Auck. - Why We All Need It To Be More Productive

15 October 2003

Media Release

Auckland - Why We All Need It To Be 80% More Productive
Over The Next Decade

“Economic growth isn’t everything – but without it, we won’t ever achieve our social and environmental ambitions” said Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett yesterday. Mr Barnett was speaking at the Auckland launch of the New Zealand Chambers’ latest policy document last night.

“We all want to see New Zealand back into the top half of the world’s most prosperous economies. This needs 4% real growth every year for the next fifteen years – a 50% increase in the national economy over a decade.

Five key drivers will make this happen.

“In the next decade we need to more than double productivity growth, by greatly improving our ability to innovate.”

“Exports must grow 70%, so we need to improve market access and tear down barriers to exporting.

“Our work force will need more people, so we must lift basic skills, reduce the numbers on welfare and use immigration to help replace our ageing population.

“New spending by central and local government must not exceed 1% each year, thus reducing governments’ relative share of the economy from 40% to 30% over the next decade.

“And the Auckland economy, which already accounts for one third of our nation’s production, will need to grow 80%. Auckland is a major centre of economic activity and we need to ensure that neither it nor any other of our key productive regions is held back by poor infrastructure and constipated decision-making”.

“This is not a win / lose proposition with Auckland gaining at the expense of the rest of the country” emphasized Mr Barnett.

“Instead, we’re saying that the best way to get our country back where it belongs is to hit our five dynamic policy goals simultaneously. That includes ensuring Auckland is fit to produce 80% more over the next decade without short-changing the rest of the country.”

ENDS

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