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2001 Conference - Rotorua
Rt Hon Helen Clark, Prime Minister
Address to the Regional Development Conference
Wednesday 28 November 2001
It is good to be back in Rotorua and it is especially good to be
back for this Conference on Regional Economic Development and I want
to start by commending Jim Anderton as the Minister of Economic
Development for setting up the Conference and getting everyone
along. There is a lot to be talking about in regional economic
development at the moment. There is a ferment of activity, we see
the numbers out and about around New Zealand, and we can see already
a lot of the regional economic activity is delivering concrete
results.
I think the purpose of a Conference like this is to share ideas
and experiences, what works and what doesn't. A lot of the issues
faced across the regions are common, work with each other, how they
are being dealt with in different places. The Conference is also
about building networks, along the line of sharing ideas and
information. Also hearing about overseas practices and ideas and I
hear there was an inspirational speech this morning from across the
ditch. I must say having had the opportunity over the years to visit
regions in other countries which are looking at regional strategies
like the UK and the US, I've always come back to New Zealand
absolutely confident that we have regional best practice in our own
country as well and we've got a lot to talk about overseas as to how
to get our regions moving.
I think finally the Conference is also an opportunity to showcase
just what is happening with regional economic development to the
world public.
Now the government readily acknowledges that strategising and
acting on roots of economic development is not new at the regional
level. What is fresh I think, is the approach that we are taking,
our interest in it, and our desire to see all regions actively
involved in the process of regional development.
In the years when government opted out of the economy, many
regions just got on and did it. They drew their strategies up, local
and regional governments came together with local business and iwi.
Central government obviously had a role to play with agencies out in
the regions and I must say that a complaint I often heard over the
years from local government was that central government agencies had
gone and done their own thing and weren't as well co-ordinated in
what was happening in the region as was desirable.
The fresh approach that we've brought as a Labour Alliance
government has been to involve the state in the economy, in the
community, in regional centres, and that fresh approach has direct
and positive implications for regional development.
I see New Zealand in it's modern history as having moved from one
strength to another, accepting the carry on that brought our economy
to our knees in the early 1980s, but then we went to the extent of
hands off and that didn't present sustainable economic growth
either. Government opted out, a level playing field was created, but
few came to play on it and I think there really was a large gap
where leadership from government should have been.
We think that the nation needs a clear vision and an action plan
to get there. Our vision goals are clear, we want New Zealand to
hoist itself back to the OECD ratings and we ask why shouldn't we be
up there in the top half of the economic indicators, because we
already are on most of the social indicators. You look at New
Zealand's high levels of participation at all levels of education,
our interconnectedness with the internet. We know these are
indicators of economic prosperity. We have to lever off the many
things that we have going for us, and what we have going for us is
an educated and skilled workforce, a pretty sophisticated
infrastructure with some investment still to come in areas like
broadband which are so vital. I think what we have going for us now
is a commitment with government business community partnerships to
have a secure and stable place to live and invest in. Hasn't it been
interesting to see the turn around in migration statistics and the
terrific interest in coming to live in New Zealand, either as an
expat kiwi, or people from off shore, after 11 September, when
suddenly what might have been perceived as a holiday is suddenly a
very safe and desirable place to be. We do have a fantastic physical
advantage here, we are a cultural and dynamic community and we are
socially increasingly tolerant and all those characteristics count
for a lot. The challenge is to turn it now into greater economic
advantage in each of our regions and for the country as a whole.
The goals should be building a modern up market high value
economy, driven by the educated skill of our people, our science,
our research, our technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. I
think the New Zealand of the future is going to see more global
oriented companies operating off the New Zealand base and developing
small clusters around it. Pete Hodgson will have more to say about
clusters when he speaks. It will be a competitive oriented economy
with higher standards of living and I speak on behalf of our
government, and can also say we are looking to build a society which
is inclusive and participatory, knowing that the rising tide must
lift all its boats.
Our approach has been to push smart active government. The
government can be the catalyst for an innovative economy. But the
role of the state is in leadership, in facilitation, in
co-ordination, in brokerage, in partnership and in funding if that's
appropriate. And with the government interacting with the regional
economy you will see all those roles being carried out. The very
name of the regional partnership programme conveys the way central
governments will actually work with the regions, supporting regions
to find their pathway forward.
We are being pragmatic in funding part of our own initiatives
like ?????????in Southland, we've been
facilitating on Hobsonville and Whangarei to bring major leisure
marine companies to town. We're in the business of making things
happen by working along side and getting all the government agencies
to work together to that end.
If we survey the economy right now there is no reason to get
depressed about where New Zealand is heading. We look at that growth
rate of 3.5 per cent in the year to June well outperforming our
trading partners. We look at unemployment which is at it's lowest in
thirteen years. We look at the current account deficit, down to an
eight year low now. We look at the trade balance being positive from
July for the first time in six years. We look at the turn around of
the migration statistics and the confidence figures. I take some
heart in seeing they haven't dropped further since the September 11
shock - I can see they are in a "wait and see" mode and as
we wait and see most forecasters will have the US economy very
unstable for next year and that's with the whole world economy.
What's been going for us is good farm seasons. As the regional
economies know, the prices have been agreed and we've had a very
good export friendly dollar but we all know there is more we can do
and that's why you're here looking at ways of exploiting comparative
advantage for the regions and that is why at central government we
look at what is the compatible advantage, where can we grow faster,
what are the new opportunities there.
I think we're in a very exciting phase in the economy at the
moment. We are seeing so much of what we are doing move up the value
chain. Tourism, positioning itself at the top of the market. What
were the old commodity interests in industry, and the primary sector
moving up market, up the value chain, across agriculture, forestry
and fisheries. Our horticulture is very science driven, and then
that whole third tier of emerging export industry, fashion and
design, marine, agriculture, niche manufacturing and information and
communications technology based industries, biotechnology, and with
the wide range of markets which we have, I think as a country, we
are now limited only by our imagination and clearly there are plenty
of opportunities out there for us.
The role of the government; we have to make the point that we
have the foundations that will drive that continued project of
moving the economy up market. Education is so fundamental and we
have put a lot of participation in small children and early
childhood, focussing on literacy and numeracy in schools. Often I
find employers, when talking about skill shortage, they are talking
about something as basic as literacy not being available in the
workforce and there is varying work being done on digital
opportunity within the schools, a big new vision in tertiary
education going on, and a lot of activity in the schooling area
which is really critical in moving the economy forward.
With immigration we've endeavoured to turn around the policy so
that it's more like a talent bank, recognising that our people might
be trying to market other people's markets, and we're going to poach
in these areas ???.. The immigration system is one of the best
and brightest as well.
We are also putting as much as we can into science research and
development which is so critical. But then to make another point,
where our country has missed out is in not providing the nursery
environment and the support for the commercialisation of really good
ideas in New Zealand. With Pete Hodgson's involvement in the science
and technology portfolio we have seen for the first time in New
Zealand the creation of a swag of business incubators that exist.
The neutering of start up business is a great idea, moving along the
conveyor belt, and getting New Zealand with invested funds in place
with money from the government provided for, moving people along for
the various schemes that have been developed under Jim's leadership
with Energy and Industry New Zealand. We've got Technology New
Zealand to support the companies in that area and then at the end of
the conveyor belt what Trade New Zealand does with it's support for
people going out into this ?????.. market. I think there
are some very very exciting things happening.
We have been looking again at foreign direct investment and it is
targeted in our country, but I think we would be statistic if we
thought that the model like the Irish one could just be transplanted
here. Ireland's economic transformation is built around a very
strong fixed foreign investment. What we are now seeing is that
capital is attracted with a ????????and when it does
it has those same issues.
What is critical to moving our whole economy is that we use some
more of our own start up and stay and be productive in New Zealand;
that is where a lot of our emphasis has to go.
If I come back then to partnerships, we need a lot of people
working together taking our regions forward and our country forward
as a whole. At the regional level, it's so vital that we're pulling
together with our central government agencies, with the regional
agencies completely in the process and that everyone agrees with
what is happening in the local business community, in Maoridom, and
in education and research.
If I could say a word about Maoridom, one of the great
excitements for me is seeing the emergence of Maori as major
economic players in this country. I've just taken a trade delegation
up to Latin America, Shane Johns (spelling) came representing the
Fisheries Commission, only about half the fisheries are quoted in
New Zealand. A very very big economic trade. You go to the South
Island, Ngai Tahu I think is now the biggest corporate in the South
Island. What I think we are seeing here, is a huge role for Maoridom
and it's going to be to the benefit of average New Zealanders.
At the national level we're hoping to operate the same way as
what you are doing in the regional level, pulling everyone together.
We know that in the 21st century, governments have to work in
partnership with different sectors to realise the goals that we set.
The labour government partnership has been hard to design. There has
been a tremendous amount of interaction with business and that's
important to the whole country. Working relationships established
with Maoridom for economic and social developments. Working
relationships with our non governmental organisations for social
development and I think partnership is going to be the way forward
and I think in the twenty first century our national and regional
visions are going to be achieved through pulling together, not
pulling apart. What we know is that a strong national economy is
built on a network of strong regional economies and I believe that
on the basis of what a lot of regions have been doing, not just in
the last ten years, if you go back ten or fifteen years, a lot of
our regions have been plugging away very very hard with the vision
of regional development and I think that the contribution we can
bring is the active and important interest of government in getting
behind that process and to be standing with regions to reach your
dreams and that in turn means a stronger New Zealand.
So thank you for the interest you have shown in coming. The
Conference has to be with a bundle of ideas and sharing experiences.
I think we are all going to go away the stronger for it and start to
speed up economic development in New Zealand.
Thank you very much.
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