The Chamber Sets Out Expectations For Incoming Council

The Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce has today released our Business Expectations of Local Government document outlining 55 expectations that The Chamber working with our members and business community has identified for the next term of local government.

"Local government affects every business and every resident, and in the case of businesses, local government can both facilitate economic growth and hinder it," says Leeann Watson, Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce.

Business Expectations of Local Government was developed with local businesses to both address the most significant barriers to growth and to focus on the future issues that the Council will need to address over the coming years to ensure we have a prosperous and future focused city.

"When business does well, our community does well," says Watson. "We expect a strong recognition of this from all candidates standing for office. They must understand the role of business in our community, and this must be reflected in their policies and actions. We look forward to robust engagement on the issues and solutions identified in our document over the coming weeks."

Three major themes are explored in Business Expectations of Local Government:

• Supporting economic growth by enabling businesses to succeed, reducing red tape, and establishing initiatives to support challenges such as labour market constraints, the resumption of tourism and ensuring our infrastructure is fit for purpose and future-proofed.
• Futureproofing our region and repositioning Christchurch as a city of the future, with a clear purpose and a clear vision of what we want to stand for and be known for - our new identity that we need to actively work towards becoming.
• Supercharging the Christchurch City Council to deliver for both residents and businesses, in a manner which is efficient and transparent and results in strong economic growth and positive community outcomes.

The release of the document corresponds with The Chamber’s Mayoral Candidate Forum to be held 27 September where Chamber members, the business community and the public will have the opportunity to hear from Phil Mauger and David Meates, the two candidates identified by The Chamber’s membership as those they would most like to hear from. The event will be free and open to the public. Those interested in attending can save their seat at thechamber.co.nz.

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