Now, more than ever, our local businesses need our communities to support them by 'buying local', from our local businesses. By doing this we will help our local economy and save our local businesses, local jobs and the livelihoods of Tauranga families.
As our businesses gear-up after the Covid-19 lockdown, gaining support from our local residents will be pivotal to their ability to get their all-important cash flows moving again after more than four weeks, in many cases, with no trading.
I encourage everyone in the Western Bay to think about their spending decisions and, where possible, to support local enterprises. Our businesses are depending on it.
Quite simply; spending locally saves local businesses and if ever we need to do exactly this, it's now. The faster their income streams start to recover, the more likely it is that they will be able to keep their staff in work, and in turn, the better our local economy will be.
From a council perspective, the majority of our construction contractors and service providers are already locally-based and we are keen to ensure that they get back to work post-lockdown.
The legislation applying to local government means we have to treat all suppliers fairly, regardless of their location, but there are some levers we can pull to ensure that the use of local people is maximised, and that our spending helps to build-up the regional skill-base. • Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
Additionally, we will be encouraging our teams to break down future tenders into smaller components, to make it easier for local contractors to compete. We can also specify that environmental factors be built into the process, so that the 'carbon miles' contractors will use are taken into account.
It's pretty simple really – 'Buy Local' helps preserve and, potentially, create local jobs and it keeps the money in our region.
Together, we're dealing with the biggest challenge our community has faced in decades. By working together, supporting each other and keeping our spending local, we can and will overcome that challenge.
