A week in advocacy 

Better news for manufacturing

The last PMI for the year brings better news for manufacturing.  During mid-2019 the survey showed declining manufacturing activity before recovering in October, and the latest survey also shows expansion though at a slower rate, says ManufacturingNZ’s Catherine Beard.  The PMI is watched closely as an indicator for the strength of the NZ economy overall.

Infrastructure boost should be focused on productivity
The boost in infrastructure spending announced this week should be focused on infrastructure that will support productivity, BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope says, and it’s appropriate for road and rail to be the priorities.  It will be important that capacity constraints don’t restrict the execution of the projects, he says, and that the projects are aligned with immigration and training policies.

Council funding big issue for business

BusinessNZ says council funding is important for business, as businesses pay around half of all council rates.  The Productivity Commission report says rates should be proportionate to services received.  Charging for water by volume and road congestion charges should be allowed, and central government should pay for more local infrastructure, the report says.  It says councils should sell non-essential assets to build new, essential assets as a prudent approach to financing local infrastructure.

BusinessNZ President re-elected

Wellington businessman Vaughan Renner has been re-elected BusinessNZ President at BusinessNZ’s Annual General Meeting.  Andrew Hunt, President of EMA, and Andrew Leys, President of the Otago Southland Employers Association have been re-elected as BusinessNZ Vice-Presidents.

Who should pay for fire & emergency services?

BusinessNZ says fire and emergency services should be at least partly funded out of general taxation.  Fire & Emergency NZ is currently funded by a levy on insurance-holders, but is holding a public consultation on changing this.  BusinessNZ will argue that the service would be more appropriately funded through tax, levies based on risk and partial user-charges, otherwise insurance-holders  - many of them businesses - will end up funding emergency and fire services for everyone.

Employee vs contractor

The Government wants contractors to be covered by employment law, saying some employees are being misclassified as contractors thereby missing out on holiday pay and other benefits.  BusinessNZ says there are already legal remedies for misclassification, and the proposal could blur the distinction between employees and contractors and diminish the business benefits of contracting.  BusinessNZ will make submissions on the issue on behalf of business in the new year.

Skills & technology governance

Applications are being called for Directors for Subsidiary Boards of the new centralised polytechnic system, the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology.  The new system will require close engagement with business and industry to ensure relevant skills training.  Applications are due on 7 January.

Coming up