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Leeann Watson: Business Canterbury CEO on business confidence rising to 40% in the September quarter · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It looks like business confidence is rebounding as we head
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: towards the election. NZIER's quarterly survey of business opinion shows
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: confidence jumped in the September quarter with a net 40%
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: firms thinking the economy will improve and that's up from
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: just 14% in June. Now that's amazing because there's always
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: downsides with the world economy etc and of course what
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: it also means is weak demand and that remains a challenge.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Skilled workers are harder to find and Higher oil prices
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: are creating uncertainty. So Business Canterbury CEO Leanne Watson is
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  Speaker 1: with me now. Good morning to you, Leanne.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Andrew.
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  Speaker 1: Are you feeling it in Canterbury?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, look, we certainly are. And this is great news
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  Speaker 2: to hear that we are seeing this lift across the country,
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  Speaker 2: which is great. It definitely reflects what we have been
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  Speaker 2: seeing in Canterbury through our own survey and also just
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: what we're hearing on the ground. Our numbers are a
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: little higher. with around 72% of Canterbury firms expecting stronger
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: financial performance over the next 12 months, but really positive
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  Speaker 2: news all around.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you live in the promised land, don't you? And
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  Speaker 1: there's an awful lot going very, very well for you.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think the businesses are finally going, stop worrying
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  Speaker 1: about everything, stop worrying about the government, stop worrying about
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  Speaker 1: Donald Trump, stop worrying about tariffs, just do it?
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  Speaker 2: Look, absolutely. You know, I guess there have been a
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  Speaker 2: lot of adversity, a lot of challenges over the last
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  Speaker 2: five years, and I think businesses have now come to
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  Speaker 2: the conclusion that actually change is really the only constant
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  Speaker 2: that they are going to see. So they've definitely become
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  Speaker 2: used to adapting and really focusing on the things that
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  Speaker 2: they can control. Those are the things that are common
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  Speaker 2: across our business community, and I think we're starting to
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  Speaker 2: see that across the rest of the country as well.
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  Speaker 1: Okay. We've got an election coming up. How is business feeling?
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  Speaker 1: What do you want to hear from our politicians today?
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  Speaker 2: Well, when we talk about certainty, that is certainly one
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  Speaker 2: of the things that businesses are wanting. And we know
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  Speaker 2: that that's really tricky, particularly, as I say, around the
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  Speaker 2: things that we can't control, like, you know, at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: our fuel prices and some of the geopolitical tensions. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we do want to see policies that will
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  Speaker 2: help businesses be more productive. We want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that they've got access to, you know, the right people.
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  Speaker 2: And that includes some of the skilled labour that you
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  Speaker 2: mentioned in your lead in. And we also want to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that the policies actually get out of the
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  Speaker 2: way and reduce compliance where they just simply don't add
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  Speaker 2: any value. I think we are starting to see some
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  Speaker 2: good talk across bipartisan agreements on some of the big
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  Speaker 2: issues that really help or hinder businesses. So that's really
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  Speaker 2: positive to see. I guess we'll work out whether or
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  Speaker 2: not that comes through after the election.
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  Speaker 1: Well, just keep on doing it and have a great day.
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  Speaker 1: And I thank you for your time today, Business Canterbury
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  Speaker 1: CEO Leanne Watson.
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  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: to News Talk ZB from 5 a.m. weekdays or follow
• 2:45
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