Covid 19 coronavirus: Fran O'Sullivan: Top business team critical to our recovery

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Getty Images

COMMENT:

In the United States, Donald Trump has reached out to old enemies like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, to join 200 industry leaders empowered to work with him to bring about a "Great American Economic Revival".

Elon Musk, the billionaire heading Tesla and SpaceX who has also crossed swords with Trump, is on board. Then there are thought leaders like former Republican Secretary of State Condi Rice, whose more refined tastes do not make her a natural collaborator with the brash US President.

In all, leaders from the country's most prominent companies such as Apple, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil and more are joining sports commissioners, union representatives and even former politicians to develop recommendations to respond to the economic damage wreaked by Covid-19 on America.

In New Zealand there has been talk of a similar idea.

Names for an "All Stars Kiwi business team" have been punted to the Government.

But sources suggest Jacinda Ardern — while warm to the idea — believes including former opponents like Sir John Key (the international businessman turned politician turned international businessman again) would be a step too far.

There also appears to be a prevailing sentiment that reaching across political aisles will be seen as proof positive that the Coalition does not have the brain power or the ability to leverage connections to ensure international confidence.

In fact, it would prove the opposite and be the making of Ardern as a leader who could put tribal considerations aside in the national interest.

This is also deeply ironic given that Key drew on the proven competence of former Labour Finance Minister Sir Michael Cullen when the National Government was confronted with a dearth of talent in 2009 to lead various state-owned enterprises during NZ's recovery from the global financial crisis.

Donald Trump is reaching out to industry leaders to bring about a "Great American Economic Revival". Photo / AP

The Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council is still active providing an informal sounding board for Ardern. It was due to stand down in March because of the looming general election. But its members are loath to go public with their advice.

This is all a great pity because informed citizens would, I am sure, find their confidence greatly improved if they knew the Government had courted business leaders, union leaders and more to work together to reinvigorate New Zealand to withstand what some are billing as the 21st century version of the 1930s Great Depression.

Currently there is a sense business leaders may be "duchessed" if they are brought inside the Government's coronavirus "war room". That should not be at the expense of robust challenge to policies which diminish the long-term viability of NZ business.

There is a reason why politicians welcome input ("just as long as you don't bag us"). But the path to New Zealand's economic success doesn't just belong to politicians on three-year parliamentary contracts.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson is seizing the opportunity to position his May 14 "Recovery Budget" to "reset" the economy.

He has acknowledged the massive disruption to sectors like tourism. But his plan is to also "address some of the long-standing challenges New Zealand faces such as climate change, inequality, New Zealand's low productivity, and trade diversification. In recent weeks he has talked about his strong personal belief in the "power of the State to do good".

That's a theme which has been amplified by Cabinet ministers Shane Jones and Phil Twyford on a daft proposal to reinstitute the Ministry of Works. By all means institute the MOW as a convening organisation. But the private companies which have been building New Zealand's infrastructure for the past three decades should be to the fore. It's their investments which are at stake.

Using this crisis to "bring back the State" needs to be debated properly. Ideally, by a pan-industry group like the one Trump has instituted whose members have a huge economic stake in New Zealand's success. Not simply imposed by Coalition fiat.

Right now, businessman Rob Fyfe is playing a critical role at the operations command centre in Wellington through organising Kiwi entrepreneurs to source personal protective equipment and develop new technologies to assist the national effort to stamp out Covid-19. Ardern's Government welcomes their support. But there is no transparency about their membership or roles.

This seems to suit the Prime Minister.

She has done a brilliant job at communicating. But Ardern is now over-exposed and has reached the point where she has to guard against being typified as a "gang of one".

A Prime Minister focused too much on New Zealand leading the world to eradicate the coronavirus with the inevitable international cachet that will be attached to her personal brand on success.

But not sufficiently alert to the growing (yet still silent) business undercurrents that her Government must ensure its endeavour to corral Covid-19 does not result in so many strictures on smaller businesses that it leads to their death knell.

Senior directors I have spoken with this week were generally supportive of the Government's efforts. But they were concerned that what one described as the "least deaths" strategy was too blunt a basis for ethical decision-making which would take into account the interests of future generations who would be severely indebted if the risks were not more evenly spread.

Simon Bridges also embraced that old truism — "don't cure the disease and kill the patient" — to underscore the current risk. But unfortunately, he mangled his words and was jumped on by commentators when a speech he made on Facebook after Ardern announced the lockdown would be extended until 11.59pm on Monday was not sufficiently sugar-coated for the sensibilities of Kiwis on social media.

At yesterday's 1pm press conference, Robertson broke the chain. The Finance Minister did not cut across the health department speaker by annoyingly amplifying the explanations, as has been Ardern's practice over recent days.

This — together with her categorical and dismissive answers to some valid journalistic questioning — gives an unfortunate impression that she dictates the Cabinet's response to major issues through an intuitive approach rather than through sound debate.

The crisis has reached an inflection point where New Zealanders need a much wider insight into the rationale behind Government action than is provided at the daily 1pm press conferences. Robertson's address was refreshing. With business confidence critical to the recovery we need to hear more from him.