Four MPs vying to be the country's next finance minister debated inflation, tax and the economy to dozens of top business leaders in Wellington today.
Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson — who has been the Finance Minister for the past six years — faced off against his counterparts at the BusinessNZ conference.
Robertson alongside National's Nicola Willis, the Greens' Julie Anne Genter, and ACT's leader David Seymour debated the economy, inflation, taxes, and the Government's scrapped income insurance scheme.
It came as a questionnaire survey of lobby group BusinessNZ's members indicated there was growing unhappiness at the Government from top business leaders.
Eighty-five per cent of those surveyed slammed the Labour Government for not having a "coordinated plan of action focused on raising New Zealand's economic performance".
That compared to 65% who agreed with the statement ahead of the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, 93% said the cost of business had increased over the past three years and 59% didn't believe New Zealand had the right immigration settings to tackle business challenges.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said a change of government wasn't being seen as inevitable despite polling confidently showing National and ACT ahead.
He added: "There is a high level of frustration with Labour's inability to actually listen to some of the core things that businesses have been complaining about for sometime."
The business lobby group has butted heads with the Labour Government over the past three years, including its campaign against the introduction of Fair Pay Agreements.
NZRise co-chairperson Breccan McLeod-Lundy, who attended the conference, said there should be a greater focus on technology. His organisation represents Kiwi tech firms.
"That means having a simple to understand tax system. Really working on having a focus in our free trade agreements on what the tech part would be and not just what we're doing with our cows," he said.
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