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- 15 November 2011 NZCCI Job for next government: Reform regional economic development model
- 14 November 2011 NZCCI Next Government must work harder to develop a skilled and responsive workforce
- 11 November 2011 NZCCI Bold action plan needed to grow a bigger ‘economic pie'
- 9 November 2011 NZCCI Campaign to sell more to the world – “It is time to be ambitious about the spread of business we do”
- 7 November 2011 NZCCI Shared ownership of public assets
Media Release 15 November 2011
Job for next government: Reform regional economic development model
The New Zealand Chambers of Commerce want the incoming government to reform the regional economic development model to ensure local government and business organisations focus on their respective core services and areas of competence.
In recent years some local authorities have established business development services involving skills training courses and employment recruitment support.
“This is not the job of local government. These services can be best provided by the private sector,” said Michael Barnett, spokesman for the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
Organisations like the Chambers of Commerce are in close touch with their local business community, better qualified and trained to provide business development services.
Because economic development agencies are largely rate-payer and tax-payer funded, they should not be channelling their resources into individual businesses. Or put another way, they are publicly funded and so should be providing ‘public good’ benefits not private benefits to individual businesses.
We strongly believe local government can make an important contribution to grow local economic activity by providing ‘business friendly’ services – responsive regulatory and consent regimes, low competitive rates - efficient infrastructure, positive promotion of the local area, attracting tourists and events.
The reach of these activities needs to be linked to support, facilitate and work with local business organisations to do all they can to encourage businesses to be as successful as they possibly can be, concluded Mr Barnett.
Media Release 14 November 2011
Next Government must work harder to develop a skilled and responsive workforce
The New Zealand Chambers of Commerce wants the incoming government to give greater attention to solving New Zealand’s labour shortages.
“It is a paradox that despite the economic downturn, employers continue to face a shortage of suitably skilled workers. At the same time, New Zealand has a persistent high level of youth unemployment,” said Michael Barnett, spokesman for the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
“There is a strong impression of a disconnect between employers wanting to recruit suitable people, people wanting work and whether we are getting full value for money from industry training organisations.
“The key requirement to address this long-standing, deep-seated conundrum is a comprehensive review of industry and vocational training services, which also focuses on what is needed to retain talent, overcome youth unemployment in local areas, and recruitment under our immigration policy.”
More developed skills across the New Zealand workforce should be a major driver of the improved productivity that is needed to achieve higher levels of economic growth.
The review requires a ‘whole of government and New Zealand Inc’ approach focused on encouraging and managing the supply of skills and talents needed to lift our export performance, and enabling work experience for young people and unqualified school leavers to go hand in hand with training, said Mr Barnett.
Retaining Kiwi grown talent is also essential. While overseas experience benefits young people and should be encouraged, the fact that few return is one of our most serious issues. The solution is not to impose controls but to create a business and lifestyle environment that makes them want to return.
The solution to youth unemployment is not by a government agency imposing requirements on young unqualified school leaver but for willing employers seeking an expanded, productive workforce to create a positive business and lifestyle environment that makes the ‘job seeker’ want to work. The attitude has to be right on both sides.
Media Release 11 November 2011
Bold action plan needed to grow a bigger ‘economic pie’
The New Zealand Chamber of Commerce wants the incoming government to work with business organizations to design a compelling set of goals and targets to grow a bigger ‘economic pie’.
Businesses are the engines of New Zealand’s economy. They generate most of New Zealand’s wealth and jobs.
“With a population of only 4.4 million but wanting to enjoy first world health, education and welfare services, it is essential that New Zealand increase the size of the ‘economic pie’ in order to pay for these, increase productivity and meet the demand for quality jobs,” said Michael Barnett, spokesman for the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
Past goals such as getting per capita incomes into the top half of the OECD by 2010 or closing the gap with Australia by 2025 mean little in themselves without credible steps and targets to achieve them.
“What is needed is a growth roadmap that every New Zealand business can easily understand and be enthusiastic to help achieve,” said Mr Barnett.
The uncertainty and slow growth in the world economy doesn’t excuse us from doing better. We have many innovative businesses with potential to grow, and on a world scale we are so small that we can develop niche opportunities in the growth economies of Asia, as some businesses are doing. Some smaller economies of comparable size to New Zealand are also doing relatively better.
To lift our overall game, it is critical for businesses to be confident that our government is pulling out all the stops to strengthen New Zealand’s economic fundamentals, concluded Mr Barnett.
Media release 9 November 2011
Campaign to sell more to the world – “It is time to be ambitious about the spread of business we do”
The New Zealand Chamber of Commerce wants the incoming government to join forces with the private sector to design and launch a radical shake up of approach and resolve to improve New Zealand’s export performance.
“We need a campaign to maximise the benefits of the many Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) we have,” said Michael Barnett, spokesman for the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
“We have been successful at being first to negotiate an FTA with a number of countries. It is time to be ambitious to deepen and widen the spread of businesses that are benefitting from these agreements.
Despite these agreements, exporting continues to be concentrated on commodity agriculture, with Fonterra the standout. We only have around 750 globally capable and competitive businesses. Yet New Zealand has many innovative and creative businesses with the potential to be successful global players.
“We need to focus on the many innovative medium-sized businesses with a campaign targeting niche markets in the big countries of opportunity coupled with a retraining package to upskill their marketing capability,” said Mr Barnett.
“It is time to offer incentives to get more middle sized companies into exporting, including practical help to tap into offshore networks and opportunities.”
Building a large tier of global businesses is the only way New Zealand is going to lift overall living standards and provide increased job opportunities that are attractive to skilled and capable young New Zealanders.
The traditional focus of increasing the exports of conventional merchandise goods needs to shift up the value added chain to high-tech, knowledge-based products, the export of services and the returns from outward direct overseas investment.
“We believe the best way to improve New Zealand’s export performance is for the incoming government to establish an innovation-focused government-business partnership tasked to lead a campaign to sell more to the world,” concluded Mr Barnett.
FTAs in force include:
- Australia: Closer Economic Relations (1983)
- China: New Zealand China Free Trade Agreement (2008)
- Thailand: New Zealand and Thailand Closer Economic Partnership (2005)
- Singapore: New Zealand and Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (2001)
- Malaysia: New Zealand - Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (2009)
On 27 February 2009 New Zealand signed an FTA with the ASEAN regional block of 10 countries it is estimated could boost aggregate GDP across the 12 countries by more than US$48 billion over the period 2000-2020 with an additional US$3.4 billion to New Zealand alone.
Proposed FTAs include:
- The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement involving 4 countries with which New Zealand has existing trade agreements - Malaysia, Brunei, Chile, Singapore, and Australia - and nations with which New Zealand does not have an existing FTA:
- United States: New Zealand-United States Free Trade Agreement
- Peru: Negotiating alongside the United States, Australia and Vietnam to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
- Vietnam: Negotiating alongside the United States, Australia and Peru to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
- Japan: Conducting feasibility study since 2008
- South Korea: New Zealand-South Korea Free Trade Agreement
- India: India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement - negotiating since 2007.
- Russia: Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus Free Trade Agreement - negotiating since 2010.
Media Release 7 November 2011
Shared ownership of public assets
The New Zealand Chambers of Commerce is pushing for the incoming government to adopt a policy to allow New Zealanders to have shared ownership in commercial assets currently owned and controlled by central and local government.
“Allowing New Zealanders to invest in the nation’s strategic commercial assets would provide a safe alternative to continuing to invest in property,” said Michael Barnett, spokesman for the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
“It is win-win,” said Mr Barnett
“It would free up capital for government to invest in critical infrastructure, while giving ordinary New Zealanders the opportunity to invest in productive New Zealand-owned assets and bolster their retirement nest egg.
The core concept is ‘shared ownership’ of assets by New Zealand organisations and individuals under an arrangement in which government retains majority (at least 51% of) ownership.
Current Government policy is limited to a controlled three-to-five year programme from 2012 to sell off minority shares to New Zealanders in four energy companies (Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy), and to scale back the existing shareholding in Air New Zealand.
The Chamber’s proposal gives the next government the opportunity to show it is seriously committed to a policy of promoting all New Zealand’s strategic commercial assets to playing a key role in securing our economic prospects. It can show this commitment by extending the shared ownership asset policy to all central and local government commercially owned and controlled organisations.
We believe a controlled asset sell down to New Zealanders of minority shares in a range of other selected commercial assets would not only help secure the target of a return to a fiscal surplus by 2015, fund the rebuild of Christchurch and enable faster delivery of critical infrastructure, but create the opportunity for New Zealanders to have some shared ownership (and direct participation) in securing our economic prospects.
“It is positive for New Zealand and New Zealanders, and because New Zealanders will have some direct ownership will help keep those managing the assets on their toes,” suggested Mr Barnett.
