Allison Lawton: A week is a long time in politics

Jacinda Ardern is the new Labour leader. Photo/File

What a difference a week makes in politics!

A new leader for the Labour party with Jacinda Ardern replacing Andrew Little and Kelvin Davis taking the deputy leader's role.

I must say they bring a vibrant and pragmatic perspective making the upcoming elections more interesting.

And then - throw in Metiria Turei's revelation about her non-declaration of additional income when she was on the DPB - could anyone have written a better script leading up to the elections?

While I could easily get embroiled in the current state of political flux, it is important I remain focused and set out what our business expectations are for the incoming government to ensure we continue to build a strong and vibrant economy for our city.

As outlined in my last article I will give my perspective about the results yielded from the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (NZCCI) survey.

To recap, the key planks identified for an incoming government include supporting sustainable development, addressing the current skills gaps, reducing red tape compliance, and regionalising policy solutions.

The key recommendations to address these are grouped into Collaboration, Policy and Regional Focus.

This week I will focus on the "Collaboration" recommendation - "Make a deliberate effort to ensure better collaboration across government platforms so that we can get better whole-of-government solutions and opportunities. Businesses want to see better collaboration and communication across government ministries, and further identified the need for central and local government to work much better together."

My foray into local government was relatively easy because I hail from Rotorua and have connections.

However, my foray into trying to make sense and connect with the right people in central government was, and still is, bewildering.

To be fair I have not worked in central government for many years and therefore I have limited knowledge of the government workings; and limited contacts. But I also think it should not be this difficult.

I am still struggling to find the right people to talk to, and when I do, even they don't have the knowledge of the "whole pie" from within their agencies.

And how this translates to central and local government working more collaboratively together is mystifying, because if I cannot make sense of it, I am picking neither can they.

So yes, I agree the Collaboration platform is essential to ensure we get what we need for business that is - the right advice, at the right time, for the right fit which will enable businesses to optimise performance and opportunities.

Allison Lawton is the chief executive for the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce.