Employers often worry about legal risks or what happens if things don’t work out. But those risks exist with any employee. And the evidence, both here and internationally, shows that disabled employees are often among the most loyal, motivated and committed in the workforce.

Infrastructure, more than most policy areas, is profoundly political. Politicians know this instinctively; that’s why they turn up in hard hats and high-vis when cutting ribbons. Infrastructure projects tell a visible story about who they are and what they stand for.

We can’t keep treating housing like our national retirement plan, because what good is your family home doubling in value if your kids can’t afford to live anywhere near you?

We love to complain about New Zealand — the rent, the wages, the price of whatever the media is fixated on at the time — but stacked against the places we flee to in our 20s and 30s, it quietly holds its own.

We should be thinking about this new Government spending as a big opportunity to effectively involve New Zealand industry and build our own private-sector defence industry capability. This should be done in such a way as to enable Kiwi businesses to engage, not just with our New Zealand Defence Force upgrades, but also those that will be taking place in neighbours and allies such as Australia, Singapore and further afield.

It is instructive to note that on the day President Trump announced his tariffs against Mexico and Canada, every single major US business organisation made public statements opposing the tariffs and proposing alternatives. Those statements were constructive, sober and based on evidence.

The question now is how can the Government and businesses collaborate over the next year to transform this hopeful confidence into tangible results - faster business growth, improved infrastructure, more jobs, and increased prosperity?

Many countries that compete with us for investment are busy developing industrial policies that heavily favour their domestic sectors. They are subsidising investment in things like green technology, electric vehicles, hi-tech manufacturing, digital, and much more besides.

In the face of very difficult conditions, our small business community in New Zealand - tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and the Kiwis who work for them - has once again proved its resilience. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the people who take on a small business and make it work. They are collectively our largest employers and they provide many of the things that we rely on day to day.

This politicisation of infrastructure, often based on purely ideological grounds, is one of the prime reasons why we have such a lack of consensus around the types of infrastructure that we build and how it will be paid for.

Businesses will therefore want a government response that helps pull New Zealand out of the doldrums quickly, and sets New Zealand back on a path to continued prosperity. In this context, businesses are welcoming the Prime Minister’s statement that the Budget will contain no surprises.

Exporting happens because an individual business takes the risk to invest in a new market or a new product or service. What Government can do to help is to create an enabling and supportive business environment to encourage appropriate risk taking and innovation.

As the new Government nears the end of its first hundred days on March 6, the business community is responding positively, with a question mark over the future. Much has been made about how the hundred-day plan is mainly about stopping things.

We're back recapping the biggest (and perhaps only) news of the week - what's in the coalition agreement?

We're back recapping the biggest (and perhaps only) news of the week - what's in the coalition agreement?

We're back recapping the biggest (and perhaps only) news of the week - what's in the coalition agreement?

So far, New Zealanders’ focus has been on the details of the new Government’s coalition agreements and who new ministers will be. But it's important when thinking about what business will want from this new Government to first take a broader, long-term view.

We're back recapping the biggest (and perhaps only) news of the week - what's in the coalition agreement?

Our immigration policy swings around from being highly permissive to quite restrictive, depending on the political mood. Frequent changes to our pathways to residency and citizenship for new migrants and their families have often been criticised by migrants and potential migrants to New Zealand.

Catch up with Phil, Byron and Maddy for their post election break down.