Nicola Willis, National Party candidate for Wellington Central
Media Release
22 March 2017
Huawei to boost Wellington's tech sector
Wellington's growing tech and innovation sector will gain significantly from today's investment announcement by global
technology giant Huawei, National’s Wellington Central candidate Nicola Willis says.
Huawei today announced $400 million of new investment in New Zealand. This includes a plan to open an innovation lab at
Victoria University of Wellington and commitments to work with local tech firms.
"This is a huge boost to Wellington's tech sector and confirms our place as a global hub for digital innovation,” Ms
Willis says.
"Wellington's tech sector is growing fast and we have New Zealand's highest concentration of web and digital businesses.
"The innovation lab will be at the cutting edge of tomorrow's tech possibilities like 5G cell phone networks, big data
and the Internet of things.
"Huawei chose Wellington because we are a smart place with a track record of turning ideas into reality.
"This investment means more and better paying jobs for Wellingtonians. Our tech sector is a magnet for innovators and
ideas people from all over the world.
“The National-led Government has made it a priority to invest in our hi-tech industries, so that it is now one of our
fastest growing sectors.
“We’ve committed $411 million through the Innovative New Zealand package, and are working to lift total government
investment in science and innovation to $1.6 billion by 2020.
“Only under the leadership of Bill English and National will Wellington Central have a team that knows how to grow the
economy, invest for future growth, and ensure we are supporting more Wellingtonians to benefit from this growth.”