Editorial

‘God’s Own’ country has a global reputation for natural beauty, egalitarian society, its nuclear-free stance, a clean green environment, world class food and innovative business. New Zealand’s history, culture and economy has always been closely connected with nature. We have much to be proud of, and yet there is still plenty of progress required to make it sustainable. Meeting today’s needs without compromising the future is a global consumer megatrend. Now more than ever, we need a sharp focus on economic revival, plastic waste, freshwater, marine life, zero carbon legislation etc. Irrespective of where your personal view stands along the spectrum of sustainability, the world is telling business to get better at it, and urgently! “I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.” Greta Thumberg, winner of the 2019 KidsRights Children’s Peace Prize Investors, communities, and consumers are all putting pressure on companies to act sustainably. In 2020 KiwiSaver providers and the world’s largest investment funds banned fossil fuel investments. Social media is buzzing for equality and inclusion. Colmar Brunton research showed 48% of consumers choose brands with clear sustainability benefits and 86% of us say we want businesses to be ‘kinder’. What does this mean for Kiwi businesses? Sustainability is a wide-ranging subject, impacting everything from architecture, biodiversity, and climate change, through freight, nanotechnology, urbanisation, and vegetarianism to zero waste. It is no longer enough for a business to focus solely on economic prosperity. Today all stakeholders must be considered and balanced with the three elements focused on by investors – […]

The Government asked the Productivity Commission to explore the impacts of new and changing technology on the quantity and nature of work. The final report makes 35 findings and 18 recommendations. It focuses on what steps the Government can take to improve the ability of New Zealand and New Zealanders to adapt to and benefit from greater technological change.    What did the inquiry find? Technology doesn’t just replace jobs; it also creates them. Technology has many effects on the labour market, some of which are positive for workers, the quality of work, and jobs. Predictions that technology will inevitably replace work are simplistic and out of step with historical experience. There isn’t much sign of looming technological disruption. Faster technological progress would be evident in labour market and economic measures, such as productivity growth, occupational churn, and business start-up rates. But across the developed world, all of these measures are slowing or declining. New Zealand needs more technology, not less. Technological progress and adoption drives productivity and income growth. If we want higher incomes for ourselves and our children, New Zealand firms need to take up technology at a faster rate than has been the case in recent years. New Zealand is well-placed for faster technology adoption in some respects, but not in others. By international standards, adult New Zealanders are skilled and train at high levels. Our policy settings generally encourage openness to ideas, goods, services, investment and skills. And our labour market has historically done a good job of creating lots of jobs. On the other hand, core skill levels in our schools are dropping; high house prices make it hard for some workers to move to better jobs; and New Zealand’s business environment lacks dynamism. New Zealand should build on its strengths and address its weaknesses. The Productivity Commission recommends a number of policy changes […]

Auckland company Manco Rail has given New Zealand’s engineering sector a multi-million dollar boost by securing a contract to supply specialised equipment for two 15 kilometre rail tunnels being built under Sydney Harbour. Manco Rail won an international tender against Australian and European competitors to supply automated equipment to transport the rail through the two tunnels, lay the sleepers, and then thread the rail onto the sleepers. All this equipment is radio-remote-controlled. Manco is also supplying the equipment to install the overhead wire to power the trains. The New South Wales Government, via Sydney Metro Trains, is in the advanced stages of building the north and south tunnels under Sydney Harbour and a significant amount of equipment will be shipped out on 2 July. Manco Rail managing director Bryan Black said the contract, worth tens of millions of dollars, will secure employment for about 300 people and provide new jobs for the 40 New Zealand companies supplying Manco with components. “Manco Rail has about 75 employees at three locations in New Zealand but we have three times that number in long-term subcontractor alliances, mainly throughout the North Island. We have taken on six additional university-qualified design engineers, three auto-electricians, and a wide range of skilled engineering personnel from many industries including some redundancies from the airline industry.” Manco Rail’s subcontractors for the Sydney project include: Gaminco, a large Tauranga machining company with world-class facilities which does extensive work for John Deere, G90 Engineering and Juno Engineering in Matamata which supply machine and fabricated parts, Piako Engineering in Morrinsville which supplies fabricated parts, and 35 other New Zealand companies, mostly locally owned, which supply a range of hydraulics, electronics, and radio-control equipment. Mr Black said the capability of the New Zealand engineering sector is constantly underestimated. “Many of these companies are third-generation […]