New Hawke's Bay business group formed

A new organisation will help stop Hawke's Bay's economy falling behind the rest of the country, says Chamber of Commerce CEO Murray Douglas.
Business Hawke's Bay will be a private sector entity, advised by experts from the Chamber of Commerce, local councils and other groups.
Mr Douglas said Hawke's Bay was consistently trailing national averages.
"I don't think there's any reason we should be the third to bottom region in New Zealand," he said. "It's about positioning Hawke's Bay as a place you can do business with the whole of New Zealand and the whole of the world."
He would not discuss details yet. The board would be officially appointed in July, and he said people would be impressed.
"I'm anxious to say there are no quick victories on this," he said. "We're starting behind the eight ball."
Venture Hawke's Bay and its predecessors had struggled for stability. "None of the entities before this have really had a chance to make an impact - we've had eight CEOs in 11 years."
The stability of the Chamber of Commerce made it an excellent option for administrating Business Hawke's Bay. The board would be appointed from local business people, who would not be paid. Some key performance indicators had been set and were not aiming low. Measurements like population growth being at the top end of estimates, rather than low and medium levels, and the average household income going up would show they were succeeding. "We can put 10 fat cats in Havelock North, but that's not economic development. People need to have more prospects and more confidence that Hawke's Bay is where they can succeed." Key was attracting businesses, which would then employ people directly and provide more work for transport and construction companies around the region.
Hastings District Council and Napier City Council had both indicated support for the idea, either financial or in kind.
HB Regional Council staff had recommended supporting the organisation with $50,000 and councillors would consider that proposal at tomorrow's meeting. Mr Douglas said work being done by HB Tourism to link private and public sectors was a good start but tourism alone was not going to drive the development.