Tim Collins has a regular blog on www.wotzon.com. We’ll keep you updated on his latest ‘Business Incite’

Well done to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce (and sponsors Sheffield) for hosting breakfast with John Key last week.
The fact that the Te Papa venue was full was hardly surprising; all were keen to see the new PM in the flesh and more importantly to hear his plans for action, directly. And he delivered what most expected, frank, thorough and often off the cuff views on the current economic situation; interspersed with disarming anecdotes. We got stories about correspondence with school kids and encouraging reasons why New Zealand is better off than most developed countries. Of course we also got the National Party line, but with a beguiling and friendly delivery. Clearly a nice bloke, smart and driven but also genuine, earnest and infectiously optimistic.

Chatting to some of the huge crowd (350+) afterwards the general assessment was positive;
- “good guy, makes good sense and has a good grasp of the complex situation we’re in”,
Good, encouraging, even reassuring, in these uncertain times we need a safe pair of hands and JK, (how has he avoided this nickname and comparisons to the former All Black winger?), looks like he is a guy we can rely on. Solid in defence but reads the game well and not afraid to back himself and go for the line.

So, he soothed us, charmed us and encouraged us, but unfortunately he stopped short of inspiring us. Why? Because he didn’t listen to us. In fact he didn’t even pretend to be interested in the views of the 350 business people (and government officials) present. If he was – surely he would have invited a few questions.

I can hear the explanations now (even though none were offered), “logistically it would have been difficult to manage questions from such a large crowd”, “ tight schedule did not allow time for Q+A” etc. Sorry but it smacked of government knows best and was disappointing.

10 to 15 minutes of Q+A would have give him (and the attendees) a good sense of the ‘mood’ of the Wellington business community. How else does this man of the people, know the people? How does he know what we are thinking?  Perhaps from the media; ahem – not entirely a reliable source, perhaps from the letters that he personally replies to; or from listening to advice from his officials. Mmm, it seems to me that JK may need some help if he is to avoid becoming detached, ignorant and oblivious to real people and real issues.

He could start by inviting questions and listening to them carefully; listening for underlying  concerns behind them, perhaps even teasing them out a bit  and then gauging audience interest in the answers.

Whatever about intentions to get rid of “Hugging polar bear” programmes, instead prioritising “cost effective initiatives”, JK should really know what business people think about these changes.

He was not clear which programmes fit into the polar bear hugging category, but at a guess he was alluding to some of the previous government’s sustainability initiatives that were canned recently.  So much for New Zealand’s world leading aspirations; out go the Carbon Neutral Public Sector and Govt3 programmes with the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme meaning it’s also on very shaky ground.  The right leaning tendencies of the new government bolstered by the public’s support for bold decisions during a time of economic turmoil gives considerable wiggle room to rave, shave, and save.

What do the business community think of this? What does JK think we think of this? Does he really care?  Maybe he should ask.