Leeann Watson: Enough politics - long term vision and action needed

'Businesses would like to see a government that can plan well into the future and make decisions that will shape the business landscape.' Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

As we begin the lead-up to the general election – and ever-present election campaigning – instead of just listening to party promises, we wanted to turn the tables and ask businesses what they would like the next Government to prioritise. Whoever that Government might be. Through engagement with our members and the wider business community in Canterbury, we have collated the thinking that should inform how it views businesses.

What we heard is that businesses would like to see a government that can plan well into the future and make decisions that will shape the business landscape – and therefore our communities – for years and decades to come, rather than the often-knee-jerk short-term thinking that ties in with the three-year election cycle.

A key focus needs to be fit-for-purpose workforce settings. Aotearoa New Zealand has long faced the challenge of accessing the right talent, which has been exacerbated by Covid-19 and closed borders.

Our immigration settings need to be open, simple, and predictable and focused on improving employers’ ability to attract international skills and talent (without the side serve of administrative and bureaucratic barriers that delay visa applications) and we need to yell from the rooftops that we are open for business.

We also need to reintroduce 90-day trials for all employers and depoliticise minimum wage rates to ensure they are stable and predictable so businesses, particularly our small businesses, can be confident to grow.

In saying that, we also need to minimise our reliance on immigration by ensuring our education system focuses on essential skills like reading, writing and maths, and provides a strong foundation for work-readiness skills like time management, communication, and critical thinking.

There needs to be collaboration with employers to better inform career pathways in emerging industries and technical careers like advanced manufacturing, and we need to invest in a vocational education system that is agile in responding to workforce needs, putting employers and the people they want to employ at the core.

Businesses also want to see continued support for the uptake of apprenticeships and responsive support systems as they navigate disruption through upskilling their workforce for the future.

Compliance and regulatory costs are another significant burden for business – particularly SMEs. The next Government needs to review compliance cost drivers for business and reduce compliance activity where it does not add value.

It is also clear that there must be a robust regulatory design process to ensure Government is not placing additional counterproductive compliance costs on business at a time when rising costs are already the biggest barrier to productivity and growth.

Any new regulatory process should include a small business lens across government activity, so it is clear what the impacts of policy decisions are on our small businesses from all government departments. And if changes need to be made, then there needs to be genuine partnerships with business on amendments to the regulatory systems that impact them.

Businesses would also like to see a much stronger long-term future focus on driving innovation, sustainability, and resilience. There need to be stronger links between science and business to support the development and uptake of innovative technologies, along with accelerated depreciation on research and development and better access to finance.

Businesses would also like to see greater engagement with Government, to provide for clear and easy to understand guidance and support to plan and execute their decarbonisation journey. For exporters – and indeed all New Zealanders – greater investment needs to be made in New Zealand’s freight and supply chain resilience with continued pursuit of high quality, comprehensive free trade agreements.

As chief executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce – the largest business support agency in Te Wai Pounamu South Island – I would be remiss to not also include that there needs to be a greater recognition by Government on the role that Canterbury plays in the national economy and that Canterbury is the economic hub of the South Island.

Too often we see Government announcements and policy changes that are focused on impact in Auckland and Wellington alone, neglecting Canterbury and the wider South Island.

Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson.

Canterbury businesses are innovative and continually adopting new technologies and investing in their people, and as a region, we are the perfect trial ground for new ideas and pilot programmes. We would like to see Government partner with us on more new initiatives to leverage the opportunities our city and region have to offer, including the relative ease of doing business, our affordability, our new and emerging sectors, and hi-tech, innovative culture.

We asked businesses what they wanted – and needed – to affect positive change and they were more than forthcoming with significant, tangible actions that would benefit the country and our local communities. For those looking to form the next Government, my advice would be to listen.

We see in the news every day how different policies affect households, but what can often fall by the wayside is how Government policies affect business, which of course keep most New Zealand households employed, drive our economy, and pay for our health, education, and infrastructure.

Supporting and enabling businesses should be at the forefront of priorities for the new Government to lift the country – and our communities – out of this ‘technical recession’ and set us all up for a brighter more economically stable and certain future.

Leeann Watson is the chief executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, the largest business support agency in the South Island.