| 3 BUSINESS FOCUS Auckland Business Chamber “Today our focus is on the small to medium enterprise and making sure they have a voice to government and get the support and resources they want…” Chamber head hangs up his hat Karen Phelps Michael Barnett: “I’m a people person and I love having people around me and sharing ideas.” After 31 years in the role of Chief Executive of the Auckland Business Chamber Michael Barnett admits that, after he’d made the decision to resign, he started to have second thoughts. “It is hard to leave. I’d gone to the board, I felt quite confident and that it was the right thing to do, but I have to say after I’d done it I thought to myself – what are you doing? What have you done?,” he says with a laugh. “I’m a people person and I love having people around me and sharing ideas. I thought I was stupid to be giving all that away. There is a sort of grieving process because you mourn for the things that you had. “I had to have the strength and resilience to maintain my belief that the decision was right and not be caught up in the grief of what I might be leaving but instead try and look at the opportunities.” So why choose to resign now? “One of the thing I’ve done over the years is that every five or six years we’ve reinvented the chamber. So I’ve done that repeatedly and I look at the strength of the chamber now and it’s in good shape. “I also felt that some fresh blood would be good so it was an opportunity to hand the reigns over. I’d met Simon [Bridges - the new man in the role] and spoken with him about my intentions and things fell into place.” Under his long tenure the chamber has achieved many things so what stands out for Michael the most? “A couple of things. I look at how the chamber was when I came in. It was very formal and about men in suits. “Today our focus is on the small to medium enterprise and making sure they have a voice to government and get the support and resources they want. So that change of focus is a stand out achievement for me. “The second things is that about 15 years ago I looked at the unemployment numbers, around 5-6% at the time I think, but in South Auckland it was more like 20%. “It seemed ironic to me that we were an organisation of businesses that employ people and yet there were people needing a job. We entered into a relationship with the Ministry of Social Development and it has been one of the most rewarding relationships I’ve enjoyed over the years. “We place over 1000 young people in employment each year. Last year we helped 4000-5000 people to get their driving licence. We’ve helped 600-900 new immigrants to get a job each year. We’ve used the fact we are a business organisation to help individuals, families and communities. “The First Steps mental health and well-being support for businesses initiative has also been hugely rewarding and now it’s going to be taken New Zealand-wide. “I feel a huge amount of empathy for the initiative because my own son committed suicide. I saw the pressures that he was under and I saw the consequences of that and I have an empathy with anyone that is not coping. To remove the stigma from issues associated with mental health is important.” Although Michael may be leaving his position he’s still busy. He’s doing a month’s handover with Simon Bridges then continuing with some projects the chamber wants to complete including the Regional Business Programme contract that used to be delivered by Auckland Unlimited. Now Auckland Business Chamber will run the contracts for Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay. He will remain on the board of the World Chamber Network, which includes 15,000 chambers around the world and has 40 million members, and continue his work with the NZ Chamber network, which covers 30 chambers around New Zealand, and First Steps. In the six months that First Steps has run it has had 70,000 people in Auckland visit the website and around 75,000 resources have been downloaded. “It’s become a very popular self-directed resource for businesses so the opportunity to be able to take it nationwide will be extremely positive,” says Michael. In terms of personal aspirations Michael is not quite sure yet but has a few ideas and knows people will be an important part of the mix. He lives on a lifestyle block in Karaka with his wife and has a breeding flock of blackfaced suffolks, a handful of cattle and a few alpacas, which will also keep him busy. “I want to see a whole more of New Zealand. I have a motorhome so the opportunity to get out and unwind in a more relaxed way will be attractive. “I really enjoy photography and took some pictures recently of a morepork and also a wood pigeon feeding in my kowhai tree and they turned out beautifully. I keep looking at those and thinking ‘I really enjoy doing that’. “I know there is an innovative, creative side of me that I’ve expressed through marketing or events but channelling it in another way would be interesting. I have grandchildren in the UK that I’m sure would enjoy more visits. Those are some of the things.” New passion: “I really enjoy photography and took some pictures recently of a morepork and also a wood pigeon feeding in my kowhai tree and they turned out beautifully.”
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