Source: BusinessNZ
A new report by BusinessNZ calls for bold, long-term planning to enable a greater New Zealand by 2050.
The report titled New Zealand 2050: A Long-Term Vision, makes a case for a bipartisan national plan to redefine NZ’s competitiveness, social cohesion, and global standing by 2050.
Starting with NZ’s looming challenge of lower economic growth following from low population growth, the report argues for a managed approach to population and more expansive immigration.
The report outlines how the country is facing a labour shortage of at least a quarter of a million before 2050, and points to Statistics NZ’s estimate of a 1 in 4 chance that NZ will have no population growth at all by 2050 – a shrinking NZ, unable to pay for healthcare and pensions and unable to generate enough economic growth to sustain even a reduced population.
The report’s author, BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard, says there’s still time to change course, but we need to act now.
“As a country, we have amazing ‘X factors’ that could be exploited to catapult our growth. Take for example New Zealand’s bountiful resource of renewable clean energy that could enable industries as diverse as green hydrogen production, data centres and digital infrastructure, steel, aluminium, energy-intensive food processing, to name a few.
“We also have enormous potential to build profitable niche clusters in specialty areas like food science and agri-tech, aerospace and autonomous systems, semiconductor materials and fusion science, digital exports, critical minerals and marine resources, and medical technology.
Beard says achieving such outcomes would require bold, long-term planning, led by bipartisan politicians, informed by public debate, and supported by public buy-in.
“In the first instance, it would require a certain level of bipartisan agreement on NZ’s current big decisions like superannuation, immigration, infrastructure provision, and long-term investment issues.
“It’s not a pipedream. We’ve already seen areas where there is broad support, including trade and Kaiwisaver.”
A recent survey of the BusinessNZ membership shows their number one concern was reversal of government policies following elections, affecting business certainty.
“We need to have a long-term plan for success because political flip-flops and U-turns mean that every time we have a change in government, New Zealand only goes sideways.”
Beard says the report is a call to action and an invitation to take part in a national discussion on shaping NZ’s future by 2050.
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
