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A joint economic development study has been commissioned to look at the potential for and benefits of developing an oil and gas industry on the North Island’s East Coast.

The study is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and regional economic development agency Business Hawke’s Bay, on behalf of eight East Coast councils.

Kiwi executives will have the chance to learn from successful international business leaders under a leadership programme jointly funded by Government and business, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says.

Expressions of interest are being invited for the Global Executive Leadership Programme, which provides an opportunity for senior managers to broaden their experience and skills via a programme that spans New Zealand, the United States and China.

Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce today welcomed funding decisions that will see Private Training Establishments (PTEs) deliver core foundation tertiary education for the first time in 2013.

“The TEC has run a competitive process over recent weeks to allocate approximately $38 million of funding for fees-free level 1 and 2 courses. The funding decisions will result in 17 PTEs receiving approximately $12 million to deliver fees-free foundation level courses in 2013,” My Joyce says.

Young people who have not previously achieved at school are moving successfully into tertiary education through the Government’s Youth Guarantee programme, data released today by the Tertiary Education Commission shows.

The 2011 results show that average course completion rates across all tertiary providers, including private training establishments and polytechnics and wānanga was 65 per cent.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce is calling on objectors to Bathurst Resources’ Escarpment Mine project near Westport to support 225 new jobs on the West Coast by withdrawing their court action.

“The Escarpment Mine is an open cast mining project that is ready to go and would provide 225 jobs and incomes for workers and their families on the West Coast straight away,” Mr Joyce says.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce will travel on Sunday to Washington DC and San Francisco to raise the profile of the New Zealand science, trade and education sectors.

Mr Joyce will lead a science delegation to attend the New Zealand-United States Joint Commission on Science and Technology Cooperation in Washington DC on 19 and 20 September. The objective is to promote bilateral scientific collaboration with the US at a policy and research level.

A bill to establish the new Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) – a new high-tech HQ for innovative New Zealand businesses – today passed its first reading in Parliament.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce says the purpose of the ATI is to help get New Zealand’s best ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace faster.

“New Zealanders are great at coming up with smart ideas but we need to become more successful at translating those ideas into commercially successful products,” Mr Joyce says.

The Government is injecting $92 million into research that will help grow the high-tech manufacturing sector in New Zealand, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

This funding for high value manufacturing and services research is the second tranche of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s 2012 science investment round.

Results from 2011 show the Government’s continued focus on performance in the Tertiary sector is working well, Tertiary, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says.

The 2011 education performance information released today shows that the university, polytechnic, wānanga, and private training establishment sectors have improved their course and qualification completion rates as well as student retention rates.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne today welcomed significant progress in reducing the cost of student loan lending.

“We are committed to interest-free student loans, and want a long–term affordable scheme for both students and taxpayers,” Mr Joyce says.

“When Labour took the interest off student loans, the write-off of student loans ballooned out to 48 cents in the dollar.

The Government has today launched the new Christchurch Educated marketing initiative to encourage international students to study in Canterbury.

Speaking at the launch in Christchurch, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce said the Government was committed to working with providers to boost the number of international students studying in Christchurch.

Tertiary Education Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced three new appointments to the councils of Otago and Auckland Universities.

Sir Ralph Norris is appointed to the Auckland University Council, and Dr Royden Somerville QC and Mr Stephen Higgs both join the Council of Otago University.

“I am very pleased to welcome these high calibre council appointees into their new roles,” Mr Joyce says.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced a further appointment to the Education New Zealand Board.

John Morris has been appointed as a member of the Education New Zealand Board. He replaces Ms Elizabeth Valintine whose term with the board expired on 31 August 2012.

“Mr Morris brings substantial educational knowledge, leadership experience, and international education experience to the role of board member,” Mr Joyce says.

Almost 200 undergraduate students will gain valuable work experience in some of New Zealand’s most innovative firms this summer, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

The Government will invest $1.2 million placing undergrads into more than 110 businesses over the summer months to take part in challenging research and development (R&D) work.

Online passport applications and a single customer number for businesses are among plans to improve the way government interacts with companies and the public, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain say.

As part of the Government’s Better Public Services initiative, the Ministers today released action plans for the Government’s planned one-stop online shop for businesses (Result Area 9) and for New Zealanders to complete transactions with Government easily online (Result Area 10).

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today congratulated Kiwi bioscience company LanzaTech for being designated a ‘World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2013’.

The company is to receive the award at the World Economic Forum meeting in Tianjin, China next month.

“LanzaTech is an innovative New Zealand company turning its smart ideas into a commercial reality,” Mr Joyce says.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata today released two action plans which detail the Government’s work to achieve the Better Public Service targets of boosting skills and employment.

The Result Action Plans – 5 and 6 – were announced by the Ministers at the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) in Petone.

The opportunity for small advanced economies to learn from each other will be explored when a meeting of a number of those countries takes place in New Zealand later this year, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

Speaking at a Royal Society of New Zealand event in Auckland tonight, Prime Minister John Key said that five countries will participate in a meeting in November in Auckland – Denmark, Finland, Israel, Singapore and New Zealand – and others have also expressed an interest in attending.

New Zealand researchers have been awarded $133 million in new research grants, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

The first tranche of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s 2012 science investment round will support 47 research projects in the biological industries; energy and minerals; the environment; hazards and infrastructure; and health and society funding categories.

The Government is from today inviting applications from businesses for the 2012 Technology Development Grant—its flagship investment programme to boost research and development in businesses, Science and Innovation Minister Hon Steven Joyce announced today.

Around $45 million over three years is available for innovative, high-tech businesses to help speed up the development of innovative products and services and get them to market faster.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Government’s new Advanced Technology Institute will be named after Sir Paul Callaghan.

“The late Sir Paul Callaghan championed the idea that science could make New Zealand a better place,” Mr Joyce says.

“He believed that science was not only about great ideas, but about getting value from those ideas through innovation and commercialisation. Those views exactly reflect the ambition of the Institute, so there can be few more appropriate names.”

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today joined the Prime Minister in launching the Building Innovation progress report, the second in a series of six progress reports released under the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. 

New Zealand Businesses will get better access to an estimated US$1.6 trillion worth of overseas government contracts, after New Zealand agreed to join the World Trade Organisation’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser announced today.

“Joining the GPA creates new opportunities for New Zealand businesses to export more products and services to more destinations,” Mr Joyce says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser today announced Government agencies are working on a broader ‘New Zealand Story’ - an initiative to help New Zealand companies gain an advantage in international markets.

The ‘New Zealand Story’ is one of the initiatives outlined in the “Building Export Markets” progress report launched today as part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda.