The Business Canterbury Team28 February 20253 min read

Back to Business 2025

On 26 February, we hosted Back to Business, our first major event of the year, at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. It was fantastic to get together and kick off the year with so many people from our local business community.

A special thank you to Katherine Rich, Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, for sharing her insights, and to our event partner NZME, strategic partners Westpac, Orion, 2degrees, University of Canterbury and Softsource vBridge and venue host Te Pae for their support in making Back to Business possible.

Photography by Nancy Zhou

Key Insights from the speeches:

Last year presented significant challenges, with tight cash flow, tough decisions, and a challenging economic environment, that really did test most of us. Yet, despite that Canterbury businesses have once again shown their remarkable resilience and drive. In December, our Quarterly Business Survey revealed the highest confidence levels we’ve seen since mid-2022, with 57% of businesses anticipating stronger financial outcomes. Positivity about the Canterbury economy also reached a record 65%. That speaks to the adaptability of our local businesses and a real shift in how many of you are positioning for growth in 2025, after 5 years of a turbulent economy.
Early analysis of the results – which we will share next week – shows that confidence in financial performance is relatively stable, and more positive than negative, which is a good sign. What’s particularly interesting is the shift in how businesses are thinking about disruption. The data shows the largest jump in confidence about the ability to deal with disruption, that we have seen since starting this survey and including this question back in July 2022.
Katherine Rich, CEO of Business New Zealand, reinforced the positive outlook, noting that for the first time in two years, the Performance of Manufacturing Index is showing positive results. She emphasised that while the government is focused on growth, the ideas for that growth must come from the business community itself. Rich encouraged attendees to identify "stupid rules" that create regulatory barriers, promising to channel these concerns through to the Ministry of Regulation.
This year, alongside the Business New Zealand Network, we’ll be working hard on your behalf with both central and local government on key policy areas, including…
- The complete rewrite of the Holidays Act, which is set to be in place before the next election.
- Health and Safety at Work reforms, where we’ll advocate for costs to be proportionate to risk and productivity, and responsibilities that are distributed appropriately across the workforce.
- Reducing the web of red tape that is a handbrake on productivity and growth in New Zealand. This also includes engagement on new legislation and policy, so we aren’t adding more complexity to the mix that isn’t required.
- All alongside immigration, education, infrastructure, overseas investment and the upcoming local government elections, which are critical areas that will influence Canterbury’s long-term economic position.
Beyond these immediate policy settings, we’ve also been working with Canterbury’s Mayoral Forum and a representative group of businesses on a long-term ambition and vision for the region. The Canterbury Ambition is about strong leadership, collaboration, and aligning private and public sectors, iwi, and education to drive meaningful change. Led by the private sector and enabled by local and central government, this work is all about amplifying our region’s voice, unlocking growth opportunities, and building on the momentum we’ve worked so hard to create.

Katherine Rich also highlighted Business Canterbury’s advocacy work, noting that Prime Minister Luxon considers it "best in class nationally." She also emphasised the crucial role of the business community in shaping policy, pointing out that the government has received more ideas from businesses than from officials.
Encouragingly, she shared that BusinessNZ’s Performance of Manufacturing Index has recorded its first positive result in two years, an early sign that economic conditions may be improving.

B2B2025.SP_Event Sponsors

Business Canterbury was proud to present our brand-new brand video at Back to Business, which is a showcase of the energy, innovation, and collaboration that drive our region forward. A huge thank you to the team at Radlab for bringing our vision to life, and to our featured members - Ballantynes, Christchurch Airport, 5R Solutions, Taggart and Urban Intelligence - for being part of the production journey.

New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Christopher Luxon shared an exclusive message with Canterbury’s business community at Back to Business 2025. Hear his insights on the year ahead, key economic priorities, and the opportunities for businesses in our region in the video below.