Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Trade Minister Todd McClay today welcomed the opening of the 2015 New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Better by Design CEO Summit.

Featuring the world’s top design minds, together with 400 CEOs and senior managers from a range of New Zealand businesses, the Auckland summit this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Better by Design programme.

“Better by Design’s purpose is to inspire and enable New Zealand businesses to succeed by design,” Mr Joyce says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Major Events Development Fund (MEDF) will invest up to $1.2 million over three years in a new South Island-based mountain bike stage race called The Pioneer.

The inaugural Pioneer event will take place in the Southern Alps at the end of January 2016.

The Government’s Better Public Services for Business (Result 9) programme shows an improvement in reported performance by government agencies, Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce says.

In 2012, the Government set targets to reduce by 2017 the cost to business of dealing with government by 25 per cent, and to improve performance ratings to levels enjoyed by leading private sector firms.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Government is investing $420,000 from the Major Events Development Fund (MEDF) in the 2015 and 2016 Crankworx Rotorua Mountain Bike Festivals.

Crankworx, the world’s biggest mountain bike festival, will be held in Rotorua from 25 to 29 March this year, and on similar dates in 2016. Whistler and the French Alps have previously hosted the popular event.

“The Crankworx Rotorua Festival is an excellent addition to New Zealand’s growing international events schedule,” Mr Joyce says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Government and SkyCity have reached agreement on the next stages of the International Convention Centre (NZICC) project.

SkyCity has agreed not to pursue a financial contribution from the Government and instead will amend its design to ensure the facility can be completed without financial input from the Crown.

“I welcome SkyCity’s agreement with the Government’s approach,” Mr Joyce says. “This clears the path for the project to continue.

The Northland region has significant untapped economic potential and its industries could grow substantially thanks to its resource-based advantages, a newly-published report reveals.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today released the Northland Regional Growth Study, which shows that the Northland region has strong potential to attract further investment, raise incomes and increase employment opportunities.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has welcomed the launch today of He Tangata, He Whenua, He Oranga, the Tai Tokerau iwi chairs’ and chief executives’ economic growth strategy for the Tai Tokerau Māori economy.

“This strategy represents the commitment of Te Taitokerau iwi to define on their own terms – the basis and actions to drive their economic growth,” says Mr Flavell.

Government agencies are now able to access further savings when it comes to purchasing advertising media, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

The Advertising Media All-of-Government (AoG) contract replaces the current Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) agreements with existing media vendors, and introduces an open-panel concept.  It widens government agency eligibility to include all agencies able to purchase from AoG contracts. 

New Zealand’s agritechnology exports are worth approximately $1.2 billion annually, and there is a big opportunity to grow them further according to the latest research into the sector, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said today.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed SkyCity’s planned submission today of a resource consent application for the construction of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC).

“This is an important step toward achieving an international-standard convention centre in central Auckland,” Mr Joyce says.

“The centre will drive a significant increase in tourism expenditure through the estimated 33,000 additional convention delegates that it is expected to bring to Auckland each year.”

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce will travel to Sydney on Sunday morning to attend the New Zealand job fair.

The Sydney job fair is the second event in the job fair series, which is taking place across Australia. More than 35 Kiwi employers are heading to Sydney to recruit skilled job seekers to help fill emerging skill gaps in the IT, engineering, healthcare, construction and trades sectors. Around 30 employers and 1750 jobseekers attended the first fair in Perth last weekend.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce travels to Perth today for a short series of engagements.

This weekend sees Perth hosting the first of four New Zealand job fairs in Australia targeting some emerging skills shortages in New Zealand, particularly in the fields of construction trades, engineering, and computer software and design.  Mr Joyce will attend the job fair tomorrow.

“We have a growing economy that is set to create more than 50,000 skilled jobs over the next couple of years,” Mr Joyce says.

The New Zealand and Australian governments have today re-confirmed their commitment to a single competitive procurement market with the signing of the Australia and New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement (ANZGPA), Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says.

The ANZGPA has been in existence since 1991 but has recently undergone a review to ensure it is still fit for purpose, in light of evolving procurement practices.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced a Major Events Development Fund (MEDF) investment of $550,000 for an international Golden Oldies event to be held in Christchurch in 2018. 

The Golden Oldies World Sports Festival is a month-long event that will attract masters age teams and individuals from across the world to participate in seven sports: cricket, football, golf, hockey, netball, rugby and softball. 

A Government service to help businesses raise capital and accelerate their international growth is turning its focus to the investment needs and opportunities of highly innovative firms and mid-range companies valued at up to $25 million.

Better by Capital was developed following research that revealed some potentially high-growth firms find it difficult to access capital. Under the programme, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise works with companies to develop a tailored plan to identify the work they need to do to prepare for new capital investment.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser today welcomed the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) decision on the terms for New Zealand’s accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in Geneva.

“A positive decision on the terms of New Zealand’s accession has been reached with GPA parties in Geneva overnight (NZ time), following two years of negotiations,” Mr Joyce says.