Labour's incumbent Finance Minister Grant Robertson has been downgraded by big business leaders, while National's finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis has risen in their ranks.
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Former education minister Chris Hipkins was the sole nominee for the Labour Party leadership when Jacinda Ardern suddenly resigned in January.
After six months in the job, the Herald asked New Zealand’s business leaders to rank his performance as prime minister.
He scored an average of 2.9/5 ona scale running from one, ‘not impressive’, to five ‘very impressive’. Just five per cent of respondents marked Hipkins as very impressive, although 28 per cent scored him at four out of five.
Deloitte chair Thomas Pippos has some context: “As is sometimes the case, leaders become leaders at the wrong times and are judged accordingly.”
Executive chairman of Devon Funds Paul Glass says: “He’s been handed a hospital pass and doesn’t have the skill set to get us out of this mess”. Rob Campbell, who chairs the NZ Rural Land Co and renewable energy centre Ara Ake has a different perspective: “I think he is a caretaker and avoider of the real issues”.
Simon Bennett, who is the chair of Accordant takes a harder line. He says: “Given he was responsible directly for health, education and police it is hard to take when he took no responsibility for the outcomes. His Te Pukenga performance alone would be a sackable offence in the private sector, somehow no one is being taken to account here”.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins in a 1940 packard owned by Tony Morris in the Hawke's Bay. Photo / Paul Taylor
Roger Partridge, chairman of The New Zealand Initiative, goes further: “Hipkins shares Ardern’s legacy: having been a core member of a Labour cabinet — and then its leader — that, over two terms, has left the country economically weakened, culturally less ambitious, and politically more divided, with a public services that is less capable and far less accountable for core public services, including health, education, and law and order.”
Hipkins’ first overseas mission as prime minister was to Brisbane where he joined Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commemorate Anzac Day and attend a citizenship ceremony.
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In May, he attended the coronation of King Charles in London and met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shortly before the free trade agreement with the UK came into force. In June, Hipkins led a trade delegation to China where he met President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. July saw Hipkins fly to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius for the Nato Leaders’ summit.
Business leaders are supportive of this trade activity, rating his performance at promoting NZ business internationally at 2.7 on a scale of one to five, where one is “not impressive” and five is “very impressive”.
A little over a quarter, 28 per cent, of respondents scored his performance at four out of five. His score for administering the National Security and Intelligence portfolio is 1.82/5.
Chris Hipkins has lost four Cabinet Ministers since February. Photo / Dean Purcell
CEOs are underwhelmed by Hipkins’ performance leading a cohesive cabinet. Four out of 10 respondents, 41 per cent, rate it as “not impressive”. He got an average mark of 1.78/5.
This is not surprising given the loss of four Cabinet Ministers since February.
Former Police Minister Stuart Nash resigned after it was disclosed he had leaked confidential Cabinet dealings to donors; former Transport Minister Michael Wood stepped down after he was tardy in disclosing share interests; former Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri defected to Te Pāti Māori and former Justice Minister Kiri Allan faces charges relating to a car accident and has resigned.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is on the West Coast today visiting local businesses. Photo / George Heard
Despite flying north for a meeting with business leaders at the Auckland Business Chamber on his second day as prime minister, respondents rate Hipkins at 2.03/5 for his performance at building confidence with the business sector.
One of Hipkins’ first acts as prime minister was to jettison a series of policies admitting the government had “tried to do too much, too fast”. The move included abandoning the RNZ-TVNZ merger and putting the social insurance scheme on the backburner. This policy bonfire had a mixed reception from New Zealand’s business leaders who, collectively, rate it at 2.5/5.
CEOs rate Chris Hipkins
Political performance as Prime Minister - 2.88/5
Promotes New Zealand business internationally - 2.71/5
Policy bonfire - 2.50/5
Leads response to climate change - 2.2/5
Builds confidence with the business - 2.03/5
Administration of National Security and Intelligence portfolio - 1.82/5
Leads cohesive Cabinet - 1.78/5
On a scale of 1-5 where 1 = “not impressive” and 5 = “very impressive”
