OPINION:
I took comfort in assurances made back in October 2020 that the current Government would "govern for all New Zealanders". But now I find myself wondering why businesses appear to be excluded from this.
Of course, you can argue that during Covid, when we locked down to protect ourselves and an unprepared public health system, there was significant stimulus directed at businesses (and it was gratefully received and appreciated). However, what was delivered then was one part of a much bigger stimulus delivered under exceptional circumstances. And the bulk of the funding was directed at retaining jobs via a wage subsidy, rather than specifically maintaining or investing in the businesses which create the jobs.
The recent Budget was pretty much devoid of anything substantive for the business community and the more recent political statements following the recommendations of the Climate Commission (and the poorly executed EV subsidy) seem to present further evidence of the sentiment expressed at the start of this column.
Stating climate as a generational "nuclear-free moment" is much like "hard and early" and "team of five million" – it is a carefully crafted soundbite. This is not an example of New Zealand standing up to a world power, it is an example of New Zealand "doing what it is told" by world powers. And unlike the largely diplomatic consequences of David Lange's Oxford Union speech, the economic consequences of overreaching on climate will likely hit mums and dads in the pocket and cause financial pain for businesses.