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Long-Term Plan (LTP) Season

It's LTP season throughout the country as local councils rewrite their long-term plans. Most are going to the Bank of Ratepayers for double digit increases at a time when Kiwis are coping with a cost of living crisis.With the Consumer Price Index rising by 20% since the start of 2020, that has eroded households’ purchasing power. It’s been particularly tough for those households on lower incomes as much of the rise in living costs relates to necessities, like housing rents (up 17% since 2020...

The Future of Te Huia

The time has come to decide on the white elephant we call Te Huia. The data is clear: the number of passengers is not growing but the costs are. In a cost of living crisis, we have blown $100 million of taxpayer and ratepayer funds on a form of transport we knew was never going to be viable financially. With Councils increasing rates hugely and the country facing a big bill for fixing an infrastructure cliff, we simply cannot afford to fund an elitist commuter rail service for the small number o...

Amalgamation

Has the time for the amalgamation of the Waikato’s 13 territorial authorities arrived? Most Waikato councils are close to their debt ceiling and experiencing a downgrade in their viability. They are also facing really big costs to ensure their core services and infrastructure do not break.We are hardly the biggest fan of centralisation but there needs to be some rationalisation across the Waikato to get costs down. Saying “Bollocks” as one old Waikato leader did has not worked. T...

An electrifying gallop: A ride with the Chamber EV Mustang

In mid-November last year, the Chamber changed its fleet vehicle from a Ford Ranger diesel ute, the biggest selling vehicle in NZ, to a 2023 Ford Mustang. No, not the V8 but the Mach-E rear wheel drive version.Now a fraction under 10,000km later it is time to tell the journey from an oil burner to electricity. There are several layers to this; the car itself, driving an EV, recharging and its associated anxiety, and whether an EV is a suitable business vehicle to buy.When we picked it up and had...

Local government Long Term Plans (LTPs)

It is that time of the electoral cycle when Long Term Plans are laid out and rates struck. Local government across New Zealand is struggling. Encouraged by central government, they have had six years of myriad co-funded projects to deliver. Due to the fair pay initiative, there have been significant wage increases. This has resulted in local government salaries increasing as well, due to relativity claims. Meanwhile, the aging infrastructure has become a major concern and requires substanti...

What a great start to the year!

While some people and the media are doom and gloom merchants, the Waikato Chamber of Commerce has been buzzing since mid-January with events that have been running at or close to capacity.Business people are out and about, enjoying the sun no doubt but putting a lot of effort into networking. Typically, we would see several not turn up to events after registering but that has almost evaporated as business people are looking to connect face to face, get to know new contacts and keep in touch with...

A New Government

A change of government means a change of tack for the country and the opportunity for several Waikato projects to be advocated to the new team. So here is what we have been lobbying for and will continue to do so with the new Government.Cambridge to PiarereJust do it and do it properly. It is not a Waikato project; it is a Road of National Significance and remains a sad example of the previous government’s poor decision making as it stood as a silent but deadly witness to their inability to ge...

Local Government transparency and financial acumen

The Ombudsman, Peter Boshier, is a no nonsense ex-judge who has recently criticised several councils for their lack of transparency. We quote from his report of an investigation into their activities: “Conducting a great deal of council business behind closed doors, whether through workshops or public excluded meetings, can have a damaging effect on how open the community perceives a council to be. The appropriate use of meeting provisions and workshops is at the heart of openness an...

AgriSea Networking Tour

AgriSea hosted an informative site tour and networking for Waikato Chamber of Commerce Members earlier in October at their Paeroa site.The tour showcased AgriSea’s innovative techniques for developing horticultural, dry stock, dairy farm and bee nutrition solutions from seaweed. Members found learning about the sustainability and innovation of AgriSea products inspiring.Read Agrisea CEO Clare Bradley’s comments and guest comments below."Joining the Waikato Chamber of Commerce has opened up b...

Emerging Leader of the Year Jenni Falconer

When Jenni Falconer was working as a nurse along the three other co-founders of Emergency Consult in the late 1990s, they would see around 50 patients per day through the hospital’s emergency department. And patients weren’t waiting hours to be seen.Fast forward 20 years and Jenni and “the boys”, as she calls them, could see something needed to change. The number of patients presenting at ED and after-hours clinics had exploded, wait times were horrendous. So they came up with a novel so...

CEO of the Year Announced

When Lisbeth Jacobs joined Gallagher in April 2021, Covid-19 made some aspects of her role as the Global General Manager of Animal Management a bit tricky.“It wasn’t easy to see people offshore. In New Zealand, we were free to move around but it was quite some time before I managed to get a spot in MIQ which meant I could hop on a plane and see my teams in the US and Europe. But we were used to using Teams, so we made do. But nothing beats face to face.”Today, Lisbeth is Gallagher’s Anim...

Invivo wins Supreme business award, SMEs feature strongly

Invivo first began as an idea thrown around by two friends in a London bar in 2008. Fast forward 15 years and the Waikato-based company has wines and spirits in 43 countries and has been awarded more than 600 medals and trophies. And their latest win is that of Supreme Winner in the 2023 Waikato Business Awards, supported by Foster Construction Group. They also took out the international trade category.Founded by Kiwi school friends Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron, Invivo is behind the award-win...

Welcome to the Chamber: Rebecca Aston

Hi Rebecca, welcome to the team, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?Born and raised in Rotorua, I moved to Hamilton 16 years ago to study at the University of Waikato. Job opportunities and the close proximity of the Waikato to other cities in NZ, led me to purchase a house and settle down in Hamilton.Outside of my career, I enjoy cooking and gardening. I also hold several volunteering roles, including, being a Wish Fairy for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and a Trustee on the Hamilton Chri...

How to innovate with Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) incorporates a multitude of different cloud services including well known examples such as Outlook (email & calendar)  and OneDrive/SharePoint (file sharing & collaboration).What many people don't realise is that there are many more applications and services available as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription that an organisation is already paying for but not fully utilising.Microsoft's intent with the 365 suite has always been to put mor...

Cyber Security Reminders

With the recent cyber-attacks including at the Waikato DHB in 2021, and the associated media coverage, cyber security has become front of mind for both large and small organisations here in the Waikato and throughout New Zealand.Attacks on organisations are increasing and becoming more sophisticated. If an organisation falls victim to a cyber-attack, it can cause significant business impacts including damaged reputation, sensitive information including intellectual property being leaked, and fin...

The history of Emblems New Zealand’s involvement with the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Waikato Business Awards

In 1999 the trophies for the Waikato Business Excellence Awards, as they were known back then, were produced by Emblems NZ. The design was a bespoke one with granite and acrylic, highlighted with gold and paua. The inaugural winners were Chibnall Swann Architects. Due to the cost of producing this award, it was only produced a couple of times.In 2001, Emblems NZ came up with a solution: a corporate, crystal award, made with a combination of screen printing, sandblasting and paint filling. The re...

Preparing for New Zealand’s Electric Future, here in Hamilton.

We visited our member Hikotron’s premises to find out more about what they do in the emerging industry of EV charging. Stephanie, Co-Founder of Hikotron outlined that ‘range anxiety’ is a prominent factor for prospective EV owners.  Hikotron’s goal is to establish New Zealand’s largest EV AC charging network so that drivers can travel from destination to destination with the confidence that they can charge their vehicles upon arrival.Find out more from Stephanie below....

People and technology are the key to helping Kiwi Businesses thrive in 2023

Business optimism continuing despite the recessionary pressure.Cost and pricing continue to be front of mind for business leaders.Larger businesses continue to thrive while smaller businesses more likely to struggle.Staff and productive use of technology are the make or break for businesses in 2023.Business leaders are facing a whole new operating environment in 2023 as their focus shifts completely away from the pandemic and towards managing rising costs and improving productivity, according to...

The financial chickens have come home to roost on the heads of some Hamilton City Councillors

Hamilton City Council’s deficit widens, as last month we predicted it would. The Hamilton City Council has just announced their deficit will exceed $27 million. It didn’t take a forensic accountant to see that the earlier Council claims of a small deficit was PR spin and not real.Depreciation costs should be known at the beginning of the budget year. They do not change greatly nor at short notice. Interest costs were easy to predict. The Reserve Bank was always going to increase interest rat...

Cancer Society

Everyone is touched by cancer through their own battle or through someone else’s fight.It has been a privilege over the past two weeks to see first-hand the work of the Cancer Society. The BA4 we held at the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge was generously sponsored by PwC and Kerr & Ladbrook. We had the privilege to hear a stunning story from one of the Lodge's 'clients' about how cancer turned their life upside-down and how the Society had helped right his ship in the face of adversity.I...

The Beauty of Networking: A Recruiters Review

Networking, you either love it or loathe it but we all know it’s a necessity in the world of business. As a Recruitment Partner, 99% of my job is some form of ‘networking’ – whether that be with current clients, business prospects, new candidates, or previous placements. After a few years of attending planned events and building relationships with a variety of business professionals, I still see a pattern of hesitancy towards networking.It got me thinking, with such m...

Subsidies & Te Huia

We are in a cost of living crisis and the Government and the Regional Council still insist on subsidising Te Huia passenger fares, whilst lower cost but profitable operators like buses supply a better, more regular and cheaper service.The 11-month $5 million plus operating loss seems to be funding an ideological luxury for a group of commuters who could easily afford a $40 return bus fare rather than the rest of us subsidising their daily $180 return Te Huia fare handout.Using mid 20th Century t...

Waka Kotahi & Coromandel

We must give credit where and when it is due. Waka Kotahi NZTA deserves a bouquet for the work they are doing to not only rectify SH25A across the Coromandel Peninsula, but they have given business owners a time frame for completion.Moving to a 24/7 shiftwork programme and to publicly proclaim a completion date of the end of March 2024 has given the Coromandel business community certainty and with that they have given confidence to the families, the suppliers, and the holidaying public, tha...

Simon Bridges says we need to make infrastructure the next economic success story

Simon Bridges says we need to make infrastructure the next economic success story, and he’s absolutely right.NZIER’s independent research shows that the economic benefits of the proposed Cambridge to Piarere [C2P] and the Warkworth to Wellsford [W2W] expressways are just shy of $1 billion per year to New Zealand.That’s an incredible return and sends a powerful message to bureaucrats and politicians that there is huge opportunity to unlock economic growth with infrastructure projects. New Z...

A farewell to two Hamilton MPs

In today’s world the concept of elected service to your community is forgotten by many, yet we want the best, most meritorious candidates to represent us in Parliament or on Council. Whatever your politics, when Members of Parliament voluntarily close their political careers and get the opportunity to look back on their time in Parliament, with its review of why they stood for election, we should read or listen to their speeches in appreciation of their service.It is easy to be parti...