“It’s important to always remember that when there is a loud cough or sneeze around the world, we feel the ripples dramatically,” Willis said. “Therefore, I have maintained a prudent debt position in my financial strategy, because we know from past shocks that we will need to borrow to weather those periods.”
Her opponents, including the New Zealand Taxpayers Union, argue she has yet to actually reduce the debt. They say she has not yet built a prudent financial buffer.
They are not in her position.
“The biggest shock we’ve all had to endure over the past 12 months has been the uncertainty of tariffs and trade on Liberation Day,” she said in a recent Beehive interview. “Some of the dire predictions that the IMF and others have been making about how that will affect global growth have yet to materialize.
“I still maintain all the time that we actually need to continue to maintain the free flow of trade, because without that, we’re going to see a slowdown next year or the year after. That’s going to happen.”
“So we should do whatever we can to further that cause.”
Willis ranked highly in this year’s Mood Herald CEO Survey. Like her boss, Christopher Lacson, she was not ranked in the top 10 Cabinet members in the opinion of survey respondents.
CEOs have sent a clear message to the finance minister. In other words, the company will stick to its growth-promoting path, sharpen its results, and come up with a long-term vision that will win back investors.
To her credit, Willis heard the message. She practices an open-door approach, and new employees in her office are actively engaged in business engagement strategies. Feedback from my own business associates suggests this is appreciated.
Here’s what Open AI inferred from our talk when it comes to evaluating more targeted modes of operation:
Open door policy: The government actively encourages business leaders to share insights, criticisms and suggestions, and values informal and candid conversations to bring real issues to the surface.
Regular and diverse engagement: Engagement takes place in both formal and informal settings, including one-on-ones, roundtables, and peer-commissioned outreach, to gather a wide range of perspectives rather than simply “filtered” or incremental inputs.
Listening Mode: Emphasis is placed on ‘listening mode’. This means truly accepting business and stakeholder feedback, rather than simply presenting the government’s view. This feedback loop is used to refine and adjust reforms in real time.
Building trust through responsiveness: By making board feedback accessible and visible, the government aims to build trust, reduce opposition, and foster a collaborative atmosphere that supports reform.
That’s Otter AI for you. Bland.
Willis’ direct comments speak for themselves.
“Being able to talk to the business community is something I’ve always valued throughout my career,” she told me. “Having a one-on-one conversation in a casual setting will give you much more candid feedback than in a formal setting.
“So I’ve certainly set aside time for those interactions and have asked some of my colleagues in the business to provide those opportunities. I’m going to be doing quite a lot over the next few months in terms of making myself available.”
On the criticism of “Board Mood”: “My impression is that this is just a really important message: “Let’s spend less time showing up and talking, and more time showing up and listening.”
“I think of it as ‘using listening mode.'”
At last week’s International Business Awards, Willis gave an upbeat speech praising the dynamism of many of the award winners and finalists.
She was well received.
She acknowledged that economic recovery has been slower than expected. This raises questions about whether current reforms will produce measurable improvements in employment, confidence and investment fast enough. In particular, a general election is coming up in 2026.
Long-standing issues such as productivity, low capital intensity, and regulatory complexity require sustained multi-year efforts. Without continued focus, there is a risk that progress will stall or that reforms will not move fast enough to address root causes.
she is optimistic In her opinion, reform is long overdue.
Mr. Willis has faced strong corporate opposition and resistance from CEOs in some sectors where he has sought to introduce increased competition, such as banks and supermarkets. She says maintaining a collaborative and balanced approach is important, but also difficult when faced with resistance from established interests.
When it comes to cost efficiency, she points out that public services, particularly the back office, are growing at a disproportionate rate compared to the frontline services they need to provide, and at a disproportionate rate compared to New Zealand’s overall population and workforce.
Mr Willis says the public service is rising to the challenge. “They say to me, ‘We need to be more digital, we need to use AI more, we need to be more efficient.’
“We want to become a leaner, better machine, and we need to leverage financial means to continue that progress.”
Communicating the government’s fiscal strategy is not easy. Particularly heading into an election year, some opposition parties will argue that the government should take on more debt to spur economic growth.
“Politicians don’t have a lot of time to act like debt is free,” Willis said. “As you know, the interest on our debt is currently $9.5 billion.”
She points out that this is roughly equivalent to the $9 billion in new spending the government has committed to over the next four years as part of its $12 billion National Defense Capability Plan.
The plan would increase New Zealand’s defense spending from just over 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) to just over 2% over the next eight years.
Government reform cannot simply be reduced to a bumper sticker that activates voter opinion.
For example, proposals to introduce more asset recycling are commonly translated by National’s opponents as ‘selling the family silver’, conveniently ignoring the other side of the coin – the proposal to reinvest the proceeds.
We should use AI more. We need to be more efficient. We want to become leaner, better machines, and we need to leverage our financial means to continue that progress.
Mr Willis also says the government needs to be clear about what New Zealanders stand to gain if changes are made to their spending and saving profiles. “That was actually part of our message about tax cuts.
“We’re making New Zealanders’ bank accounts tax-free, but we’re also very transparent about the trade-offs we’ve made in terms of cost savings.”
Current polling suggests that communication efforts need to be stepped up.
Disclosure: This report focuses on AI. AI is a tool I’ve wholeheartedly embraced since I smashed both shoulders in an Uber accident, and I used it when I sat down with Nicola Willis at the Beehive two weeks ago.
