Opinion: The North Shore is Auckland's untapped opportunity to host big events
Small local businesses absolutely deserve this. They've been through a rollercoaster of challenges and triumphs over the past few years. Community events bring in people from different corners of the city, and they're arriving prepared to spend and support local.
Funding is a direct way for councils to support their residents with social wellbeing, as well as support local businesses – it's a win-win.
Auckland, in particular, needs more focus on supporting the North Shore with event funding and basing events there.
We see millions being spent on events in the central city and South Auckland. For instance, the Moana Festival, Diwali, the Lantern Festival, music events, rugby, league, Auckland FC, theatre shows, arts festivals, the International Comedy Festival. They're all central and receive council funding and support.
Meanwhile, the north of the Harbour Bridge has very little event support in comparison.
At the end of this month, the Takapuna Business Association is staging the Takapuna Winter Lights Festival, a popular event that attracts people of all ages from all parts of Auckland.
Since the first Takapuna Winter Lights Festival in 2019, event numbers have continuously soared. What started with a modest 5000 attendees in its inaugural year has grown to more than 50,000 attendees last year.
This kind of growth signals the need for more events like these on the North Shore. Recent Kiwibank research revealed a shift in how Kiwis are spending, with many preferring to spend their hard-earned money on experiences over physical items.
Last year, consumer spending in Takapuna over the four-day event was more than $2.5 million. Compared with the year prior, that's a 20% increase in consumer spending.
Terence Harpur is the CEO of the Takapuna Business Association.
It's the small local vendors and businesses on the North Shore that benefit the most from these events. Some 86% of local businesses said they felt the event had a very positive impact on the Takapuna region, and 66% said the impact of the event was very positive to their business.
We're grateful to the council for providing some funding ($44,000) to the Takapuna Winter Lights event, but when you compare that to other events, it's not a huge amount and can only get you so far. We're lucky to have some incredible sponsors who see the positive impact this event has on the precinct.
Over the summer, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited reported $31.9 million made from events between November and March. But when you look at the figures listed on their website, there are very few events listed in the North Shore, let alone funded to the same levels.
Our North Harbour Stadium can host up to 25,000 people, but we rarely see any major events being hosted there. This is such a lost opportunity and is a prime place to host larger events on the Shore at a venue that already has the facilities and infrastructure ready and waiting to host them, and a North Shore population keen to attend.
Recently, Auckland Council decided to continue with the same council operator at the North Harbour Stadium, despite community calls for a new direction – was this the right move? Only time will tell when we see what kind of events are programmed into this venue.
With the governing body of council cutting funding to Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's events budget, going from $15m to $8m a year, and cuts to support for regional event funds and local board funding, the council really needs to be more considerate with the areas it decides to invest in. As I said earlier, it needs to 'spread the love' to all areas of Auckland, not just the central city.
I encourage decision-makers to recognise the untapped potential that exists north of the bridge. The North Shore has the appetite and track record to host successful, community-driven events that deliver real economic and social benefits.
We are a major part of this 'super city' with more than 400,000 residents (bigger than Wellington) and need to get our fair share of funding and support from the council.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- RNZ News
Unemployment worse than it looks
Unemployment is at a nine year high, of 5.2%. But Kiwibank believes the topline figure doesn't paint the full picture of how bad things really are. In the past year 16,000 more people have joined the snaking queue of people looking for work, bringing the total number to 158,000. Kiwibank economist Sabrina Delgado spoke to Lisa Owen.
1News
a day ago
- 1News
Kiwibank warned for overcharging thousands of customers
Kiwibank has been formally warned by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) for failing to correctly apply aged-based fee waivers to thousands of joint account holders over a 13-year period, resulting in more than $900,000 in overcharges. Between July 2011 and November 2024, Kiwibank incorrectly charged transaction fees to 8,663 joint account customers, despite promotional materials stating that customers under 18 or 19 years old, or over 65, would be exempt. It affected joint accounts where the secondary account holder met the age-based criteria but the primary holder did not. Kiwibank was first alerted to the issued by a customer complaint in June 2023, with a staff member identifying the potential for the issue to be more widespread in December 2023. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, new report into submersible implosion, body found in Auckland park, and mixed injury news for the Warriors. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT The issue was subsequently investigated and validated, leading to Kiwibank reporting itself to the FMA in August last year. The FMA found that 6,400 customers were affected after the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act) came into force in April 2014, with overcharges totalling $747,000. Under the FMC Act, financial service providers must not make false or misleading representations. The FMA said Kiwibank's account statements had misrepresented its right to charge fees and was a likely breach of the Act's fair dealing provisions. FMA executive director for response and enforcement Louise Unger said financial service providers had a responsibility to clearly and accurately communicate fees and ensure they charged what was promised. "It is also important that financial service providers have appropriate policies, procedures and controls in place to identify and address any fee-related issues in a timely fashion." Two root causes of the issue were identified, Unger said. "First, a lack of common understanding across Kiwibank about whether, and how, the fee waiver should apply to joint accounts. Second, a system design limitation where the age-based fee waivers could only be applied based on the primary account holder's age. ADVERTISEMENT "We recognise Kiwibank's cooperation and proactive effort to address the issue, including notifying the FMA and remediating impacted customers (including use-of-money interest). However, our view is that, in this instance, the issue could have been identified earlier with better product governance and internal controls." In a statement to 1News, Kiwibank acknowledged the warning, saying it took the matter seriously and regretted the error. "We have taken steps to fully reimburse impacted customers and have strengthened our internal policies, systems and controls to prevent this from happening again," a spokesperson said. "We acknowledge the FMA's findings and appreciate their recognition of our cooperation and proactive efforts to address this issue, including self-reporting it to the FMA and remediating impacted customers. "We remain committed to fair and transparent banking practices and will continue to improve our processes to ensure we meet the expectations of our customers and regulators."
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Takapuna finds formula for higher retail, hospitality spending
Part of Takapuna's shopping district. (File pic) Photo: Takapuna Business Association Businesses in Takapuna on Auckland's North Shore believe they have cracked a way to get people spending more amid the tough economic headwinds. Its businesses are reporting a 10.1 percent surge in spending at hospitality sites in June alone, and a 3 percent rise in overall spending in the first half of this year. Those hikes come at the same time as a raft of downward economic indicators. Last month Stats NZ reported food prices were up 4.6 percent and household savings dropped $392 million. Inflation is on the up , and Infometrics says electronic card spending was down in the year to March and that consumer spending remained weak. On Wednesday it was announced the unemployment rate has risen to 5.2 percent , the highest level since 2020. The Takapuna Business Association acknowledged times were hard for consumers, retailers and hospitality venues alike. "Things are definitely tight - high cost of living, inflation is still ramping up a little bit - so people are just being more considerate and careful about where they're spending their hard-earned money," chief executive Terence Harpur told RNZ. The business association said it was years of investment in infrastructure, events and urban planning in Takapuna that had led to people spending there. "We've seen some strong transport and accessibility improvements, we're also changing the centre to be more pedestrian friendly," Harpur said. "We've got a wonderful new town square, an upgraded high street, new parking buildings, a new beachfront playground area and all of those things increase the dwell time when people come. They enjoy the environment and they stay around for a bit longer and they tend to spend more when they spend more time there," he said. Harpur said Takapuna was having success when "that's simply not the case" in many parts of Auckland. "Retail spending across Auckland has actually been really tough, especially around the central city area has been tough. "My heart goes out to those small business in those areas," he said. "It is tough out there though and a lot of retailers are doing it tough but I'm hoping this is a little bit of a beacon of light for retailers and hospitality out there that there are some greenshoots and people are still spending money, and if you provide the right product and the right service that you can still be attracting customers and getting that money coming through your business," Harpur said.
