Mandate to promote business

Queenstown's economic powerhouse is concerned public services will be compromised if the Queenstown Lakes District Council swings its debt-cutting axe too heavily. Chief executive Ann Lockhart also outlines the busy year of business development ahead for the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce, including an address by Prime Minister John Key, in this week's Wakatipu Echo.

The Queenstown Chamber of Commerce has a key role to advocate and lobby on behalf of its members, providing a strong voice for the local business community.

The chamber has a current membership of more than 300, which is growing significantly, as businesses in the district recognise the value of belonging to an organisation which can bring about positive change.

The chamber spearheads important initiatives to bring about improvements and drive economic benefit for the district.

The organisation takes a strong interest in the interaction between the district's businesses, the Queenstown Lakes District Council, regional councils, Government and other national agencies.

Submissions on recent issues range from the Alcohol Reform Bill, urban design, downtown strategy and waste disposal, to sustainable business programmes, improved security in the CBD, freedom camping and events strategies.

The council's annual plan is also of significant interest to the business community and the chamber encourages all its members to be proactive and make their own submissions on any issues of concern which will reinforce the business community's position.

The current annual plan is open for submission and the chamber, while congratulating the council on making a strong effort to reduce its external debt, does question at what cost this reduction comes.

The council has signalled it will significantly reduce debt in its 10-year plan to 2019. But the chamber has concerns that some of the council's services, in the current annual plan, could be compromised, such as the potential loss of funding for the winter gritting of roads in the district.

This could have significant consequences for both commuters and business owners in Wakatipu and the chamber will highlight this in its upcoming submission.

The chamber is also supporting a wide reaching community consultation programme based on a successful formula developed overseas. As a catalyst, the chamber brought key executives from Whistler, in Canada, to run a seminar series in Queenstown and outline their town's programme, which attracted a United Nations award.

This programme will focus on diverse topics of importance to the district ranging from economic development to events management, sporting and cultural activities and environmental topics.

Business development training is an integral part of the services offered by the chamber and a number of businesses have upskilled their staff through the new Regional Partners Programme, funded by Government through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

The chamber's biennial Business Excellence Awards are another opportunity for businesses to develop and refine their business and strategic plans and to benchmark themselves against others in their industry.

Networking is important for all chamber members and the Business After 5 functions are well supported because of the benefits they offer. Members are able to host a B After 5 function to introduce people to their products and services, at the same time allowing participants to meet and exchange ideas with others in the local business community.

The chamber's business luncheon series attracts a range of high calibre political and economic commentators and Prime Minister John Key is scheduled to address a chamber event in June.

Planned for late July is a women's conference with a strong line-up of outstanding national and local speakers.

This is designed to appeal to professional women in Queenstown and follows on from a successful women's morning tea series.