Possible merger of local business groups attracts interest

A move towards merger by Wellington business groups is being keenly watched by other business groups around the country.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce and the lower North Island branch of the Employers' and Manufacturers' Association, EMA Central, are looking to bring all their services under one umbrella and offer joint membership.

The move would save back-office costs and make more services available to members, as well as creating a more powerful lobbying voice.

Charles Finny, the chamber's chief executive, said he was talking with the region's nine other chambers from New Plymouth to Hawke's Bay encouraging them to join, which could double the new entity's membership to 5000.

Already one chamber in the South Island is understood to be considering a merger with local employers, and sources believe it is the start of a trend.

But the history and international links of the chambers of commerce are hard for some to overcome.

"There are something like 12,000 active chambers of commerce around the world and some of them are extraordinarily powerful entities because there are some countries where if you are in business, you must belong to a chamber of commerce," said Peter Townsend, chief executive of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce.

His organisation resulted from a chamber-employer merger 14 years ago. Mr Townsend said that the merger move blended the training strengths of the EMA and the business links of the chambers of commerce.

"The chambers have very much a community focus and you'll see small chambers of commerce all over the place that are very entwined into their local community.

Mr Townsend applauded the Wellington proposal.

"Our membership grew very significantly when we merged the two groups together and we have become the voice of business here in Canterbury and that has stood us in really good stead in terms of our advocacy and lobbying role."

Canterbury had demonstrated the benefits "and I think you will see more of it".

John Scandrett, chief executive of the Otago-Southland Employers' Association, said that his organisation was not in merger discussions but agreed that "business providers and support services throughout the country are looking seriously at how they're structured and what they're offering".

Alisdair Thompson, of EMA Northern, said that there were no merger talks going on in his area but that a discussion about merging services was one worth having.

However, both the EMA and chamber brands were very important "and in my view should be retained, were a back-office type merger ever to be considered further down the track".

EMA Central chief executive Paul Winter said one of the reasons why joint membership made sense now was because technology made it possible.

Mr Winter said the big picture, logically, was a national movement.

"You've got to think about the times when you need to be distinctive and compete and when it makes sense to co-operate."

EMA members will vote on the proposal on April 8 and chamber members at their annual meeting on March 24.

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