Councils fail to deliver for business - survey

Almost half of small businesses in Auckland are unhappy with the Auckland Council and the number is rising.

The latest MYOB Business Monitor shows that nationwide 42% of business owners are unhappy with the support from their local council. The survey questioned around 1000 small to medium business owners across 10 local government areas.

Satisfaction levels with local government have dropped 8% across the country since the previous survey in April.

Despite the recent establishment of a single local authority, the Auckland super city has been unable to win support of the region’s business owners, with dissatisfaction up by 1% to 43% since November 2010.

Only 9% of business owners located in Auckland say they are satisfied with performance displayed by the council, compared to Wellington’s results with 21% of business owners finding satisfaction and 27% left unsatisfied in their local government.

Dissatisfaction is found to be highest among businesses in the North and central North Island region, with Waikato and Taranaki labelled the least business-friendly of the country’s local authorities.

Support in Christchurch for a local council comes in second place next to Wellington, with 15% of business owners in the region happy with the Christchurch City Council’s performance. Although dissatisfaction with the CCC may still be high, it is comparatively lower than the national average at 38%.

MYOB general manager Julian Smith says that local councils are not as engaged with local businesses as they used to be.

“With nearly half of the country’s business owners expressing dissatisfaction with their local authority, and frustration growing over the last 12 months, its clear that there is a major disconnect between what
councils are achieving and what businesses expect of them.

“With dissatisfaction growing with councils around the country, perhaps it is time we take a good look at the role of our local authorities, and see what can be done to get them working better for business.”

How they rank: Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction

Wellington: 21% / 27%
Manawatu – Wanganui: 13% /- 20%
Christchurch: 15% / 38%
Otago & Southland: 10% / 38%
Auckland: 9% / 43%
Bay of Plenty: 6% / 40%
Taranaki: 13% / 48%
Northland: 11% / 47%
Hawke’s Bay: 6% / 45%
Waikato: 8% / 48%