We need a Beehive with a business-friendly buzz
OPINION: In just 64 days New Zealand will have a new Government.
The shape of that Government is proving harder to pick than usual, what with a new leader at the helm of a three-term National Government and (if the polls are to be believed) a struggling Labour Party and the scrapping between the Greens and NZ First for the position of potential king-maker.
In the meantime, election manifestos and wish-lists are coming thick and fast, and the business community is no exception.
Right now, the business sector is humming and confident, as reflected in Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s June business confidence survey which showed expectations in both the local and national economy are strong and improving.
But if we are to keep the economy strong and growing, we need to keep that confidence high.
The way to do that is with policies that ensure an environment that enables business to function smoothly.
The three key issues? A skills and talent pipeline that delivers for employers (both our immigration and education systems), building infrastructure to ensure the region’s resilience and growth, and reducing red tape.
Summarised, it’s about ensuring the right platform for businesses to enable them to invest, employ and grow.
Two separate, yet-to-be-released surveys of businesses, conducted by the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce and BusinessNZ, give an insight into what businesses are thinking nationally. And the findings are not too dissimilar.
The results of these surveys highlight priorities for the business community and set strong expectations, including: addressing skills gaps through education and targeted immigration, reducing red tape, simplifying and lowering tax, boosting innovation in the form of practical assistance and funding, putting more focus on regional development, making greater investment in new infrastructure, fixing or replacing the RMA, amending the Local Government Act to make councils stick to core functions, and providing incentives to support sustainability.
It’s very clear from this feedback that businesses up and down the country see it as critical that for individual regions and New Zealand as a whole to continue to thrive, the Government must continue to get the platform right for business.
The incoming Government must recognise that different regions require different inputs from central government, be it on immigration or economic development; that local and central government partnerships are essential to maintaining and growing infrastructure in order to cope with growth; that the burden of compliance costs is minimised; and that the right scale of investment is made to ensure productivity is not compromised.
Our sister organisation, the Employers’ and Manufacturers Association, has also released a policy document, and others are yet to release theirs.
They aren’t just ‘nice to have’ wish-lists that the business lobby trundles out every three years – they set out expectations that are fundamental to our economic growth and success, and all political parties should be looking at them and taking careful note.
What we do affects all New Zealanders, because when business is going well, it ensures the wellbeing of our economy, our environment, our jobs, our communities, our families, and our futures. Successful business helps make us all better off.
We now wait to see what each of the parties say they will do.
Come September 24, it’s essential we will be looking at a Government that has the willingness, capacity, and capability to work with business to define the direction and set the policies and priorities to support the economic growth we need.
John Milford is the chief executive of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.