12. KATHERINE RICH (National) Link to this
to the Minister for Small Business
Does she stand by her statement to the House on 14 February 2006 that her Government had accepted 18 of the 19 recommendations from the Small Business Advisory Group’s first report “outright”?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Minister for Small Business) Link to this
As I have said publicly, the word “outright” probably does not reflect the sense of immediacy sought by the Small Business Advisory Group in its recommendations, and reflected in its scorecard. That is something I will be discussing with its representatives when I meet with them on 14 March. The member needs to understand that the recommendation and report-back process is ongoing, and I am confident that the next set of scores will be improved.
Now that the Minister accepts that the word “outright” was an overstatement, when the Small Business Advisory Group gives her Government a lukewarm rating of five out of 10 for its response to its first report, does she accept that saying the Government had accepted 18 of the 19 recommendations “outright” was at best an exaggeration and at worst a porky?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
I would remind that member that it was this Government that set up the Small Business Advisory Group. There was no such thing, and not even a Minister for Small Business, when her party was in Government. The group made 19 recommendations to the Government, only one of which was rejected “outright”—the personal grievance - free period. Not surprisingly, that was the only one that the Small Business Advisory Group scored zero out of 10. Unlike the National Party, the Government does not agree that employers should be able to sack workers without reason.
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
Can the Minister confirm that the statement was made on Valentine’s Day, and that it reflected the love affair between her and the business sector?
How does the Minister reconcile her claim of outright acceptance of the report’s recommendations with the group’s conclusion that the Government has “been awarded an averaged mark of 5.3/10.” and “done little to transform that response into tangible outcomes for business.”?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
As I said to the member, I am meeting with the Small Business Advisory Group on 14 March in order to discuss its response to the Government’s response to its first report. There is an issue in respect of its grading of some of the Government’s responses, because it divided it into two parts: policy and implementation. I want to discuss with the group some of the implementation stuff. We scored very well on the policy—we scored over five on 12 of the recommendations.
Maryan StreetWhich of the Government’s responses to the Small Business Advisory Group recommendations were scored by the group in its second report, released on Monday, at 10 out of 10?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
Our responses to three of the recommendations got a full 10 out of 10, which I think is fantastic for the first report we have received. These recommendations include the Small Business Advisory Group’s No. 1 recommendation: “That the Government enhance funding to up-skill mentors and mentor co-ordinators in order to provide a superior service to clients and to market their services.” Our responses to the No. 5 and No. 6 recommendations were accepted by the Small Business Advisory Group as also having achieved a 10 out of 10 rating.
Peter BrownIs the Minister aware that many employers employ people casually because there is no such thing as a grievance-free probationary period, and would she be more kindly disposed to a grievance-free probationary period if some rules governing casual labour were in place?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
The core issue here is the employers’ concerns, which have been expressed by the Small Business Advisory Group, about the risk of taking on new staff. The Government is actively addressing this by providing better information about good practice in employing and managing staff through, for example, the new Department of Labour publications How to Hire Guide for Employers and .
Is it not pathetic that the Minister skites in the House today about three of the 19 recommendations her Government has accepted, when the Small Business Advisory Group has given her Government an overall rating of five out of 10, and what is the point of meeting, listening, and reporting, if she is going to ignore what the group says?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
I think it is a bit rich that those criticisms are directed at the Government by a party that, when in Government, had no Minister for Small Business and no Small Business Advisory Group. The Government’s policy program already addresses 18 of the 19 recommendations that have been made, and more are to come. I remind the member that the Small Business Advisory Group has included in its new set of recommendations only two of the previous recommendations, because it believes me, not her.
Does the Small Business Advisory Group have any input into Government policy other than through its annual report?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
Yes, the advisory group has had significant influence, and is now regularly consulted on tax matters, and on policies and programmes run by the Department of Labour, the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and Statistics New Zealand, to name but a few. All of these issues are highly relevant to small to medium sized enterprises, and the Small Business Advisory Group’s advice has been extremely valuable. I am glad we have a Small Business Advisory Group. If I had wanted to hire yes-people who just patted me on the back for everything I did, without giving me the small business lens, then I would want to work for Don Brash—because that is all he wants from his spokespeople.