Rotorua business leaders reveal their Budget wishlist

Wildlands director and principal ecologist Sarah Beadel. Photo / Ben Fraser

Regional development, infrastructure, and environmental protection are three priorities on the Budget 2018 wishlist for Rotorua business leaders.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson will deliver his first Budget with the new Labour Government next Thursday.It will build on the priorities outlined in the December 2017 Budget Policy Statement (BPS), and the priorities Robertson listed in late January when he announced the Budget 2018 date.

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Allison Lawton said the chamber was particularly interested in "what, if any, policy setting changes will be done to make it easier to 'do business' like reducing compliance costs".

Compliance costs are business expenses paid to adhere to industry regulations, such as GST and PAYE.

Lawton also wanted more details about what the Government's focus on "regional development" meant.

"Will there be any packages supporting our exporting and manufacturing industries? What incentives will they have to stimulate ongoing business growth?"

Wildlands director and principal ecologist Sarah Beadel hoped to see environmental protection and sustainability underpin all budget funding.

The Rotorua-based company has 100 staff in 10 offices around the country, and was named Rotorua's Business of the Year in 2017.

Beadel said she wanted to see funding aimed at creating a "light but sustainable environmental footprint".

She supported the one billion trees scheme, and the Government's focus so far on climate change.

Beadel said these initiatives would ensure the forestry sector and tourism continued to be big earners for Rotorua.

She was also an advocate for paid maternity leave funding, and supporting education at all levels in the Budget.

"We employ highly qualified people as we are consultants. Our services are there to solve problems that people can't easily solve themselves. We need experts because if the problem was that simple people simply wouldn't need specialists.

"Education at all levels is important to us though. We employ hands-on staff with NZQA and polytechnic qualifications, not just doctors of science."

Finance Minister Grant Robertson's Budget 2018 priorities
- Building quality public services for all New Zealanders and improving access to core services, such as health and education.
- Taking action on child poverty and homelessness.
- Supporting families to get ahead and sharing the wealth generated by our economy with a wide range of New Zealanders.
- Sustainable economic development and supporting the regions.
- Managing our natural resources and taking action against environmental challenges, such as climate change.