In their new paper ‘In a new world, new thinking is required’, Hon Sir Roger Douglas and Professor Robert MacCulloch argue the prioritisation of resources is crucial to New Zealand’s economic recovery in the wake of Covid-19. They argue that New Zealand can either “muddle through as we are – relying on policies that haven’t worked since the 1950s and …

Infrastructure NZ’s Paul Blair tells Tim McCready that infrastructure investment and construction will play a major role in New Zealand’s economic recovery programme – but central and local government collaboration is required to make it happen. Infrastructure NZ – New Zealand’s peak infrastructure body representing 140 public and private sector industry members – says the Government’s response for the infrastructure …

Tim McCready looks at some of the innovation emerging from New Zealand businesses in the face of adversity. Let us know what has been missed – from New Zealand and around the world. Restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown have caused some businesses to consider closing up shop for good. While some have taken this route, others have used the …

Miles Hurrell, chief executive of Fonterra, gave a Q&A through the Trans-Tasman Business Circle on resilient leadership in challenging times. Tim McCready gives an overview of what was discussed. The full interview is available at the bottom of this article. Fonterra started to become aware of the escalating Covid-19 situation in China in January, says chief executive Miles Hurrell. Fonterra …

Tim McCready has been crowdsourcing a list of upcoming webinars relevant for NZ business. Many of these have been created to give advice to business and fill the gap that has been left without face-to-face events. The spreadsheet can be freely edited if you are aware of a webinar that should be included in the list.

  Listen to the full episode of Q+A in the podcast below

 The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan was a devastating blow to China, leading to a global health and economic crisis which is a long way from over. Businesses across New Zealand face the collapse of trade with China, business that has sustained and grown their enterprises over many years. Graeme Acton talks to crayfish industry leader Campbell Gin, about the impact here, and …

Massey University’s Suze Wilson explains why she believes Jacinda Ardern’s coronavirus response has been a masterclass in crisis leadership Imagine, if you can, what it’s like to make decisions on which the lives of tens of thousands of other people depend. If you get things wrong, or delay deciding, they die. Your decisions affect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands …

There is an ongoing debate amongst experts about how effective masks are when used by the general public – particularly those that are not of surgical grade. This has been accelerated by cases demonstrated internationally where healthcare workers have been infected with the virus due to asymptomatic patients in the GP waiting room. The US Centers for Disease Control and …

Monash University’s Paul Strangio explains why the most perilous peacetime challenge Australia has faced in living memory will make Scott Morrison a significant Australian prime minister. One of Australia’s preeminent historians, Stuart Macintyre, once observed of John Curtin, the Labor Party leader revered for navigating this nation through the dangers of the second world war, that he would have made …