NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Business Reports

Tim McCready: NZ coalition Government's honeymoon just about over

By Tim McCready
NZ Herald·
2 Oct, 2018 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw outline the next steps for the Coalition. Photo / Greg Bowker

Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw outline the next steps for the Coalition. Photo / Greg Bowker

The Coalition has won some praise, but there is a feeling the Government is underdone, writes Tim McCready.

One year into the Coalition Government and the pressure is on the political leaders to publicly paper over the cracks and present a united face to bolster economic confidence.

In the 2018 Herald Mood of the Boardroom survey — taken in association with BusinessNZ — some 150 chief executives have delivered their verdict on the Jacinda Ardern-led Coalition Government.

The Coalition has worked to expectations according to 59 per cent of survey respondents; 15 per cent feel it is working even better than expected.

Just 23 per cent say worse.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Forging a coalition Government between Labour and New Zealand First with support from the Greens was always going to be a challenge.

"Unlike previous coalitions, its structure is more complex," explains a professional services chairman.

Several respondents throughout the survey have suggested they expected the influence of NZ First and Winston Peters would be problematic.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But others point to NZ First as a potentially moderating influence when it comes to acknowledging the harmful impact on business confidence from union-led employment law reforms.

Chen Palmer managing partner Mai Chen points out the Coalition Government is leading innovations like the Wellbeing Budget and climate change initiatives which will change the focus of the country for the better.

"In general, the pace of change is more measured as is the amount of spend than past Labour-led governments," Chen says.

"I didn't have great expectations, so although they aren't doing a good job, actually they are doing better than I thought they would," says GlaxoSmithKline NZ general manager Anna Stove.

Discover more

Employment

Brian Fallow: Inequality a tough target for Cullen tax review

27 Sep 05:00 PM
Business

Spendthrift Italy risks credit downgrade

28 Sep 09:44 PM
Business

Comment: A worrying trend of boardroom 'box ticking'

02 Oct 05:00 AM
Business Reports

Muted response to R&D tax incentive

02 Oct 04:00 PM

In their survey responses, CEOs point to several major areas where the Coalition is lacking — particularly a lack of experience, an unclear agenda, and too many reviews.

A lack of experience
Chief executives recognise a new government brings with it speed bumps. But says a banking boss,"I'm surprised at how little depth and capability there is."

Just five Government ministers have previously served in Cabinet, and recent missteps — including the Clare Curran and Meka Whaitiri sagas, and open disagreement on policy issues — have dealt a blow to the business community's confidence in the Coalition.

"There is not enough experience in the Cabinet. While they have great ideas, there are some very basic mistakes happening which don't give much confidence at this stage," says a consulting firm head.

The Organic Initiative's Helen Robinson claims the Coalition is being run by government agencies due to inexperienced politicians.

"This was our fear, and continues to be of huge concern for the New Zealand economy and our future economic stability and ability to perform on the world stage," she says.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A healthcare boss said his hopes were not high to begin with: "Unfortunately this is one thing they have delivered on.

"We need them to provide certainty on various aspects and engage properly with the business community."

Too many reviews
"Too many committees — not enough action" was the message from CEOs, over the Coalition's rising number of working groups.

The country's top bosses say that taking time to firm up policies is a by-product of any new government, but speedy policy decisions on critical areas such as tax are needed in order to build credibility and confidence in the Coalition.

"We are waiting for outcomes from working groups set up to review numerous policy initiatives," says a legal chief.

An unclear agenda
"The Coalition Agreement is clear around a range of outputs," says NZ Local Government Funding Agency chair Craig Stobo. "What is uncertain is everything else that arises outside that agreement!"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

To remedy that perception the Prime Minister — flanked by both NZ First leader Winston Peters and Greens Co-leader James Shaw — recently unveiled a Coalition Blueprint in front of a handpicked audience including leading CEOs.

A law firm boss gives the Coalition credit for articulating a longer-term vision: "this helps frame a discussion about how we get there."

But making decisions without adequate consultation — such as the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration — had unsettled business, and created uncertainty in a way that was not anticipated by business leaders in the early days of the Government.

There is also concern the Coalition has too many initiatives and "feel good positions" — rather than tangible, clear positions.

"This Government came into office with hugely ambitious goals, particularly in the social space.

"However, they have allowed expectations to develop on how quickly they can deliver, which is creating pressure and leading to a number of fumbles," says a residential construction CEO.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Infrastructure New Zealand's CEO Stephen Selwood says it's hard to see much progress on closing the poverty gap, and suggests the Government should reach out to business.

"Why not a true partnership with business to address these issues, rather than an unnecessary squabble over labour laws?," he says.

Greens co-leader James Shaw was singled out as a standout leader in the Coalition, for his effort to build a constituency in what the Government aims to achieve.

"I've been impressed with Minister Shaw," says a banking boss.

"He's reached out to the business community and our customers, and is right across his topics.

"He's managed to build a broad consensus on climate change and that may well be this Government's legacy."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Air New Zealand's Christopher Luxon agrees.

"I think James has done a really excellent job.

"He's focused, and he knows what he's there to do and he's got the role and he knows this is as good as it gets and he's not going to waste his shot or his opportunity."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business Reports

Energy

Genesis AI trial cuts energy use by 10% with smart hot water control

07 Jul 11:27 PM
Business|business reports

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

24 Jun 04:36 AM
New Zealand

Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

31 May 12:09 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business Reports

Genesis AI trial cuts energy use by 10% with smart hot water control

Genesis AI trial cuts energy use by 10% with smart hot water control

07 Jul 11:27 PM

The trial involved 17,000 customers, shifting water heating to off-peak times.

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

24 Jun 04:36 AM
Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

31 May 12:09 AM
'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

26 May 07:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP