Alistair Boyce: Backbencher Pub owner on the impact of working from home on Wellington's economy

Wellington businesses could reap the benefits of calling public servants back to the office. 

Public sector agencies are being told to enforce stricter Working From Home guidelines. 

It's suggested the move could help Wellington's struggling economy, as well as boost productivity and collaboration. 

Backbencher Pub owner Alistair Boyce told Ryan Bridge it will absolutely make a difference. 

He says they've been missing key public sector clients. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Get back to work. That's the message from the government
to civil servants and affairs of productivity, loss, diving off
and CBD cafes and restaurants going to the wall. Lots
of your texts on this first though, Alistair Boyce, Oh sorry,
here's Nichola Willis.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Choosing not to come to your physical place of work
does have an impact on your team and your wider community.
If it's possible for you to work in the office,
you should.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Alistair Boyce is the ban backbench of pub owner and
he's with us this morning. Good morning, Alistair, good Ryan.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Good to hear from you again.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah, good to have you on the show. Tell me
will this make a difference?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Oh? Absolutely, We've really been missing our our key clients
from the public sector. But we're fubably with Nikola Willis
and what she's saying and we also agree with it.
It's about the outcomes of the public sector. It's not
all about getting Wellington moving again, because there's some other
real vicious problems going on in the Wellington microeconomy. Absolutely

(01:02):
apart from the civil servants with the work from home saga,
what do you think?

Speaker 1 (01:08):
And we'll get to those in a sect. But what
do you think has been more damaging the civil service
cuts from National or the work from home policy that's
been lingering since COVID.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Our work from home without a doubt.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
And what are the other issues you're talking about in Wellington?

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well these are more related to our dysfunctional city council
where they destroy our businesses. And as you know, most
small businesses do try and get locations on arterial routes
and busy foot traffic streets. But what they've done with
all these streets has rip them up, put in cycleways

(01:49):
and cut us off from our customers. And the next
one they're planning to do it all the way on
Courtney Place, which will cut out cars as well. The
other thing I've cut out is a huge, huge amount
of car parks. And they've done roadworks on theorial routes
and formed in keys to Classic which will be going
on for some years. And they'd already done at a

(02:12):
key and that those roadworks took about eight months. Multiple problems.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
How much have your rates gone up?

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Oh, that's the other thing. The disposable income of Wellington
citizens and residents is now coming to an all time low.
So most of us have endured over twenty percent increase
in rates this year. The long term plan is patently ridiculous.
It's got over ten percent, over fifteen percent and increases

(02:42):
despite the Maya telling us that decreases then increases planned
for ten years, is never going to be a decrease.
And what this does kills the wider economy so that
they don't have the disposable income for the hospitality and
retail centers, and they don't come in to town because
they have access and parking issues.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, and I won't ask you the question, Alistair, but
I would hate to think. I would hate to imagine
what the combination of all of these things is doing
to business, the value of the business in Wellington right
now as well. Thank you very much for your time
this morning. Appreciate you burning up earlier with me, Alistair,
Boyce backbencher, pub owner.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
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Speaker 1 (03:24):
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