Government barely above average, says small business group

The Government has received a scant pass for its response to an initial round of recommendations about how it can improve conditions for small businesses, from the group that prepared them.

The Small Business Advisory Group, in its second round of recommendations released today, has also asked the Government to have another look at the issue of a grievance-free, probationary period, rejected outright the first time around.

In December, Small Business Minister Lianne Dalziel said the Government supported 18 of 19 recommendations made in an August 2004 report by the group of nine small and medium-sized business owners.

The group has now completed its second set of recommendations but has also evaluated the Government's response to the initial report - scoring it an average of 5.3 out of 10 across the 19 recommendations.

The group said the Government had "positively considered" its recommendations "but has done little to transform that response into tangible outcomes for business".

Group member and Timaru businessman Murray Cleverley said the Government's response had been "satisfactory".

"Under the NCEA, it would be a fair pass ... under the School Certificate system it would be a C pass," he said.

"It has made some progress on some of the 19 recommendations and there are some other areas that are like talking too much in class and not getting on with the job."

Last week, Dalziel told Parliament she was "proud to be the Minister for Small Business" because the Government had set up SBAG and had, subsequently, accepted 18 of the 19 original recommendations "outright".

But National Party MP Katherine Rich said Dalziel's claim of outright acceptance was "stretching the truth".

The Government had scored two out of 10 on four of the recommendations and three out of 10 on another "which isn't outright by any stretch of the imagination".

But Dalziel defended her description, although admitting: "Maybe 'outright' isn't an expression of the immediacy of action that the small business advisory group wants to see on the recommendations."

Dalziel is the fourth Small Business Minister since the group first presented its recommendations to the Government in August 2004.

Cleverley, and fellow group member Auckland fashion designer and retailer Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, said the turnover in the job had slowed the Government's response, but the group was hopeful of a speedier response the second time around, by October. All nine group members have been reappointed until then.

Could do better

Pass mark: 5.3.
Under NCEA: Fair.
Under School Certificate: C.
Overall performance: Too much talking in class and not getting on with the job.