For some time I have been keen to see the BusinessNZ presence expand into the regional areas of the country and in October was pleased that the BusinessNZ Board agreed to relocate the meeting scheduled for that month from Wellington to Invercargill.
Over 12th and 13th October we had a twenty-four strong team of Board members and BusinessNZ staff travel to Southland for The Board Meeting and the attached additional events that served to both introduce Southlanders to BusinessNZ activities, and to likewise present the opportunity for the region's economic strengths to be seen by the visitors.
The Venture Southland staff provided a fascinating and most informative presentation on what is happening on the business front in the province and clearly with so many existing and new opportunities across mining, oil and gas exploration, tourism and food production activities the locally recognised wealth benefits are well positioned to grow, and to grow significantly.
Our visitors, many of whom had not been to Southland previously, were, to say the least, most impressed with what is happening, and about to happen, in 'the far South'.
In his presentation Steve Canny (of Venture Southland) took us through the detail behind a number of current development opportunities and we will hopefully, in future editions of UPDATE, be able to reproduce some of his material. I feel sure that it will have wide appeal.
Also, as another component of the BusinessNZ presence in Invercargill, Phil O'Reilly delivered an informative address to a lunchtime gathering of approximately eighty local OSEA members and southern business people. Phil's 'high octane' delivery mode was well appreciated by those present and a good deal of ground was covered in his presentation.
He focused on current national economic issues and the Government's position in respect of some of these. Manufacturing performance across Otago/Southland remains buoyant, and in fact over recent months has lead the national PMI survey outcomes.
Phil explained that the service sector (retail, hospitality and tourism-related activities) nationally was tracking positively but the fact is that currently here The South, we tend to be following the performance levels seen in other parts of the country. This is of concern to many regional small/medium operators reliant on the need for strong visitor inflow numbers.
Phil talked widely about the Government's Economic Growth Agenda (reminding us the term "Strategy" is no longer flavour-of-the-month in Wellington) these comments covering regulatory reform, steps to strengthen the tax system, a focus on improving public services and infrastructure and also around the need to lift effort on education and skills delivery. Forward steps on science, innovation and trade also comprise key components of the Growth Agenda.
Central to moving the country's economy forward is the 2025 primary goal targeting the increase of exports to a minimum of 40% of GDP.
And, as Phil highlighted, the central critical sectors connected to the Government's expanded export-focused development activity are:
The mining and petroleum focus, as we all know, carries with it concerns around 'green elements' and (in the minds of some) potential pollution risks. I find it interesting to note that in Norway as petroleum exploration and recovery steps were first taken (the industry is now a most significant part of that country's economy) the same public concerns were very evident.
The Norwegian Government of the day recognised these concerns and introduced a new policy that dictated the forward preservation of a long-term superannuation plan built on oil revenue proceeds. In short order the Norwegian people widely embraced development of the new industry and the consequential retirement gains for future generations was soundly locked into place.
Given the current New Zealand concerns about the longer-term universal superannuation viability it may well be prudent to consider adoption of the Norwegian model here.
In summary I think it is fair to say that the presence of the BusinessNZ personnel in Invercargill proved to be of benefit to all and there has since been positive comment around the future prospect of more BusinessNZ Council meetings being held in regional locations. This should serve to extend wider awareness of the organisation's brand and also to further promote the regional brands of the stakeholder employers'/Chambers of Commerce parties.
When I was a young man growing up in Southland it seemed that across the country at the time there was something of a bumper-sticker movement where the various provinces sought to promote regional attention.
One I recall was "I live and work in The King Country, a young land for big men" ... our regional statement was "SOLID SENSIBLE SOUTHLAND" ... still fantastic.
John Scandrett
Chief Executive Officer
These articles and much more available in the latest Update - The Official OSEA Magazine
