Press release
Newmarket Business Association
13 June 2008
Pending election adds to retailers' worries
The head of Auckland's leading shopping district says while the latest retail figures for the month of April released by
Statistics New Zealand today weren't as alarming as the figures for the March quarter, it nonetheless will be a very
tough winter with the pending general election adding to retailers woes.
"The remainder of 2008 is going to be very interesting, particularly with a change of government feeling increasingly
imminent," says Cameron Brewer, general manager of the Newmarket Business Association.
"Pending watershed elections do strange things to consumer behaviour. Fundamentally, government department activity
slows right down, businesses defer their decision making, and consumers keep their hands in their pockets.
"John Key's talking about an 18 October election but in reality it could be any time. That kind of uncertainty doesn't
help at a time when economic growth is halving to around 1.5%. The sooner we can get the election behind us, the
better," said Cameron Brewer.
ENDS