Inquiry into NZ’s economic resilience hopes for surge of submissions

Container shipping is an economic cornerstone of the NZ supply chain. Photo / Michael Craig

It’s slow going so far on submissions to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into how New Zealand can build economic resilience muscle but judging by past public responses the agency isn’t fretting yet.

With an April 17 closing date for submissions on an issues discussion paper published earlier this year, just six public responses have been received on how to enhance the economic resilience of New Zealand industries and communities and the supply chain.

But a spokesperson for the independent Crown entity said its research team has attended more than 30 meetings and briefings with organisations to date, and many indicated they would be making formal submissions.

The commission was happy with the level of public engagement it had achieved in its inquiry work, she said.

There had been 154 submissions to its “A fair chance for all - breaking the cycle of persistent disadvantage” inquiry; 181 to “Immigration - fit for future”; and 81 to “New Zealand firms - reaching for the frontier”.

“While the number of submissions received to date for this inquiry is low, from past experience, submissions come in very close to the deadline, so we are expecting this to gather momentum in the next week or so, with a rush on the final day.”

Submissions played an important role in shaping the nature and focus on the commission’s inquiries, she said.

The commission aimed for a high level of transparency with submissions, and would share them on its website.

At the time of the issues paper release, commission chair Dr Ganesh Nana said New Zealand was likely to remain exposed to higher risks of supply chain disruption for the next 10 years.

It asked supply chain participants - which is nearly everyone - to answer four questions to help its inquiry, saying “the future outlook for supply chains is not a simple return to pre-pandemic operations”.

“Global trends indicate that disruptions are likely to be more frequent.

“The pandemic is an ongoing source of disruption, even if no new variants appear. The war in Ukraine has increased volatility ... for energy and food. Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events while rising temperatures and sea levels increasingly impact major trade routes,” said the issues paper.

“Geopolitical rivalries and political tensions are driving the global economy towards more fragmented trade and investment flows ... Further the desire of governments in large economies to achieve strategic autonomy or dominance will continue reshaping global markets for energy and innovative technologies, and may cross into protectionist policies.

“While some disruptions may be temporary, others are likely to persist for years.”

The paper sought responses to these initial questions:

• What supply chain disruptions and trends are you worried about?
• What is your industry/community doing or planning to do to address supply chain concerns?
• How can the Government help to enhance your resilience to disruptions?
• What should the commission study do to learn more about the economic resilience of industries and communities?

The commission, asked to do the inquiry by the Government, is due to deliver a final report in February next year.