Allison Lawton: Businesses should think about political climate

It will be important for businesses to vote for parties with the right policies. Photo/File

The 2017 General Election is on September 23 and it is coming up fast.

I must say I am enjoying the narratives by all parties, and the Chamber hashosted several events to hear from a range of politicians both sitting and from opposition parties.

It is also interesting to see a new political party, The Opportunities Party, enter the "ring".

They bring a different perspective and thinking to us, as everyday Kiwis, about how we want our New Zealand to be in the future.

Regardless of your political allegiances, it is timely for businesses to think about what policies are needed to ensure there is the ability to grow businesses.

And I would be remiss if I did not add into the mix the international politics, namely the Trump administration and to a lesser degree, Brexit.

How does international politics influence our thinking about what we want in New Zealand. Do we care? How does this impact on us in Rotorua?

The Rotorua Chamber is part of the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NZCCI), which represents 30 regional Chambers of Commerce, supporting more than 22,000 businesses across New Zealand.

In preparation for the upcoming 2017 election 992 business owners from across New Zealand were surveyed. The results highlighted their key needs as being;

Collaboration - (i) Central government agencies to work together to design and implement cost-effective solutions to problems (ii) Collaboration between central and local government to develop collective solutions to address local and regional economic growth constrains and to catalyse new growth opportunities.

Policy - (i) Adaptable policy settings to meet fast changing business needs (e.g. guaranteeing labour skills availability when required) (ii) A fundamental reform of the planning environment to make it less burdensome (iii) Cost and time effective business compliance especially for small and medium sized businesses, especially Health and Safety legislation.

Regional focus - (i) Pathways and incentives to scale up and transfer local or regional "good ideas." (ii) A national focus on regional priorities, to get the right services and infrastructure in the right place ahead of time to enable managed and manageable regional growth. And (iii) better sustainable management of the negative impacts of urban and rural growth.

Over the coming weeks I will focus on each key area as it pertains to our city to encourage your thinking as a business owner; and our collective thinking as a city.

Allison Lawton is the chief executive of the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce.