The Green Party announced today that it will establish a Minister for Manufacturing in Cabinet, to better represent the interests of manufacturers and ensure they thrive.
The Minister will be inside Cabinet and have responsibility for the long-term interests of the manufacturing sector. New working groups within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will be created — no new government departments will be created. Costs of reassigning resources in MBIE will be met within existing baselines.
“Today’s announcement is about creating well-paid, clean-tech jobs for the future, right here in New Zealand,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.
“Manufacturing innovation is a critical part of our transition to a clean, low-carbon economy.
“For manufacturing to thrive and take advantage of new technologies like 3D printing, we need leadership across the whole sector now. National hasn’t shown this leadership.
“We hear more from National about deep sea oil drilling and dairy farming than we do about clean-tech and high value-added manufacturing.
“Manufacturing has few advocates within the Government. Other sectors, which represent much smaller contributions to the national economy, like Racing, have Ministers fighting for them in Government, while manufacturing does not.
“New Zealand needs more companies like Temperzone, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, and Goodnature.
“High-value manufacturers create well-paid jobs and enable us, as a country, to earn our way in the world,” said Mr Shaw.
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