Matt Cowley: Our biggest threat to business

Christopher Luxon at a media stand-up after giving a speech to the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce at the University of Waikato. Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell (right) and new National Party candidate Tom Rutherford (Bay of Plenty) feature in the background. Photo / Alex Cairns

Opinion

I am eager to see whether our two main political leaders will address our economic productivity in any meaningful way in this year’s election.

The Bay of Plenty was very fortunate to evade the worst impacts of the weather events earlier this year, unlike our neighbouring regions, which rightly need immediate support.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. Photo / NZ Herald / Marty Melville

Nevertheless, Western Bay businesses do not want our long-term issues forgotten.

Right now, the biggest threat to business is our ability to attract and house a solid workforce over the next decade.

The recent Bay of Plenty Times headline “Western Bay of Plenty weekly rents could reach nearly $1000 within 10 years as Tauranga becomes ‘increasingly unaffordable’” is an all too likely risk for local employers.

We need infrastructure that keeps up with our long-term population growth.

It’s clear the current delivery model isn’t working. Our infrastructure deficit keeps getting worse as it fails to keep up with our growing population.

It’s vital we get more innovative financing and funding tools to deliver infrastructure that’s responsive to our future needs.

I believe it’s too easy for local and central government agencies to point the blame at each other when it’s time to be accountable for the lack of progress – especially given the extensive modelling and analysis that’s been commissioned over the past two decades.

Local developers are frustrated with conflicting national policy statements (NPS) by different Government agencies. One statement makes it illegal not to provide enough urban development supply but this is made near impossible by other policy statements on wetlands, freshwater and fertile soils.

Politicians will say every region is critical to New Zealand’s future economic success, which is hard to argue against. But you cannot deny the Golden Triangle’s success will heavily influence New Zealand’s economic prosperity.

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / Mead Norton

Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty contain half of the country’s population and GDP. Accordingly, most of New Zealand’s import and export freight goes through either Auckland or Tauranga’s seaports, as well as Tainui Group Holding’s Ruakura Inland Port.

New Zealand faces two major challenges: our weakening economic productivity and our trade deficit. While they are separate issues – they are interlinked.

The four pillars of a productive economy are capital to invest; a healthy innovation ecosystem; a range of talented and brave people; and the efficient use of natural resources.

Good governments know when to intervene and when to get out of the way. When it comes to achieving a more productive economy that exports more than it imports, I don’t feel confident in any political party’s strategy to date.

It’s a complex challenge to address, but New Zealand is playing whack-a-mole by addressing the challenge issue by issue.

Tauranga’s demographic is continuously changing, which means this traditionally right-leaning stronghold is becoming increasingly competitive for other political parties to contest.

Matt Cowley is the chief executive of the Tauranga Business Chamber.