By Brierley Penn Tourism New Zealand is leveraging the global profile of The Hobbit by promoting the Middle-earth fantasy as an attainable experience to prospective Chinese tourists. “New Zealand features on the bucket lists of many international travellers,” says TourismNZ chief executive Kevin Bowler. “The key is providing them with an incentive to actually make the trip, and the Middle-earth …

The 2012 report saw widespread praise for John Key’s “rightward turn” following the 2011 election, with a sense that the Prime Minister was beginning to govern in the interests of the country rather than the polls. Mixed-ownership models and asset sales featured prominently, while the age-old issues of infrastructure deficits and skills shortages reared their heads once more.

The India-NZ FTA discussions have progressed to round 7 when a team led by J Dadoo, Joint Secretary, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry met their NZ counterparts led by Nigel Fyfe from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). After a gruelling few days of discussions in Wellington, the team headed to Auckland where they visited some businesses …

After the tough economic conditions of the Global Financial Crisis, the consensus among the business community was that the John Key-led government had performed well in trying times. This approval was reflected in 98 per cent of respondents supporting Key remaining at the helm after the election that year. The economic pain of the GFC was compounded by the Christchurch …

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a “free trade” currently under negotiation between NZ and 8 other countries, including the U.S. The countries want to complete negotiation by the end of 2011. Trade is only a minor part of the agreement. That’s just a clever branding exercise. A TPPA would be an agreement that guarantees special rights to foreign investors. …

Emerging from recession, CEOs called for ambitious economic policies, such as cuts to the corporate tax rate, mining of conservation land, and the partial privatisation of state assets. Politically, the Cabinet rated strongly, but the push for fiscal tightening to get the Government’s books under control remained, particularly with respect to schemes considered to be ‘middle class welfare’.

A restless business community responded to the 2009 survey with calls for aggressive policy to increase productivity as the country attempted to pull itself out of recession. New Prime Minister John Key rated favourably, but tensions remained between the business community and government regarding public spending and debt levels. Issues such as Public Private Partnerships, the continued movement towards Supercity …

This report provides a snapshot into the early response of CEOs as the economy fell into recession in 2008, what would come to be known as the Global Financial Crisis. Meanwhile, it was election year and John Key enjoyed some 90 per cent of the business community’s support as preferred Prime Minister – but interestingly, the CEOs rated him relatively …

New Zealand’s CEOs recorded some positivity towards the tax cuts provided in the year past, however just four per cent of respondents predicted the Labour Government would be reelected the following year. A lack of consultation around KiwiSaver policy to compel employers to match employee contributions irked many, while the issues of previous years (such as inflation and skills shortages) …

In the aftermath of the 2005 election, the business community expressed admiration for Prime Minister Helen Clark’s political abilities, but skepticism about Finance Minister Michael Cullen’s plans for economic transformation. A broad range of commercial issues arose in the comments of those surveyed, including the impact of the removal of Telecom’s broadband monopoly, the ramifications of considerable inflation levels, the …