Work model gets tweak in favour of business

By DANIEL RIORDAN

Legislation enshrining Jim Anderton's jobs machine, Industry New Zealand, has returned to Parliament with business-friendly tweaks to attract a higher calibre of private sector candidates to its board.

But some of the amendments tabled last Friday by the commerce select committee examining the Industry New Zealand Bill have upset opposition members, who say committee chairman David Cunliffe went against the advice of Government officials.

One of the changes requires a majority of private sector members on the Industry NZ board, which will have between five and nine members.

Mr Cunliffe, a Labour MP, said that and other amendments made during a month of deliberations had already helped attract board nominations from "an outstanding list" of private sector businesspeople.

A small establishment board will operate for the first six months while confidential nominations for the permanent board are considered by Mr Anderton, the Economic Development Minister. Those members may be announced within a couple of months.

Mr Cunliffe said the committee changed details of the bill to move it from the '60s and '70s style of Government industry assistance to a newer, more flexible model representing more of a partnership approach. Those changes were made with backing from manufacturing and employer groups.

He said initial advice from Ministry of Economic Development officials supported the older-style model of industry assistance.

The amendments, which Mr Cunliffe expects the House to debate within the next few weeks, also add developing sectoral and regional growth strategies to Industry NZ's task of implementing assistance programmes, and build in private sector and community input to the policy.

The three National Party MPs and one Act MP on the eight-strong committee abstained from voting.

National committee member Pansy Wong said part of the reason for their no-votes was procedural as they wanted to discuss the amendments with their caucus, which meets next week.

They were also concerned at some of the changes, and the bill's fundamental purpose, Ms Wong said.

By expanding the role of the bill to include strategic policy, the committee encouraged possible confusion between the ministry and Industry NZ, and between ministers.

National committee member Lockwood Smith said Mr Cunliffe had initially wanted stronger amendments.

He said ministry officials concerned that the amendments were going too far - with legally contentious references to partnerships and Treaty of Waitangi issues - were asked to leave the room at a crucial stage of the committee's hearings, and it was only after Opposition members dug in their toes that Mr Cunliffe watered down his amendments.

National MPs were also concerned at the Economic Development Minister having too much power, and at the renaming of the Commerce Ministry to the Ministry of Economic Development, given that less than 5 per cent of the ministry's budget was allocated for economic development.