Mike Hosking: Govt wrong to make an enemy of business

COMMENT:

There is a new chapter in the ongoing tension between business and the government over the direction of the country. Given the latest comments, it could even be described as an ongoing stoush.

Confidence is low, we all know that. The latest in a long series of surveys has small business as pretty down in the dumps and at a nine-year low.

Iain Lees-Galloway, the Minister in charge of at least some of the reform that is potentially inducing this dourness, has decided the best course of action is attack. He's come out suggesting various business groups, including a selection of Chambers of Commerce, are running a campaign designed to make people miserable.

This is in stark contrast to the opening salvo from the government at the start of the year, which was conciliatory. People like Grant Robertson and Jacinda Ardern used phrases like, "we hear you, we understand the concern".

They went on to give speeches to specific business-related groups to try to reassure them
business was part of the mix, they'd be working hard on the relationship, and not to panic.

It appears, unless Lees-Galloway has taken things into his own hands and gone rogue, this has been an unsuccessful approach and the new angle is to attack.

This, if it is the case, would be very foolish indeed.

Chambers of Commerce represent their members, who of course are business people, and they represent them with their views expressed to the top levels of government as well as commentary to the public.

What the government fails to grasp is what the Chambers have to say, in general, makes sense.

You can't take as many surveys on confidence as we have had, and simply continue to dismiss them. You can't say "you're wrong and we're right". That has been sadly the plight of the left, namely Labour, for years.

A slightly condescending tut-tutting that they're the boss and you need to pull your head in.

Even if, and it's a big if, but even if the government had a point at the start of the year that business, as a rule, moaned under Labour, there is now too much evidence to keep running that line.

Not to mention cold hard facts to back it up. The growth figures out a couple of weeks ago show us slowing. Immigration is slowing, inflation is rising, cost of living through new taxes is rising.

The froth is coming off or has come off the economy and it's directly attributable to government policy.

And the workplace reform that Lees-Galloway is in charge of is the powder keg in the room.

Business is jobs, and the life blood of our economy and success.

Everything the government wants to do relies on business doing well. Incomes, taxes, wages, growth.

If you make business an enemy, your entire plan implodes.

Pointing fingers and shifting blame is the recipe for a fight. Lees-Galloway has misread this badly.