News

Business South has submitted to the Waitaki District Council Draft Annual Plan 2026/27, advocating on the issues that matter most to businesses in the district from rate affordability and infrastructure investment to economic development and private sector-led growth. Below is a summary of our key positions.

Business South has made a formal submission to the Waitaki District Council on its proposed Annual Plan 2026/27, which puts forward rates increases of between 19% and 45% to address a $14 million structural deficit. Our submission represents the views of Waitaki business members and draws on findings from our February 2026 Quarterly Business Survey and a targeted pulse-check survey on rates impacts conducted ahead of the consultation. 

What we told the Council 

The submission acknowledges the genuine financial pressures facing the Council including rising infrastructure costs, mandatory water reform requirements, and years of deferred spending while making clear that businesses in the district are already navigating an exceptionally difficult environment. Global instability, including the Iran conflict and Middle East tensions, is driving fuel price volatility and supply chain disruption that is flowing directly into the operating costs of Waitaki businesses in transport, manufacturing, food service and beyond. A rates increase of the scale proposed lands on top of all of this. 

Business South was not in a position to formally endorse any of the three rating options presented, but set out clearly what must accompany any increase including full transparency about how revenue is applied, demonstrated fiscal discipline, and a commitment to reducing the rates burden once water assets transfer to Southern Waters in July 2027. 

Key issues raised 

Our submission covered a range of issues important to the Waitaki business community, including: 

• The compounding impact of global cost pressures on local businesses and the need for Council to factor this context into its deliberations 

• The importance of transparency and fiscal discipline in how rates revenue is spent 

• Concerns about the Council's engagement with and understanding of the business community, supported by two years of Business South survey data showing a deteriorating trend 

• The need for CBD revitalisation and maintaining economic development investment in Oamaru 

• Improving local business access to Council procurement and tender opportunities 

• The importance of freeing up land for residential development to grow the rating base over time 

• Business South's emerging Invest Otago regional capital investment fund, and how it could open alternative funding pathways for large-scale projects in the district, reducing pressure on rates 

What our members are saying 

Business sentiment in the Waitaki district is one of cautious resilience but it is under strain. Our survey data shows that no businesses rated the Council as performing very well on supporting, engaging with, or understanding business in either 2025 or 2026. Businesses consistently told us they feel the Council's understanding of their concerns has declined year on year and they want to be engaged earlier and more meaningfully in decisions that affect them.