bay in terms of theatre capacity and hospital bed space."
Waiting lists were for elective surgeries such as joint replacements and dental treatment and people were "often suffering" in the meantime.
He said Covid-19 had impacted hospital and staffing capacities. Lockdowns had "delayed the system" and there was no ability to catch up on waiting lists.
Tauranga Business Chamber spokeswoman Anne Pankhurst said the Government needed to create the right environment for businesses to invest both dollars and time into the growing economy.
"With huge pressure on the labour market, this could include supporting digital enablement and measures to increase productivity, so businesses are able to do more with less people."
Pankhurst said last year's Budget was more directed towards Covid relief.
"The next 18 months are going to be economically challenging. There is uncertainty and a sense of trepidation, with a constrained labour force and capital allowing business to grow. Initiatives around those challenges would be helpful to the business community for them to invest."
