Business News

 Budget 2016 shows prudent economic management, says BusinessNZ.  BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says positive GDP and employment growth figures, and projected growth in exports, investment and other indicators give confidence about New Zealand’s economic path. He said business would support the Budget’s focus on paying down debt and investing in growth. “Infrastructure funding – especially for roading, tourism and biosecurity – is well-placed to support key industries. “More investment in innovation – through the Pre-Seed Accelerator Fund & Callaghan Innovation’s Accelerator Programme – is also appropriate. “And more funding for apprenticeships and other areas of education will help address the skill needs of business. “Investment in growth along with a significant amount of social spending has delivered a reasonably balanced budget, while a solid debt repayment path gives confidence for future stability. “Business would have preferred a Budget configuration that allowed for tax reductions as well. “We’d advocate for appropriate and timely tax cuts as well as prudence and balance in future plans.”

-Craig Carlyle for MESNZ  The HASAW Act has placed a new set of pressures on industry, but totally justified if you look at our terrible record. If your company is already operating a compliant health and safety system, not too much changes other than an emphasis on identifying and managing risky procedures.  If you were walking the walk as well as taking the talk before, you should not have too much to worry about, but if you have spent the last 20 years steadfastly ignoring health and safety, the message could not be clearer: shape up or ship out. In passing the new HASAW Act, parliament has effectively tidied up the existing system (with an increased focus on risk), made clearer definitions, closed loopholes, involved everybody and got serious with the penalties. Fines now read like telephone numbers and the feedback from the courts is consistent; there is no leniency for not reasonably predicting risks. On top of that, they have created a whole new Crown Agency (WorkSafe), who has made huge inroads in providing a one stop shop for finding the RULES on health and safety. Underpinning the HASAW Act is a set of new regulations, telling you the detail of what you MUST do. (These are the documents you should consult when health and safety rumours hit your desk).  A complete new set of guidelines and codes have been developed, all with a central theme of finding providing practical solution paths for industry. So, what does this mean at engineering, management or director level? MESNZ members have been studying the effect and believe there will be some hard lessons to learn for small to medium operations if the study results are anything to go by. While the focus at street level is on Job Safety Analysis (JSA) – […]

Funding for apprenticeships is excellent Budget spending, says BusinessNZ. Funding for an additional 5,000 apprenticeships has been announced for this year’s Budget. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says the spending will be particularly welcome in the construction and infrastructure sectors where skill shortages are marked. “General economic growth, improved labour market demand and particular needs in building, construction and infrastructure make expenditure on skills training timely. “It’s good to see appropriate spending in an area that can boost economic growth,” Mr Hope said.

The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during April 2016, shows total sales in March 2016 increased 1.28% (year on year export sales increased by 5.31% with domestic sales decreasing by 5.03%) on March 2015. In the three months to March, export sales increased an average of 18.2%, and domestic sales increased 0.8%. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$389m in annualised sales, with an export content of 63%. Net confidence fell to 33, down from 45 in February. The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 103.3, down from 106 last month, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) was at 103, down from 104 in the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 107, down on the last result of 107.67. Anything over 100 indicates expansion. Constraints reported were 61% markets, 28% production capacity, 6% skilled staff and 6% capital. There were no reported net productivity increases for March. Staff numbers for February increased 1.06% year on year. Operators/labourers, tradespersons and supervisors, managers reported a moderate shortage and professional/scientists reported a minor shortage. “March’s export numbers have moved back down towards reality after last month, though remaining positive both for the month and for the average of the last three months. This does stand in contrast with some recent export numbers from other sources, which have had more negative results. Domestic sales fell year on year by 6% for March, after an increase felt last month. On a three month average measure, which is a better indicator of recent trends, domestic sales are flat at 0.4%.” says Dieter Adam, Chief Executive of the NZMEA. “There were a number of comments around the introduction of new products […]