Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the official launch of "Protein Innovation New Zealand" - a new pet food research consortium.

As the Minister of Agriculture I was very pleased to accept your invitation along with my colleague, and your local Member of Parliament, Chester Borrows.

I would also like to acknowledge today: my former parliamentary colleague, Steve Maharey, Vice Chancellor of Massey University; David Ansell, Chief Executive of MARS Petcare New Zealand; Andy West, Chief Executive of AgResearch; and Murray Bain, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

These people and the organisations they represent share a common vision for New Zealand. They want us to be recognised as world leaders in innovation.

Today I will focus on that word - innovation.

It is innovation that has moved us into the future.

It is innovation that will maintain and further develop the world class status of our primary and food sectors.

It is innovation that makes us competitive in world markets and creates opportunities for all New Zealanders.

If we stop being innovative, we risk our international competitors filling the void.

I have visited MARS Petcare before. Again it was with Chester Borrows in 2002, during the election campaign.

At that time MARS was launching its Whiskas Singles sachet product. From what I understand this venture has been very profitable - and continues to be.

With the current recession, it's great to visit a company with a positive story to tell.

Isn't it great that New Zealand has a company that aims to be globally recognised as the leader in feeding our pets?

As a nation, we are passionate and enthusiastic owners of companion animals.

In fact, our pet ownership statistics are among the highest in the world.

More than half of New Zealand households have at least one cat, and just over 35 percent of households own a dog.

Of course we are also a nation of farmers. Our economy was built on the sheep's back.

We are still dependent on the pastoral sector for the majority of our export earnings.

Here we have an example of a company adding real value to what our sectors produce.

As I have said time and time again, it will be the primary sector that leads New Zealand's recovery from recession.

Increasing innovation in the primary and food sector industries will be a key driver of New Zealand's long-term economic growth.

The National-led Government, like the organisations represented here, has a real commitment to research and development.

Funding of research and development must be responsive to the needs of the economy, both long and short term.

Resources must be directed to areas where they will have the most impact to leverage economic growth. Bureaucracy and compliance costs must also be minimised.

I'm sure you will all know about the Fast Forward scheme proposed by the previous Government. The scheme had a number of positives but National didn't agree with its funding mechanism.

For this reason I have been working on a replacement scheme.

You will hear more about this in the upcoming Budget.

I can assure you that our initiative will be all about the primary sectors making quantum leaps forward in their growth and contribution to the New Zealand economy.

We will be looking for added value, not business as usual; and industry will be expected to match Government's investment.

If we don't develop projects that industry is prepared to co-fund, then it's likely we're focusing on projects that don't have commercial relevance.

The Government has been working closely with key industry stakeholders to ensure this programme's success. I can't say much more than that for now, but expect an announcement on May 28.

For innovation to flourish we must create the right conditions and be committed to research and development programmes.

Investing in innovation is the responsibility of both industry and the government.

It is particularly pleasing to see the link formed through this research consortium between AgResearch, Massey and independent business.

AgResearch boasts world renowned research capabilities in the biotechnology and pastoral systems area, and Massey is the site of the only independent Feline Nutrition Unit in the world. (That was news to me.)

This is an excellent case study of business working successfully alongside researchers. We need to see more examples of this sort of collaboration.

It is from such initiatives that firms and industries will develop and commercialise new products in New Zealand.

It will help us to develop novel products for market, achieve the growth we seek, and ensure our companies make a profit so all New Zealanders benefit.

Research is also critical to maintaining our hard-earned reputation for food safety and biosecurity.

We need to commercialise new products and to continue export growth as the world changes and consumer demands change.

Research will give us the solutions to combat future challenges, such as greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and new ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Our productivity and future prosperity depends on New Zealand having high achievers across the export sector, from factory and farm to laboratory and boardroom.

Thank you for inviting me to the launch of your research consortium.
Significant investment in partnerships such as the Protein Innovation consortium is the way of the future.

It is this sort of innovation that will maintain and build on our current world class status - something that we must never take for granted.

If we stand still, the gap will be quickly filled by our international competitors.

I say, standing still is not an option.

Best wishes for the project, I look forward to seeing the new pet foods that will result from this partnership.

Thank you.