Budget 2021: Spend or Save? Finance Minister s dilemma
14 May, 2021 05:00 PM
9 minutes to read
Grant Robertson s Budget balancing act. Cartoon / Rod Emmerson Our expectations are low. And they ll be met, says Alan McDonald, head of advocacy and strategy at the Employers and Manufacturers Association. Grant [Robertson] seems to be signalling an austerity type Budget and where he is talking about spending money – which is education, health and beneficiaries – that s their core stuff, not ours.
It s a blunt but succinct preview of the 2021 Budget from a business leader under no pressure to be politically diplomatic.
Robertson, to be fair, completely rejects suggestions that this will be an austerity Budget.
1. Risk to the business
If you cause damage to a business, it might be obvious that you will be dismissed.
But creating risk of any damage can also be a reason for dismissal, although Alan said it s rare. Most people are aware they can be dismissed for serious misconduct, but few people know that serious misconduct can include creating a risk of damage to the employer s business, rather than any actual damage caused, Alan told Seek.
He highlighted that this is all to do with the definition of serious misconduct in the Fair Work Act 2009.
It s worth remembering if you damage a business s profitability, reputation or health of the business owner, you could be fired.
stores carbon, purifies the air and water, and helps regulate the climate for the entire planet.
“I think it s a well-known fact that the Northwest Territories of Canada is very rich in minerals – we ve got three diamond mines in our backyard and another mine for gold. So I guess one of the things that sparked the idea for Thaidene Nëné, over 50 years ago, was the fact that the elders had always wanted to have a protected area set aside for future generations, and have it be protected in a way that the First Nation people were involved so they didn t lose any of their treaty rights.”
They were concerned customers would react badly, “but to be honest most people are very understanding”. A rise in the minimum wage meant everybody’s wages had to rise to maintain a gap between skilled and unskilled workers, increasing the overall labour cost, she said.
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The minimum wage rise on April 1 was the “last straw” for Dunedin cafe owner and academic Paula O’Kane. It removed the flexibility for the employer, and did not necessarily improve productivity for the business, or wellbeing for the workers, she said. “I would suggest that getting rewarded for not doing anything just by the Government doesn’t in and of itself help people’s physical and mental wellbeing.”
Energy Minister Megan Woods responds to questions in Parliament on Thursday.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association has added its voice to concerns over power prices saying it has heard “shocking” reports of businesses facing a tripling in their power bills. Spot market prices have peaked above 70 cents a kilowatt-hour at times this year and have frequently sat above 30c/KWh – several times their normal historical levels. Low hydro inflows brought about by La Nina weather conditions, a decline in gas production and a long period of low investment in new generation capacity has put the sector on the edge of crisis, amid a warning from an analyst that there is no cover for any unexpected supply outages.