Respondents to the Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom survey comment on the top issues and how to resolve them. Click here for more stories in the special report.
Michael Fuge - Contact Energy
· Cloying regulation getting in the way of rapid decarbonisation. Get policy settings right then get out of the way.
· Out of control government spending linked to a rapid growth in the bureaucracy with a corresponding crash in basic frontline delivery: Health education, crime prevention, immigration. Even the airport resembles a third world arrival hall.
· Collapse in the education system- basic literacy and numeracy falling well down world rankings and appalling absenteeism at secondary schools. The legacy of nonsensical extreme left education dogma is going to stay with us for generations.
Andrea Scown - Mitre 10
· Violent and aggressive behaviour, more frequently directed towards frontline team members: we are dealing with the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff with greater safety training for our teams. Beyond the obvious societal drivers of poverty, cost of living, social isolation and so on, are uncontrolled social media platforms such as Tik Tok exacerbating copycat behaviours.
· Ineffective government policy that is doing little to boost consumer confidence. Effect positive societal change, or encourage capital investment. My hope is that New Zealanders will take to the polls placing their votes on policy — not people or parties.
· The wealth gap and housing affordability for the average Kiwi. Wealth gap: Solving this requires more focus on lifting productivity, improving education outcomes. Housing affordability: Radically improving the productivity of the construction sector through technology, consenting, skilled labour, effective urban planning.
Chris Quin - Foodstuffs Northern
· Lack of strategy, vision and conviction. Get real about the issues the country is facing and what’s needed to address them. It’s time to do the hard things, not the easy things. And welcome foreign investment to grow our economy.
· Lack of clarity on the role everyone can play in forging the future we want. We need certainty, stability and to play as a tight team with Government, business and community connected and all working shoulder to shoulder.
· Lack of clear priorities, focused execution and accountability for outcomes. Government needs to know where its focus should be and be precise in how it targets spending to fix problems. Accountability for outcomes will be critical for the next Government.
Rob Campbell - Director
· Climate/Environment — genuinely face the crisis.
· Inequities — face and deal with.
· Efficiency and effectiveness — face and deal with.
Simon Bennett - Accordant
· Labour market efficiency. Modernise employment framework for future state (and current — Holidays Act still broken)
· Low productivity. Simplify incentivisation of employees, don’t fix to lowest common denominator.
· Lack of vision and certainty in pathway to growth. Get business to help solve the problems, working in tandem with government. Foreign Direct Investment may not be our answer but follow Ireland’s lead by giving businesses long-term certainty of the legislative eco -system.
Erica Crawford - Loveblock Wines
· Long-term planning for an ageing population — how will this be funded? It affects tax policies, health & disability strategies, fewer tax payers, and skills gap vacated by retiring boomers. I believe that it is time for the implementation of well managed capital gains tax policy before the flush boomers retire.
· Climate change. Period
· Not enough tax income. Most areas of social services, health and education systems, infrastructure and do on are all underfunded. The income simply is not there. I am also astounded at the large and liberal promises made by the pollies.
Paul Newfield - Morrison and Co
· Breaking out of being a small, low income, low productivity economy by exporting expertise not commodities.
· Building social cohesion and reducing inequality so that we can avoid the path of populism and dysfunction
· Making the most of our competitive advantages in a decarbonising world
Don Braid - Mainfreight
· Economic stability.
· GDP growth.
· Health and Education standards across the nation.
Professor Dawn Freshwater - University of Auckland
· Division (around Te ao Māori for example).
· Lack of focus on national priorities (research and education is a good example).
· Better co-ordination and collaboration between and across Sectors rather than silos; need to use our potential agility to trade for the lack of scale and concentration.
Sam Stubbs - Simplicity
· Fiscal drag via higher interest rates. Core Govt. spending discipline is critical. Tough as it is, we have to walk back from our massive increase in core Government. spending.
· Getting new sources of capital, namely KiwiSaver. Better investing in infrastructure.
· Creating a better narrative. We are talking ourselves into a recession that could be worse than necessary.
Stephen Jacobi - International Business Forum
· Chinese over-reaction to NZ growing closer to the US: encourage the Government to maintain balance and independence.
· Terms of trade and protectionism in overseas markets: Boost export support.
· Declining competitiveness and productivity: Attract more capital, boost infrastructure investment.
Todd Lauchlan - JLL
· Managing government spending
· Long-term vision
· Infrastructure
Mark Cairns - Freightways
· Slowing domestic economy. Need an acute focus on government spending.
· Climate change. Need to move faster. Transport emissions and industrial heat biggest opportunities for enduring carbon reductions.
· Health system is broken. It is poor form how long it has taken to resolve pay disparity with nursing staff.
Hayden Wilson - Dentons Kensington Swan
· Intergenerational income inequality — realignment of taxation priorities is required.
· Short term thinking in political parties in relation to the country’s challenges.
· Lack of aspiration — in politics and in business.
Jolie Hodson - Spark
· The inflationary environment and high cost of living is a challenge for all New Zealanders and businesses alike.
· We have made progress on climate change, but we still need to switch the way we approach the challenge from one of siloed sector-based plans to cross-sector and whole-of-economy strategies.
· Our infrastructure deficits in housing, roading, and health services, which is widening inequalities and requires longer-term planning that outlives election cycles.
Mike Hearn - Amcham
· Healthcare — all aspects from hospitals through to greater funding for Pharmac. Better use of government spend and borrow more to bring up to world standard.s
· Education — improve the quality of education provided across all areas from pre school to University. Better use of government spend and borrow more to bring up to world standards.
· Crime — make New Zealand safe again. Strong war on drugs, gangs and ram raids.
Thomas Pippos - Deloitte
· Achieving fiscal equilibrium through both growing the economy and a heightened focus on the quality of spending.
· Social divisiveness fuelled by self-interest and fringe perspectives.
· A lack of focus on initiatives gravitated to the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Peter Reidy - KiwiRail
· Racial tension
· Economic recovery
· Core health and education service standards and delivery
Malcolm Johns - Genesis Energy
· Lack of National Direction/Plan.
· Wasteful Government spending/policies.
· Crime/Safety.
Steve Jurkovich - KiwiBank
· Lack of investment in critical infrastructure.
· Health and social services on their knees.
· Crime.
Anne Gaze - Campus Link Foundation
· Health — the prioritising of Māori. Return to needs-based, not race-based.
· Housing — Government to joint-venture with first home owners (via deposit). This has taxpayers supporting the ownership of a home. The more aspiring New Zealander will sell their first home as they move up the ladder and the Government is returned their investment per centage. Those less aspirational will stay in their first home for the balance of their lives and fall into the social support bracket. This model would remove the huge cost of social housing and give New Zealanders a stake in their own home, rather than renting, as well as mitigating the huge cost of maintenance the government spends on rentals.
· Roll the Manukau Secondary Tertiary School model throughout New Zealand — where Year 9s are exposed to trades, relevant subjects and engagement.
Silvana Schenone - Jarden
· Infrastructure — maintenance and resilience. We should involve private capital (foreign direct investment). If the name “PPP” (public private partnership) is not politically acceptable, call it strategic alliances or something else.
· Talent shortage/migration. We need tax and other incentives (not disincentives) to increase productivity and retain talent. Consider also a focus on education improvement and incentives.
· Crime — safety. We need to empower the authorities to take action and offer compelling rehabilitation options that are not just an ankle bracelet and back in the streets.
Kevin Obern - Office Max
· Cost of living. Tax rate threshold changes.
· Health and Education. Complete review to meet social need and reset along with improved funding model.
· Inefficient and bloated central government. Needs higher level of accountability and productivity.
Matthew Cockram - Cooper and Company
· Education. The whole thing — pre-school to tertiary and beyond. Education must be valued and made central to our belief and values system.
· Social cohesion. This is all about New Zealanders getting behind a common vision for the success of our country. A vision that motivates, celebrates success, looks after the disadvantaged, but is about growth and prosperity for all — not redistribution.
· From here there is a long list — education, infrastructure, foreign direct investment, public sector effectiveness. They all need tacking but require a central organising principle of a generally held vision for the country.
Michael Lorimer - Grant Samuel
· Skilled staff. Close Immigration NZ and start again with a new department aligned with the private sector
· Reserve Bank. Return to a single mandate of price stability.
· Major overhaul of the Ministry of Education.
Franz Mascarenhas - Cordis
· Basic cost of living and inflation. Resolved by more prudent Government spending, increasing Private sector partnerships with Public companies, improving productivity and boosting the economy to counter expenditure.
· State of criminal activity in the country. There is an increase in gang-related activity and quite sadly a large increase in juvenile offending. This is not just an issue affecting local businesses but essentially does affect the image of the country which is a disincentive for both business and tourists alike to visit or settle in New Zealand.
· Tourism does not seem to be given its due importance in our country. This is despite the industry being a major forex earner and contributing to the GDP of the country and the employment opportunities it affords. Funding of Tourism-related activity is decreasing year on year, despite inflationary costs. Tourism NZ funding as an example has been reduced by $15 million by the current Government and when you look at Auckland the picture is no different. Auckland struggles to achieve a funding of less than $15m when Melbourne alone spends the amount to win a major event or entertainment act.
Bryan Thomson - Harcourts
· Leadership. We need to come out of the general election with political leadership that is positive, inspiring and effective.
· Economic Success. We must ensure government spending amplifies business success opportunities, and through this inspires private investment in growth, and drives our next generation of leaders to grow and develop in New Zealand.
· Social Responsibility. We must solve the issue of our failing health and education systems urgently. Provide a platform that protects and supports those who can’t do so themselves and one that inspires all to lift themselves up. We also need a criminal justice system that holds to account those who fail to act in the manner a strong and vibrant community would expect, expectations without reward or consequence fail twice, it can’t continue if we want to live in a successful community.
· The 2023 Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey, conducted by BusinessNZ, received 876 responses from a broad range of business sizes, regions and industries.
Notably, nearly half of survey respondents (49 per cent), were from the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.
The survey also canvassed the views of political parties for insights into policy positions relevant to business.
Many business leaders rate the Opposition Finance Spokesperson highly.