Politicians go looking for business: Print 21 magazine

As New Zealand prepares for this year's general election, business concerns have been aired in Wellington at a gathering sponsored by Business New Zealand. Joan Grace reflects on how the wider business community's concerns echo those of the print industry.

New Zealand is heading to the polls later this year and the uncertainty for business prompted by the looming election has been heightened by the delayed announcement of the election date by the Labour-led Government.

However, even with the election now due to be held on 8 November, there is no guarantee a government will be appointed overnight. With New Zealand's electoral system of mixed member proportional (MMP), in which Members of Parliament are elected from single-member constituencies and party lists, often no one single party emerges as the clear winner. Instead, negotiations to form a coalition government must be held, a process which can continue long after the ballot is counted.

Despite this, having a date for the election is essential to encourage a greater feeling of security amid the business community. We have a very gloomy economic outlook tempered by some underlying positives such as the fall in the dollar for our exporters and continuing high commodity prices for primary products. However, concerns over the global economy abide.

What business wants
A recent election conference sponsored by Business New Zealand (the largest advocacy group for businesses in New Zealand) provided an opportunity for industry leaders to hear from all the major political parties and for candidates to answer the questions that are important for business. Business leaders were also given the chance to hear from the people who are not necessarily always on the news, but may play an important role in the design of the next Cabinet.

For me, the meeting gave rise to an obvious but often overlooked observation: Governments need businesses but politicians need voters. Much of what is vital for those involved in industry may be considered less important by families or retirees, for example.

During the conference, Business NZ introduced a survey which identified the important concerns for business ahead of this year's election. The big issue across the board continues to be skills amid nationwide low unemployment, with 94 percent of responders to the survey calling for the further development of apprenticeships and industry training, and 72 percent concerned the education system is not meeting the skill needs of business. This result within the economic context mentioned above was surprising although with unemployment still under 5 percent, employers have limited choice when seeking candidates for vacant positions.

Skill levels – or their lack – was also identified as the number one issue by business in the 2005 election. It appears that the top tier emphasis on investing in skills is not trickling down the list. This is something we pay a great deal of attention to at PrintNZ, and we hope that the introduction of new workplace training programmes will help address some of our members' concerns.

More help with R&D
The second issue for business is innovation, with half of responders calling for new policies to improve access to venture capital and close to 90 percent questioning whether the Government's new Research and Development tax credits will lift the spend on R&D. Businesses are well aware of the need to change and become more innovative, but most are not well-equipped to do so.

The mechanisms made available through the R&D credits or access to funding through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise do not seem to satisfy the needs of many small businesses. This provides a challenge for PrintNZ to stimulate discussion throughout our industry on the best way to support innovation and to work with the industry to build management capability that will allow business owners to continue to make the changes necessary in our fast-changing industry.

The third big issue identified by the survey is the environment for business to operate in. More than 70 percent of responders believe the dismissals provision contained in the Employment Relations Act (ERA) is 'below average' and 54 percent state the ERA's collective approach is the 'wrong way'. Some 89 percent do not want laws to monitor work-life balance and another 65 percent want the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) opened up to competition.

The Business NZ survey has highlighted ongoing, repeating issues. In this context, the questionnaire has looked at infrastructure, the Resource Management Act and general compliance costs. It appears businesses are finding continued political interference difficult.

Talkin' about the government
PrintNZ, as the industry association, has a role to represent the views of our members to whoever is in government, but the decisions about who will be in that government are the responsibility of every voter.

We will be most effective in our lobbying role if you firstly keep us informed on where you stand on the policy issues that affect your business. Secondly, you need to tell us when government processes interfere with the way you want to run your business. Be specific – it is the real hands-on examples that really help. The recent example of the letter sent to the Prime Minister about government printing being sourced offshore illustrates this point well. Thirdly, we need your support when we need answers to specific questions.

And finally, the election is a time for our industry to shine – remember to point out at every opportunity the effectiveness of print as the best way for politicians to get their messages across.