Business Correspondent Katie Bradford attended the the overseas investment summit in Auckland this week — or at least the parts open to media. She looks at whether it was the answer to New Zealand’s problems.
At a glitzy gala dinner at Auckland Museum on Thursday night, international guests enjoyed an opera performance so good that even diehard rock fan (aka the Transport Minister) Chris Bishop enjoyed it.
The 100-plus investors also apparently revelled in a speech from former Trump advisor Chris Liddell.
“How good was Chris Liddell?” a beaming Christopher Luxon asked the attendees at his investment summit on Friday morning.
There were gasps in the media room at the news the Matamata-born businessman was taking part in the summit. The Prime Minister said Liddell spoke on a range of investment topics. We’ll have to take his word on it. It was yet another part of the event closed to journalists.
“He gave an outstanding speech, framing the global megatrends…he did a great job,” Luxon later told media.
The slick, smoothly-run summit showed New Zealand can put on a show. No doubt investors have come away impressed.
But now is when the money hits the literal road.
Make your choice. Roads, a harbour crossing, courthouses, docks, prisons, schools. It’s all there, ripe for the picking.
Kiwis will have to get used to more tolls. More congestion pricing. Australians at the summit said they’re well used to spending $100 a week on tolls to cross through the city. Kiwis too can contemplate that for their future.
The Government really did throw everything at the summit. At that gala dinner, a minister sat at every table, providing attendees with direct access.
Labour praised the connections they too were able to make through one-on-one meetings. While admitting if they were to hold an investment summit, the style would be very different to Luxon’s event. Instead of ministers rolling out power point presentations, Labour would take potential funders to see actual projects.
As a Spanish construction billionaire told media, he’d only once in his very long career seen an event like this. Impressed, he said he would be highly likely to continue to invest in New Zealand.
Most attendees seemed thrilled with the bipartisan approach taken, pleased to hear from Labour on what are some pretty clear boundaries on what they do and don’t support.
Partnerships to build roads, sure. Privatising services or operations of public facilities, no way.
Barbara Edmonds struck the right tone on stage, although she didn’t seem as equivocal in her media stand up afterwards, with answers to questions over at what point contracts would be torn up or reluctantly kept in place vague.
As always, the devil is in the detail. And investors agree. As overheard, with one investor talking to a minister “very interested. We’ll wait to see the EOI [expressions of interest].”
Behind the scenes, there’s no doubt the Prime Minister piled the pressure on organisers to get this right. They pulled it off.
Perhaps the best sign of the success is the news late on Friday that Italian company that’s worked on the $1.6 billion dollar interceptor project – that planned leave Aotearoa once that job has done, has now decided to stay.
One of the big problems for the infrastructure industry has been the stop-start nature of projects, forcing experienced workers to leave the country in search of stable work. Bipartisan assurances help send a clear message there’s a future if they stay.
Will Luxon come away happy? Absolutely. And energised, ready to hit India with that same sales pitch, round of meetings, handshakes, and another really big deal hopefully waiting in the wings.
