John Williams is the former owner of the Marton company PEC (New Zealand) Ltd, which was internationally respected as the world's first organization to design and market microprocessor-based petrol pumps and service station POS terminals. John is a passionate advocate for an inclusive export-based vision for New Zealand. John has presented his vision and strategy to all senior politicians over the past decade.

1. Maximise growth in the sectors where we currently produce world-class products and/or services. 

In well managed businesses, the majority of available financial, people, research and other resources are allocated to those sectors which contribute most to the present profits, and are likely to continue to do so in the future.  

To maximise New Zealand’s growth, Government Ministers, relevant Departmental representatives, and respected leaders from each of the sectors producing world-class products and/or services, should form Sector Committees chaired by the Prime Minister, and these committees should prepare and implement Sector Strategy Plans – as Jeff Kennett organised with amazing success in Victoria in the 1990s. 

The growth sectors, which have already chosen themselves by their success in export are: Tourism, Dairying, Food & Beverage, Information Technology/ Communications / Software, Education, Bio-technology and Niche Sectors (which would include Films, Super yacht building & Forestry).

The quality of Government in New Zealand over the past 50 years has been a disaster, because those in power have failed to create an environment in which the recommendations of outstanding New Zealanders and Government leaders on maximizing the country’s sustainable growth can be implemented. The Governments of smaller and highly successful economies like Ireland, Norway, Singapore etc in contrast have succeeded, because of the effective planning environments they have created which involve key respected business and Government leaders.

2. Ensure that at least 25,000 more New Zealanders(net) return annually to settle in New Zealand and play a vital role in growing an export-led sustainable growth economy, than those who leave. 

For the past 10 years, an average of 45,860 Kiwis have left New Zealand each year. (Yearly max. = 63,242, 
min. = 36,084). In the same period, an average of 23,331 Kiwis returned each year (max. = 26,742, min. = 20,039). This gives an average annual migration loss of 22,529. 

There are estimated to be over 1,000,000 Kiwis living overseas – a higher percentage than probably any other country in the world. Ensuring that 25,000 more New Zealanders return to New Zealand than leave each year, will contribute significantly to the growth of the economy – especially if goals are in place to ensure the majority return to apply their expertise and use their important overseas people contacts to generate growth in the sectors identified in 1. above.

New Zealand is the most difficult country in the world in which to do business, because our people are so innovative, so “internet aware,” and so unwilling to purchase anything unless they have first assured themselves they are purchasing a product that provides the very best value for money. Most people in business in New Zealand do not understand that their products are superior to those on sale in other countries, and therefore have significant export potential. 

A media campaign should be implemented to make New Zealanders both aware and proud of the fact that we are world-class in virtually everything we undertake! 

Effective support programmes to support would-be exporters should be introduced, to follow-up the above media campaign.

4. Introduce the “Kiwi Can” programme to all Primary and Intermediate schools

Decisive action must be taken to halt and then reverse the continuous drop in values and moral standards that has occurred in the past 50 years or so. The values and morals of adults are difficult to change, but “Kiwi Can” has emphatically demonstrated its ability to change those of children.

“Kiwi Can” is the most important educational initiative introduced in Primary and Intermediate schools during my lifetime. It is a programme that successfully develops an “I can” attitude which positively influences every child’s life, and that of their families and communities. In addition, it has demonstrated great success in encouraging children to take responsibility for their own lives.

“Kiwi Can” is a needs-based programme, developed in conjunction with each school, run usually by one male and one female in the 20 to 25 age group, in which all children receive a “Kiwi Can” class every week of the school year. It current operates in around 60 New Zealand schools (12,000 children), and should be introduced into all schools where the local community is willing to contribute half the cost of the programme. The total cost to Government is estimated to be less than 2 percent of vote education.

“Kiwi Can” raises the self esteem and moral values of children by challenging them, both inside and outside the class-room:  physically, mentally, creatively and socially.

5. Re-create the University of New Zealand 

Futurists have predicted the major growth sector in world trade the next two decades will be meeting the demand for Life-long Learning Programs. As a small country, it is unlikely any of our tertiary institutions will be able to compete with their much larger and significantly better resourced US, European and Asian universities. We, therefore, have no choice but to create the perception to the world that we are much bigger than we are, and that our Life-long Learning Programs are superior to those marketed by overseas universities. 

This will be best achieved by re-creating the University of New Zealand, and re-naming all present and future tertiary sector sites as campuses of the University of New Zealand, in order to convey the impression that they are a single entity, to potential overseas purchasers of Life-long Learning Programs. In addition, all such programs should be marketed through a single portal like www.newzealand.com.

Multinational companies increasingly differentiate themselves from their competitors by emphasising catch phrases or slogans. Unitec’s GEM research has proven New Zealanders to be among the most entrepreneurial and innovative in the world. It is therefore logical that whenever possible, the word “innovative” should be used when describing New Zealand in any situation. Examples would be “100% Innovative New Zealand” and “Clean, Green and Innovative New Zealand”. 

In addition, in order to futher boost exports, an international marketing campaign aimed at persuading overseas organisations requiring 
i) relatively short runs of anything manufactured or 
ii) product or service development involving a number of diverse technologies or skills 
that they should “Try Innovative New Zealand first.”

7. Ensure that the contribution to economic growth from the Maori and Pacific Island ethnic groups is significantly and continuously increased 

It is accepted that Maori and Pacific Island ethnic groups will form almost 50% of New Zealand’s population by 2050. It is therefore of great importance that successful strategies be implemented urgently to significantly increase their contribution to economic growth, and in so doing progressively reduce 
i) the socio-economic gaps between those ethnic groups and other New Zealanders 
ii) their high crime, and poor health and educational statistics.

8. Demonstrate New Zealand's amazing innovation by creating a newzealandinnovation.com website, which would detail all our world-class products, services, and ideas. 

A New Zealand Innovation website will make the world and New Zealanders aware of the amazing world-class products, services and ideas New Zealanders have created, by means of a highly user-friendly, advertising-free and innovative website. 

Each accepted entry, will briefly describe a world-class product, service or idea, (without revealing vital intellectual property details), and will provide details of the organisation, its contact names, website, email, phone, and fax addresses. In addition, each accepted entry will detail the names of the two independent, respected “referees”, who confirmed the accuracy and validity of that entry. 

It will also assist New Zealand companies and individuals to make contact with others, whose world-class expertise and experience, combined with their own in another sphere, may well lead to the development of new, world-class “Third-Wave” products and/or services. 

The website will also play a key part in reinforcing, and in the international promotion of the proposed slogan “Innovative New Zealand.”

9. Establish a “Centre of Excellence” for Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

Although New Zealanders are among the most innovative and entrepreneurial in the world as proven by Unitec’s GEM research, the inability to transform our innovation into products and services that are marketed effectively world-wide, and to effectively protect our intellectual property, has caused a huge loss of potential wealth. 

A Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence should be established, whose role would be to provide world-class product development, marketing and intellectual property protection advice to any organisation or person wishing to maximise returns from their innovative ideas.

10. Create and widely publicise a “Vision” for New Zealand 

Increasingly, large organisations promote their “Vision” to differentiate themselves, and to focus their staff members on their goals. New Zealand should develop its own Vision. 

A group with whom I worked, proposed the following Vision to Prime Minister Helen Clark in October 2000:

“To ensure New Zealand’s future as one of the world’s most socially cohesive, prosperous, and innovative countries, which is sustained by a dynamic, wealth creating, export economy.”

Prepared by John R Williams 
June 2007

  
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