Rebuild New Zealand: PwC Report Tackles Big Ideas For Economic Recovery

New Zealand has done better than most countries in terms of saving lives, the challenge now is to save livelihoods.

In a special report just released, Rebuild New Zealand, PwC casts a net over opportunities that could allow the country to recover more quickly and strongly than others. The details of this take shape in the identification of the forces of change affecting New Zealand’s economy and the planks that lead towards recovery.

Mark Averill, CEO and Senior Partner at PwC New Zealand, describes the approach of the report: “We have looked beyond the obvious economic impacts of the pandemic and investigated the existing fragilities in trade and enterprise, health and wellbeing, societal inequities, and environmental risks that have been further exposed as a result of COVID-19.

“There is no playbook for the task ahead. In our report we have identified the major forces of change that New Zealand is up against, and set out the strategic planks that - if correctly managed - will lead us through this crisis so that we might rebuild better and stronger than before and address our societal inequalities”.

Partner, David Bridgman, says this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign New Zealand’s economy for the benefit of all: “We need to move quickly with this economic leadership otherwise the debt burden will act as a handbrake on future generations.

“We have reflected on the initial response from the Government and private sector, but most importantly we are highlighting our country’s unique position for revival as well as the steps we must take to realise crucial changes. There are many reasons to feel positive about our future”.

“We don’t pretend to have all the answers, however, we want to contribute to what is an incredibly important debate. We firmly believe that New Zealand’s economy is capable of recovering in a way that will make it better than before”.

The report builds on the strong foundations set by the Government’s speedy and effective response to tackling the COVID-19 health crisis and the business support mechanisms and funding put in place. The approach then outlines ‘seven planks’ that can lead the country towards economic recovery.

Seven planks to rebuild New Zealand

PwC has set out seven ‘planks’ that build a potential path to economic recovery. This forms our overarching strategy for emerging from this economic recession better and stronger than before. We have considered a range of options and focus on the seven areas that we believe need attention. In summary these are:

1. Maintaining the highest level of employment feasible in the challenging post-COVID-19 environment until the economic recovery takes hold;

2. Understanding what real growth means and stimulating this;

3. Removing the barriers and impediments to real and sustained, across-the-board productivity improvements;

4. Addressing the growing degree of intergenerational inequity, which has been exacerbated by the cost of combating the COVID-19 pandemic;

5. Considering tax reforms to broaden the Government’s revenue base, remove distortions on investment decisions and create greater fairness;

6. Let's not lose sight of the urgent challenge of climate change so that there is a planet for future generations to enjoy;

7. Partnering effectively by all elements of the public and private sectors to aid recovery.

Please read our report, Rebuild New Zealand, for details.

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