Chamber of Commerce welcome current political negotiations
Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce welcome current political negotiations
As a Chamber of Commerce our role is to
work with the Government of the day to achieve the outcomes
for business and we welcome the conclusion of the current
political negotiations to form a Government. We will watch
with interest, over the coming days, as the details of vital
policies, ministerial positions, and the final government
arrangements are put in place.
Hutt Valley Chamber of
Commerce President Mr Neville Hyde said “Some of the
comments made by New Zealand First leader Mr Peters raised
questions about what will happen with New Zealand's
fundamental economic structure and settings”. The sooner
business understands what is meant by this, the better it
will be to give businesses the confidence and certainty they
require “says Hyde”.
Throughout the election
campaign the Chambers of Commerce have been an advocate on
key issues the business community would like addressed, to
ensure a strong platform for business to invest, grow, and
employ.
There will need to be a strong focus on
regional development, responding on a regionally specific
basis to challenges. From addressing our housing shortage,
to improving core infrastructure, as well as a renewed
commitment to free trade - all with the goal to make it
easier to do business.
The incoming government must
avoid knee-jerk responses to perceived problems in
immigration.
Stopping immigration would be bad for
businesses and bad for the economy. Instead we encourage the
government to work with employers, to manage requirements
around talent, and the Chambers of Commerce are keen to help
with this.
The incoming government must address the
housing shortage by solving the underlying infrastructure
financing problem which is holding back critical
infrastructure expansions needed to get houses
built.
Major upgrades to existing infrastructure are
also needed to deal with heavier demand and to improve urban
storm water and wastewater. Making sure local councils are
able to deal with the infrastructure deficit will be
important for any incoming government - the Chambers of
Commerce would welcome strong leadership from central
government on this.
There are also other issues
that Chambers are keen to pursue, and we welcome
commencement of a conversation on these, as well as look
forward to working alongside the incoming Labour-led
government to ensure we get the right outcomes “says
Hyde”.
Ends.