The Minister for Whānau Ora has released two reports that provide valuable insights into the first year of the Whānau Ora commissioning agency model.

“I pay tribute to Te Pou Matakana, Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu and Pasifika Futures who are at the forefront of this innovative practice for whānau and the public sector. While substantial gains for whānau were not expected in the first year of commissioning, these agencies reached almost 6,000 whānau,” says Whānau Ora Minister Te Ururoa Flavell.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced support of up to $350,000 for tourism in Hanmer Springs and the Hurunui District following the Kaikoura earthquake.

“The package will fund marketing work over the next six months to bolster the local visitor economy, ensuring the negative effects of the quake are mitigated,” Mr Joyce says.

The wage subsidy package for quake-affected businesses in and around Kaikoura will be extended for a further eight weeks, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley announced today.

Following on from the 14 November earthquake, the Government announced an initial wage subsidy package of eight weeks to help businesses in and around Kaikoura. Ministers committed to reviewing the package before Christmas as more information became available.

Economic Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett announced today that $158,000 is being committed to a visitor economy project as part of the Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Action Plan. The Plan has a key action to develop a collaborative regional tourism framework that supports growing the visitor economy to $2.5 billion by 2030.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed news that New Zealand is attracting a higher level of quality international investment in three key areas.

“The first report of the Investment Attraction Taskforce shows international investors and companies have increasing confidence in the New Zealand economy,” Mr Joyce says.

“We are seeing increased foreign direct investment, increased investment in international research and development, and more commitments from migrant investors.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today launched the Waikato Story, a regionally-led initiative to promote Waikato as a unique place to live, work, study, visit and invest.

Mr Joyce says it’s great to see New Zealand’s regions building off the success of the New Zealand Story.

“The Waikato Story provides a way to communicate the region’s value to potential business investors, workers, visitors, students and families – not just within New Zealand, but also around the world,” Mr Joyce says.

Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister for Economic Development Te Ururoa Flavell is welcoming Māori involvement in the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan launched today, which aims to diversify Southland’s economy, grow the population and strengthen local business.

Southland is an area where Māori are already important players in the local economy, Mr Flavell says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today announced $950,000 in government support for Southland’s aquaculture industry.

Aquaculture is a key focus of the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan, which aims to diversify Southland’s economy, grow the population and strengthen local business.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett today announced a $510,000 package to help strengthen Southland’s tourism industry and attract more visitors to the region.

Tourism is a focus of the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan, which aims to diversify Southland’s economy, grow the population and strengthen local business.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today announced a $520,000 boost for Southland’s primary sector.

The funding supports the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan, which aims to diversify Southland’s economy, grow the population and strengthen local business.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today announced government support for a new regional growth plan to bolster the Southland economy.

The Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan was developed by the Southland Regional Development Strategy Governance Group and is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Programme, which aims to increase jobs, incomes and investment in regional New Zealand.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy are working with the Marlborough wine industry to respond to the challenges of the November 14 earthquake and assist with the 2017 vintage.

“The Marlborough wine industry faces some challenges,” Mr Joyce says. “The key impact has been damage to around 20 per cent of the wine storage tanks in the region, and the potential that a lack of storage will affect the ability of the industry to process the full 2017 harvest, which commences in around 15 weeks.”

The Government has announced today that the employee support subsidy for quake-affected businesses has been extended to support specific Wellington region businesses prevented from operating for several weeks due to building damage as a result of the November 14 earthquake.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say the assistance package will be available to businesses that cannot operate due to cordons put in place, and are unable to move and operate anywhere else.

The Māori Development Minister and the Associate Minister for Economic Development, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, presented Ngāi Tahu Tourism with the award in Auckland last night.

Mr Flavell says it is great to celebrate Māori businesses making a significant contribution to the Māori and national economy.

“Ngai Tahu Tourism owns and operates some of the most iconic experiences in New Zealand and has proven that having Māori values embedded in business is a successful strategy,” says Mr Flavell.

One of New Zealand’s largest tourism operators, Ngāi Tahu Tourism, has won the Māori Excellence in Export award He kai kei aku ringa at the 2016 New Zealand International Business Awards.

The Māori Development Minister and the Associate Minister for Economic Development, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, presented Ngāi Tahu Tourism with the award in Auckland last night.

Mr Flavell says it is great to celebrate Māori businesses making a significant contribution to the Māori and national economy.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has congratulated WhereScape Software for winning the coveted Supreme Award at the 50th annual New Zealand International Business Awards last night.

WhereScape is a data warehouse automation software provider with customers in 26 countries, including the United States which is its largest market.

“WhereScape has had a global mindset from day one and an ambition to achieve international success. It is a resilient, flexible and innovative company with excellent growth prospects,” Mr Joyce says. 

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley have today announced that the wage subsidy package for small businesses in and around Kaikoura will be extended to larger businesses in the district.

“After talking with the Mayor and businesses in the area, it’s clear that we need to include the larger affected businesses as well to achieve our aim of sustaining the district through the tough times still ahead,” Mr Joyce says.

The Government has announced a wage subsidy package as an initial step to help small businesses in and around Kaikoura. The package will assist those companies most seriously disrupted by this week's earthquakes to retain their staff while the district recovers.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say that the complete closure of State Highway One to the north and south of Kaikoura has stranded the business sectors of Kaikoura and other small towns in the area.

New Zealand has been ranked first in the world in the 2016 Legatum Institute’s Global Prosperity Index, up from fourth position last year.

The index ranks 149 countries according to their performance across eight equally weighted categories. This year New Zealand ranked first for economic quality, first for social capital, second for business environment, second for governance and third for personal freedom.

New Zealand has been ranked the top country in the world for doing business in the World Bank’s 2017 Doing Business Report - up one place from last year and up from third in 2014.

The report, which examines regulations that enhance or constrain business activity, assesses 190 countries and ranks them according on the impacts of their regulatory environment on business.

Young Māori and Pasifika students are a significant source of talent for New Zealand businesses says Associate Minister for Economic Development Hon Te Ururoa Flavell.

Speaking at the launch of TupuToa at the University of Auckland today, Mr Flavell says the new internship and leadership support programme initiated by Global Women will provide a welcome pathway into the domestic and international business worlds for Māori and Pasifika students.

Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships for 2016 were awarded today to nine New Zealand senior executives.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says the scholarships provide a unique opportunity for some of our very best up and coming executives to expand their international expertise and to help New Zealand businesses to grow and develop on the world stage.

A Bill that will clarify and update statutory provisions in a range of micro-economic legislation has today passed its first reading in Parliament, Economic Development Steven Joyce says.

The cognate Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill now splits into three separate omnibus Bills that contain amendments to 20 Acts administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed the first reading of the Outer Space and High Altitude Activities Bill in Parliament today.

“This Bill is a significant milestone for the development of a New Zealand-based space industry. Space is now a global multi-billion dollar industry and this Bill is New Zealand’s passport to be part of that industry,” Mr Joyce says.