SPEECH: Leeann Watson - Back To Business 2023

Kia ora, good evening, and welcome to Back to Business 2023.

It is great to see so many of you here this evening representing all corners of the Canterbury business community.

Tonight we are going to herald in the new year - yes I know it’s February already, and share our expectations on what 2023 is likely to stir up.

Not only are we fortunate to be able to host this in person again, but also to host it in one of the crown jewels of our city, here at Te Pae.

There isn’t a day this year when Te Pae is not hosting an event so it’s fantastic we can be here to experience all that this wonderful venue has to offer.

It is testament to the fact that we’re a world-class city, with world-class assets.

Whilst we are enjoying this facility tonight, please note that in the event of a fire or an emergency, Te Pae staff will provide directions to the nearest exit.

And the bathrooms are located in the foyer.

It would also be appreciated if you could take a moment to switch your phone to silent.

For those who are attending this event for the first time, I am Leeann Watson, the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce.

For the regulars, it is good to see you again.

Our Canterbury Chamber is one of the largest and most influential business organisations in New Zealand - and this year, being an election year, is hugely significant for us and of course, you.

Our number one priority for 2023 is to influence and shape both an environment and policy as it emerges, to address the longstanding issues that are dampening our growth and prosperity.

Before I continue, I would like to introduce and acknowledge a few people.

Mayor Nigel Bowen, who holds two hats as the Mayor of Timaru and the Chair of the Canterbury Mayoral Forum.

Thank you for taking the time to make the trip up this evening.

Nigel will share with us the priorities for the Canterbury Mayoral Forum this year and give us an insight into what to expect.

And Kirk Hope, who is the Chief Executive of BusinessNZ.

BusinessNZ was formed by our organisation and our regional counterparts twenty-two years ago to act as our voice in Wellington.

Kirk and his team are plugged into what is going on in both Parliament and Government departments, and they play a significant role by advocating for sound regulation and policy to enable business growth, innovation, and productivity.

By being a member of the Chamber - you are also part of BusinessNZ and their work.

Kirk will share his views on the regulatory and legislative changes that we are likely to see occur this year.

We also have a number of Chamber board members present tonight. Thank you for your ongoing support.

A huge thank also you to Orion, to ANZCO, and to Enable who without their support, tonight would not have been possible.

Thank you, also, to Westpac, The Chamber’s principal partner.

And finally, thank you all, for your on-going support of the Canterbury Chamber.

To start proceedings, a few words from me on the year ahead.

And what a start it has been.

Within the first month we had a new Prime Minister.

We have had reshuffles across the two main political parties.

And we have witnessed unprecedented levels of flooding and extreme weather events throughout the North Island. The full extent of the destruction and damage is still not clear.

Our thoughts go out to the people and businesses throughout New Zealand who have been affected.

It’s an unsettling reminder to expect and plan for the unexpected - something that in this city, we know all too well.

Our experiences from the past decade serve as a blueprint in response, recovery and economic growth.

And I want to emphasise the part about economic growth. Because Canterbury’s regional economy is outperforming all other regions in New Zealand. Consistently.

The economic turbulence that we have experienced for the last three years is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Our advice; brace for continued choppy waters but don’t buy into the rhetoric that everything is bad. Because, in Canterbury, it is simply not as doom and gloom as the media and economic commentators might suggest.

Here are some of the facts.

Rampant inflation does remain an immediate challenge. It is pushing up the cost of doing business, disrupting normal consumer behaviour, and compounding the grief that some businesses are experiencing. It certainly makes things difficult.

That’s on top of continued skill and staff shortages, and supply chain constraints that are appearing in unexpected places. Has anyone tried to find eggs lately?

The Reserve Bank have indicated they would quite like to engineer a recession, and we expect to see continual increases to the Official Cash Rate throughout the year.

Unfortunately, this will only make access to capital for both businesses and borrowers all that much harder - meanwhile the value of our dollar continues to drop.

Good for our exporters, but not so good for consumers, including at the supermarket checkout!

It’s a balancing act that I don’t envy.

The Reserve Bank is forecasting up to 70,000 job losses throughout New Zealand this year, and whilst economic forecasts can be less reliable than the weather, it is a sobering figure to hear.

That's the population of Rolleston, Ashburton and Kaiapoi combined.

On a more positive note, the blue skies are not that far away - and compared to other major regions of New Zealand, Canterbury is in a good position.

The Canterbury regional economy, as it has throughout the past three years, remains in a buoyant state that may dip below the water from time to time, but always rises to the surface.

Our primary and secondary industries form a strong backbone with an ever-diversifying business environment that is adaptive and responsive.

And we continue to see new and emerging innovative industries in our city and region.

All economic indicators, when considered together, paint a positive albeit subdued picture.

Consumer confidence has dipped.

Spenders who frequent many of our businesses are doing so less frequently - but it hasn’t dipped into the doldrums, and the spenders are still spending, albeit, slightly less than we would like.

Business confidence has also dipped and whilst this can often become a self-fulfilling prophecy, Canterbury’s operating environment is fundamentally strong.

Intentions to invest and expand are up significantly compared to last year.

To give just a couple of examples, last week Fabrum announced a $23m capital raise in line with increased manufacturing opportunities around green hydrogen production. That’s a remarkable feat. And Wyma Solutions are near completion of their new state of the art facility in Waterloo.

If you listened to the news, you’d think that this level of business activity had all but dried up. Not in Canterbury, it hasn’t.

With the borders now reopened, tourists are returning in droves both via cruise ships, albeit with some challenges - such as stealing all of our eggs and seats on our buses apparently, and as of next month, with a daily direct flight to the major transit hub that is Dubai, opportunity abounds.

It is the homegrown pressures that we need to avoid crashing into - and fortunately, we know where the big ones are located.

Reform of our employment relations framework, namely Fair Pay Agreements, and the balance between controlling inflation and completely stalling the economy are top of the list.

This is alongside the countless number of central government reforms which have a ripple effect across the country

It is pleasing to see that the reshuffled Government is opting to focus on the "bread and butter" and pause some of the non-essential reform, including the proposed income insurance scheme, or "job tax" as some call it.

Now is not the time to introduce additional compliance costs, it is the time to remove as many of them as possible.

The Chamber has a significant role this year to play in helping you navigate these challenges, and to take advantage of the opportunities that arise as they present themselves.

We also have a significant role to influence decision making to create better outcomes for not just the business community, but the Canterbury community as a whole.

When businesses succeed, our wider community flourishes. And that is a fundamental point that is often forgotten.

When businesses have the flexibility and agility to employ more staff, to increase productivity, and to invest back into the community as so many of you do, Canterbury thrives.

Undoubtedly the highlight, if you can call it that, this year - is the General Election.

As we enter this election year with a new Prime Minister at the helm, it is important that we acknowledge the outgoing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the role she has played over the last five years.

Leading through one crisis, let alone several, is not easy - she did so with humility and empathy.

While we have not always agreed with the decisions and policies that were implemented under her watch, we do acknowledge her leadership and the role she has played as an ambassador for New Zealand.

Our new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has a unique opportunity ahead of him to alter the direction of the Government, to halt the unpopular reforms and the policies that will not contribute to increasing productivity or economic growth.

Who has the best policies for the short-term and long-term future of New Zealand, and who has the capacity to deliver, are the two questions that will be asked on the 14 th of October.

This year, The Chamber will have two fundamental roles.

The first is to keep you informed so you can make the best decisions possible for your business.

Our team is geared up to not only respond to changes within the business community but also stay ahead of change. In other words, you’ll hear it from us first.

The second is to actively influence policy.

Businesses are what make this remarkable country tick. Our taxes pay for the majority of policy implementation, and it absolutely does matter that the business community has a say.

This year we have an opportunity to utilise our collective voice to encourage political parties, and the next Government - whatever that might look like, to address the short- and long-term solutions to the challenges we are facing today and those we will face in the future.

That level of long term thinking from our political parties to-date has been lacking, and we have high expectations to see some real, ambitious proposals for our future that can actually be delivered.

This election will very much be won on policies, and not personalities.

Reframing of priorities and working with the business community, is a great place to start. I can assure you we will be poking and prodding as much as we can.

One person who is very good at that is Kirk Hope - who I will now hand over to, to talk a little more in-depth about what he is seeing and hearing in Wellington, and the policy changes that we are likely to see before the election.

A lot can happen in eight months.

Please welcome Kirk Hope, Chief Executive of Business New Zealand.

© Scoop Media