ChristchurchNZ boss sounds alarm on anchor projects pace

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

The Government has been warned Christchurch needs help to finish its anchor projects, or the city and and wider national economy will suffer.

That was the message in a briefing delivered on Tuesday by Joanna Norris, the new chief executive of ChristchurchNZ, the city council's tourism, events and economic development agency.

ChristchurchNZ chief executive Joanna Norris says the city's anchor projects need to be completed 'with pace'.

Norris said finishing the anchor projects would cushion the blow as the Christchurch rebuild wound down and nationwide business confidence slowed.

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Any stagnation in the Christchurch economy, which drove the South Island economy and represented about 8 per cent of the national economy, would have a flow on effect, she warned.

'We view that under investment will lead to a loss of confidence.

'It is essential central government supports local authorities to complete the outstanding anchor projects with pace, and provides clear scope and timelines.

'The risk of uncertainty is too great. Wellington cannot take its foot off the gas.'

Norris said employment in the construction sector had dropped 3 per cent in the past year, and further softening in the rebuild over the next 12 months would only be partially offset by low growth in the underlying economy.

Because Christchurch dominated the Canterbury economy, a softening in the overall Canterbury economy was likely.

'This forecast – paired with falling business confidence nationwide – demonstrates the risk to central Government of not adequately investing in the completion of the rebuild,' she said.

Crown agency Ōtākaro is tasked with completing 13 anchor projects such as the convention and metro sports centres, but to date only two – the bus interchange and the earthquake memorial – have been completed.

Pre-election Labour promised a $300 million boost for the Christchurch rebuild, and Norris said new Regeneration Minister Megan Woods' commitment to faster progress on the Canterbury recovery needed to be backed up with appropriate funding and support from cabinet as spending plans were fully costed.

ChristchurchNZ was working on attracting new investment, growing existing businesses and supporting entrepreneurs, but there were challenges ahead, Norris said.

Visitor arrivals and spending were up, but the city's share of the tourist market was still down on the level it enjoyed before the earthquakes.

For the year to the end of September, Christchurch accounted for 14 per cent (517,888) of all international arrivals, compared to 21 per cent in 2010.

However, analysis of travel behaviour revealed concerns about visitors bypassing the city may be unjustified.

Airbnb beds had grown 20 per cent in just 18 months and when those figures were added to commercial accommodation data, guest nights were around pre-quake levels, Norris said.

The impact of disruptive technologies, as evidenced by the phenomenal growth of Airbnb, was something all businesses needed to come to grips with.

'Those in the retail sector will be thinking very, very carefully about the appearance of Amazon.'

Efforts to increase visitors during the quieter shoulder season included a new marketing campaign recently launched in Australia.

ChristchurchNZ will also announce a new major events strategy early next year following approval by the city council.

Norris said that as well as revamping the World Buskers Festival they were exploring the possibility of a new food event, and other new events in spring and autumn.

Access to migrant labour was another area of concern if Labour proceeded with its stated policy of slashing immigration levels down from the current 70,000 to between 20,000 and 30,000.

Norris said that with low unemployment many Canterbury businesses relied heavily on migrant workers to fill labour and skills gaps.

She pointed out that the aging population meant there would be 73,500 job vacancies by 2031, which natural population growth could not fill.