KEY POINTS:
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters ducked Parliament's question time yesterday to the chagrin of his political tormentor Act leader Rodney Hide.
But Peters isn't expected to duck an event that really counts - Business New Zealand's election conference - where politicians of every hue will today talk turkey on how they plan to get the biggest bang for the taxpayers' buck, and, provide a fill-up to business productivity.
He'll take the stage early on in a lineup of party finance spokespeople debating the New Zealand economy. Sir Roger Douglas, not Hide, will be the Act representative.
After a media smorgasbord on everything Peters, it will be welcome relief to business (at least) to get some focus on what really matters. But don't entirely discount the capacity for political fireworks.
There are major issues facing business that have received little air-time recently. But Business New Zealand's inimitable boss Phil O'Reilly plans to use today's event to put the party leaders and spokespeople on their mettle.
The critical issue is which political party has the policy suite to boost an economy that has just limped through three successive quarters of economic recession.
Questions like whether the emissions trading legislation, which was yesterday being debated under urgency, will do the business for New Zealand firms, or impose costs that will be out of whack with their offshore competitors at a time when the economy is poised to shake off the recessionary mood.
It is a travesty that the public has not had a chance to make new submissions on such fundamentally important legislation after Labour made various accommodations with New Zealand First and the Greens to get the vital numbers in Parliament.
That said, National has had a dream run. It claims it will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 through an alternative emissions trading scheme. Yet it has put no hard data in the public domain to explain just how National will prevail when Labour has faced so many difficulties getting the big emitters on board.
Another major issue on which business is seeking answers is why New Zealand faces repetitive power "crises" that make it impossible for company boards contemplating new or expanded investment to tick the box which says this country can guarantee security of supply. This factor - according to experienced company chair Kerry McDonald - is a major disincentive to getting the greenfields investment New Zealand needs to spark economic growth.
The critical issue of government spending - not just how much is being expended by the government sector at the expense of the private sector - but also the quality of that spend, is another factor. There is considerable scepticism that National's plan to reduce public service numbers through a sinking lid policy, rather than root-and-branch reform, will result in a major mindshift in Wellington.
Former Treasury secretary Graham Scott is clear that policy-makers should forget about hiring freezes and reinvest in the public sector performance system so that it can be used to "roll back low value activities incrementally and continuously".
Scott presided over a huge wave of public sector reform in New Zealand during the 1980s and early 1990s which has subsequently held up as an example of best practice for myriad countries embarking on fundamental economic change.
But in the 15 years since he held Treasury's reins, some of those lessons seem to be have been (wilfully) over-looked. Scott wants re-investment in Treasury, the position of professional advisers restored in the Cabinet decision processes and the department's mandate and obligation to provide analysis and advice on the long-term economic interests of New Zealand to be embedded.
He has also suggested the Public Finance Act should be re-written to a best international benchmark standard for performance budgeting, monitoring and evaluation.
Scott has been on the outer since the current government came to power. But his standing - among his peers - is still so substantial that he was asked to address the 50th anniversary gathering of the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research.
The perennial question of whether New Zealand should move to a flatter tax regime - as is happening elsewhere - also needs to be debated. Sir Roger can be expected to push the boundaries out here with Act's unambiguous tax and spending policies.
Business New Zealand has undertaken a survey of its membership. The detailed results will not be released until this afternoon. But the survey is also expected to raise concerns over whether the current Government's policy suite is enabling New Zealand to reach its full economic potential. Productivity concerns are also expected to come to the fore along with the quality of Government spend.
Business cannot afford to be lily-livered on this score. The signs are that parties of all persuasions are again gearing up to dig into taxpayers' pockets to bribe them with their own money.
Take National's much-vaunted proposal to spend $1.5 billion to drive fibre optic broadband to 75 per cent of New Zealand homes.
TelstraClear's Allan Freeth spoke for many in business when he slagged the proposal as "politically opportunistic" and "built on hype".
The reality is it is not going to do anything to boost business productivity: It completely misses the boat when it comes to investment in next generation infrastructure which will enable faster broadband over the existing copper loop network or wireless transmissions.
Freeth will no doubt be accused of self-interest as the National plan plays into Telecom's agenda.
The reality is that none of the parties should be promising to spend up large on major investments without properly assessing whether they will in fact be future proof. Today's conference will succeed if business people get that crucial message across.
