KEY POINTS:
The deepening recession will head the agenda of the first Labour Party caucus of the year beginning in Auckland today, says leader Phil Goff.
"There is a real sense of urgency about just how severe the economic downturn might be and how we can best respond proactively to that," he said.
Mr Goff said Labour was still willing to play a role in the Prime Minister's job summit late next month.
BNZ economist Stephen Toplis and Benedikte Jensen of the New Zealand Institute think-tank would make presentations to the caucus session on the economy to be run by new finance spokesman David Cunliffe.
The caucus would discuss what was happening in the United States, Britain and Australia, Mr Goff said.
He believed New Zealand had been cushioned to some degree not just because the banks in New Zealand were in better shape but because of Australia's mineral boom.
"While those countries seem to have been responding with a real sense of urgency, and an acknowledgement of the scale of the problem, it's fair comment to say we haven't seen that sort of urgency signalled by our Government here yet.
"We will work with the Government when we see what their plan is if we are invited to," Mr Goff said.
Finance Minister Bill English said yesterday that the jobs summit would unveil further ideas for fighting the recession.
"We would like to come to the table with some propositions around dealing with people who have lost their jobs, and helping companies retain them," he said.
Cabinet ministers were considering a range of initiatives for small- and medium-sized businesses, which would be announced on February 4 in a speech by Prime Minister John Key.
Meanwhile, Trade Minister Tim Groser today heads for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Mr Key and Mr English both spoke yesterday of how important Davos was.
The PM said it would be the first meeting with trade representatives from the new Obama Administration where delegates would get a sense of where trade negotiations might go. It also marked the way forward for the stalled Doha trade round.
The Bush Administration agreed last year to join the Trans Pacific Agreement, with negotiations due to start in March.
Forty-one heads of state, 60 ministers, 10 ambassadors and 1400 chairmen and chief executives are expected to attend Davos.
- additional reporting NZPA
