Media release - Newmarket Business Association

Monday 16 January 2006

Visit the shops not attend meetings

Voted this month as Auckland's "best shopping precinct", Newmarket has tonight ruled out Queen Street ever becoming a close competitor until the public starts spending more time and money in the CBD shops and less time worrying about its trees.

In an unusal move, head of the Newmarket Business Association, Cameron Brewer, tonight said if the public really wanted to help Queen Street, they’d be better to support its shops than threaten to chain themselves to its trees.

"If people really wanted to help Queen Street, they should go and spend $100 there this week and not waste their time at tomorrow night's extra-ordinary council meeting on trees. I bet most of the people jumping up and down wouldn’t be able to produce one thing they’d bought on Queen Street in the past 25 years.

"I feel sorry for the struggling Queen Street businessperson, who’s paid extra over the past few years via a targeted rate to fast-track the inner-city upgrade. He and she have had to standby and watch the project become a fiasco. Whatever you think of the trees, this whole thing has done Queen Street no favours.

"Newmarket hasn’t needed trees to be the best shopping precinct. In fact we’ve achieved such kudos with the added handicap of unsafe footpaths, ugly streetscapes, and a back-of-beyond railway station. We haven’t relied on huge sums of public money put towards reinventing us every few years.

"We’ve risen to become New Zealand’s premier commercial and retailing district by providing a first-class product that stands proudly on its own two feet. It's what's inside the shops that really makes a retail area.

"Newmarket's been repeatedly voted Auckland's best shopping precinct for the last few years. We want someone to start giving us a run for our money. That would be great for the consumer. Sadly however Queen Street seems continually at war with itself on the side issues," said Mr Brewer

ENDS

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