Regional New Zealand has led our country out of the global financial crisis with almost every region showing strong growth, and most with a lower unemployment rate than Auckland.
Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay in the North Island; and Nelson-Tasman, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland in the South experienced growth above the national average in the five years from 2008. The unemployment rate in the South Island is just 3.9 per cent.
For New Zealand to build a more productive and competitive economy, we need all our regions to achieve to their potential. That’s precisely what the Government’s Business Growth Agenda is all about. It focuses on the six key drivers businesses need to thrive – capital markets, infrastructure, skills, export markets, innovation, and natural resources.
And that’s why we’re working across the country doing things like building the Roads of National Significance and accelerating regional roading projects, putting in ultra-fast and rural broadband, and encouraging water storage and new irrigation projects. National cycle trails around the country are helping boost our tourism industry.
We’re working alongside business to invest in primary growth partnership projects to get a better return from what we sell to the world, and we’re encouraging oil and gas exploration.
A skilled workforce is a key to future prosperity so we’re supporting the development of skills with the likes of the youth guarantee, apprenticeships, and encouraging the study of science and technology subjects.
Callaghan Innovation, our high-tech HQ, is helping businesses turn ideas into internationally-marketable products and services more quickly and successfully. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has just established a new regional investment attraction programme to encourage more international firms to invest in New Zealand’s regional economies and create more jobs.
Fourteen regional investment profiles, launched this week (8 July), will be used by the Government, NZTE, and regional Economic Development Agencies to identify investment opportunities where there is a regional advantage, to help guide investors more quickly and effectively to those regions where opportunities are strongest.
This follows the announcement of another $212 million investment to accelerate 14 important regional state highway projects across the country.
These latest roading programmes are a continuation of our strong programme to build a brighter future across regional New Zealand.
Authorised by Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi MP, 1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland