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Advocacy for business by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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NZ has a strong position in the global economy, and a Government that is working hard to back its businesses to succeed, PM Minister Jacinda Ardern told BusinessNZ members this week. Addressing chief executives of the Major Companies Group, the PM said, “An economy 4.8 percent bigger than before Covid, near record-low unemployment, low debt and a smaller than expected deficit. All of these economic indicators are running at similar or mostly better levels than achieved during and after the Global Financial Crisis. It's a strong position.” | | | |
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No let-up for skill shortages |
Unemployment stats released this week show no let-up for skill shortages - Household Labour Force data from Stats NZ show extreme skill shortages continuing for employers, BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope said. “With unemployment remaining at historically low levels, and employment and underutilisation figures remaining unchanged from the last quarter, we can see extreme pressures continuing on the workforce. We need to get moving now on immigration policy that is as effective and efficient as possible, with a co-ordinated global attraction strategy in place.” | | | |
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BusinessNZ will not abandon members and will continue to work for the best outcome for employers regarding Fair Pay Agreements. While BusinessNZ has refused to be the default employer representative and receive money from the Govt for a scheme that is poor policy, we will continue keeping the employer community up to speed regarding legal requirements, training and education on the new requirements, working with law firms on approaches and challenges where warranted, and using BusinessNZ Network legal resources to support affected industries. Contact point is Catherine Beard cbeard@businessnz.org.nz | | | |
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade and MBIE are suggesting that NZ’s future trade agreements should include provisions for ‘aspirational outcomes’ for labour and employment, e.g. for social justice, decent work and gender outcomes. BusinessNZ’s submission says free trade agreements are already required to respect international labour protections, and including aspirational goals could cause inconsistencies when countries are negotiating bilateral or multilateral trade agreements. | | | |
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The Govt wants to introduce OECD rules for mandatory ‘information-reporting by the platform economy’ - requiring platform or ‘gig’ companies to provide information to IRD on payments by their sellers. The rules would be based on an OECD proposal that is not yet accepted by many other countries, and NZ should not rush towards new regulation ahead of other countries, especially since there is strong potential for compliance costs associated with the introduction of OECD rules to mount up for the business community, BusinessNZ’s submission says.
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RMA reform needs to achieve a better consenting regime for significant business developments, BusinessNZ says. Multi-year delays and multi-million cost blow-outs in gaining RMA consents continue to be reported by leading companies e.g. Port of Tauranga and King Salmon seeking consents for normal business developments. Laws to replace the RMA are out for consultation this month. EMA members can discuss resource law developments at a briefing with the Environment Minister on 16 Nov. | | | |
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The key annual event for exporters Go Global is in Auckland on 9 Nov. Go Global conference agenda includes current overseas market opportunities, international perceptions of NZ, exporter cyber solutions, shipping and logistics updates, insights on exporting to Asia-Pacific, and inspiring stories from NZ businesses that have started from scratch and succeeded in the business of exporting. Exporters and would-be exporters can register here
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AdvocacyUpdate is an update on recent activity & advocacy by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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