Boardroom in the Beehive

Jacinda Ardern’s plan for a Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council might sound like just another talkfest. But there is an important difference between this ‘‘advisory council’’ and the other working parties and task forces announced by the Government.

Throwing her weight behind the group puts the prime minister front and centre on the Government’s economic policy.

And by giving business a seat at the table with her, she has taken ownership of plummeting business confidence.

Another round of business surveys due out this week are expected to show business is still in a funk, so much so that bank economists are warning that their gloom could be a self fulfilling prophecy.

The economy is still humming, as the prime minister reminded her business audience at her speech yesterday. But what she didn’t acknowledge was that the glowing economic reports may be part of the problem.

The business sector is worried it won’t last. Global uncertainty is part of the problem. But they also fear a Labour government will kill the golden goose.

Which is why Ardern’s other big gesture to business – and possibly the more significant – was slowing down the pace of change in industrial relations.

The Government’s plans for industry-wide ‘‘fair pay’’ agreements are largely to blame for small businesses in particular getting the jitters.

Ardern has promised there will be no more than one or two such agreements this term. She believes business will see there is nothing to fear once they see the agreements in action.

In doing so, she is taking a leaf out of John Key and Helen Clark’s book. Both believed in incremental change being more enduring than radical reforms.

It’s about as far as Ardern can go in meeting the concerns of business on Labour’s industrial relations policies. Ditching them is not an option.

Ardern’s moves won’t take the sting out of the next round of business confidence surveys. But they should reassure business that Ardern is listening.

Putting Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon at the top of the table will invite criticism because the airline is stateowned. But Air NZ is also symbolic of the socalled NZ Inc brand, and one of our most successful businesses.

It was for those same reasons that the last government was never shy of using former Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe.

The proof will be in the pudding when the other members of the board are announced. They will need to be representative of a wide range of industries including farming, manufacturing and the entrepreneurial sector to be credible.

Early expressions of interest after the prime minister finished speaking suggest there won’t be a problem finding names.

But having the prime minister’s ear is one thing – using it to influence the Government’s agenda is quite another. They may agree to disagree more than they agree.

As the much vaunted Iwi Leaders Group under the last government showed, having a place around the table is not meaningful on its own.

Your voice has to be heard as well or it will be dismissed as ‘just another talkfest’.