Chamber counters taxpayer union’s argument

Most New Zealanders are making risk-based decisions to safeguard their wealth. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
If significant council funds are being directed to chambers of commerce, the money does not seem to be pouring into Queenstown’s.

"We don’t rely on any local government funding," Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield said.

"Our funding generally comes from membership, sponsorship and events."

There had been the occasional instance where there might be a project that was business-led.

"But it’s a small component of what we would do.

"We do pride ourselves on being the independent voice for business, and we hold our position strong that we advocate for business interests to local government."

This was one counter to commentary from the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, which has questioned council money being directed to chambers of commerce, arguing this might lead to them lobbying less effectively for their members.

"These expenses are hard to justify from the perspective of the ratepayer, and certainly from the perspective of a local business," a union spokesman said.

The Wānaka Business Chamber had a similar message as its neighbouring chamber, saying it worked collaboratively with the Queenstown Lakes District Council to support local businesses and foster economic growth, but it did not get funding out of the council.

Other chambers have argued receiving council or government money for training programmes or health and safety advice does not amount to the same thing as operational grants.

However, the Taxpayers’ Union was worried about chambers becoming distracted, or passive, when businesses faced challenges such as high commercial rates.

"A chamber of commerce’s priority should be lobbying councils to keep these rates down to help businesses," the union spokesman said.

"The rest is secondary."

A 2023 report by the Taxpayers’ Union had QLDC among the leading spenders for chambers of commerce with an allocation of $294,946.25, including GST.

A 2024 report has yet to be produced, but the union advised the Otago Daily Times the figure for it would be $152,436, which would again be high compared with allocations from other councils.

The most recent set of figures from the QLDC seemed to show something quite different.

An allocation paid to chambers of commerce for the 2023-24 financial year was $26,162.08, the council said.

"Payments made to the chambers relate to course and event participation by staff as part of their professional development, subscription fees for QLDC chamber membership, and support for a workforce project," a spokesman said.

Invercargill City Council finance and assurance group manager Patricia Christie said the council spent more than $60,000 with the Southland Business Chamber and this went towards "the purchase of an extensive amount of training for staff, which was delivered locally, as well as room hire and attendance at the business events they run".

The latest annual memberships were $1075.20 for the chamber and $2750 for Business South.

Central Otago District Council community vision group manager Dylan Rushbrook said its membership of Business South was $3025, excluding GST, for 2024-25.

"I do not think the fact that CODC pays a membership fee to Business South has any bearing on how they interact with us, or how they hold council to account on behalf of their members, nor how we hold them to account on different issues," he said.

"We are all seeking to achieve the same thing — a place in which all residents can thrive and have an enhanced quality of life."

The Gore District Council and Waitaki District Council said the Taxpayers’ Union had accurate figures about business chambers in its 2024 data for the 2022-23 financial year.

Gore’s spend of $11,663.42 was for buying Southland-themed Monopoly games for resale ($8521), staff professional development ($2350) and annual membership ($792).

The Waitaki spend for that year was $45,255.75.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz