Source: New Zealand Government
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone.
It’s a pleasure to be here today, to feel your energy and the sense of possibility and opportunity in this room. Whether you’ve travelled from the other side of the world or took on Auckland traffic to be here, your presence matters.
I’m here today as a proud New Zealander, one of a team of Government Ministers determined to make much more of the enormous potential of this incredible country. To:
- improve the quality of peoples’ lives
- deliver better public services and
- create great jobs for our kids;
That last point is especially important for me, on a personal level: I’m a mother of four children aged 9, 12, 13 and 15. In this world of abundant choices for them, in terms of where they take their skills, where they take their lives, I want them – and all young Kiwis – to see this as a country of aspiration, and a place they should choose to make their home. I entered politics with a very strong conviction that strong leadership and good policy are needed to make this a place that the world’s talent will continue to make their home.
I serve as our Prime Minister as both our Finance Minister and our Minister for Economic Growth.
As Finance Minister, I take responsibility for managing our Government’s books. So yes, I am the bean-counter, and I am always on a perpetual mission to drive more value from the spending we do and the investments we make. I am the Ministerial colleague who takes pride in scrutinising the dollars, in reading through the business cases, and having the courage to say ‘no’ when proposals don’t stack up, and in saying ‘yes’ to innovations and partnerships that enhance the financial discipline and reliable delivery of vital public infrastructure.
I also have the privilege of being our Minister for Economic Growth, helping lead our Government’s growth agenda. Growth is central to our mission and purpose: not only is it our most powerful tool for strengthening our public finances and flattering those books of mine, it’s also the means by which we will create better choices, higher living standards and more financial security for our people.
Why should you invest in New Zealand?
New Zealand is incredibly well positioned for growth. We are an undervalued stock. We have a stable democracy, with strong institutions and enduring respect for the rule of law, that has survived over successive changes of government. We have safe borders, extraordinary natural resources, a temperate climate, strong trading relationships, an open, innovative culture – and you’ll see that open culture on display these next two days and expect to have some candid and frank conversations – that’s how we roll. We have talented people.
Let me paint that picture for you.
Our stable democracy
We ranked first on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index the last time the bank issued the index in 2019.
We rank second on the Economist Group’s Democracy Index and according to Transparency International we are the fourth least corrupt country in the world. This is a good, reliable place to do business.
We have safe borders, good international relations and extensive trading networks.
Of course, it is somewhat simpler to have safe borders when you are surrounded by ocean, as we are. Our nearest big neighbour is 1500km away. We have worked hard, over many decades, to establish diplomatic relations with a large number of countries in all regions of the world.
In 2024 we exported more than $101 billion worth of goods and services.
Our largest export markets are China, the US and Australia, but we export to 230 nations in total.
Across successive governments, we have weaved a constellation of close trading and economic relationships that give our exporters access to a broad range of markets on competitive terms.
Our main good exports are dairy products, tourism, meat, wool and forestry, but our exports extend to world-beating digital services, advanced manufacturing and exciting creative industries.
We have strong institutional settings
It should give you confidence that while elections may change things, many things will remain.
Over successive decades and Governments, we have worked hard to put in place best-practice institutional frameworks: an independent central bank with a remit for low and stable inflation – the first inflation-targeting regime in the world – and a floating exchange rate.
Our legal system, based on the British model, upholds the rule of law with an independent judiciary.
Our government accounts are prepared according to high international standards and are released in a timely fashion.
Stability is our middle name.
We have sound government accounts
Our Public Finance Act requires the government of the day to be transparent about both its short- and long-term fiscal objectives and to maintain prudent debt levels and report against these measures.
We have relatively low levels of government debt compared to other countries, with the IMF’s most recent Fiscal Monitor ranking us having relatively the 26th lowest level of public debt when compared to the 33 advanced countries they assess.
The Government is working hard to put net core Crown debt on a downward trajectory, balancing the need to ensure are resilient to and future economic shocks that may come our way while making room for the prudent investments needed to drive future productivity.
Labour market flexibility
We have a flexible labour market.
OECD comparisons rank us highly in terms of flexibility for hiring temporary workers, and for settings that allow high labour flows between jobs and industries.
Between 2000 and 2017 about one fifth of New Zealand workers switched jobs each year and about half of those job switches involved a change of industry.
This flexibility helps labour productivity by making it easier for workers to move from less productive to more productive firms, or to jobs that better match their skills.
We are well poised to adapt our workforce to the new industries and new challenges that are right upon us as a world, and that will continue to arise in the coming decades.
Similarly, our rates of long-term unemployment are low, and while we did not escape the post-Covid downturn in economic activity experienced throughout the world, our unemployment levels remain below historic averages.
We have flexible and responsive regulatory systems. We are small, and we are nimble. Our small size and our can-do attitude has translated to has translated to an ability to respond quickly to emerging opportunities.
A key example is that of space company Rocket Lab, which the Prime Minister referred to. It announced in late 2014, through its leader Peter Beck, that it wanted to launch rockets from a remote peninsula on the East Coast of the North Island.
Less than a year later, seized by that possibility and opportunity, the Government agreed to a new regulatory regime – a world-leading regulatory regime – to enable those rockets to launch.
That regime came into law in 2017 with the first launch by Rocket Lab taking place that same year.
We have done it before, and we are prepared to do it for emerging industries again.
Unlike some countries in the world, beset by large size and complexity, we have a parliament that allows these things to happen quickly.
We also have some of the best, most efficient and most sustainable farmers in the world, who take pride in making the most of our abundant natural resources.
We have a long history of not subsidising our farmers but instead having them face competitively into world markets.
Fonterra is the sixth largest global dairy producer and our sheep and beef farmers are internationally renowned. We feed tens of millions of people around the world, delivering products that meet exacting safety standards.
New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone is over 14 million square kilometres, the ninth largest in the world, and aquaculture is New Zealand’s fastest-growing food production sector.
We have abundant renewable energy. Eighty-eight per cent of our electricity comes from hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and other sources of renewable energy. We have no lack of land or desire or capacity for far far more renewable energy.
We are blessed with minerals and resources, and have huge capacity to make more of these. Legislative changes are paving the way for increased investment in the mining of gold, coking coal, mineral sands and critical minerals.
We have an entrepreneurial and innovative DNA
We pride ourselves – as the Prime Minister said – on what we call our number eight wire mentality – our ability to innovate.
New Zealand is, by and large, a country of small businesses, led by innovative people with a can-do attitude, some of whom make it very big.
Examples include cloud-based accounting software company Xero, Wētā Digital famous for its groundbreaking visual effects and Fisher&Paykel Healthcare, globally recognised for its work providing innovative healthcare solutions for more than 50 years.
We have a proud and accomplished indigenous population, with our Māori economy becoming an increasingly significant player in the New Zealand economy and contributing hugely to New Zealand’s unique national identity.
Over the five years to 2023 the Māori asset base increased from $69 billion to $126 billion. That was a faster rate of asset growth than for the economy as a whole – testament to the success iwi and Māori entities are having in making smart and long-term investment choices, underpinned by strong commercial discipline.
Over the same period the Māori economic contribution to gross domestic product increased from $17 billion to $32 billion. Mark my words, that growth is set to continue.
Changing attitudes
And we’ve been trading successfully internationally since the first contact between Europeans and Māori in the latter part of the 18th century.
We have some strong traditions. But I also think that New Zealand is at a moment of change. Some of that change isn’t things you can see, but it is a change in attitude.
Where once New Zealanders primarily were concerned about preserving what we already had, and our way of life as it has been, increasingly, New Zealanders have growing recognition of the need to embrace change if we want to provide opportunities for our children and fund high quality health, education and other public services.
That desire to change, that sense of ambition and possibility, is reflected in the Government’s reform agenda.
Let me give you some examples.
- Overseas investment
We recognize that the world doesn’t owe us a living and that every country in the world must compete for its share of the world’s wealth.
NZ’s foreign direct investment levels currently sits at around 40% of GDP compared to the OECD average of 53% as at 2023. There is untapped potential for more investment in this economy.
We are reforming our overseas investment settings to ensure more of the world’s capital can flow here and is encouraged to flow here. We are determined not to allow red tape or uncertain settings to disrupt investment and growth.
The impulse driving this reform is strong.
Over the past 10 years, New Zealand’s labour productivity growth has only averaged about 0.3 per cent a year.
Low capital intensity has been identified as one of the major causes of that low productivity.
In order to increase our productivity, we need more capital investment. And David Seymour has been changing the rules to ensure we can.
Therefore, we’re changing the rules to:
- Better reflect the benefits investment can provide to New Zealand’s economy
- make consenting decisions in just 15 days for all investments aside from residential land, farmland and fishing quota
- strengthen the Government’s ability to intervene on the rare occasions that a transaction is not in the national interest; and
Our goal is to increase New Zealand’s attractiveness as a destination for your investment.
2. Fast-track consenting
We’re acutely aware of the challenges and frustrations for the need for effective, timely and affordable approval processes for new projects.
We’re reforming our resource consenting rules, and fast-tracking the consenting process for projects of national and regional importance.
They include:
- renewable energy projects
- aquaculture businesses
- mining projects; and
- housing developments
3. Gearing up for a more stable and predictable infrastructure pipeline with more Public Private Partnerships
Our democracy is robust, and the contest of ideas in our Parliament is very lively, but we have found common ground, across parties, on the need for a more bipartisan approach to infrastructure planning and delivery. The presence of three opposition Parliamentarians here today is testament to that shared aspiration, and that sense of what is good for New Zealand over the long term.
The simply reality is that overcoming New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit demands an approach that can look through elections and any change of Government.
We do intend to be here for many, many years to come – but in the event that there is a change, we recognise the benefits that come from sequencing a clear pipeline of upcoming investments and have made institutional reforms to support this. Across all areas of public infrastructure we are working to logically identify, prioritise, and sequence the investments needed over the coming decade and beyond. You will hear a lot more detail about these plans from our Ministers over the course of this summit.
We are excited, also, by the opportunity for adoption of modern funding, financing and partnership approaches for the delivery of these public infrastructure projects.
The New Zealand Government has done eight public private partnerships so far. They include schools, roads and corrections facilities. We have learned from these, and we want to do more.
Of course, we’ll only do PPPs when they are in New Zealand’s best interests.
When negotiating PPPs our focus is on the enhanced delivery of public services not just cost.
We are interested in incentivising and allowing innovation, locating risk with those best-placed to address it, focusing decision-makers on whole-of-life outcomes and unlocking new funding sources.
We recognise that the people in this room bring not only capital but also skill, and experience that will allow us to deliver better infrastructure faster.
The outlook
Our Government has a clear mandate to drive growth-enhancing reforms across a broad range of public policy.
As I stand here today, I can be clear with you that there is a Government that wants to make this an even better place to do business. Whether it’s:
- Changing work visa to make it easier for employers to get the workers they need and to better facilitate foreign direct investment
- Reviewing competition rules with a view to increasing competition, we see huge possibility for new entrants in our grocery, and banking sectors, among others and we’re ensuring that our regulatory frameworks encourage innovation and disruption.
- Launching a minerals strategy
- We have also been working on a number of reforms across government to increase our education standards to ensure access to a skilled workforce,
- We have been reorienting the science and innovation system to focus more on commercialisation, and to make the most of new gene technologies.
Across all of these reforms, whether it is regional growth initiatives, whether it is macroeconomic reform, whether it is microeconomic reform, our focus is on making the most of what we have.
Conclusion
Like a lot of countries, New Zealand has been through a challenging few years.
But what I would put to you as I stand here today is that if I could choose to be any country in this particular moment in time, this moment of some uncertainty, of rapid change and of more concerns about security than I have seen in my generation, in a world in which people are worried about security – I would choose New Zealand.
In a world in which people are worried about food supply and the effect of extreme climatic events, I would choose New Zealand.
We have safe, secure borders, a temperate climate. We have abundant resources, robust institutions, strong cultural foundations and the best people. Our best years are ahead of us, and we are grateful to you for coming with us on this journey.
There are huge opportunities for you to generate value. There are huge opportunities for us to grow together. Let’s make New Zealand an even better place.
Thank you.
