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Advocacy for business by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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Green light for construction | | | |
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Employment relations changes |
BusinessNZ has welcomed the new Govt moving quickly to implement recommended employment changes: repealing Fair Pay Agreements, reinstating 90-day trials for any business, and resuming work on longstanding contracting and holiday pay issues. Meanwhile, three private member Bills have been dropped from the agenda, that would have hampered business - by increasing restraint of trade restrictions, introducing a criminal offence for employers owing wages, and restricted employers’ options in managing KiwiSaver contributions. BusinessNZ had opposed all three as excessive, saying relevant legal remedies were already available. | | | |
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BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope says James Shaw relinquishing the Greens co-leadership marks the end of a period of successful bipartisanship. “James Shaw achieved unanimous support in Parliament to pass the Zero Carbon Act, which has also survived last year’s change in Government. This kind of bipartisanship is rare, and is a testament to his long-term pragmatic work across political parties and communities including the business community.” Kirk Hope said the business community had a strong desire for bipartisanship on all significant business issues. | | | |
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Advocacy by the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) has borne fruit, with positive policy changes adopted by the new Government including overturning the plan for Lake Onslow pumped hydro, reducing the number of ETS reviews, creating a regulatory framework for offshore wind energy, streamlining energy sector consenting, prioritising new peaking generation, and making the 100% aspirational renewable energy target more realistic – all indications of a Government that is listening to the energy sector, BEC’s Tina Schirr said. | | | |
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BusinessNZ has welcomed the moderate approach to setting the latest 2% rise in the minimum wage. “Minimum wage increases coming too hard and too fast tend to impact very heavily on business, especially if they are unable to pass on their increased costs,” BusinessNZ's Kirk Hope said. “The significant increases introduced since 2017 have brought the minimum wage very close to the level of the median wage, at significant stress to small businesses.” BusinessNZ’s briefing to the incoming government called for minimum wage-setting to be moderate, stable and predictable.
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The Reserve Bank is proposing changes to minimise loan defaults and risks to banks: introducing debt-to-income limits and loosening loan-to-value limits. BusinessNZ’s draft submission on the change says there’s not a strong case for the move - DTIs are a blunt tool that don’t pick up risk in individual cases, and LVRs bear no relation to risks in particular areas or sectors. The move would also make it more expensive for small businesses that need to use housing mortgage finance for business development, BusinessNZ’s submission says.
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AdvocacyUpdate is an update on recent activity & advocacy by the BusinessNZ Network | |
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