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2001 Conference - Rotorua
Opening Address
Hon Jim Anderton
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Economic Development
Minister for Industry and Regional Development
9:00 am
28 November 2001
Rotorua Convention Centre
Start with four minute Industry New Zealand video
New Zealand?s economic direction is changing.
Over the next two days all of us here have the opportunity to
take economic and regional development to the forefront of New
Zealand?s economic agenda.
Regional economic growth is an essential part of where we need to
head in the next few years.
The work of all of us in this room is creating this springboard
for growth for all New Zealanders. We need to ensure we use the head
start set by regions and not only create as many businesses and jobs
as we can but build high growth small-medium New Zealand enterprises
into large ones of international standards.
This conference is significant.
It is the first Government sponsored regional development
conference since 1969.
That?s a long time ago. In those days you could get a regional
development conference, a bridge, a rail line and still have enough
change from $10,000 to fund feature films. Well not quite. But there
has been a huge cost of doing nothing in regional development over
the last 30 years.
This is the largest regional development conference in New
Zealand?s history.
There are over 600 people here.
163 Councils are represented, 77 iwi and other Maori
organisations, and a large number of economic development agencies,
trusts, community groups and other non government agencies. As well
as that we have a number of representatives from Government agencies
and departments.
When we were discussing this conference originally, officials
said they thought we should aim for 300 delegates. When I suggested
500 there was some concern.
We reached 500 delegates three weeks ago.
The reason so many of you are here is because of what this
conference can achieve for you as well as your communities.
I have been on 44 programmed regional visits and I have been on a
large number of trips to other communities, towns and cities.
Around the room today I see a number of people I have met over
the last two years in my role as Minister for Economic, Industry and
Regional Development.
New Zealand is not a large country.
While in other nations they talk of six degrees of separation I
understand here in New Zealand we only have two.
Everyone knows someone who was interviewed by Paul Holmes.
That is unless you are an Alliance member, in which case you don?t
know anyone who hasn?t talked to Holmes and the Alliance has a
permanent dressing room all to itself.
In meeting many of you and your colleagues in the regions the
need for this conference was clear.
Kaumatua, iwi leaders, business leaders, mayors, councillors and
other community leaders. People from Northland to Southland, East
Coast to West Coast were saying we need an opportunity to get
together and share what is working and what isn?t.
They said we need to look at how we can work together across
regions, we need to hear how you are dealing with your current
growth and to barriers that could prevent further growth.
Today in this room we have a great depth of experience - between
you there must be hundreds of years of experience in regional and
economic development. The EDANZ members here today collectively
probably have hundreds of years experience, or at least feel like
they do.
You are the strength and the future of regional development -
your ideas and experiences are what we will all learn from.
The regional development agenda and the Regional Partnerships
Programme are based on research on what worked and what didn?t.
But we are always looking to improve what we are doing.
Based on comments you have made and what has worked I will be
seeking to improve the Regional Partnerships Programme in the next
budget.
A year into regional partnerships it is clear we need to provide
greater encouragement and facilitation for the development of
clusters in regions.
We also need to better coordinate the range of government
business assistance measures in the regions, particularly to high
growth companies
I am also interested to see how we can promote a closer
relationship between our industry strategies and regional strategies
through the regional partnerships programme.
During the 1990s the Alliance consulted with people in New
Zealand, and we looked overseas for inspiration. During that time I
met many of you.
The key Alliance document was called Partnership 2000 and it
promised regional development funds, partnerships with regional
development agencies, and regional development strategies.
Labour has a credit card of promises which they have met, and we
had an 80 page booklet. It?s taken the Alliance a little longer
but we are most of the way toward the promises we made.
We identified the need to have social, economic and
environmentally sustainable regional development.
Although often social and environmental outcomes are harder to
measure than economic gains we need to work for all three.
The key result of a successful development policy is the creation
of richer networks which generate opportunities and options while
enhancing our way of life and our environment.
It was from this viewpoint that the Alliance looked at the state
of the regions during the 1990s with considerable concern.
One of the features of a stagnant economy is that people tend to
focus on the past and to find reasons for not doing things. There is
a reluctance to innovate.
Another feature is the lack of connections within the economy.
Companies, regions and individuals tend to end up working alone and
isolated from other parts of the economy.
Over time options and opportunities become more scarce. Things
close. Hospitals and schools close and services such as banks and
petrol companies follow them. The Government started the closures
and the businesses followed.
In New Zealand we had a period of stagnation in which people had
their heads down and were simply trying to survive.
There were some good things happening and many of you were
responsible for innovative community development.
Economic development agencies have been doing sterling work in
fostering economic development remaining alive and well but with a
partner missing ? central government.
Iwi and Maori authorities have for many years been taking the
initiative for the economic development of their people.
Some parts of central government were also involved, provided it
didn?t threaten the hands-off regime, including the Community
Employment Group, the Department of Internal Affairs, and Work and
Income.
Regional development works best when people take charge of their
own futures and do the work themselves, but we need to work together
in partnership.
No one person or organisation can turn around the cycle of
stagnation which we faced. Government couldn?t do it, development
agencies couldn?t do it alone, Councils couldn?t and I don?t
think Iwi could either.
The work of the last two years has been to bring people together
and for central Government to take our place at the table.
This means bringing the whole of Government to work to assist you
in your regional development efforts.
Customs have a display in the foyer outlining how they can help
you and control our borders at the same time. One of their
initiatives is to have staff in the regions to help companies import
and export.
What has been a surprise with all the regional development
initiatives is the speed with which the regions have picked up the
challenge.
The regions are now the powerhouses of economic growth in this
country. Your considerable efforts have been supported by the low
New Zealand dollar and good international prices for dairy products
and meat.
According to the National Bank, rural New Zealand grew by 2.8% in
the year to June - urban regions recorded 2.0% growth.
Southland and the West Coast were the two fastest growing regions
in the country. Southland, 8 per cent the Coast 5.1 per cent.
The West Coast has had uninterrupted growth for almost two years
now.
If I started to go through all the successes I have seen in your
regions we could spend the next two days here, I?d enjoy it but, I?m
not going to do that. We need to hear your stories.
You are the people who are making the difference in your regions
and communities.
This Conference has a number of themes that have come from the
regions themselves, from many of you here.
One issue which has arisen is leadership. Vicki Buck will speak
on this, based on her experiences in Canterbury and elsewhere.
The Local Heroes workshop with Amohaere Houkamau from the
Tairawhiti Taskforce, Ngahau and Debbie Davis from Moerewa, and Neil
Taylor from Napier will provide insights on the importance of
leadership and supporting local leadership.
Another key theme is collaboration. This is a key component of
Regional Partnerships.
Peter Kenyon from Australia will be challenging us with his ideas
about communities working in collaboration, many of them based on
his experiences here in New Zealand working with many of you here.
Other examples of collaboration include:
- The Tairawhiti Development Taskforce, the Northland Strategy
(business, iwi, local government and central government
involved, and the focus groups).
- Clusters: Nelson, cultural tourism; Hawkes Bay, wine trail.
A third theme is entrepreneurship.
Ernesto Sirolli will speak on harnessing the passion of
individuals. Gordon McVie from Scotland will speak on his work on
developing enterprising cultures.
New Zealanders are among the most innovative and enterprising
people in the world. A recent survey ranked New Zealanders second in
the world for entrepreneurial activity behind Mexico. Maori ranked
as highly entrepreneurial.
Today I am announcing another 90 Enterprise Awards Scheme taking
the total number to 361 since October 2000 representing just under
$3 million.
In the foyer we have an exhibition to showcase the work in the
regions. I encourage you to check out all the exhibits, see what is
going on in the other regions.
The exhibition will be open during the whole conference and
people will be available to discuss the exhibits during lunch and
other breaks.
This is your conference.
I challenge you to make the most of it.
I want to see you go home and take what you have learnt and add
it to your existing successes.
New Zealanders deserve an economy that is booming and it can only
do that if the regions are succeeding.
New Zealanders are the only people who will guarantee the future
for New Zealanders. We can learn from others, borrow their money if
we have to, and use their technology, but we need to do it for
ourselves.
Our future as a nation is dependent on this on us ? no one
else.
Our future is dependent on you to make it happen.
Thank you for being here.
I look forward to working with you over the next two days and in
the months and years to come.
Here?s to a successful conference and a world class successful
New Zealand. If we believe in ourselves and want it to happen then
it will.
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