Organisation in strong position to advocate for business

Wellington Chamber of Commerce

Media Statement
Tuesday 10th November 2015
Organisation in strong position to advocate for business

Wellington Chamber of Commerce is in a strong position to continue to advocate for a better Wellington city and region, Chief Executive John Milford told the annual general meeting today.

He said the Chamber was in a strong financial position “to move forward” into the 2015/16 year.

“I’m pleased to report that member numbers in Wellington City are in a net positive position, and by stepping up our engagement I believe we can improve our performance.

“We’ve been planning for where we need to be over the next business cycle. We’ve thought wisely, planned boldly and now move to act swiftly.

“We’ve realigned resource in the business and broadened leadership across the team which operationally is already proving successful, with improved collaboration across teams and reinforcing member ‘retain, engage, grow’ in all that we do.

“In the past year we continued to deliver many high-quality learning and development member services – training courses, seminars, member briefings, coaching and mentoring, international trade and advocacy and policy activities, and conferences that included wellness, employment relations, and payroll.”

He told members that as the voice of business across three membership brands, Business Central, Wellington Chamber of Commerce and ExportNZ, the organisation was both an advocate “and here to hold decision-makers to account”.

“We remain consistent to our core principles, with a focus on economic growth, and support for projects so long as there is a robust business case, a clear cost-benefit analysis and a real return on investment.

“We want what’s best for all of our communities.

“What business does impacts on everyone. When business is going well, it affects the wellbeing of our economy, our environment, our jobs, our communities, our families, and our futures. Successful business helps to make us all better off.

“We’re here to play our part. We are fortunate to be part of both the BusinessNZ and New Zealand Chambers of Commerce networks. This gives us greater resources and depth in a number of key legislative and policy areas.

“A unified voice for business is a powerful force and we are proud to play our part in advocating for a business environment that allows our members to realise their full potential.

“Our focus is very clear. We are interested only in what is good for our city and our region.

“Wellington businesses pay 47% of the city’s rates and will continue to insist on spending giving a return on investment. We want regional growth, not feel-good or vote-catching headlines.

“We want what’s good for all Wellingtonians, and so we support leadership that believes in a better place for people to live, work, and play, and which is not driven by party ideology.”

Mr Milford welcomed successful board candidates, board members Frazer Allan (Victoria University of Wellington), Peter Cullen (Cullen Law), Christopher Gosling (Wellington Institute of Technology and Whitireia Community Polytech) and Jeremy Harding (Grow/Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency).

Mr Milford said the fact that there were nine nominations for the four positions on the Wellington Chamber of Commerce board was a testament to the strength of the Chamber and the passion with which members saw its work.

He paid tribute to outgoing board members, Linda Sissons, Richard Stone and Pierre Wooldridge, as people who had given freely of their time.

“Richard, Linda and Pierre have made a significant contribution to the Chamber and to Wellington. All have held active and senior positions, Richard serving previously as the President of the Chamber, and Linda as chair of the education sub-committee. Pierre remains a board member of Business Central. We thank them for their years of service to the Chamber board.

The new board is: Frazer Allan, Brent Callaghan, Cas Carter, Ian Cassels, Peter Cullen, John Dow, Daniel Fielding, Charles Finny, Zane Fulljames, Christopher Gosling, Jeremy Harding, Olivier Lacoua.

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