| | | | | | Advocacy for business by the BusinessNZ Network | | | | Getting past peak control |
Phase 3 of the Covid response shifts NZ from a 'command & control' regime to one where individual businesses manage their own response - and they can be trusted to do what’s right, BusinessNZ’s Kirk Hope says. “Being allowed access to RAT tests is enabling the shift, along with the decision that vaccine passes and the mandate will be scrapped or reduced in importance when Omicron peaks later this month. Kirk Hope says getting past ‘peak Omicron’ should also mean getting past ‘peak control,’ with NZ returning to our usual open, democratic way of governance as soon as possible.”
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Our new UK trade deal could mean 50% more exports into that market, says ExportNZ’s Catherine Beard. “As a result of the NZ-UK trade agreement announced this week, NZ dairy and meat exports will be tariff-free or the first time in 50 years. Our current half-billion dollar wine exports will be worth significantly more. And NZ exporters will find it easier to do business in the UK under the new rules for business entry. Our exporters welcome this deal which will finally remove almost all tariffs by the end of the year.” | | | | | |
Canterbury businesses need workers badly, says Canterbury Chamber’s Leeann Watson. Migrant and seasonal workers that usually comprise 8% of the region’s workforce have been kept out by Covid restrictions, and overall, Canterbury needs 10,000 new workers every year to replenish its workforce. But there’s a brain drain happening nation-wide, with over 50,000 NZers leaving the country in the last year, Leeann Watson says. “Labour market constraints is the number one issue for businesses, and with the imminent announcement of an immigration reset, we will be advocating for a balanced plan that helps rather than hinders.” | | | | | | More fuel storage required |
Overseas events and NZ’s border restrictions point to the need for more onshore fuel stocks, says the BusinessNZ Energy Council. While we are not importing oil from Russia, or gas in general, our access to and storage of such fuels is key to safeguarding energy security and affordability in NZ, BEC Executive Director Tina Schirr says. BEC modelling shows a range of fuel types including oil and gas will be needed for energy until 2050 while NZ transitions to a low-carbon energy system, and ongoing energy security in the current geopolitical context requires more onshore fuel stocks. | | | | | | Resource uncertainty continues |
BusinessNZ says proposed legislation to replace the Resource Management Act has a long way ago if it is to assist business development. Giving feedback on initial policy thinking on key components of the proposed Natural & Built Environment Act and Strategic Planning Act, BusinessNZ says significant areas are yet to be addressed, including how to balance competing environmental and economic demands, how to better enable access to natural resources like water, and how businesses can have effective input into resource management decision-making. | | | | | |
Small firms are feeling pain, with widespread Covid in the community, and reduced foot traffic in city and town centres, Buy NZ Made says. “With 59% of retailers unsure if they can survive the Omicron wave, and a significant number of businesses on the edge, the situation for small business is dire. The Government has offered targeted payments to businesses struggling under the red traffic light setting, an interest-free extension to small business loans, and flexibility on tax payment dates, but more needs to be done to stimulate trade in CBDs across the country,” Buy NZ’s Dane Ambler said. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
