Malcolm Johns of Genesis Energy. Photo / Michael Craig
Craig Bonner - Cordis
● Cost of living. As well as a reduction in government spending, improve the quality of spending. Embrace PPPs for projects that create construction jobs and deliver much-needed infrastructure.
● The impact of foreign policy alignment on tourism earnings growth. With the US out and Australia not as appealing as it was to Chinese visitors, NZ could turbo-charge tourism earnings. With the recent sharp increases in visa fees, removal of the ability for documents to be submitted in Mandarin, slow processing times and an increase in the international visitor levy from $35 to $100 in October 2024, we are increasingly appearing unwelcome.
● Talent shortage. Starting with education reform, into economic prosperity, boosting KiwiSaver and making New Zealand more compelling to live, work and play for the long term.
Malcolm Johns - Genesis Energy
● Intergenerational economic strength — bipartisan agreement on the enduring fundamentals for long-term economic strength to ensure future generations have the fiscal resilience to deal with their generational natural disasters.
● Intergenerational infrastructure development — bipartisan agreement on long-term infrastructure development. We have lived on the infrastructure built by previous generations, we owe it to future generations to build our share of infrastructure.
● Intergenerational democratic governance models — two issues: MMP with three-year terms is sub-optimal, and how does local government evolve over the next 50 years?
Mike Cronin - Fonterra
● Economic stability. Fight harder on inflation and interest rates, address longer-term tax settings, drive productivity and incentivise innovation.
● Get health back on track. Find out what is really going on. Refocus on holistic patient outcomes. Back out of unnecessary bureaucracy.
● Find ways to take a longer-term (possibly less partisan) approach to key economic building blocks including infrastructure and education.
Blair Glubb - Uno Loco
● Three-year flip-flopping of government direction on core issues such as infrastructure.
● Lack of willingness from government and regulators to address monopolistic and oligopolistic business practices.
● Divisive social policies that weaken New Zealand as a brand and as a society.
Jason Paris - One New Zealand
● Negativity and looking backwards. We need a clear and ambitious strategy focused on long-term growth and success in education, health, infrastructure and housing.
● Infrastructure deficit. Borrow more and make bold long-term infrastructure moves now to ensure that we can attract and cope with significant population growth.
● Hospitals being overrun. Invest more in primary healthcare.
Don Braid - Mainfreight
● Education: Lifting the training/education standards of our teachers
● Health: Get rid of the bureaucracy. Have decisions and funding prioritised as close to the front line as possible.
● Government debt.
Victoria Courtney - Flight Centre
● Cost of living pressures. We need to continue to see inflation and OCR decline.
● Immigration. We need to attract higher-quality immigrants. Net NZ citizens leaving and migrants arriving is not growing the economy. We need to address the immigration settings.
● Crime. We need to continue to drive crime down and improve safety, especially in downtown Auckland. New Zealand has a poor reputation making it unattractive to tourists, students and migrants.
Simon Limmer - Indevin
● Infrastructure and technology, RMA reform, bipartisan alignment, favourable foreign direct investment.
● Geo-political instability and the impact on trade and security — maintain our independent foreign policy, spread our exposure and focus on our global credentials in food production, technologies and climate management.
● Climate Change — progressive policies and investment to stay ahead of our obligations and be a reference for our trading relationships.
Leonard Sampson - Port of Tauranga
● Lack of execution. We need to move to the delivery phase of key policy initiatives and move away from consultation and discussion.
● Failing national infrastructure. We need an agreed bipartisan pipeline and priority of projects.
● RMA legislation — its interpretation and scope is now used as a proxy for the treaty settlement process resulting in a national infrastructure deficit. There is an urgent need for the replacement of legislation.
Simon Bennett - Accordant
● Inequality. We need social cohesion and incentives for people to get a lift up.
● Low productivity. Our best talent will leave if we can’t afford to pay them.
● Separatism. We need one country one people
Craig Stobo - NZ Windfarms
● Multiple interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi. Bring on the Treaty Principles Bill debate.
● Trading with a communist nation, while a member of Western defence alliances. Take the Aukus Pillar Two technology.
● Declining long-term productivity. The era of big macroeconomic reforms are over. Microeconomic reforms are our next opportunity.
Justine Smyth - Spark
● Transitioning out of recession and into growth, supported by continued OCR reductions and stable Government policy that incentivises business investment.
● Improving low levels of productivity through greater use of advanced digital technologies, such as AI.
● Our health system is in crisis. We must double down on investment in digitisation to drive better outcomes and efficiency; invest in preventive measures and medicines to get ahead of the curve.
Dame Joan Withers - The Warehouse
● Productivity — the elephant in the room is the unknown impact working from home is having on our already poor relative global performance.
● Education/truancy — the Government is making good moves on the curriculum and charter schools but in areas such as South Auckland, truancy levels are shocking.
● How we deal with the challenges and opportunities that AI presents. There needs to be a cross-party agreement to ensure we have a coherent and sustainable strategy.
Silvana Schenone - Jarden
● Inflation/cost of living: some government intervention is needed.
● Infrastructure deficit: The Government needs to incentivise investment and welcome foreign investment with stable policies and a regulatory environment.
● Social “unrest”: Many issues: Relationship with Māori, crime, youth education, drug use. We need to heavily invest in education, opportunities in New Zealand for young people. We need to encourage all sectors to work together.
Paul Newfield - Morrison
● Widening social division: We need to move away from small-minded divisive issues and focus on building a better New Zealand together.
● Short-termism: We need to focus on the things that will change New Zealand’s trajectory over decades and generations — investing in education, increasing retirement savings and generating wealth by exporting products and services to the world.
● Climate change: We have to be a global leader in this area.
Many business leaders rate the Opposition Finance Spokesperson highly.