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The Auckland City Council (the Council) is to be commended for the steps that it is taking to concentrate on its core activities and reduce the rate of growth in spending and rates. The proposed strategic plan is also better focused and more realistic than the previous strategic plan, The First City of the Pacific, which has justifiably been discarded. Read more

In submissions over the past few years, we have called on the Wellington City Council (the Council) to focus on its core business, exit from other activities and implement more efficient funding arrangements. By focusing on its core activities the Council could cut expenditure and rates, which we believe is an essential step towards making Wellington an attractive place for business. Read more

The New Zealand Business Roundtable submits that the best way for the government to eliminate uncertainty created by the current tariff freeze would be to announce that the programme of tariff reductions in place prior to the freeze is to resume in 2005. Read more

The NZBR does not support the proposed PPL Bill. There are a number of reasons for this, which are discussed in this submission. Read more

One of the challenges faced by Australasia – that is, Australia and New Zealand – is the additional costs of doing business with the rest of the developed world, and vice versa. These costs go beyond the obvious – for transport and communications – to the costs of the infrastructure required to service customers and business partners, as well as of tapping global capital markets. Read more

This collection of speeches, submissions and articles is the seventeenth in a series produced by the New Zealand Business Roundtable. The material in this volume is organised in six sections: economic directions; fiscal policy and the public sector; industry policy and regulation; education and the labour market; social policy and miscellaneous. Read more

Australia is by far the most important destination for direct investment by New Zealanders. Balance of Payments statistics indicate that Australia accounted for 64 percent of total direct investment abroad by New Zealanders over the last five years (see the attached Appendix). Read more

We have publicly commended the minister for his handling of the winter electricity shortage. Although the government inherited an imperfect market, it was wise to reject calls for further ill-conceived interventions at a time of market disruption. Read more

The NZBR has taken a close interest in Commerce Act issues because of the Commerce Act's pervasive influence on commercial decision making in New Zealand. We presented a submission on the Commerce Amendment Bill to the Commerce Select Committee in July 1999 and this submission should be read in conjunction with the earlier one. Read more

By comparison with some other countries, New Zealand relies heavily on education and health services and retirement income support provided by governments and financed through taxation. Much government education and health expenditure benefits families with moderate to high current incomes. Read more