Media Release
17 January
Mayor welcomes record business confidence despite earthquakes
Business confidence in Wellington has hit a two year high, showing the city’s businesses have been resilient in the face
of the earthquakes, says Wellington Mayor Justin Lester.
The latest NZIER quarterly survey of business opinion shows that confidence in Wellington is at its highest level in
Wellington since September 2014.
“The end of last year was a tough time for local businesses. Many saw lower revenue levels and others were closed due to
cordons. It’s a real testament to local people that despite all of that they’ve bounced back and business confidence is
at record levels.
“This shows Wellingtonians are resilient, they’re getting on with the job and expecting big things in the year ahead.”
The Mayor says there is a big job for Council in preparing to deal with future earthquakes as well.
“It’s a job for council now to be backing our local businesses and investing in a more resilient city. We are working
closely with the Government on a number of major resilience investments to make Wellington safer for the future.”
Council’s Economic Development Portfolio leader Simon Marsh said the fact that a net 25% of respondents to the survey
expected to see stronger activity in their own businesses in the coming quarter showed the city was in good heart.
“Many Wellington businesses are going from strength to strength and that means a stronger economy for everyone.
Wellington is humming, and now we need to continue to invest in the cities economic growth to maintain the momentum.”