MPs go head-to-head
NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones and ACT’s Todd Stephenson might serve alongside each other in the coalition, but their visions don’t necessarily align.
Detailed to share their party perspectives on supporting growth and ensuring balance in the lending sector, both politicians accepted the government they are part of has no option but to immediately rein in spending.
“We make no apology for being focused on growth,” Stephenson, pictured left, told members of the Financial Services Federation (FSF) at its annual conference in Auckland on November 6.
“Our priorities remain repairing the economy, the job market and getting government spending under control. We’ve had to make some tough and sometimes unpopular decisions but are now in a place where we can focus on growth, employment and infrastructure.”
Jones, pictured right, acknowledged the criticism that infrastructure spending had been hit too hard. “But the simple truth is we can’t continue to spend the way we have been. That meant everything had to be up for review, which meant some projects were reviewed.
“To do more, we need to earn more and that means compromises will have to be made. We have too few industries earning too little, so we need to add to that. That means making use of our resources, not living in some ideological paradise.
“It’s like having a quiver of arrows as your arsenal, only to find out you’re not allowed to fire some of them and others miss the target.
“I reject the premise that I’m some kind of ‘bugger the environment’ MP, but I do believe trade-offs are a pragmatic way forward.”
The pair met on solid ground during their debate when it came to bureaucracy, saying red tape hampered businesses, not least in the lending sector, where previous regulations had been unworkable, leaving businesses uncertain how to proceed and with unmanageable costs.
Stephenson said Wellington bureaucrats didn’t care if a business was left in a position of having to fill out another form, having little understanding that all the requirements foisted on companies came at a cost in terms of time and labour.
Jones went further, damning regulations that scuppered projects, hampering revenue. “Put simply, we make everything too bloody hard. If you want to build more, you need more money, so you need to make it easy to achieve that.”
He cited the example that five prisons had been built since New Zealand last built a hospital.
“Now we are seeing increased military spending, largely because of our international commitments, but does that come at the cost of fewer new roads or schools? If it does we have to address that. The only way is through generating more wealth, and that means compromise.”
Stephenson said ACT remained convinced that private and public partnerships would be increasingly vital in infrastructure consolidation and growth.
“If an overseas country, pension fund or private-equity company is willing to invest in infrastructure here, recovering a return over time, how is that a bad thing?”
Jones said it was a case of finding the best model. Public and private partnerships still pay, they simply deliver another option, as would tolling on our roads. We missed a chance not to toll in the golden triangle, then imposed them in Northland, the poorest part of the country, and in Tauranga. Which is the way to go, partnerships, taxation, user pays.”
Stephenson said business should be welcoming regulatory changes, which would make it easier to operate. “They will clear the way for making it easier to get finance because the red tape will be swept away. Our Resource Management Act reforms have introduced fast-tracking processes and made it easier to get on with it.”
Jones said moves to restore more freedom in the financial market sector were taken after feedback from the industry itself. “But there is more we can do yet, working alongside the industry, to get regulations right for our financial and banking sector.”
Both agreed further reform around credit regulations would be beneficial, Stephenson arguing that access to capital remained a significant barrier for lenders, and that the Reserve Bank review and wider banking inquiry would ultimately make it easier to access overseas investment, weakening the power the big banks wielded over the wider industry.
NZ First’s position was also that the “big Aussie banks” were too dominant at a time when they were reducing services yet reporting massive profits. “To be honest, most politicians shy away from confronting the banks, but we say finance at local levels is worth supporting.”
Where the government partners were aligned was in a “shared horror” at the prospect of a return of a Labour-led coalition bringing together the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, although Jones praised Labour’s finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds.
“In fairness Barbara is very good on some issues, incredibly strong in fact, but the ideology of the Greens is too deep-rooted, and Te Pāti Māori, well I leave that to you,” he said. Stephenson was blunter.
“They will take us backwards at a staggering rate.”
The political panel at the FSF’s conference was expected to include representatives from the main parties. Labour, National and the Greens failed to show, leaving only ACT and NZ First fronting.
