The new Prime Minister isn't ruling out further changes to immigration settings to help ease employers' labour shortage problems.
The issue was top of the agenda for business leaders who met Chris Hipkins in Auckland on Thursday.
A perfect afternoon to enjoy a final drink on the Beehive's ninth floor. Jacinda Ardern looked relaxed posing for photos with staffers farewelling their now former boss.
Meanwhile, the new boss wasted no time in rolling out the charm offensive to Auckland business leaders.
"I wanted to send a message that the Government is open for business. We want to work with the business community," Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.
Hipkins said the business leaders he met with made it clear what they wanted the Government to do to help them.
"They laid down some issues they would like to see the Government working on. It would be no surprise that labour shortages were at the top of that list," Hipkins said.
Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges said labour shortages are an issue hitting employers across the economy.
"There is a clear sense from businesses they would like to see movement on the immigration settings to make New Zealand a more attractive place for new migrants," Bridges said.
And Hipkins had clearly given immigration settings some thought.
"I certainly wouldn't rule out further changes. The conversation I had with the business community though was about making sure we're getting the balance right between activating the New Zealand workforce and getting Kiwis into work," he said.
Tuckerbox bakery owner Tony Keo said he is forced to work long shifts because he can't get workers.
"We start from 4am and finish at 7pm. It's a very long time," Keo said.
The event on Thursday was hosted by Bridges, who didn't shy away from a slight dig at Hipkins' predecessor.
"We've got a Prime Minister who's listening, who gets the importance of business as an engine room for the economy and New Zealand and is going to engage," Bridges said.
In his first outing as Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins came straight from his meeting with Auckland business bosses to Hoani Waititi Marae in west Auckland to attend the tangi of veteran Māori activist Titewhai Harawira.
He was welcomed with fellow Labour MPs and carried a message from Ardern, a memory of the time she spent with Harawira each year at Waitangi.
"I hoped that what I had done in the past 12 months would have been good enough because I knew that if she didn't think so I would soon be told," the new Prime Minister said.
Hipkins is aware it's now his own performance under review as a businesses leaders and Kiwis wait for him to walk the talk.
