Deloitte's Awards for the Greats of NZ Business and our non-Governmental Economics Policy Setter (not Adviser)

In a wonderful gala event done by Big Accounting Firm Deloitte's (you may see where this Blog's going) and splashed onto the front pages of NZ's Herald, the folks who "showcase the best of NZ business" were celebrated. "Left" (though in the Old Days "Right" when Mike Horton owned & ran it) Establishment Granny Herald was the event's Exclusive Media Sponsor. Deloitte's had an "independent" panel of five judges, including the likes of Neil Paviour-Smith, Managing Director of Forsyth Barr & a Director of The NZ Initiative. The awards were well deserved, going to some of the Biggest Oligopolies in the land. Lets be fair - some are trying hard for better Main Stream Media coverage by doing benevolent "Corporate Social Sustainability". It may help stop raging public anger at their prices. So The Snowflake Sustainability Leadership Award went to Spark's CEO. Below is Spark's share price - gosh it is down nearly 50% over the year. Its not what you think. That plummeting price is something to celebrate, since it appears it was done in the name of "sustainability". Lets trust more Big Kiwi Companies also show such outstanding leadership.

And wasn't it great to see the judges recognizing Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The NZ Initiative for "his contribution to NZs public policy dialogue on issues such as education, health, immigration & housing". In case you didn't know, when the Nats came to power they hadn't prepared much in the way of policies - but hey, that didn't matter since the Initiative kindly photocopied its reports - on High Income Dismissal Reform, school curricula - you name it, they had it, and Bob's Your Uncle - it was ready to go. The Initiative's Education Man was drafted in by the Coalition to Chair its Ministerial Advisory Group on school curricula & the Initiative's Senior Economist, Matt Burgess, hopped over the road to be the PM's economics adviser. That's why the Nats don't need to ask anyone else for economics advice these days - the Initiative has it sorted. Its run by two lawyers - what better types. And should the PM or Finance Minister have queries about Big Banks or Big Supermarkets, its just a quick call to the Initiative's Directors who've served as Chairs of Big Banks & Directors & CEOs of the Big Supermarkets. Deloitte's must be commended for its amazing service to the community - not just for doing our accounts - but for pursuing the wider social good.

Sources:

https://www.deloitte.com/nz/en/about/media-room/2024-deloitte-top-200-award-winners-announced.html

The IMF confirms that Labour Leader Chris Hipkins Put New Zealand Bottom of Asia Pacific Economies in 2023.

New Zealand was governed in 2023 by former PM Chris Hipkins, and before him, of course, Jacinda Ardern. How did they do, especially in comparison with other nations in our Asia Pacific region of the world? The IMF has released the figures. In 2023 NZ had the worst level of GDP growth at just 0.6%. The IMF projects NZ will grow by zero in 2024, again the worst in our region. The average increase in GDP for Asia Pacific last year was 5.0% and this year its projected to be 4.6%. In terms of inflation, NZ had the second highest level at 5.7%, just behind the Philippines at 6.0%. The average inflation rate in Asia was 2.6%. As for our current account (difference between exports & imports), NZ's was by far the worst at -6.9%. Our exports are rising now, but the deficit is still projected to be worst in the region in both 2024 and 2025. As for the unemployment rate, it started rising as the recession that Chris Hipkins & RBNZ Governor Orr deliberately "engineered" got going, and is expected to be second worst in the Asia-Pacific region both this year and in 2025. Whatever new PM Chris Luxon's faults, anything is an improvement on Chris Hipkins & the country's Worst Finance Minister Ever, Grant Robertson, as well as former PM Ardern, who divided the country and destroyed NZ's social fabric with her "holier than thou" moralizing, more than any PM before her. And what is Labour's solution to the problem? Bang in more taxes.