An interesting thing I’ve noticed in my time as a local MP is that people living and working in this area will often be ahead of the curve when it comes to wider trends.
For example, I have been picking up over the past couple of months a lift in the fortunes of small-to-medium businesses in northwest Auckland. Then just this week came confirmation of exactly that, in the form of a nationwide survey by MYOB.
I noticed the same phenomenon during the era of heavy covid restrictions (ie locals were quietly fed up long before the mainstream news began reporting that) and with the cost-of-living crisis that followed.
So, back to the present day and how things are actually feeling out there now. While difficult to measure exactly, a rise in confidence tends to be followed by a lift in performance, as firms, farms and families make decisions to retain staff - then hire new workers - on the basis of that sentiment.
Obviously, these things can be uneven, sector-by-sector reflecting seasonal trends and so on. But by and large our situation is on the improve.
There are a few possible factors. Most significant is one that a number of constituents have shared with me lately: with home loan interest rates coming down, the re-fixing of those mortgages repayments has meant a bit more disposable income. And of course that’s good news for the b
usinesses in this area, with households’ extra cash often spent on goods and services.
There’s never a bad time to emphasise how important it is to support local businesses. Harking back briefly to covid19 times again, it was genuinely heartwarming how much this happened, at least when the rules allowed.
As I write this column, with much discussion taking place about tariffs and other trade barriers out in the wider world, we have every incentive to remember that our local businesses are owned, managed and staffed by others who live in our area. Let’s support them!
Chris Penk MP
chris.penk@parliament.govt.nz
