Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out his Government’s goals for the year in his annual state of the nation speech.
The Botany MP delivered the speech this week in Auckland, saying he knows many Kiwis are still doing it tough financially with high inflation and interest rates hurting families and the wider economy leading to the biggest recession since 1991.
But things are slowly turning around.
“Wages are growing faster than inflation, food prices are rising slowly, and cost pressures, like the Auckland regional fuel tax, have been sucked out of the economy.
“Interest rates are falling and the Reserve Bank is forecasting more relief on the way soon.”
Luxon said the coalition Government is focused on growing New Zealand’s economy, which will enable it to improve sectors including health, education, law and order and others.
He said Auckland’s Eden Park should host more concerts and events.
“Kiwis spend thousands flying across the Tasman to see massive concerts, go out to bars and restaurants, and boost the Australian economy, when back home Eden Park sits empty because of council event rules.
“Now in fairness, the council has increased the limit, but I think they should seriously consider abolishing it completely.
“There’s always a reason to say no, but if we keep saying no, we’ll keep going nowhere.
“We need larger ports. We need more concerts. We need more jobs, more investment, more innovation, exports, and talent.
“The bottom line is we need a lot less no and a lot more yes.”
Luxon said the Government needs to repeal and replace the Resource Management Act, fix the “broken” health and safety rules, make life easier for the country’s farmers and give mining a much bigger role in the economy.
“In regions like Taranaki and the West Coast there are big economic opportunities.
“Higher incomes, support for local business and families, and more investment in local infrastructure.
“The minerals sector will also be critical for our climate transition – EVs, solar panels, and data centres aren’t made out of thin air.
“I want to see mining employ more Kiwis and power more growth in the economy and I’m adamant we must take further steps to make that a reality.”
The Government also wants to work with the tourism sector to ensure it has a massive role in growing the economy.
“We have a relentless network of tourism operators. Each of them utterly driven to compete for our national brand and their local businesses.
“Clearly, Covid was a big disruption, but our tourism industry is still world class, and I think government can be doing more to make their life easier and enable opportunities for growth across the country. My expectation this year is we do exactly that.”
Luxon also made several policy announcements during the speech.
He said the Government would establish a new entity called Invest New Zealand as its “one-stop-shop for attracting foreign direct investment”.
“Invest New Zealand will roll out the welcome mat – streamlining the investment process and providing tailored support to foreign investors.
“The objective is to increase capital investment across a range of critical sectors like banking and fintech, key infrastructure like transport and energy, manufacturing, and innovation.
“Second, we are going to make major changes to increase the role of science and technology in the New Zealand economy.
“We have incredible scientists working in our universities and Crown Research Institutes right now, whether that’s in the lab, on their laptops, or in the field.
“But sadly, the system they work in is hamstrung by outdated settings that leave our economy lagging behind.”
Cabinet has agreed to change the Crown Research Institutes, establishing four Public Research Organisations focused on bio-economy, earth sciences, health and forensic sciences, and advanced technology.
Each is expected to have a sharp focus on commercialisation, harnessing Kiwi talents for maximum economic impact, higher incomes, more investment, and more opportunities to get ahead.
Luxon said New Zealand is a country with unlimited potential.
“A country with a promise – that if you work hard – wherever you come from and wherever you’re going – you can get ahead.
“I want our kids to grow up in a country where it is totally normal for them to go and work in a company that puts rockets into space.
“Or a cutting-edge health science or agri-tech company. Or that they can create those companies for themselves.
“I want our kids to know that New Zealand is where the opportunities are, not Australia or the UK.
“And not just that, but that our education system taught them the basics brilliantly and set them up not just to get those jobs, but to excel at them.
“We’re not there right now, but we so can be. We can take on the world, and we can win.”
