Business News

Many businesses buying power at spot prices have been caught out over the past two week-ends as power prices spiked as high as $19,000 Mwh, the Employers & Manufacturers Association says. “One smaller business reported to us that Saturday, March 26th cost them an unforeseen extra $7000 for electricity,” said Alasdair Thompson, EMA’s chief executive. “Another reported it cost them an unbudgeted $180,000. “Several power retailers have reported the spot price peaks cost them tens of millions; $25 million alone for Mighty River Power. “So business wants to know who made all the money – at least $50 million in all – out of this? “We might expect prices to rise by perhaps 65%, or even 3 or 4 times in such an event, but never by 200 times! “The question to be answered is, did Genesis use its market power at the time of the outage when other generators power supply was constrained, to manipulate a massive price increase? “Second, can we expect this to become the norm when issues like this occur in the future, and will all generators in future follow Genesis’ lead? “If so, then what will the cost of hedging for all businesses buying power on the spot market rise to? “Business needs answers to these questions from the Electricity Authority; it will be a real test for it. “But we don’t even know if the Authority has any power to retrospectively do anything about this. “So it’s a political issue until such anomalies are resolved, though it wonÕt help those so massively stung by the enormous prices they retrospectively found they had incurred. “The government itself should therefore take retrospective action, which though something business never likes, may well be warranted on this occasion. “It must be noted that Transpower signaled the constraint in the […]

The employment law changes starting from tomorrow will lift business confidence by encouraging the hiring of new staff, says David Lowe, Employment Services Manager for the Employers & Manufacturers Association. “Personal grievances and holidays’ laws have consistently been the two biggest reasons employers say they put off hiring, and the Government has addressed both,” Mr Lowe said. “Employers are pleased the 90 day trial employment periods will now apply to all organisations. “That’s a victory for commonsense as the evidence is clear that under trial periods employers have hired sooner than they otherwise would have, and the smaller employers to whom it previously applied have used the provision responsibly. “We note the Australian union movement recommended their government adopt a 90 day trial employment period. “Businesses will find the law changes encouraging as they give some flexibility to get on and run their businesses, rather than get tangled up in red tape. “Successful businesses are important for everyone, and they need to be encouraged and valued. “For years employees have been asking their employers to cash up some of their annual leave, and at long last the law makes it possible for businesses to agree to an employeeÕs request to do this. “The date an employee can first ask to cash up annual leave starts on the anniversary date they started work, but this date is different for each employee and some will have to wait until 2012 before being able to make their first request. “The law change to union access became necessary because of a few union officials who behaved badly or tried to disrupt a business, but employers are still bound by a reasonableness test.Ê Examples of the sort of behavior that needed curbing follows.”

An Auckland-based fragile freight and furniture moving business behind a website to promote industry debate about a move to gross weights, says it believes there will be an industry backlash if the change goes ahead. A One Movers manager, Tony Milham, says his company will be stung badly by the move, which goes against the user pays principles of road user charges (RUC) and will likely worsen road damage, congestion and safety. He has made a submission opposing these provisions in the Bill. The change is contained in the Road User Charges Bill being considered by Parliament’s Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee. It proposes moving from nominated weights to gross weights (along with distance) as the basis for paying RUC. Mr Milham says he senses disquiet in the industry and says the government risks a backlash akin to that which hurt the former Labour government when it raised RUC charges. He said that submissions on the Bill generally opposed the change. Feedback on the website he has established www.gwwtf.org.nz showed the industry was wary of the move.  The website includes a calculator to help truckies work out what they may pay under a gross weights regime compared to what they pay now. “I can’t understand why an otherwise progressive Bill seeks to take us backwards,” he says. Mr Milham says the worst feature of the proposed change is a lack of consultation and its undemocratic foundation. “How can the government pass a law to strike a tax without telling us what that tax will be? Parliament should not let this happen,” he says. “This is one of the biggest tax changes in New Zealand in recent times  and you can’t even tell for sure what you’ll pay under the new system,”he said. ‘The industry hasn’t been consulted on a […]

The Buy NZ Made campaign, part of BusinessNZ, has today launched a new campaign called Love Christchurch Made to help Canterbury manufacturers promote their products. Free to all Canterbury based businesses to join, the campaign includes an online business directory at www.lovechristchurchmade.org.nz that allows firms to advertise their contact details, web address and products. There are specially designed red and black Love Christchurch Made stickers and swing tags, available at cost to all Canterbury firms taking part in the campaign. Catherine Beard, BusinessNZ Executive Director Manufacturing, says the campaign will help raise awareness that Christchurch manufacturers are in business and pumping out their goods for sale. “This is a great way for New Zealanders and international consumers to show their support for Christchurch manufacturers. It also sends a clear message that these firms are open for business after February’s earthquake.” Trina Snow, Manager for Buy NZ Made said the marketing collateral for the campaign can also be used by businesses in the service sector. “The distinctive black and red Love Christchurch Made labelling means people can be sure they are directly giving custom to firms from the earthquake-stricken region. The best way to help them move forward and rebuild the Christchurch economy is to give them as much business as possible.”

Before the new Super City came along there was a need for a new harbor crossing in Auckland. I had a conversation with the late Sir Dove Myer Robinson and he shared with me his vision of Auckland region’s transport system which included improvements to the flow of traffic to the north shore and how essential it was to include rail in any future developments. That conversation took place a few years ago now and in the meantime nothing has happened. Lots of consultants, lots of meetings, lots of costs discussed and the people of the north shore keep leaving in the dark to get to their place of employment in South Auckland. For Auckland to be a Super City clear thinking and decisiveness is required with this issue. We no longer need endless meetings, furrowed brows and deep contemplation. The urgency for the harbor crossing has been there a very, very long time. The meeting at Aotea Centre today concentrating on where Auckland is going is commendable. A vibrant, economically viable hub of the South Pacific is what Auckland can be. Strong business focus with manufacturers thriving is essential. Realistic cost structures crucial. A new harbor crossing is there to begin. Get together the true costs and let’s start. Provide employment in tough economic times and keep the economy moving forward There was never a better time than when the ideas was first discussed.

Today’s announcement by Government outlining a $2.5 million funding package for business is welcomed by business. “A strong Canterbury emerging from the recent earthquakes is crucial for the whole country, not just the region itself. The Government’s commitment to Canterbury is good to see and so too is the support of the private sector,” BusinessNZ Chief executive Phil O’Reilly said. The $2.5 million from the Government in to the Canterbury Business Recovery Trust Fund will be matched by the business sector. BusinessNZ’s Major Companies Group members have pledged in excess of this sum already and there is much interest out there to provide significant financial support to Canterbury. “Many New Zealanders recognise that this could be any of us, and there is a real human side to this, but there is also a commercial realism. New Zealand needs Canterbury to be strong and to have a thriving business community. And our larger firms are happy to support this knowing that by supporting business they are helping to retain jobs, keep families together and assist to get the economy back on its feet.” The Canterbury Business Recovery Trust Fund will be administered by the Canterbury Business Recovery Group (CBRG), governed by the Canterbury Employers, Chamber of Commerce, Canterbury Development Corporation, Ngai Tahu Holdings and Christchurch City Holdings. The Canterbury Business Recovery Group is also coordinating the dedicated call centre for business on 0800 505096, the business information portal www.recovercanterbury.co.nz, mobile business recovery centres offering business continuity assistance across the city, and input into the wider support mechanisms including the Earthquake Support Subsidy for employers and the Earthquake Job Loss Cover for employees.

 Our next National Infrastructure Plan requires more detail about infrastructure trade-offs, says BusinessNZ.  The latest version of the plan, devised by the Treasury’s National Infrastructure Unit, is due for release soon.  BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly says businesses need to have a clear sense of government priorities for infrastructure development in order to know what they can plan on and ensure their investments are not misplaced.   He says the first version of the plan released a year ago was long and detailed but did not clearly convey priorities.  “The next plan shouldn’t just be a big compilation or list of existing sectoral plans.   “At some stage, circumstances will require some sectoral plans to take precedence over others, and a national plan should be able to give in advance some idea of priorities. Tensions in this process will be inevitable, but healthy.    “The rebuilding required following the Christchurch earthquake will surely mean some other infrastructure projects will not proceed in the near future.  A good plan should be robust enough to handle such events and able to give us a sense of what the priorities are and how trade-offs might be made.”  Mr O’Reilly said it needed to make clear the economic, technical and political trade-offs required to reach agreement on priorities, so everyone can understand and get behind the plan.  BusinessNZ has commissioned an independent report, Raising the Bar: Towards an Effective National Infrastructure Plan by Castalia Strategic Advisors, to raise related issues for public debate.  “BusinessNZ supports infrastructure planning and ongoing efforts to make it as useful and relevant as possible,” Mr O’Reilly said.  

Plastics & Printing technologies supplier Techspan has joined the online social media zone with their inclusion on Facebook and You Tube. Techspan now has its own Facebook page  and You Tube channel where you will find news and information about the latest inÊPlastics and Printing technologies. Image galleries, Videos and news stories are all featured. Techspan released their new “e-commerce” website during 2010, which has made it quick and easy forÊcustomers throughout the Pacific Rim to access pricingÊand purchasing online. Even their News page is a blog so customers can interact with comments or ask specific questons about that new technology they are so interested in. As of January this year, Facebook had more than 600 million active users, and in May 2010, it was reported that YouTube was serving more than two billion videos a day, which it described as “nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined. ÊSocial media has been definedÊas “people talking to each other online”. Online social networks allow individuals to share information and keep themselves abreast of developments within their social circle, which may be a social circle dedicated purely to family and friends, or may be a circle of contacts which have a common interest or may be a network of business and professional connections. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They are relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, compared to industrial media, which generally require significant resources to publish such information. There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are […]

Under an agreement with Independent Verification Services Ltd (IVS), the Employers & Manufacturers Association and Export New Zealand (EMA/Export NZ) have announced they now can supply Certificates of Origin to members and other exporters. IVS is an internationally accredited verification company duly authorised by New Zealand Customs to issue Certificates of Origin, which are a requirement of many countries seeking to ensure goods entering their countries originate in the country exporting them. ÒCertificates of Origin are, in particular, required by countries New Zealand has free trade agreements with,Ó said Bruce Goldsworthy, Manager of Advocacy for EMA. ItÕs written into all of our free trade agreements (FTA).  For example, to receive preferential customs clearance and FTA tariff reductions for China, each export consignment must be accompanied by a Certificate of Origin. ÒWe are delighted we are working with IVS to supply our members and other exporters with this service,Ó Mr Goldsworthy said. Under the agreement, businesses will place orders for the Certificates of Origin on a website link from both EMA and Export New Zealand websites – www.ema.co.nz and www.exportnz.org.nz Chief executive of IVS, Peter Webb, said IVS is looking forward to building a long term relationship with EMA and Export New Zealand. ÒIVS is a well established and respected supplier of a range of internationally recognised documentation and provides export certification for many household brand companies in New Zealand,Ó says Peter ÒWe welcome this opportunity to expand the awareness of our services to EMA/Export New Zealand members.Ó

Industry associations are working towards further coordination of the Christchurch relief operation.  More than 30 BusinessNZ-affiliated industry groups met today to exchange information on continuing relief efforts and undertook to spread the word that ‘business is open’ in Canterbury.  Member businesses of the industry groups are helping in many ways, including free use of helicopters, road vehicles, equipment and personnel, and financial, food and other donations.  BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said the extent of industry and official government help for Christchurch individuals and families has been extraordinary.  “In the midst of this unfolding tragedy we have seen the courage and resilience of Christchurch people and the genuine desire for businesses to help.  “Industry associations will help coordinate those efforts and promote the fact that Christchurch is open for business.   “The Affiliated Industries Group believes the quickest way to help Christchurch get back to normality is to buy things from there.  “People and enterprises elsewhere can help greatly simply by doing business with Christchurch firms.”