Waikato Business News May/June 2021

From the editor
Kia ora koutou.
This month’s lead
story comes from a
conversation with Vanessa
Williams, general manager of
Hamilton Central Business
Association. Vanessa mentioned
to me that she had spoken
about local procurement
in her submission to the city’s
long-term plan. She also told
me about a scheme to boost
local spending in the northern
England city of Preston, and
later sent me a link to an Atlantic
article on the scheme.
The gist of it is that Preston
councillor Matthew Brown,
faced with cuts to government
funding under an austerity-driven
government in
the wake of the GFC, took a
different tack. Realising there
was a substantial collective
pool of funding available
through local public organisations
including the university
and police, Brown led a move
to coordinate their spend with a
view to supporting local businesses.
Alongside that was a
drive to help develop co-ops,
with the aim of increasing
local capacity. The results have
been impressive. The Atlantic
article said that in 2019 UK
councils received on average
60 percent less central government
funding than they did in
2010. It said the institutions
that signed up increased how
much they spent in Preston
from £38 million in 2012–13
to £112 million in 2016-17. In
the same period, the Preston
council doubled the proportion
of the money it spent locally to
28 percent, despite a shrinking
overall pool of funds.
I reckon we’ve gone from being
anonymous as a council from a central
government perspective, to now one
where we are recognised by the right
people for doing the right things.
Hamilton City Council chief executive
Richard Briggs Page 9
This is clearly a model that
can be applied elsewhere in
the world, including here in
the Waikato.
Enter a pandemic, the call
to support local, and the 2019
amendment to the Local Government
Act to reinstate the four
wellbeings: social, economic,
environmental, and cultural.
Together, those provide an
imperative for councils to look
to their procurement spending,
not just for its value for money
but also for its ability to support
local businesses and Māori and
Pasifika businesses.
With a total procurement
spend of about $420 million
annually, Hamilton City Council
has heft. Head of procurement
Igor Magud is clearly
sympathetic to supporting
local, while also under pressure
to get value for money.
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2021
But the data is lacking, and
it’s not possible to quantify the
council’s impact.
Having a local procurement
focus could see a
requirement for external firms
that win major contracts to
have a component of local
input. It could see a greater
ability for local firms to tender
for smaller contracts. It could
see the council actively trying
to support consortia of local
firms to bid for larger contracts.
Everything is possible,
and the impact for local businesses
is potentially profound.
While Covid has thrown the
buy local movement into
relief, this is an approach that
should outlast the ill effects of
the pandemic.
Ngā mihi
Richard Walker
“ Where are your worthy rivals?
They may not even be in your
industry. But where are your
worthy rivals? Who are they and
what are they doing? What can
you learn from them? ”
PUBLISHER
Deidre Morris
Ph: (07) 838 1333
Mob: 027 228 8442
Email: deidre@dpmedia.co.nz
EDITOR
Richard Walker
Ph: (07) 838 1333
Mob: 027 814 2914
Email: richard@dpmedia.co.nz
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Olivia McGovern
Ph: (07) 838 1333
Email: olivia@dpmedia.co.nz
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
Please contact:
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT
MANAGERS
Joanne Poole
Ph: (07) 838 1333
Mob: (021) 507 991
Email: joanne@dpmedia.co.nz
3
ELECTRONIC FORWARDING
EDITORIAL:
News releases/Photos/Letters:
richard@dpmedia.co.nz
PRODUCTION:
Copy/Proofs:
production@dpmedia.co.nz
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
accounts@dpmedia.co.nz
“ When you cut interest rates to
record lows it’s designed to
encourage people to take risks, and
people are doing that with gusto ”
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner
on the Covid economy Page 13
The Icehouse
head of
growth Liz
Wotherspoon
Page 14
25 Ward Street, Hamilton
Ph: (07) 838 1333 | Fax: (07) 838 2807
www.wbn.co.nz
When its time to sell your business, or invest into a business,
talk to the people who get results
Scott Laurence
027 473 5425
Suzanne Boulle
Office Support
Greg Dunn
027 293 0377
Tony Begbie
029 200 6515
Craig Paul
021 786 496
Graeme Finch
027 495 3413
Geoff Pridham
027 232 1516
AUCKLAND WAIKATO BAY OF PLENTY ROTORUA - TAUPO HAWKES BAY MANAWATU WELLINGTON CANTERBURY OTAGO
www.businessesforsale.co.nz
Licensed REAA 2008