New Zealand Stock Exchange chief executive Mark Weldon has been chosen to chair the Government's employment summit next month.
Prime Minister John Key says the Government will not bring any new ideas of its own to the forum, but will listen to those put forward by employers.
He says the Government will invite the "coalface" of the New Zealand economy to the summit. That includes banks, chief executives and small and medium businesses.
Mr Key also says the Government expects to announce next month which infrastructure projects will be brought forward as part of plans to fend off the economic downturn. Officials have come up with a list of projects that can be quickly advanced, he says.
Economy could remain at standstill
At a meeting of senior ministers on Thursday, held to discuss the global economic crisis and its impact on New Zealand,Treasury advised that the economy could remain at a standstill this year.
Ministers were told that circumstances had deteriorated since the last update, in December; and with international growth slower than expected, Mr Key says, the unemployment rate could rise to 7% in the next financial year and to 7.5% by 2011.
But the Prime Minister says the Government will not sit around while that happens. As well as the employment summit, he will announce new initiatives for small-to-medium businesses in a speech next month.