Mood of the Boardroom: Top issues facing the nation — CEOs have their say

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to comment on the top issues and how they would resolve them.

Michael Fuge - Contact Energy

· Cloying regulation getting in the way of rapid decarbonisation. Get policy settings right then get out of the way.

· Out of control href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/government-to-announce-cost-savings-as-economy-slows/RUK5QUIFQBEMHODX3HTZHML5EI/" target="_blank">government spending linked to a rapid growth in the bureaucracy with a corresponding crash in basic frontline delivery: Health education, crime prevention, immigration. Even the airport resembles a third world arrival hall.

· Collapse in the education system- basic literacy and numeracy falling well down world rankings and appalling absenteeism at secondary schools. The legacy of nonsensical extreme left education dogma is going to stay with us for generations.

Andrea Scown - Mitre 10

· Violent and aggressive behaviour, more frequently directed towards frontline team members: we are dealing with the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff with greater safety training for our teams.

Beyond the obvious societal drivers of poverty, cost of living, social isolation and so on, are uncontrolled social media platforms such as Tik Tok exacerbating copycat behaviours.

Andrea Scown. Photo / Dean Purcell

· Ineffective government policy that is doing little to boost consumer confidence. Effect positive societal change, or encourage capital investment. My hope is that New Zealanders will take to the polls placing their votes on policy — not people or parties.

· The wealth gap and housing affordability for the average Kiwi. Wealth gap: Solving this requires more focus on lifting productivity, improving education outcomes. Housing affordability: Radically improving the productivity of the construction sector through technology, consenting, skilled labour, effective urban planning.

Chris Quin - Foodstuffs Northern

· Lack of strategy, vision and conviction. Get real about the issues the country is facing and what’s needed to address them. It’s time to do the hard things, not the easy things. And welcome foreign investment to grow our economy.

· Lack of clarity on the role everyone can play in forging the future we want. We need certainty, stability and to play as a tight team with Government, business and community connected and all working shoulder to shoulder.

· Lack of clear priorities, focused execution and accountability for outcomes. Government needs to know where its focus should be and be precise in how it targets spending to fix problems. Accountability for outcomes will be critical for the next Government.

Rob Campbell - Director

· Climate/Environment — genuinely face the crisis.

· Inequities — face and deal with.

· Efficiency and effectiveness — face and deal with.

Simon Bennett - Accordant

· Labour market efficiency. Modernise employment framework for future state (and current — Holidays Act still broken).

· Low productivity. Simplify incentivisation of employees, don’t fix to lowest common denominator.

· Lack of vision and certainty in pathway to growth. Get business to help solve the problems, working in tandem with government. Foreign Direct Investment may not be our answer but follow Ireland’s lead by giving businesses long-term certainty of the legislative eco -system.

Erica Crawford - Loveblock Wines

Erica Crawford. Photo / Supplied

· Long term planning for an ageing population — how will this be funded? It affects tax policies, health & disability strategies, fewer tax payers, and skills gap vacated by retiring boomers. I believe that it is time for the implementation of well managed capital gains tax policy before the flush boomers retire.

· Climate change. Period.

· Not enough tax income. Most areas of social services, health and education systems, infrastructure and do on are all underfunded. The income simply is not there. I am also astounded at the large and liberal promises made by the pollies.

Paul Newfield - Morrison and Co

· Breaking out of being a small, low income, low productivity economy. by exporting expertise not commodities.

· Building social cohesion and reducing inequality so that we can avoid the path of populism and dysfunction.

· Making the most of our competitive advantages in a decarbonising world

Don Braid - Mainfreight

· Economic stability.

· GDP growth.

· Health and Education standards across the nation.

Professor Dawn Freshwater - University of Auckland

· Division (around Te ao Māori for example).

· Lack of focus on national priorities (research and education is a good example).

· Better co-ordination and collaboration between and across Sectors rather than silos; need to use our potential agility to trade for the lack of scale and concentration.

Sam Stubbs - Simplicity

· Fiscal drag via higher interest rates. Core Govt. spending discipline is critical. Tough as it is, we have to walk back from our massive increase in core Government. spending.

· Getting new sources of capital, namely KiwiSaver. Better investing in infrastructure.

· Creating a better narrative. We are talking ourselves into a recession that could be worse than necessary.

Stephen Jacobi - International Business Forum

· Chinese over-reaction to NZ growing closer to the US: encourage the Government to maintain balance and independence.

· Terms of trade and protectionism in overseas markets: Boost export support.

· Declining competitiveness and productivity: Attract more capital, boost infrastructure investment.

Todd Lauchlan - JLL

· Managing government spending.

· Long-term vision.

· Infrastructure.

Mark Cairns - Freightways

· Slowing domestic economy. Need an acute focus on government spending.

· Climate change. Need to move faster. Transport emissions and industrial heat biggest opportunities for enduring carbon reductions.

· Health system is broken. It is poor form how long it has taken to resolve pay disparity with nursing staff.

Hayden Wilson - Dentons Kensington Swan

· Intergenerational income inequality — realignment of taxation priorities is required.

· Short term thinking in political parties in relation to the country’s challenges.

· Lack of aspiration — in politics and in business.