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As the Minister for Economic, Industry and Regional Development and a proud New Zealander I am vitally interested in our successes and new ideas, so I am pleased to be here.

Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton will visit Wanganui tomorrow,
15 December, as part of his regional visit programme.

Address to
Canterbury Business Incubator opening
Orion Building
218 Manchester Street
Christchurch

We are here for me to introduce and for you to meet the board of Industry New Zealand and to announce two new programmes that make up part of the tool kit we now have to develop New Zealand's economy.

This is another important step in the new regional development focus to government activity.

Thank you for inviting me here today to open the refurbished Contact Energy Call Centre.

The Minister of Industry and Regional Development, Jim Anderton, today asked companies to look at siting their call centres in New Zealand rather than overseas.

Govt champions high-value export industries

Government champions high-value export industries

I would like to start out by acknowledging the importance of the minerals and mining industry to our economy.

"The regions of New Zealand are buzzing with enthusiasm and ideas. That has come through loud and clear with 137 expressions of interest for Industry New Zealand’s Regional Partnerships Programme," said Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton today.

"The Role of the Forest Industry in Sustainable Regional Development".

The new board of Industry New Zealand brings serious business savvy to the oversight of the Government's Partnership for Growth programmes, says Associate Minister for Economic Development Pete Hodgson.

Businesses and regions are being urged to seize the opportunity created today with the launch of the first Industry New Zealand partnership programmes.

The most important discovery I make as I go around the country is the level of pride and passion that New Zealanders have at the local level. It's almost humbling.I visited Moerewa earlier this year.Moerewa is a small town in the far North, which has had more than its fair share of tough times.It lost the freezing works, it lost services.

Budget 2000 is aimed at broadening and adding knowledge to New Zealand's economic base and at revitalising the regions, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development, Jim Anderton, says.

Details of the government's new economic and regional development strategies will be announced tomorrow. These strategies will be based on the concept of sustainable development.

Regional development Minister Jim Anderton is concerned that Telecom wants rural areas to pay to upgrade their telephone lines before it will allow them access to new technologies coming on stream.

"The Chatham Islands dollar initiative, launched this week, points the way
for local communities to have control of their money," said John Wright MP,
leader of the Democratic Party (previously Social Credit) a partner party of

The Bill establishing Industry NZ as a Crown entity was introduced into parliament today, fleshing out further details of the Government's new 'jobs machine.'

This government is prepared to listen to New Zealanders.

That is why we are in serious negotiations with the West Coast mayors about a compensation package to end native forest logging on the West Coast

"New Zealand dairy farmers must be consulted on the Dairy Board's proposed
partial merger with Australian dairy company Bonlac, " said Alliance agriculture
spokesperson John Wright MP today.

Parliament today adopted a motion congratulating a small South Island dairy company on beating all comers to win the gold medal for best cheese in the world at the Wisconsin World Champion Cheese Contest.

Dunedin’s two Labour MPs, Pete Hodgson and David Benson-Pope, expressed today their deep regret at the closure of Coats Spencer Crafts at Mosgiel.