New Zealand faces its worst recession in nearly a century. Unfortunately, the economic response to the challenges of Covid-19 leaves much to be desired. Most new policy initiatives proposed in the run-up to the 2020 general election range from trivial at best to economic sabotage at worst. Promoting employment, growth and productivity, and a credible path back to sustainable debt levels is critical. The New Zealand Initiative has developed several key recommendations, outlined in this report.

Key Recommendations:

• Proposals to introduce Fair Pay agreements (FPAs) should be abandoned.
• Abandon “contractor” law reform proposals. Instead, enforce the existing regulatory settings more effectively.
• Amend unjustified dismissal procedures of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) so they do not apply to highly paid employees.
• Roll back recent minimum wage increases, which will hurt employment, and re-introduce lower youth minimum wage rates.
• Avoid increasing or introducing new sources of tax revenue, which would further dampen economic activity.