On trade: “The challenge for the Government is ensuring that their actions on trade will continue to create value for the country. The question is whether the greater return will come from long-term expansion of our free trade agreement network or, given where the world is at today, focusing on protecting and upgrading the access we have already secured.”
On biotechnology: “If we are to be competitive, we can’t continue to have unenforceable and foolish rules that just don’t work when scientific advances have made it near impossible to tell whether a product has been edited or not.”
On regulation: “The more relaxed tone is very likely connected to the coalition Government’s commitment to eliminate the perceived regulatory oversteps of the previous government, ensuring that New Zealand has a regulatory environment that enables long-term business success rather than ties it up in red tape.”
On capital: “We must put out the open sign and let international investors know we welcome investment if it comes from investors with similar values who are prepared to buy into building a better future for New Zealand together.”
Tomorrow’s possibilities:
On water: “There are practical steps the Government needs to take to give individuals and organisations the confidence to start drafting business cases and seeking investment. Most importantly, the consenting rules need to be addressed as nobody will invest in a 100-year asset if the consent to operate the asset is only granted for 15 or 20 years.”
On climate transition: “Twelve months later, after a year where markets have been tough and where, thankfully, we have not had another devastating climate event, it seems that the focus on climate transition has fallen off the agenda for many industry leaders.”
On energy: “The increased attention on the issue suggests multiple factors are increasingly at play: the rising cost of energy, uncertainty about the security of petrol and diesel supply, concerns about the resilience of rural electricity infrastructure and, hopefully, the opportunity associated with embedding energy generation into food and fibre production systems.”
On digital: “There is a lot of work to do to build confidence that AI tools are about creating efficiencies, better jobs and outcomes for all. People who fear the technologies are infinitely more likely to be disrupted than those prepared to make the effort to become comfortable with the tools, as the human interface remains critical.”
On science and innovation: “For the right science to be done and, more importantly, for it to create outcomes, it is critical that investment is not left to the Government – all interested parties must have some skin in the game.”
On nature: “Numerous contributors noted they have no issue with the community expecting them to continuously improve how they manage nature, but it needs to be acknowledged that the costs of providing these services are increasing and it is no longer reasonable to assume that product revenues cover the costs.”
