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Advocacy for business by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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Small businesses are keen to vote in the coming local body elections and think local council support for business is worse than three years ago, according to MYOB’s SME Snapshot - SMEs are calling for better council performance on roading, infrastructure, water and public transport. Other concerns include high rates, an imbalance between the rates levied on commercial vs residential ratepayers, and a general worsening of the CBD environment for businesses in urban centres, BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope says. | | | |
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NZ has been ranked 3rd in the world (after Denmark and Finland) for its freedom from environmental, social and governance risk. The EIU assesses investment risk of countries according to their compliance with international regulatory standards and ability to foster a long-term environment for commercial entities. Meanwhile, the latest OECD rankings have placed NZ as 9th most restrictive among 83 countries for its regulatiry settings restricting investment into NZ. | | | |
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Builders say changes are needed in NZ’s system of building consents. Registered Master Builders’ submission to the Review of the Building Consent System says the system produces risk-averse, inconsistent decisions and requires consenting effort not always proportionate to risk. It recommends better direction to Building Consent Authorities on interpreting regulations, more risk-proportionate consenting, and the simplification and merging of processes for subdivision, resource, and building consent for most developments. | | | |
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Most fire services should be funded out of general taxation rather than levies, says BusinessNZ. Currently Fire & Emergency NZ is funded by a levy on those buying fire insurance who therefore bear the cost of emergency services provided for others, including for govt-owned property that doesn’t have fire insurance, or is exempt from paying the levy. A different funding model that also includes a proportion of user-pays should be considered, BusinessNZ says.
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You are invited to take part in the 2022 BusinessNZ Network Survey of business opinion. The survey asks your opinion on issues affecting businesses today, including wage pressures, ability to get staff, interest rates, supply chain issues, infrastructure constraints and others. Your response will help inform the BusinessNZ Network’s advocacy for a more enabling environment for businesses in NZ. Please take the Survey of business opinion here | | | |
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AdvocacyUpdate is an update on recent activity & advocacy by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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