Peter Harris

Peter is an economist who specialises in public policy, the labour market, and primary industry issues.

He was the economic advisor to the Minister of Finance between 1999 and 2003. And during that period he was involved in extensive discussions (with senior executives of private companies, across most sectors and regions) on the factors impacting on company performance.

A former university lecturer, Peter was also employed in the trade union movement for more than 20 years, first with the PSA and then as Director of the Technical Services Division of the CTU. He has overseen the development of employment relations policy and education programmes, and was responsible for an evaluation of current employment relations practices.

Peter has been on the Agriculture Strategy Council, an inaugural member of the Board of the NZ Universities Academic Audit Unit, a Director of PSIS, and involved in the Ministerial Task Force on the Meat Industry.  More recently he has been contracted by the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board to work on its Agribusiness, and Export Transport Infrastructure Projects, and the Smart New Zealand Enterprises study.

He chaired the working party that developed the proposal for the recently introduced State Sector Retirement Superannuation Scheme. And he chaired the Ministerial Savings Product Working Group, who reported on options to introduce generic work-based savings products. This report was the founding document for what evolved into the KiwiSaver scheme.

He has extensive contacts and networks in the New Zealand commercial sector, is a member of the Electricity Commission, and was an Associate Member of the Commerce Commission until the end of 2007.