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Interview with Cathan Bowler, host of The Story Hub podcast

The Chamber loves shining a spotlight on inspiring Waikato stories, which is why we’re proud to support The Story Hub Podcast by Chamber member Cathan Bowler of BNZ. Check out our interview with him below.The Story Hub Podcast helps you be inspired & learn from the journeys of successful kiwi professionals. Check it out on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts....

Updates from Hawke’s Bay businesses following Cyclone Gabrielle

There is a lot of speculation currently on the condition of Hawke's Bay, so here’s a summary of the situation:Only pockets of Hawke's Bay were devastated.  These pockets were primarily homes and growers situated near rivers and surrounding hills.Part of the reason for the devastation was due to our river banks (stop banks) giving way.Bridges were swept away between parts of Napier and Hastings and surrounding rural areas;Eskdale – our road to Auckland is closed (this is our artery for m...

Hamilton – the capital of New Zealand?

Media opinion writers are debating Hamilton’s promotion to being our capital city. Why Wellington should no longer be the capital of New ZealandWhat Wellington needs to do if it wants to be a credible capital Christmas and January is traditionally a slow news month so we can’t let this debate slide past without notice.Flattered as we are by the depth of logic in the first Stuff article, we do not want the beltway to shift to Hamilton. A government’s conservative, constrained and burea...

Has Michael Wood been handed three poisoned chalices by the Prime Minister?

As the immigration Minister he controls a complex, sprawling, humanitarian portfolio. Balancing the requirements of the various factions within the Labour Party and a disgruntled business sector crying out for staff, will require a great deal of time, political capital and perseverance.Being the Minister for Auckland will take a lot of time and energy. Auckland has been neglected by Wellington even before the floods. There are so many issues. Choosing which ones to tackle in the meagre nine mont...

Whatever Happened to the CBD?

The Central Business District, as we have known it, is quite probably a thing of the past. The Covid-19 pandemic has merely accelerated the changing character of downtowns amidst poorly rented lower-grade commercial buildings, infrastructure under-investment, cheaper land elsewhere and remote working practices. Prior to the pandemic we were seeing an increase in work mobility, (planned) residential sprawl to the fringe (requiring services and amenities), but we also experienced the redevelopment...

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to the Waikato Chamber of Commerce blog! Here you can find news about the Chamber, updates on our events, news about our members or the Waikato region, commentary from us or our members, information on our advocacy work and more.If you’re a member and would like to submit something for consideration to be published, or if there’s a good news story in the Waikato you think we should be highlighting, please email us.To find out more about what the Chamber is up to, subscribe to our new...