Auckland businesses back alternate location for the port

3 October 2016

Majority of Auckland businesses back alternate location for the port

- New mayor has work to improve satisfaction with council

- Divided views on transport investment focus

A majority of Auckland’s small to medium business owners would choose a different location for the Port of Auckland over its current position according to the latest MYOB Business Monitor survey.

When offered a choice of locations for the port, 54 per cent of SME business owners would choose another location, 31 per cent selected the current location, while and 16 per cent did not know.

Of the alternate locations, 16 per cent suggested amalgamating with the Port of Tauranga, 15 per cent said it should be moved to North Port (Whangarei), 15 per cent chose the Manukau Harbour, 7 per cent chose the Firth of Thames and 1 per cent said other.

“The location of the port is hugely important to small business owners in Auckland,” says MYOB Head of SME Ingrid Cronin-Knight.

“It’s a vital piece of economic infrastructure. It’s important that the next mayor settles on a long term plan for its location that gives business owners confidence in the future.”

When asked if they were satisfied with Auckland Council’s support for businesses, 29 per cent of Auckland owners were dissatisfied with Auckland Council’s performance, only 15 per cent were satisfied, while just under half were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (49 per cent).

“SMEs are looking to Auckland Council to help set the economic conditions to help them succeed. However twice as many operators are dissatisfied with its performance. We’d encourage the new mayor and councillors to get alongside local businesses more to understand what’s important to them,” says Ms Cronin-Knight.

“Small businesses want action on reducing resource consent times, reducing business rates and making council easier to deal with.”

Owners were also divided in terms of dealing with Auckland’s transport problems.

When asked whether the focus of the new Auckland Council should be more directed more on roads or public transport, 31 per cent of respondents said all or most should go on public transport, 39 per cent said an equal amount should go on both, while 26 per cent said most or all should go on roads and 3 per cent did not know.

“Fixing Auckland’s transport is one of the top issues facing the new mayor. It’s vitally important to deal with congestion so businesses can move their goods and people efficiently around the city. It’s great to see a spread of support for investment in public transport. This offers employees affordable means of getting to and from work,” says Ms Cronin-Knight.

“MYOB has worked alongside Auckland SMEs for more than 25 years. Our customers tell us they’ve grown increasingly dissatisfied with Auckland Council’s performance, but the hope is the new mayor and council will focus more strongly on helping them succeed.

The MYOB Colmar Brunton Business Monitor Survey was carried out in last August and early September. It has a sample size of 326 and a margin of error of 6.5 per cent.

ENDS

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