Chamber of Commerce announces local body election initiatives

The Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce has announced three initiatives in the lead up to the local body elections on 8 October.

“Local government affects every business and every resident, and in the case of businesses, local government can both facilitate economic growth and hinder it,” says Leeann Watson, Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce.

“Every three years we have the opportunity to re-elect and refresh our local representatives, and it is important that voters are presented with sufficient information to make well-informed decisions.”

The Chamber is undertaking three initiatives over the next six weeks to provide the business community with the relevant information they need including:

The Chamber will be inviting all candidates for election to the Christchurch City Council to provide responses to a series of questions relevant to the business community. The Chamber will publish the responses to coincide with the delivery of voting documents.

The Chamber will publish Business Expectations of Local Government, a document outlining key expectations that the business community has identified for the next term of local government.

The Chamber will host a Mayoral Forum on Tuesday 27 September with Phil Mauger and David Meates, the two candidates identified by The Chamber’s membership as those they would most like to hear from. The event will be free and open to the public.

“Public participation in democracy is important and many of the issues that impact businesses are intertwined with those that impact the entire community. That is why The Chamber is doing its part to help our members and the public be well-informed in advance of the upcoming elections,” Watson says.