Election 2023: Encouraging further investment here
As the economic, civic and cultural heart of Auckland, it's essential that the city centre continues to recover and be known as a vibrant and safe international city.
With the election imminent, we asked party leaders for their position on supporting the city centre's ongoing recovery and growth.
NB: All of the responses below are as received.
Question Two: What is your position on encouraging further investment here and what investment do you see as being most important?
ACT:
ACT recognises the need for investment in Auckland city centre in housing, transport, commercial buildings, and much more. ACT would reduce barriers to investment by allowing OECD countries to invest in New Zealand without restrictions, except for cases of national security and residential property, which would allow necessary infrastructure to be build faster than it could otherwise, or which might not exist at all without foreign direct investment. ACT proposes working with local government to determine 30 year plans for growth and the necessary investment which this will require -so when people move to new homes in the city they will have the right transport and utility services available to accommodate them. Investment of all types is best supported by a government framework with minimal barriers which provides regulatory certainty to investors.
Green Party:
Cities are natural economic hubs. The investment required is in transport infrastructure which gets people to and from the city and surrounding areas easily, together with new housing on transport routes. The Green Party’s Climate-safe Communities plan will deliver this. The city rail link, combined with light rail to the airport and new apartments and townhouses along rail corridors, will connect the city centre to the rest of Auckland and ensure it is an attractive place to live, work, and spend time.
Labour:
Auckland city plays a key role in attracting business and investment in New Zealand. The growth of sectors such as tech and screen have had significant spill-over effects for the rest of the country. As our international gateway, many international tourists enter the country via Auckland before travelling further afield.
Our work to support Auckland in its recovery from COVID-19 and this year’s severe weather events is paying off. International tourism electronic card transaction spend (TECT) data for July 2023 shows tourist spend in Auckland was $73 million for the month, higher than the spend in July 2019 (pre covid) which was $63.9 million. Auckland Airport underlined a stronger-than-anticipated rebound in domestic and international aviation markets during the year. By the end of fiscal 2023, international seat capacity returned to 90% of pre-pandemic traffic and domestic recovered to 89%.
We know that Auckland will benefit from our record trade performance. New Free Trade Agreements with the United Kingdom and the European Union will see up to $1 billion and $1.8 billion of growth opportunity respectively, further liberalisation of trade, and increased international access to our markets. Since 2017, we’ve signed 7 Free Trade Agreements and grown coverage of our export markets from 50% to 73.5%. Auckland businesses will undoubtedly benefit from Labour’s work on trade.
Major events are one of the core pillars of the visitor economy. They attract visitors from beyond our borders, help us tell the story of our region and our people, and strengthen our identity as an exciting place to live and work. The Government’s Major Events Fund is an important enabler of high-profile events in New Zealand. FIFA gave accommodation providers a boost nationwide during July, with total guest nights of 2.8 million in July 2023, up 11% and 4% from July 2022 and 2019 levels, respectively. Total guest nights have been steadily growing from 6% below pre-COVID levels to surpassing pre-COVID levels over the last 3 months.
We have made changes to our screen sector rebate. We’ve made it easier for international screen productions to access the Uplift rebate – creating an additional incentive to attract medium and large international productions to New Zealand. This will see more productions made in Tāmaki Mākaurau, the heart of New Zealand’s screen sector, further boosts to the domestic screen industry and these changes will grow Auckland’s economy too.
In the immediate aftermath of the weather events, the Labour Government provided support for Auckland businesses. This included $1 million for business continuity and resilience planning; $1 million for mental health and wellbeing support through the First Steps programme; and a total of $9 million for business support grants. The Auckland Business Chamber was contracted by MBIE to deliver the grant support programme and successfully delivered $8.3 million to over 2,500 businesses across the city. The Chamber is also responsible for the delivery of the First Steps programme which is being expanded to provide services nationally.
Regions have been developing Destination Management Plans thanks to $11.5 million in funding from the Government’s COVID-19 relief package for Regional Tourism Organisations. Over the next two years, $5 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will fund a new team which will work with regions across the country as they implement their own destination management plans – taking into account each region’s unique attractions, while ensuring they collaborate at a national level.
Our record shows that we back Auckland. We know that Auckland is crucial to a thriving Aotearoa New Zealand. That is why Labour will continue to invest in Auckland in order to support the country, and to drive New Zealand forward.
National:
National has a comprehensive plan to rebuild the economy, with 100 actions to end the cost-of-living crisis, lift incomes, and give Kiwis a reason to stay in New Zealand. Delivering a stronger economy, with less red tape and less government waste, we will create the conditions that are conducive to more investment, including in our city centres.
National is also committed to building infrastructure for growth, like roads, public transport, renewable energy, and housing supply. Part of that approach includes speeding up consenting processes and cutting red tape to make it easier for private investment.
Labour’s approach to managing the economy involves spending more, taxing more and borrowing more, and New Zealanders are going backwards because of it. The Labour Government’s economic mismanagement has driven our economy into the ground, pumped up the cost of living and sent a record number of Kiwis running for the exit.
New Zealand First:
New Zealand First believes that further investment is desperately needed but on New Zealand terms which essentially will be investment which will start new business, employment, and new wealth creation, and most certainly not being a simple takeover of New Zealand resources and assets. Ireland and Singapore are just two examples of how that is done to great national advantage - which means we do not have to reinvent the wheel here.
