The really depressing thing is the David Skilling, one of our brightest and most thoughtful leaders, is leaving the country to work in Singapore later this year/early next year.

cheers and hope you are well
Bernard

I hear where you’re coming from re voice of the people.

The challenge for NZ–and particularly our politicians–is that the weakness of our economy and our failure to create wealth is one of the major threats to our society.

Like it or not (and in spite of the impediments of our slow broadband :-)) Kiwis want everything that’s available in the rest of the world, but we’re just not rich enough anymore.

For what it’s worth, I think bold moves are necessary. They’re also unlikely given the incrementalist nature of our parliament (a reality of MMP). I also think that a lot of the Weldon/Skilling proposals are relevant at any point in the economic cycle. Some of them have been talked about for a while (and publicly) but only make the front page when we have the twin tempests of a financial crisis and an election. They’re not as reactionary as you suggest.

In any case, I think we both agree that it would be good to see some more debate around this stuff. But I’m not holding my breath…

A classic example of this is the post 9/11 reaction by the US President and Congress. The Patriot Act was essentially unread by congress and shoved througgh with startling speed – and the result was almost tailor made for meeting Bin Laden’s objectives of spreading fear. The invasion of Iraq was able to go ahead because there was insufficient oversight after 9/11.

So by right wing I mean disturbing elements of the far right wing from the USA, the right wing that puts business and personal wealth ahead of everything else, even society. True right wing is less callous and puts society first, and NZ would tolerate nothing less.

Yes the proposals are all incoherent and imperfectly formed, but the good thing is that the conversatiojn is started. We just need to have the voice of the people in there (the Labour Party is preocccupied with losing the election) and a serious amount of restraint and not panicking.

The NZ economy has always been somewhat second rate, unless the food commodity prices are high. It’s a long journey out of the wilderness, and it was initially led by Lange and Douglas, and is now increasingly led by the likes of Rod Drury, Sam Morgan and Stephen Tindall. The government and market regulators have a role, but is is mainly to ensure an educated, healthy and housed population with solid infrastructure, to help those that stumble and to continue to make Doing Business (google that) easier.

McKinsey is an excellent institution – attracting and developing amazing people. The increasing number of Kiwi “graduates” is an excellent thing for NZ.

However it was really difficult to get and keep Mark Welden (e.g. his compensation package was pushed back on recently), David Skilling will be missed as he leaves the NZ Institute and as for me – well I’m writing this from Perth. Alex you are in a great role at Trade Me post McKinsey, and it will be interesting to see where you go over the next years. The opportunities offshore have traditionally been far bigger than in NZ though, and it is a real internal struggle to balance career and income versus being at home.

Interesting post. Even more interesting that you characterise the proposals as ‘right wing’, then go on to criticise some of them for the intrusive role that they advocate for the state. I’d describe the Skilling/Weldon initiatives –and your criticisms– more as pragmatic (incoherent?) albeit roughly formed.

I also think the Skilling/Weldon paper reflects an underlying belief that the NZ economy is slowly slipping away to whatever state is below mediocrity and the current crisis is exactly the impetus (“burning platform” in McKinsey-ese) needed for some bold moves. What’s your view on that position (irrespective of your views on their solutions)?

Cheers,
Alex

PS What’s your beef with ex-McKinsey consultants ;-)