The Front Page: Chris v Chris – Mood of the Boardroom sees business leaders have their say on next PM

Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon are both vying for the role of Prime Minister. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Major business leaders have had their say in the 21st edition of the annual Mood of the Boardroom survey.

There are strong suggestions this time that business leaders want change, and that’s bad news for Labour and party leader Chris Hipkins.

Mood of the Boardroom executive editor Fran O’Sullivan tells The Front Page podcast that there’s clear concern about where the country is headed.

“There’s also optimism in the sense that we as a nation do have a certain amount of positives for our future, but what we’re seeing this year, in a domestic sense, is a big overweighting of major economic concerns,” says O’Sullivan.

to read the full report

“Government spending, inflation, crime, and law and order have eased out the usual traditional concerns around skills and labour shortages.”

O’Sullivan says that business leaders want to see some “economic rigour” from the next Government.

“They want to see some prudence and financial management, but, at the same time, they want to see more of economic policies and vision that the respective parties will lead.

While National’s Christopher Luxon did come out ahead of Hipkins in the head-to-head scores, there were also serious questions asked of Luxon’s tax plan and whether it will make sense in the current economic climate.

“There are concerns about National’s tax cut package from the point of view of not necessarily showing sufficient detail. But that said, some believe that Christopher Luxon, assuming he is Prime Minister, will do what any CEO would do: he’ll re-forecast, he’ll re-budget and he’ll make his numbers [work].”

So, how much will these sentiments impact the general election? Which politicians have the highest rankings? And which issues are causing the greatest concern for business leaders right now?

For more insight from O’Sullivan, listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast and read the Mood of the Boardroom special report.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.