John MacDonald: Christopher Luxon's people don't even get him

You know how the Prime Minister does a very good job of batting away poll results and saying that his focus is fixing up the joint after the last lot and that he’ll wait until election day to be judged?

I don’t think he will find it quite as easy to do that with these results out today from the NZ Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey. The annual survey of about 150 business leaders – 125 of them being CEOs of major New Zealand companies.

People like Port of Auckland boss Roger Gray, the head of Tower Insurance Paul Johnston and Forsyth Barr boss Neil Paviour-Smith.

One of the things that comes out in the survey results is a ranking of the performances of our Cabinet ministers. How these business leaders think of each minister is doing.

Top of the list is Erica Stanford – she’s the highest ranking. Winston Peters is in second place and Chris Bishop is third.

The Prime Minister is ranked 15th. In last year’s survey, he was sixth. Even Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, who sits outside cabinet, ranks higher than the PM in 10th place.

The other big name outside the top 10 is Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis – the bosses at our biggest companies have ranked her in 13th place.

Which is not good news for the Government. Because what’s coming through loud and clear is that the business community has no faith that there is a plan to get the country “back on track”.

We’re way more than halfway through the Government’s current term and our most senior business leaders are asking: “What is your plan Prime Minister?"

I think this result out today is way worse for the Government than any political poll result so far. When you’ve got business leaders ranking the Finance Minister 13th and the Prime Minister 15th, this is a government in strife, isn’t it?

The reason I think this will hurt Christopher Luxon more than any of the other poll results he’s managed to bat away or put a brave face on for, is that these are his people.

Before he entered politics, he was one of them. He probably even took part in these surveys when he was chief executive at Air New Zealand.

He’s the people he’s talking to when he goes on about signs of green shoots in the economy. These are the people he’s talking to when he talks about getting runs on the board.

The people who have said he’s the 15th-best performing cabinet minister. The people he’s talking to with his quarterly action plans, deliverables, KPIs, decision gates, and value chains.

But his people still don’t know what he’s trying to do. They still don’t know what his plan is. Which is why I think he will really be feeling this today. 

Because even his people don’t get him.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You know how the Prime Minister always seems to do
a very good job of batting away pole results and
having something like a bit of a Devil may care
attitude and saying that his focus is fixing up the
joint after the last lot, and he's not going to
worry about pole results too much, and he'll wait until
election day for judgment. He'll wait for election day to

(00:35):
be judged. You know how he does all that, does
that all the time. I don't think you will find
it quite as easy to do that with these results
out today from the New Zealand Herald's annual Mood of
the Boardroom Survey. I'll tell you why in a second,
but first let's run through the numbers. So this annual
survey talks to about one hundred and fifty business leaders,
one hundred and twenty five of them being the CEOs

(00:58):
of major New Zealand companies. People for example like Paul
of Auckland Boss Roger Gray, the head of Tar and Shery,
It's Paul Johnston, Forsyth Bar boss Neil Pavia Smith. You
get the gist pretty high powered people. And one of
the things that comes out in the survey results is

(01:19):
the ranking of the performances of our cabinet ministers. What
all these business leaders think of how each minister is doing.
Top of the list this year, Eric Stamford, She's the
highest ranking. Winster Peter's in second place. Chris Bishop he's third.
As for the Prime Minister, keep going down, keep going down,

(01:39):
keep going down. Tenth note, keep going down, keep going down.
The Prime Minister is ranked fifteenth and last year's survey
he was sixth. This year's down to fifteen. Even Building
and Construction Minister Chris Penk who actually sits outside cabinet,
he ranks higher than the PM. He's at tenth place.

(02:03):
The other big name outside the top ten is Finance
and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis. The bosses and our
biggest companies, they've ranked her in thirteenth place. We talked
about Nicola Willis last week, didn't we Si'm keen to
focus today on the result for the Prime Minister and
what we can read into it and what you're reading
into it. Either way, it's not good reading, it's not

(02:25):
good listening. For the Prime Minister is it? Because what's
coming through loud and clear is that the business community
has no faith that the prime minister's government has a plan,
that the Prime Minister has a plan to get the
country back on track. Here we are more than halfway
through the government's current term and our most senior business

(02:47):
leaders are asking, what's your plan, Prime Minister? We don't
know what your plan is?

Speaker 1 (02:53):
What is it?

Speaker 2 (02:55):
And I think this pole result out today, or the
survey result, I think it's way worse for the government
than any political pole results so far. When you've got
business leaders, the top business leaders in this country ranking
the Finance Minister thirteenth and the Prime Minister fifteenth. This
is a government and strife, isn't it. And the reason

(03:17):
why I think this will hurt Christoph Luxan more than
any of the other pole results that he's managed to
bat away or put a brave face on full. The
reason why this one will really be hitting him is
that these are his people. These are his people. Until
he entered politics, he was one of them. He probably
even took part in these surveys when he was chief

(03:38):
executive at Air New Zealand. He's the people he's talking
to when he goes on about signs of green shoots
in the economy. These are the people he's talking to
when he goes on about getting runs on the board.
The people have said he's the fifteenth best performing cabinet minister.
The people he's talking to with his quarterly action plans.

(03:59):
These are the people he's speaking to when he talks
about deliverables, KPIs, decision gates and value chains. But his
people still don't know what he's trying to do. They
still don't know what the plan is. And if his
people don't know, how can the rest of us be
expected to know? Which is why I think he will

(04:20):
really be feeling this today. On the positive side, what
comes through in the survey results is that these business
leaders have no doubt in Christopher Luxon's ability to be
a cheerleader for New Zealand around the world. As Dame
Terres Walsh, who was the chair of a New Zealand
And ASB, is saying today about what she sees when
she goes on these trade delegations with him. Quote, the
PM and the company and team New Zealand are so

(04:43):
unified and powerful on trade delegations offshore. She says everyone
gets behind the course and can see the impact the
PM has in these markets. But she goes on to
say harnessing the sense of togetherness further back home to
spur on economic growth is critical to our success. Someone else,
the Downer CEO, Barry Robertson same the same thing quote,

(05:05):
having joined the Prime Minister on his visit to new
Way to open the airport runway. I was struck by
his relentless focus and energy. His clear commitment to driving
economic improvement is commendable. So he's brilliant overseas, not so
brilliant at home because he doesn't have a plan, because

(05:26):
his government doesn't have a plan. And that's why business
leaders are saying he is the fifteenth best performing cabinet minister.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
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