Job Summit
Message from the Prime Minister - 26 February 2010
A year ago no-one knew how badly the world's financial markets would fare or how deep the global recession would be. At the time of the Job Summit, the main fear was of large-scale redundancies and mass lay-offs across the country. That's what the Job Summit was focused on avoiding.
As it turned out, none of the worst-case scenarios came to pass and New Zealanders can be very pleased about that. Sadly, people did lose their jobs, and every person out of work is one too many.
But New Zealand businesses proved to be quite resilient and employers were keen to hold on to staff as tightly as they could.
We are now facing a different sort of challenge than we did a year ago. The loss of existing employment has almost completely halted, but people entering the labour market, particularly young people, are finding it hard to break into a job.
That is why the Government's focus this year remains on the economy and on jobs.
The Job Summit played an important part in galvanising all the different groups who attended - big employers, small businesses, banks, unions, social sector organisations, iwi, local councils, training organisations and others - behind the issue of preserving jobs. It was a valuable exercise in raising confidence and expectations.
It also made participants focus not just on what the Government could do, but what different sectors, organisations and businesses could do to maintain jobs.
From the Government's point of view, it was the genesis of some valuable initiatives like the Job Support Scheme, the Warm Up New Zealand home insulation fund, the New Zealand Cycleway Project, Youth Opportunities and Community Max, and the extension of the short-term trade credit insurance guarantee scheme for exporters.
The Job Summit also underlined the importance of economic fundamentals like infrastructure spending, improved regulations, and well-functioning credit markets.
Alongside these initiatives, the Government introduced a number of other measures to help stem job losses. By far the most important of these was using the Crown's balance sheet to absorb much of the shock of the recession, thereby cushioning its effects on New Zealanders and helping to support jobs.
We also brought forward nearly $500 million of capital spending on roads, housing, and school buildings, and introduced a tax assistance package for small and medium sized businesses.
While Government actions are important, we know that in the longer term sustainable jobs will only be created when people have the confidence to invest in productive businesses, which can then expand and take on new employees.
In this regard it is encouraging to see that businesses are reporting a marked increase in confidence, and are positive about hiring new staff over the coming year.
New Zealand actually has the opportunity to come out of the recent downturn in a better position than many other countries and be well placed to attract investment, build productive firms and create jobs.
The Government will be doing eveything it can to ensure this happens - and that businesses have the confidence to invest and create new, higher-paying jobs.
Opening Remarks from the Prime Minister
Closing Remarks from the Prime Minister
Message from the Conference Chair
Attendees (at 03 March 2009)
Contact Us
Regional Employment Summits - schedule
9 March. On Monday, March 9, the Cabinet agreed that ideas from the Jobs Summit would be allocated to the following Ministers to lead further investigation: click for list (pdf)
12 March. This paper was considered at the March 9 Cabinet meeting, which allocated ideas from the Job Summit to particular Ministers to lead further investigation. Note: the outcome of the Cabinet meeting was to allocate the ideas in way outlined in the list above. Click here for the Cabinet paper.
30 March. This paper was considered at the March 30 Cabinet meeting, which allocated the next tranche of ideas from the Job Summit to particular Ministers to lead further investigation. Note: the outcome of the Cabinet meeting was to allocate the ideas in way outlined in the list above. Click here for the Cabinet paper.
Outcomes
25 February - Progress on the top 20
23 June - Progress on the top 20
Government moves to keep industry trainees in training - Minister for Education Anne Tolley
Job Support Scheme expanded - Prime Minister John Key
Government, Mayors to work together on jobs - Minister Paula Bennett
Government looks at bond programme options - Finance Minister Bill English
Government looks at bond programme options - Finance Minister Bill English
PM pledges $50 million in Budget for cycleway - Prime Minister John Key
Job Summit output a boost for young innovators - Hon Dr Wayne Mapp
Government considers local body ‘bond bank' - Finance Minister Bill English
Launch of ‘Maori in Industry and Trades training' - Hon Dr Pita Sharples
PM announces first Cycleway projects - Prime Minister John Key
Business Migrant Scheme Revamped - Hon Gerry Brownlee, Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Cutting red tape to create a better, smarter economy - Hon Bill English, Hon Rodney Hide
Workstream Results (Powerpoint slides)
1. Workstream 1 - Core Workplace & Employment Issues
2. Workstream 2 - Workers - Skills & Transition
3. Workstream 3 - Local & Regional Govt
Workstream 3 - Maori Economy
4. Workstream 4 - Helping Firms Survive
5. Workstream 5 - Business Investment
6. Workstream 6 - Firm Funding
Key presentations
Speech by John Whitehead
Powerpoint slides for John Whitehead speech
Powerpoint slides for Alan Bollard speech
Mark Weldon: Job Summit Summary of Initiatives (Powerpoint)
Job Summit - Top Twenty
Core Workplace and Employment Issues
1. Retain and Upskill - the nine day fortnight
Retain jobs by reducing wage costs while firms earnings are down. Retain jobs short and long term by upskilling workers. Possible focus on a nine day fortnight or maximum 6 week block release.
2. Intra-national migration achieved
Creation of a seasonal work marketplace that will remove barriers (information, infrastructure, qualifications/skills) between employers and seasonal workers.
Skills and Transition
3. Keeping people in education and creating jobs through education and training
Expand group training programmes, review current apprenticeships models with a view to sustaining and expanding levels of training and introduce a training requirement as part of government procurement processes. Support summer employment for students, facilitating retraining and promoting the importance and value of education.
Remove barriers and increase enablers/incentives to ensure that the education and training system is well-placed to meet current needs and opportunities including a specific focus on Maori/Pasifika people.
4. Improve matching of supply and demand for training
Improve identification and matching of clearly identifiable job opportunities in the short and medium term by industry groups to direct future education and training priorities.
5. Redundancy and transition support programme
Improve support for people about to be made redundant or who are unemployed to help them transition to new work opportunities and training including:
-Particular focus on those most vulnerable
-Income assistance
-Collaboration
-Enhanced industry partnerships
-Auditing, integrating and streamlining
-Improving information and access to services
Maori Economy, Local and Regional Government
6. Enhanced utilisation of iwi assets
Creating new employment in the primary production sector by bringing Maori land and water based assets into higher value export focused productive use. This may involve accessing existing business support, legislative/regulatory review and active facilitation of intra-Maori partnerships.
Investing in projects that support Maori kinship -based infrastructure, including iwi-led housing projects, innovative approaches to existing state housing stock, and marae development.
7. Government systems
Ensure that government services to Maori deliver effective results.
8. Urgently develop and implement new sources of bond funding
Aggregate local government debt to gain access to debt funding at lower than current interest rates. Also, prioritise New Zealand investment plan across central/local government, that ensures a job creation focus, incentives for expenditure, quality spend that best positions New Zealand for medium to long term and avoids competition for capacity and capability.
9. Reduce regulatory compliance costs and impediments
Adopt a permissive approach to increase the range of permitted activities in e.g. building and housing, food safety. Enable local government to determine appropriate level of consultation. Seek a moratorium on drinking water and air quality standards. Improve practice in council processing of regulatory consents.
Helping firms survive
10. Big projects fast track
Establish a taskforce(s) to report directly to a relevant minister to anticipate and actively manage approval and regulatory processes for major and/or complex processes.
11. Rule-making freeze
Cabinet directive issued to government agencies/regulators to stop all rule and regulation making or extension, unless specifically approved by the minister. Reduce all enforcement activity to focus on minimum acceptable standards (rather than ‘nice to haves') and the overall immediate interest for New Zealand.
12. Boosting tourist traffic co-fund
Establish a government/private co-funded $60 million fund to support initiatives to increase visitor numbers targeting 1% global market share, through short and long haul promotional activity, domestic tourism promotion and targeted infrastructure development.
Business Investment
13. Accelerate energy, environmental and water initiatives for employment and productivity improvements
14. Streamline regulatory approval processes for major projects
Accelerate transmission grid investment by increasing threshold for Electricity Commission consideration of electricity projects to $50 million. Allow longer wheel-based trucks and heavier loading. Establish taskforces reporting to a minister for vetting major infrastructure investment proposals and ensuring regulatory processes are quickly and consistently completed.
15. Access to working capital delivered via an extension of the Export Credit Office
Extend the Export Credit Office to also apply to domestic firms that need cash flow funding for completion of confirmed contract orders.
16. Level the playing field to NZ firms for local and central government procurement
Revise procurement guidelines to ensure they do not bias against local providers by stipulating a specified firm size or track record.
Firm Funding
17. Super-charged debt market
Possibilities include streamlining reporting and disclosure requirements, long term bond issues, involvement by a wider range of organisations such as local government.
18. Government/bank equity investment fund
Develop an equity growth fund to allow large institutional investors access to quality investments in the SME sector that are currently unavailable to them.
19. Commitment by banks to providing capital to NZ firms
Banks and Government co-fund partnership for preferred equity, financed by bank and government equity, leveraged with debt funding.
20. Banks to significantly invest in financial literacy
Investing in educational initiatives to improve the financial literacy of their customers with a focus on SME businesses.
Background Documents
- Labour Market (Dept of Labour)
- Labour Market (Statistics NZ)
- Building and construction
- Education
- Retail trade
- Hospitality
- Seasonal Employment and Primary Industries
- Employment data
- Past recessions
Closing Remarks from the Prime Minister - 27 February
First I want to thank you all for coming today.
You have put a tremendous amount of time and thought into the day's discussions.
As a result, there have been ideas galore generated by groups, subgroups and, in many cases, sub-subgroups of people talking to each other over a cup of coffee.
To paraphrase what Alan Bollard said this morning, if you laid all the ideas discussed today end to end, they would reach to the Sun and halfway back again.
Mark and the chairs have just presented on the 20 or so proposals that the Summit has collectively identified as amongst the most promising ideas.
You all know that there are at least a couple of dozen quality ideas lying behind those.
If anyone doubted that this process would generate practical, concrete ideas, they were sorely mistaken.
That's what this day has been about; that's why we had this Summit.
As Alan Bollard and John Whitehead made clear this morning, we are in a very serious global recession which is going to get worse before it gets better. [read more]
Message from the Conference Chair
Mark Weldon, Chief Executive, New Zealand Exchange Ltd (NZX)
There's a reason why this event has the word "employment" in it - because it's about identifying the steps we need to take, now and in future, to create meaningful, productive employment for New Zealanders in healthy, growing businesses, from farms to factories and every sector in between.
There's a less obvious reason why this is termed a "summit". It's because the real graft will be done before anyone gets there: accessing, understanding and interpreting a raft of data, drawing on ideas and advice, testing potential solutions. Then when we reach the summit we can share and challenge those ideas, developing the best ones into workable recommendations for government action.
These are extraordinary times that demand breaking out of the old way of developing, consulting on and implementing policy. Anyone who wants to feed their ideas and responses into that process is welcome to do so via summitcoordinator@parliament.govt.nz .
Collective, cohesive effort and commitment to good outcomes will be what propels New Zealand out of the current crisis better, faster and stronger than our peers and neighbours.
Summit attendees - 03 March 2009
Uluomatootua S. Aiono
Founder
COGITA(r)
John Albertson
NZ Retailers Association
John Allen
New Zealand Post Group
Dave Anderson
Winston Pulp International
Sir John Anderson, KBE
NZ Venture Investment Fund
Jeremy Baker
Industry Training Federation
David Baldwin
Contact Energy
John Banks, QSO
Mayor, Auckland City
John Barnett
South Pacific Pictures
Michael Barnett
Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce
Derek Baxter
Certified Builders
Steve Bayliss
Air New Zealand
Paul Bayly
Cranleigh Limited
Larry Bilodeau
Ballance Agri-nutrients
Andrew Blair
Wakefield Hospital
Brian Blake
DB Breweries
Christopher Blake
Department of Labour
Marko Bogoievski
Infratil Limited
Alan Bollard (S)
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
John Bongard (C)
Fisher & Paykel Appliances
Wayne Boyd (C)
Telecom NZ
Dean Bracewell
Freightways Limited
Don Braid
Mainfreight Limited
Sheridan Broadbent
Downer EDI: Engineering
Len Brown
Mayor, Manukau City
Kevin Bryant
Agriculture ITO
Mark Cairns
Port of Tauranga
Stephen Cairns
Otago Regional Council
Nick Calavrias
Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd
Rob Cameron (C)
Cameron Partners Limited
Rod Carr (SGL)
University of Canterbury
Tony Carter
Foodstuffs
Andrew Casidy
FINSEC
Simon Challies
Ryman Healthcare
Sharon Clair
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Alan Clarke
Abano Healthcare
Leith Comer
Te Puni Kōkiri
Peter Conway (SGL)
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Keith Cooper
Silver Fern Farms
Tim Cossar
Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand
Liz Coutts
Life Pharmacy Limited
Russell Creedy (SGL)
Restaurant Brands
Hamish Crooks
Pacific Business Trust
Mike Daniell
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd
Jim Delegat
Delegats
Whaimutu Dewes
Ngati Porou
Jane Diplock, AO
Securities Commission
Mark Donaldson
Phitek Systems Limited
Rod Drury (SGL)
Xero Limited
Dave Eastlake
NZ Meat Workers Union
Don Elder
Solid Energy
Bruce Emson
NZ Bus
Conor English
Federated Farmers of New Zealand
Rick Fala (SGL)
Methven Limited
Tony Falkenstein
Just Water International
Dave Faulkner
Fulton Hogan
John Fellet
Sky TV
Andrew Ferrier
Fonterra
Charles Finny
Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce
Rob Fisher (SGL)
Omega, Simpson Grierson
Mark Fitzgerald
Citigroup New Zealand
Gary Foot
Enatel
John Forbes
Opotiki District Council
Mark Franklin
TZ1
George Frazis
Westpac
Rob Fyfe (C)
Air New Zealand
Fiona Gavriel (SGL)
Master Plumbers
Ross George
Direct Capital
Tim Gibson
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
Andrew Grant (S)
McKinsey & Co
Arthur Grimes
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Temuera Hall (SGL)
Taupo Moana Group
Andrew Hamilton
The Icehouse
Trevor Hanson
Maritime Union of New Zealand
Robin Hapi
Aotearoa Fisheries
Andrew Harmos (SGL)
Harmos Horton Lusk Corporate Lawyers
Laila Harré
National Distribution Union
Doug Heffernan
Mighty River Power
Paul Hemborrow
NZ Aluminium Smelters
Erima Henare
Maori Language Commission
Brian Heron, MNZM
Heron Plumbing
Michael Hill
Michael Hill International Limited
John Hirst
Nuplex Industries
Graham Hodges
ANZ National Bank
Peter Hughes
Ministry of Social Development
Simon Hull
Allied Work Force Group Limited
Murray Jack
Deloitte
Willie Jackson
Manukau Urban Authority
Rob Jager
Shell
Benedikte Jensen
The New Zealand Institute
Meagan Joe
Maori Women's Welfare League
Michael Jones
PI Business
Neville Jordan
Endeavour Capital
Ruma Karaitiana
Industry Training Federation
Peter Kean
Lion Nathan Limited
Helen Kelly (C)
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Roger Kerr
New Zealand Business Round Table
Dame Georgina Kirby, DBE, QSO (SGL)
Maori Women’s Development Inc
Sam Knowles
Kiwibank Limited
Sue Lewis-O'Halloran
Dress for Success
Jonathan Ling
Fletcher Building
Andrew Little (SGL)
EPMU
Ngatata Love (C)
Wellington Tenths Trust
Simon MacKenzie
Vector Limited
Lt Gen Jerry Mateparae, ONZM
New Zealand Defence Force
Ken Matthews
Skyline Enterprises
David May
NZ Superannuation Fund
June McCabe
Excelerator Board
David McConnell
McConnell Group
Stuart McCutcheon
University of Auckland
Peter McKinley
Local Government Centre, AUT
Bruce McLachlan
Westpac
Rob McLeod
Ernst and Young
Lesley McTurk
Housing New Zealand Corporation
Chris Meade
Downer EDI: Works
John Meeuwsen
Industry Training Federation
Jeremy Moon (SGL)
Icebreaker
Ian Morrice (SGL)
The Warehouse Limited
Nigel Morrison
SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited
Simon Moutter (SGL)
Auckland Airport
Greg Muir (SGL)
Tourism New Zealand, Pumpkin Patch
Mavis Mullins
Paewai Mullins Shearing
Ian Narev (SGL)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Craig Norgate
PGG Wrightson
Phil O’Reilly
Business NZ
Dave O'Connell
NZ Building Trades Union
Chris Olsen
Roading New Zealand
Adrian Orr
NZ Superannuation Fund
Rangimariae Parata-Takurua
Poutama Business Trust
David Patterson
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Selwyn Pellet
Imarda
Charles Pink
ASB Bank Limited
David Pralong
McKinsey and Co
Kerry Prendergast
Mayor, Wellington City
Cathy Quinn
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Warwick Quinn
Master Builders
John Rae
New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development
Caren Rangi
Pacific Womens’ Economic Board
Richard Reid
Pacific Business Trust
Paul Reynolds
Telecom NZ
Sharn Riggs
The New Zealand Public Service Association
Kevin Rimmington
TSB Bank
Major Campbell Roberts
The Salvation Army
Bruce Robertson
Hospitality Standards Institute
Dianne Robertson (SGL)
Auckland City Mission
Geoff Ross (SGL)
The Business Bakery
Bob Russell
Inland Revenue Department
John Ryall
SFWU
Damian Sainsbury
Haines Recruitment
Mike Shaw
Deloitte
Sue Sheldon
Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand
John Shewan (C)
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Peter Silcock
Horticulture New Zealand
Penny Simmonds (SGL)
Southern Institute of Technology
David Skilling (SGL)
McKinsey & Co
Andrew Smith
Pukeko Pictures
Peter Smith
Progressive Enterprises
Garry Smith
Auckland District Health Board
David Smol
Ministry of Economic Development
Martin Snedden
Rugby World Cup 2011
Mark Solomon
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu
Grant Spencer
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Scott St John
First NZ Capital
Russell Stanners
Vodafone New Zealand Ltd
Judith Stanway
BDO Spicers
Ken Stevens
Glidepath Limited
Craig Stobo
Appello
Wally Stone (SGL)
Ngai Tahu Holdings Group
Patrick Strange
Transpower
Campbell Stuart
UBS New Zealand Ltd
Sam Stubbs
Tower Limited
Peter Talley
Talleys Group Ltd
John Tamihere
Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust
Richard Taylor
Weta Workshops
Brendan Taylor
Scenic Circle Hotels
Jacqui Te Kani
Maori Women's Welfare League
Peter Tennent
Mayor, New Plymouth City
Alasdair Thompson
Employers & Manufacturers Association
Andrew Thorburn
BNZ
Stephen Tindall (C)
The Warehouse Limited
Matt Todd
Eastland Infrastructure
Peter Townsend
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce
Stuart Trundle
Venture Taranaki
Elizabeth Valentine
Aviation, Tourism and Travel ITO
Henry Van der Heyden, DCNZM (SGL)
Fonterra
Richard Wagstaff
New Zealand Council Of Trade Unions
Grant Webster
Tourism Holdings
Rosalie Webster
Skills4Work
Mark Weldon (Summit Chair)
NZX
Maarten Wevers
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
John Whitehead (S)
Treasury
Wendi Wicks
Disabled Persons Assembly (NZ) Inc
Dale Williams
Mayors Taskforce for Jobs
Joan Withers
Fairfax Media
Lawrence Yule
Mayor, Hastings City
Hon John Key
Prime Minister
Hon Bill English
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Finance
Minister for Infrastructure
Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister for Economic Development
Minister of Energy and Resources
Hon Simon Power
Minister of Justice
Minister for State Owned Enterprises
Minister of Commerce
Hon Anne Tolley
Minister of Education
Hon David Carter
Minister of Agriculture
Hon Steven Joyce
Minister of Transport
Minister for Communications and Information Technology
Hon Georgina te Heuheu
Minister for Pacific Island Affairs
Hon Paula Bennett
Minister for Social Development and Employment
Hon Jonathan Coleman
Minister of Immigration
Minister of Broadcasting
Hon Kate Wilkinson
Minister of Labour
Hon Rodney Hide
Minister of Local Government
Minister for Regulatory Reform
Associate Minister of Commerce
Hon Pita Sharples
Minister of Maori Affairs
Associate Minister of Education
Associate Minister of Corrections
Hon Tariana Turia
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment
Associate Minister of Health
Hon Peter Dunne
Minister of Revenue
Associate Minister of Health
Contact: People with questions about the Job Summit, or ideas to contribute, should email summitcoordinator@parliament.govt.nz