The Green Party has today released its economic development plan to rebuild Aotearoa New Zealand and create 284,000 jobs over the next four years.
“The Greens are serious about the economy. We will drive it to meet the needs of New Zealanders. Our plan will create 284,000 jobs, lower the cost of living and ensure we’re all happier, healthier and safer,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.
“We will rescope the directionless Investment Boost, which even BusinessNZ’s survey showed has overwhelmingly not ‘positively influenced’ investment in productivity-enhancing assets, to instead drive research and development towards 3% of GDP. 2% is considered the international benchmark for a competitive economy. We’re currently languishing at 1.5%.”
“Our investment in transport, clean energy and genuinely fixing the basics and building the future will create an additional 64,000 jobs on top of the 220,000 forecast over the next four years.”
The Green Party's economic development plan includes:
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Innovation Boost: Rescope Investment Boost to focus on incentivising productive investment that aligns with industry policy objectives, decarbonisation, and decent work principles.
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Mission Fellowships: Support stable public science and workforce capability by establishing industry policy objectives-linked fellowships for early- and mid-career researchers and technical specialists.
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Idea to Export Pathway: Create a coordinated funding and commercialisation pathway that helps New Zealand innovators move from business experimentation and research through to validation, commercialisation, and scaling.
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Science Rebuild: Restore core science operating funding lost through the Coalition Government’s Budget cuts to work towards the goal of aligning our R&D spend to 3% of GDP.
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Back Kiwi-Made: Use public purchasing power to support good New Zealand solutions.
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Tertiary Innovation Boost: Boost funding for tertiary research, innovation, and capacity (including restoring funding for initiatives like the centres of vocational excellence).
“The Greens will not let New Zealanders be passengers in their own economy. We will ensure Government investment and incentives drive us where we all want to go: higher wages, sustained research and innovation, better education, resilient infrastructure, healthy nature and a country we can be proud of.”
“Just look at our own local history of what’s worked. In 1969, an Auckland Hospital intensive care specialist, a government scientist at the DSIR, and a Fisher & Paykel engineer used public science, clinical expertise and private engineering to create Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, a global health technology company. Tomorrow's innovation will come from the same kind of collaboration and investment.”
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says, “We have no shortage of talent, creativity and hard work in this beautiful country, whether it’s in a South Auckland garage or a lab in Otago. What’s missing is the masterplan to turn it into good jobs, higher wages, and a fairer economy.”
“We will back New Zealanders who want to solve real problems by funding public science and workforce capability through our new Mission Fellowships. Using industry objectives linked to fellowships for early and mid-career researchers and technical specialists, we will reignite our innovation system.
"Successive governments have failed to back New Zealanders and their potential. We will back the real innovators.” Swarbrick says,
“A Green Government refuses to let New Zealanders be passengers in their own economy. We will build an economy that works, for all of us.”
