Xero founder Rod Drury wants a Government Chief Technology Officer appointed to advise cabinet - on the same lines as Sir Peter Gluckman's role advising the Prime Minister on science.
"Technology is moving really fast. Most of the advice given to government comes from vested interests; we need someone who is independent and able to pick out the big subjects, then propose action," he says.
To illustrate the value of a government CTO, Drury points at payments technology. Payments are moving from cards to smartphones. He says without the right policy setting we could find companies like Samsung, Apple or a mobile carrier clip the ticket on every purchase made in New Zealand. That could add 2.5 per cent to the price of everything - a huge inflation hit with all that implies for the economy.
Outside technology issues and not tinkering with the free market, Drury isn't worried by general government policy settings. "Most policy doesn't make that much difference to us."
However, he remains a champion of the idea to build a submarine cable from the US to Australia via New Zealand. Drury looks for government to take the lead on this after trying and failing to build a commercial cable with Pacific Fibre. He says an international cable is a vital infrastructure, like a road, that should be publically funded rather than supported by commercial equity funds. "There's a way the Government could get a trans-Pacific cable without it costing too much money. It would benefit everyone and transform business. It would enable multipoint video conferencing. This would boost productivity and make us part of the global community," he said. Drury's cable plan would see the Crown own the asset and international connections sold at a $5 monthly wholesale rate: With a million connections that would raise $60 million a year "enough to cover the cable debt".
