1. Regional Economic Development Supporting regions to increase investment, jobs and household incomes
28 November 2017
Pip Jamieson Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

2. New Zealand’s economy
Strong economy -> prosperity, higher wages, resilience, wellbeing
Factors:
Workers & businesses face transitions
ALL regions need to reach their potential
Ensure potential of ALL people
Iwi, Maori Authorities, Land Incorporations significant asset bases
Performance of local and central government
Diversification of economic activity
Shift to value add
Digital technology
Possible disruptors
Rest of New Zealand:
$120 billion
Auckland $93 billion
Wellington
$34 billion
Outside of Cities
1.975 million
people
Cities
2.717 million
people

3. Why are New Zealand’s regions important?
Figure 1: Breakdown of NZ Regional GDP, 2016
Nearly 2 million New Zealanders live outside of our major urban areas…
…and they play a crucial role in our ability to lift national earnings through exports (e.g. over 50% of NZ exports are animal and vegetable products)
Broader based growth helps build economic diversity which improves national resilience.
Rest of New Zealand:
$120 billion
Auckland $93 billion
Wellington
$34 billion
Outside of Cities
1.975 million
people
Cities
2.717 million
people
Figure 2: Value of NZ’s exports May
The primary sector accounted for over half of New Zealand’s export activities in 2016.
Source: Statistics New Zealand

4. Challenges faced by regions
Globalisation pressure on regional economies
Agglomeration forces can attract resources from some regions
Ageing populations
Small regions can face inconsistent growth
Employment patterns shifting in favour of high- skilled occupations
Unemployment rates varied across regions [people don’t shift based solely on employment options]

5. Government approach to regional economic development [in development and evolving]
Focus on:
Social inclusion
Sustainability
Well-being

6. What’s worked
Focused & well connected governance structure has been valuable
Strong leadership is critical, where it is lacking there tends to be a fragmented approach
Cross-government coordination improved
Improved inter-regional co-ordination and collaboration
Capability and capacity in regions can hinder progress
Opportunity to connect more effectively with iwi/Maori
Need to focus on broader range of policy areas and levers

7. Regional Economic Development Minister
Currently in development and evolving:
$1 billion a year Provincial Growth Fund
For critical infrastructure:
provincial roading improvements
Rail & maritime facilities
Sector-led projects, eg. tourism, aquaculture, forestry
Projects to meet eligibility criteria, eg. Creation of jobs, sustainable economic development, enhanced social inclusion.
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