Oral Submission On Wellington City Council 2020-2021 Annual Plan

• Kia ora tatou! Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the Annual Plan proposal on behalf of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
• As John said, my name is Josh Tan, I am the research, policy, and advocacy advisor at the Wellington Chamber.
• But first and foremost, I am a passionate Wellingtonian, I asked John if I could do this oral submission on behalf of the Chamber because I have a vested interest in the wellbeing of my city.
• I am too young to remember the dull grey Wellington of the 80s, but I grew up here in the 90s and early 2000s and to be honest it is hard to see much change since then, I am hoping you, our councillors have an ambitious vision, not for the next year or next 10 years, but the next 40 to 50 years, that’s certainly the mindset we need going forward, and we need to start now.
• I want to be as brief as I can, so I trust you’ve all read our paper in detail.
• But, before I get into it, I want to acknowledge Council officers – all those hard-working staff that have worked diligently on the annual plan itself and continued to keep Council open and consulting over lockdown, it was fantastic and much appreciated.
• The Wellington Chamber of Commerce has been part of the city for 164 years and currently has around 1,300 members that call Wellington home, they are part of the 3,600 members we have region-wide.
• It is critical to note that Wellington’s businesses contribute significantly to the city and region’s rates intake. The figure is around 45 per cent of the City’s rates intake, and 33 per cent of the Greater Regional Council’s rates intake.
• The Chamber acknowledges the Council’s efforts to date in minimising the rates increase.
• However, our organisation must point out that given the current economic situation and with many businesses already struggling, any increase in the general rates will hit businesses where it matters most – that’s their cash flow.
• Following the news by AMP this morning, we would urge the council to ensure the rates increase is the absolute minimum on the commercial ratepayer. We’ve been saying for years the commercial ratepayers in the city have been overrated. And if commercial property demand is going to drop further, Council will not be able to access it as a honey pot in the future.
• Regarding the proposals included in the Annual Plan consultation, the Chamber holds the following views:

1. We disagree with the overall approach of the Annual Plan, and believe the Council needs to fundamentally rethink some of their business-as-usual methods.
2. We support the minimum 2.3 per cent increase, however, we support the Council making large-scale investments necessary to take the city forward. We support the Tipu Toa: Build Back Better initiative.
3. We agree with holding the majority of fees and charges at their current levels.

Download to read the full submission.