CEOs lukewarm on Mallard

Trevor Mallard

If chief executives got to vote on who they thought should ultimately succeed Michael Cullen as Labour's Finance Minister, Phil Goff would probably get their nod.

Goff, who holds the trade portfolio and is also an associate finance minister, is well ahead of the next ranked player, Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel.

But in this particular game, who business thinks is the most effective among Labour's economic lineup does not count.

This is politics.

Prime Minister Helen Clark is the person who calls the shots and will decide on who should be Cullen's heir.

Political insiders point to Trevor Mallard as the Cabinet Minister most likely to make the cut.

The normally affable Mallard displays the occasional mean streak. But he has noticeably curbed his sarcasm as far as business is concerned since Clark appointed him economic development minister in the post-election reshuffle.

If his trainer-wheels period is anything to go by, a Mallard-led finance ministry would be a more radical place to work in than Treasury mandarins have experienced in the Cullen era.

He has already urged state-owned enterprise bosses to transform their businesses into 'agents of economic transformation'.

But as the Mood of the Boardroom survey reveals, there is considerable scepticism over that particular Mallard initiative; a scepticism that is shared, if not flagrantly, by some of the mandarins he wants to boss.

Unfortunately for Mallard's new found standing, a majority (57 per cent ) of chief executives rated his effectiveness as indifferent.

The standout up-and-comer is Dalziel.

She is a trade union lawyer-turned-MP who received more excellent ratings on the effectiveness scale than any other economic minister apart from Goff.

Dalziel is an effective communicator and is viewed to be "genuinely well motivated".

But getting business brownie points is not just a matter of motivation or likeability.

What counts most is the policies Dalziel is fronting. CEOs would prefer that her zeal on introducing a 'balanced' regulatory environment here is focused at the lighter end of the spectrum.

ABN Amro chief executive Simon Allen notes, "when you get up to 80,000 ft and look down at what's happening, New Zealand companies are coping against huge global conglomerates who run subsidiaries here.

"You've got to be careful about layering on too much regulation. If you squeeze the lemon too hard it's difficult to be competitive."

The chief executives also have issues with Dalziel's plan to review the competition framework to see whether it needs modifying so companies can bulk up here to gain critical mass to compete offshore.

Others in the lineup such as Energy Minister David Parker, Communications Minister David Cunliffe and Labour Minister Ruth Dyson have yet to fully cut the mustard with business.

But this is relative.

The mere fact that all five economic ministers apart from Goff have received 50 per cent plus ratings in the indifferent category indicates Labour's rising stars have a lot of work to do before they win outright support from top business people. Try harder please.