Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive on changes to visa settings

The Government is replacing the current visa settings with two new categories that will see visa settings relaxed. 

In a bid to encourage more foreign investment, the Government is introducing the balanced category and the growth category, the latter requiring a minimum a $5 million invested for a minimum of three years. 

Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges explains the change to Andrew Dickens. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, the governments relaxed visa settings to encourage more foreign investments,
replacing the current waiting system with two new categories, the
growth and the balanced category. For the growth category, you'll
need at least five million dollars and that needs to
be invested for a minimum of three years, and you
have to live here three weeks of a year. Ten
million dollars is for the balance category, and that's over

(00:22):
a long period of time, and you will have to
spend one hundred and five days living here. The Orka
Business Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges with me right now.
You were also at the MC at the presentation.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Weren't you. That's exactly right, Andrew, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Good morning to you. So haven't we done this before? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
And I think look at you. If you look at
the results over time under more permissive settings, if you
want to say that, the result is pretty clear. A
lot of are very wealthy game and I think history
shows they invested in our best companies, golf courses. They
may bequeath to your art, Garys. They had an oversized
contribution to New Zealand then we tidened them up. I

(01:01):
think I think it was under the last labor government
and we saw less of that, right, So you know,
I think possibly in New Zealanders don't quite understand how
much good invest in migrant settings can be really important
to our economic success. I'm sure as they'll need that
at the moment.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
That's true. But at the same time, art galleries and
golf courses, is really is that the way to generate
wealth and have wealth creation in this country? It's not really,
It's not really the zeros and the fisher and pacal
health cares?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Is it? My personal view right now? As big as
can't be true as it chooses, we have to do things.
I mean think, if you want to want to critique
on this, at one level it's actually hate good, but
there's so much more to do. We're in a negative
growth environment. We have to get to positive growth and
we need boldness. And one of the things I put
to the ministers and the Prime Minister yesterdays. You know,
people can have all sorts of views of Trump, and

(01:48):
look I do too, but what he has done with
quite bold steps on corporate text and the light is
he has stirred the animal spirits of business and so
you know, I think I take your point, but I
do think the reality of the vineyards, the golf courses,
actually the zeros, the rocket mAbs who private Micrant investors

(02:09):
were instrumental in at the start, is as they create
a big jobs that are higher paying, that create in
the end higher standards of living.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
This is true. There's two parts of the equation. Of course,
there's the money. We already have money in New Zealand,
and there's high wealth individuals New Zealanders who have high wealth,
and one of their problems is that they don't actually
invest in businesses, the stock marketing and other areas to
actually put in some working venture capital is not good here.
And the other half of the equation is the actual
things that we put investments into. So do we have

(02:40):
the investments that some guy from overseas will come here
and go, I'll put some money in.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
I think the point you make the receipt, you know
at deep point we haven't got time for I tend
to agree with you, right. I think though actually a
lot of high network New Zealanders they need a bit
more confident in the economies. That comes back to my
boldness point in terms of the investment. Yeah, you know
what I think we do. I think if you look
at Silicon Valley and I've been there a couple of
times and talk to some really big venture capital firms,

(03:07):
it's a fascinating experience. The reality there is there is
more capital than good investible propositions. The truth in New
Zealand is there are so many startups that are amazing
that if they were in Silicon Valley would get the money,
would get a sort of fifty million dollars from an
andres In Horowitz or something that they don't get here.
So I hear what you say. I still think there's

(03:29):
a capital issue, and I still think actually the thing
you get with you know, a rich American or German
or whatever coming in here is they do have a
bit more of that culture of investing in these things
and giving them a whirl, probably because of their life
experience in those countries.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Well, maybe you could have a chat to your successes
and actually suggest that maybe some corporate tax changes, particularly
for startups might actually help people along the way to
bring the money in. Simon, thank you so much once
again for your time, and enjoy you week.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
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