Mike Hosking: Corporate New Zealand finally speaks out against the Govt

The Mood of the Boardroom, which is out in the Herald today, is in some respects, the Government's day of reckoning. You might recall a few years back when the Prime Minister was all shiny and new, too many people had fallen for the superficial charm that she said she was going to work with business, and she was going to listen to business. When that turned out not to be true, she set up a business group who would advise her and keep her in touch . There was a bloke on it called Christopher Luxon, he would later work out that, along with the rest of the participants, we were being scammed. He went on to do other work that didn't involve wasting his time on a government that had no intention of listening to business. That theme continued through Covid as the private sector screamed day after day, week after week, month after month, to let them use their contacts, their expertise, and their experience to help the country get through the nightmare. But what they didn't understand is that Labour parties know everything and are vastly better at everything than anyone else. After all, they studied it at university. The read you get this morning is an embarrassment. At last corporate New Zealand has found their voice. I have, for the last two years and more, implored corporate New Zealand to speak louder, say more, debate the point, and argue the case. Most of the people I deal with in business told me daily what a shambles this country was becoming. I told them to say in publicly. Some did, but in that corporate speak. That I'm trying to be tough, but not really kind of way they have of talking.   A few exceptions broke the mould, but now the avalanche. It's all there. From the lack of skills, to the lack of labour, to the border that's open, but is it really? To the ideological nonsense around Māori that has no mandate, to our disconnection to the world, to the empty cities, to the debt, to the Reserve Bank and to the lack of delivery. On a scale out of 5, only 5 of 26 Ministers get over the halfway mark. They got a pass, far less a stellar result. The highest score goes to James Shaw who isn't even in the party. Jacinda Ardern isn't even in the top 10. It is a damning, embarrassing, and yet honest assessment of what is the worst Government I have seen in my lifetime. Read it, read the comments, read the reality of what this lot is doing to our country, and see if you don't weep.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.