Why do we need population growth? My article last week discussed the projected population growth of Rotorua included in the Ten Year Plan. Why do we need population growth? There is a sector of the community that voice the opinion they are quite satisfied with Rotorua the way it is now. They are concerned that some of the real values of our city would be lost. There is another opinion that we should concentrate on increasing the average earnings of our current population to improve the lot of our existing residents. I can understand both views. more...
Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) At the end of last month I was able to send the Chamber's submission on the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) more commonly referred to as ‘The Ten Year Plan'. This submission is available on the Chamber's website on the ‘News and Documents' page. Most of our submission, as you would expect, focuses on economic development and long-term city planning. I thought this week, I would share with you some of my thoughts on the economic direction and growth outlined in the proposed Ten Year Plan. more...
the Lakefront Development Proposal I attended meeting of Rotorua District Councils committee at which the Lakefront Development proposal was presented. Having been involved in the consultation for this project probably some 18 months ago, I was very interested to see the finished proposal. more...
Special Council Meeting I attended the Special Council Meeting on Thursday to present the Chamber's submission on the local authority election process and then stayed to listen to the debate. The weight of public opinion is undoubtedly for change from a ‘ward' based system to an ‘at large' system. There were 14 submissions made by the voting public. Of those only two (or 14 per cent) were for the retention of the current system. This reflected the Chamber's own survey of its members that indicated 85 per cent support for a change to an ‘at large' election. more...
the Bay of Plenty Job summit at Waiariki Institute of Technology I spent a great day last Friday participating in the Bay of Plenty Job summit at Waiariki Institute of Technology. Opened by host mayor, Kevin Winters, and chaired by Grant Kilby, the GM of Destination Rotorua Economic Development, the Summit looked at what could be done to minimise the impact of the current economic softness on employment in the Bay of Plenty. more...
The Easter Trading Issue The Easter Trading issue has hit the media again. At the expense of sounding like a broken record, the Chamber fully supports the renewed efforts to make some sense of this bad piece of legislation. We are 100 per cent behind MP Todd McClay's efforts to have this brought before the house again. We are not concerned about the repitition of previous attempts nor the similarity with Steve Chadwick's bill. The important thing is to keep trying, don't give up just because it was rejected last time. more...
THE SUPER CITY DEBATE FOR THE BAY I was very pleased to hear our MP Todd McClay, our mayour Kevin Winters, and Chair of Environment BOP John Cronin all coming out in suport of debate on the concept of rationalisation of governance for the Bay of Plenty. Let's call it the ‘Super City Debate'. I support the debate on this issue, not necessarily that a Super City is the solution that is the best for Rotorua or the Bay of Plenty. more...
Sunday Trading Rotorua = WIN WIN! There were some interesting media comments regarding Sunday trading in the Rotorua CBD last week. I felt that the remarks about Shop Rotorua were a little unjustified. more...
Chamber Indicates Strong Preference for Voting System Change Last week the Chamber conducted a quick survey of its members to determine their opinion on which election system they preferred, a ‘ward' system or an ‘at large' system. It was a simple choice, one or the other. The survey did not seek opinion on the number of councillors, community boards, Maori wards or the reasons for their choice.. The result was remarkably clear. 166 members cast a vote. This represented 26.3 per cent of the Chamber's membership. Of those 85.5 per cent voted for a change to an ‘at large' system.
Chamber Makes Submission in Support of Change Tomorrow is the closing day for submissions on the proposed changes to the Electoral system for Rotorua District Council. The proposal is for the number of Councillors to remain at 12 plus the Mayor, and a major change to move to the election of councillors in an At Large system. This means that all councillors will be elected from a district wide list of candidates. Although not outlined in the advertisement that appeared in February, I assume that each resident on the electoral role will have the opportunity to vote for 12 candidates from a list of many. more...
POSITIVE STEPS TO ADD JOBS For the past few weeks I have been contributing to the steering committee working towards the Bay of Plenty Employment Summit. This is to be held on the 17 April at Waiariki Institute of Technology and is the follow on from the Prime Minister's Auckland Job Summit.
The Minister and Rotorua's Three Ports! I enjoyed the opportunity to meet Stephen Joyce, the new Minister for Transport and IT and the Associate Minister for Infrastructure. It's not often that you see a first time parliamentarian being given the responsibility for an important ministerial portfolio. It was refreshing to see the approach of a Minister with a strong and recent background in the business world. more...
THE SUPER CITY DEBATE FOR THE BAY I was very pleased to hear our MP Todd McClay, our mayour Kevin Winters, and Chair of Environment BOP John Cronin all coming out in suport of debate on the concept of rationalisation of governance for the Bay of Plenty. Let's call it the ‘Super City Debate'. I support the debate on this issue, not necessarily that a Super City is the solution that is the best for Rotorua or the Bay of Plenty. more...
WORLD CUP 2011 Here we Come What a great result for Rotorua. Not only will we get the economic benefit of three games but as the No.1 tourist destination in New Zealand of New Zealand, strong promotion should see most of the international visitors coming to our city. So September and October should be very strong months for us. more...
POSITIVE STEPS TO ADD JOBS For the past few weeks I have been contributing to the steering committee working towards the Bay of Plenty Employment Summit. This is to be held on the 17 April at Waiariki Institute of Technology and is the follow on from the Prime Minister's Auckland Job Summit. more...
