So Jacinda Ardern has addressed the business community in an attempt to reset the mind set that the business outlook will be worse under Labour.

To be honest, it was always going to be a vain attempt.  The government believes what they believe and there’s a substantial slice of the business community who will always think they’re just wrong.  It was the same with the last government and the government before that and on it goes. 

It’s been interesting to see a few people, like Don Brash and a number of economists, who are starting to dispel the rosy perception of the Key and English era.  With as many moving parts as an economy there’s always dispute over the best things to do.

So all you can take from this speech is whether or not the current mob have a clue.  And canvassing the business team here and other observers, it becomes clear that the alleged economic incompetence of this government is being over-hyped.

I found it hard to dismiss a lot of what was said today.  Ardern said that the New Zealand economy faced a number of global challenges.   She listed them as skills shortages, lack of investment in the productive economy, a shallow national pool of capital, an infrastructure deficit and low productivity. I particularly like the shallow pool of capital thing because it drives me crazy. When kiwis do well and have some spare money, they stick it into an investment property rather than a local business making jobs.

She also mentioned that the government is committed to running a strong surplus.  She says we have the best net international investment position ever recorded, stable and low interest rates forecast for some time which ought to spur investment and the lowest unemployment rate in a decade. Again, that’s all true. 

The Reserve Bank’s unprecedented statement this year that interest rates aren’t going up for some time hasn’t been fully appreciated. If business wants certainty, well there’s cost of capital certainty right there.  With stable low interest rates and growth in the mid twos and up over the next three years, there’s never been a better time for businesses to invest in improving their outputs.

So the whole speech confirmed the way I’ve felt for a while.  The government believes in some theories that I disagree with but they’re not nearly as bad as some will have you believe. New Zealand is not going the way of Venezuela and it never will. That’s a lazy intellectual slogan.

There was a bit of a stir when the government appointed Christopher Luxon from Air New Zealand as the chair of a business advisory panel.  After all, he’s no wet.  He’s mates with John Key and he certainly can run a big business. Some are taking this as a sign that Labour is listening to business.  But I would offer this advice.

The business confidence slump that Labour should worry about isn’t happening around the board tables of our biggest companies.  Looking at some of the listed companies that reported their financial results this month, Craigs Investment Partners' Mark Lister said this week you'd be "hard pressed to deduct we're on the cusp of a major economic slump".

No, the businesses that are really worried are the small ones with 20 or so workers for whom any tinkering with minimum wages or compliance costs makes a tangible impact on their bottom line. Maybe a few more owners of Small and Medium businesses should be on that advisory panel if they want to know how business is feeling.