Comment: What Tauranga's mayor wants to see in Budget 2020

Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell. Photo / File

COMMENT

Pre-budget commentary typically provides a soapbox for mayors to promote a parochial wishlist for their cities or districts. That's not the case in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought significant damage on world economies and New Zealand's lockdown and subsequent emergence via alert level 3 and, hopefully level 2 this week, have left our business sector in a parlous state.

Under the circumstances, the Government will rightly be focusing its attention and funding priorities on economic recovery and the ongoing effort required to eliminate the virus.

We are fortunate to have a Government which has been prepared to act decisively in the face of an unprecedented, in recent times at least, threat to our health. But there has been collateral damage and I would like to see Budget 2020 map out a clear path to economic recovery. In an immediate sense, we need to continue our efforts to support business and keep people in jobs.

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Of particular concern has been the impact on our small-to-medium-sized enterprises. These businesses together employ around one-third of our workforce and make up a similar proportion of the national economy.

This sector has been badly wounded and will need continuing Government assistance to help it survive and keep hundreds of thousands of Kiwis in work. These businesses also need all of us to buy local, so that they can continue to contribute to our local economy.

Inevitably, many businesses will not survive the economic carnage we are experiencing, so we can expect to see the Government budgets to support people and families in need increase significantly, with a parallel impact on Government debt.

Local Government is ready and willing to play its part in the country's recovery. Tauranga City Council, for example, has put forward a list of 24 'shovel-ready' infrastructure projects worth around $1.1 billion for Government consideration as part of an economic stimulus package.

We do not expect confirmation of funding as part of Budget 2020, but it would be particularly helpful if the total quantum of stimulus project funding could be confirmed, together with a strong indication about the ground rules which will apply.

This will give councils useful information about the overall level of support that might be expected and how that support is likely to be structured, so that we can start to build some assumptions into our annual plan processes.

Tauranga's proposed infrastructure projects focus squarely on addressing the needs of the country's fastest-growing city, and on providing an immediate boost to employment and our construction industry. We have a significant and growing shortage of houses and the ability to fast-track some key transportation, water, wastewater and stormwater initiatives will play a crucial role for our city and sub-region. We also want to provide the amenities needed to deliver the liveable city we all want for ourselves and our future generations.

So if that's a wishlist, that's mine. We are a team of 5 million - let's stick together and make New Zealand's recovery work, with the help of a courageous and forward-thinking Budget 2020.

Tenby Powell is the mayor of Tauranga.