The government wants to encourage more New Zealand businesses to supply it with goods and services and plans to change its procurement rules to help further its policies.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is seeking feedback on the proposed rules which cover about $41 billion in annual purchases of goods and services from third-party suppliers, or about 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
“These changes reflect government’s decision to prioritise a set of outcomes for agencies to leverage from procurement, achieving greater collective impact,” says John Ivil, MBIE’s general manager of procurement and property.
In October last year, the government agreed in principle that its procurement contracts could be more explicitly leveraged to support its economic strategy and broader outcomes.
These policies include increasing New Zealand businesses’ access to government procurement, increasing the size and skill level of the domestic construction sector workforce and providing employment opportunities for targeted groups.
The government wants the new rules to improve conditions for workers and to future-proof the ability of New Zealand business to trade.
It also wants the rules to support the transition to a net-zero emissions economy and to help the government meet its waste reduction target.
Consultation on the new rules will close on March 5. Feedback will be submitted to Cabinet for final decisions during the June quarter.
