Willis tells us before dawn about her travel plans and – early this afternoon – she reports on her meeting with Aust Treasurer
Finance Minister Nicola Willis – and press secretary Nick Venter, too, we may suppose – were up and about before sparrow’s fart.
Her bags would have been packed and her passport checked.
We report this on the strength of an email from Venter which landed in our electronic in-tray at 5.01am (which we did not read immediately).
It advised that Willis would travel to Australia today to meet her Australian counterpart, Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Presumably these travel plans were made in something of a hurry because this was the first time we had heard that Willis would be crossing the Tasman and would be meeting Aussie big-wigs such as Government Services Minister Bill Shorten, New South Wales Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, and Australian investors and members of the business community.
This impression of rush was heightened when Venter sent us another email at 1.43pm.
This said Willis had met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers to discuss the opportunities to lower business costs and increase the ease with which businesses and people can operate across the Tasman.
This wasn’t the only ministerial statement today dealing with business relationships, but in one case the aim is to make it even harder for certain Russians to do business in this country and in the other the minister signalled the government’s intention to repeal legislation which was designed to discourage big companies from being tardy in paying their bills.
On the foreign front, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins have marked two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by announcing further support and sanctions, and extending our military assistance.
The NZDF’s deployment of skilled personnel in support of Ukraine will extend until June 2025.
Up to 97 NZDF personnel will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers, and provide intelligence, liaison and logistics support.
New sanctions under the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, focussed on countering sanctions evasion, “are also being worked on”.
Then there’s a development (for good or bad? on the home front.
Small businesses – which feel the pinch when corporate heavyweights stall on settling their accounts – may well ask that question of Andrew Bayly, whose portfolio implies he is batting for them as Minister of Small Business and Manufacturing.
According to his press release, he is doing them a big favour because the Business Payment Practices Act (the legislation which will be repealed) is not effective in hastening the payment of bills and would impose unnecessary compliance costs to over 3000 businesses upgrading their ICT systems.
“Australia implemented a similar scheme in 2020, but a recent review of the scheme’s effectiveness found that payment times have not reduced.
“Furthermore, small businesses can already find out which companies are late payers through a credit agency at minimal cost.”
The Government will be requiring government agencies to adopt faster payment times, including for eInvoices, which will support business cashflow and encourage the growth of eInvoicing.
The government will also work with BusinessNZ to create an industry-led voluntary code to ensure small businesses are paid on a more timely basis.
Good luck with that.
Another press release today shows the government is looking after the interests of poor people (or claiming that’s what it is doing) as well as relieving corporate heavies of a statutory obligation to pay their bills sooner.
Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston responded to figures released by Stats NZ today which show child poverty rates have increased, with the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, making it harder for families to afford the basics.
Stats NZ data for the three primary measures show that in 2022/23:
It advised that Willis would travel to Australia today to meet her Australian counterpart, Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Presumably these travel plans were made in something of a hurry because this was the first time we had heard that Willis would be crossing the Tasman and would be meeting Aussie big-wigs such as Government Services Minister Bill Shorten, New South Wales Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, and Australian investors and members of the business community.
This impression of rush was heightened when Venter sent us another email at 1.43pm.
This said Willis had met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers to discuss the opportunities to lower business costs and increase the ease with which businesses and people can operate across the Tasman.
This wasn’t the only ministerial statement today dealing with business relationships, but in one case the aim is to make it even harder for certain Russians to do business in this country and in the other the minister signalled the government’s intention to repeal legislation which was designed to discourage big companies from being tardy in paying their bills.
On the foreign front, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins have marked two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by announcing further support and sanctions, and extending our military assistance.
The NZDF’s deployment of skilled personnel in support of Ukraine will extend until June 2025.
Up to 97 NZDF personnel will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers, and provide intelligence, liaison and logistics support.
New sanctions under the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, focussed on countering sanctions evasion, “are also being worked on”.
Then there’s a development (for good or bad? on the home front.
Small businesses – which feel the pinch when corporate heavyweights stall on settling their accounts – may well ask that question of Andrew Bayly, whose portfolio implies he is batting for them as Minister of Small Business and Manufacturing.
According to his press release, he is doing them a big favour because the Business Payment Practices Act (the legislation which will be repealed) is not effective in hastening the payment of bills and would impose unnecessary compliance costs to over 3000 businesses upgrading their ICT systems.
“Australia implemented a similar scheme in 2020, but a recent review of the scheme’s effectiveness found that payment times have not reduced.
“Furthermore, small businesses can already find out which companies are late payers through a credit agency at minimal cost.”
The Government will be requiring government agencies to adopt faster payment times, including for eInvoices, which will support business cashflow and encourage the growth of eInvoicing.
The government will also work with BusinessNZ to create an industry-led voluntary code to ensure small businesses are paid on a more timely basis.
Good luck with that.
Another press release today shows the government is looking after the interests of poor people (or claiming that’s what it is doing) as well as relieving corporate heavies of a statutory obligation to pay their bills sooner.
Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston responded to figures released by Stats NZ today which show child poverty rates have increased, with the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, making it harder for families to afford the basics.
Stats NZ data for the three primary measures show that in 2022/23:
- 12.5 per cent of all children (143,700) were in material hardship – up 2 per cent compared to 2021/22
- 17.5 per cent of children (202,100) were in poverty, based on household income after housing costs have been paid – up 3.1 per cent
- 12.6 per cent of children (146,000) were in poverty, based on household income before the costs of housing are paid – up 0.9 per cent
Another 50,200 children are living in benefit-dependent households compared to when National last left office.
Those worsening child poverty rates support the Coalition Government’s focus on reducing the cost of living and getting people into work, Upston said.
“Supporting parents into paid work and breaking the shackles of welfare dependency will be the cornerstone of this Government’s strategy for lifting families out of hardship and reducing child poverty rates.
“We also plan to lift the incomes of working households experiencing hardship by providing tax relief, easing mortgage pain, unlocking housing supply, making childcare more affordable, and lifting skills and education to provide our children with greater opportunities.”
Upston said the government was already committed to increasing the Working for Families In-Work Tax Credit from next year, putting up to $25 more per week into the pockets of low-and-middle-income working families. This tax credit hadn’t gone up since the National Government increased it in 2015.
The government also is bringing in its FamilyBoost childcare tax rebate, which is expected to help 130,000 low-and-middle-income families keep more of what they earn, with up to $75 more in their after-tax pay each week.
The full release by Stats NZ is available here.
Oh – and Willis isn’t the only minister in Australia. Judith Collins, Minister for Digitising Government (among other things) is in Sydney to attend the first Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting of 2024.
Latest from the Beehive
22 FEBRUARY 2024
Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins is in Sydney to attend the first Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting of 2024.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has appointed Leon Grice and Heather Simpson to serve on the Antarctica New Zealand board.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers to discuss the opportunities to lower business costs and increase the ease with which businesses and people can operate across the Ta
The Government will repeal the Business Payment Practices Act 2023, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly announced today.
Worsening child poverty rates support the Coalition Government’s focus on reducing the cost of living and getting people into work, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins have marked two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by announcing further support and sanctions, and extending our military assistance.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to Australia today to meet her Australian counterpart, Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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