The Budget 2004 Overview

Supporting economic growth

Research, Science and Technology:

$212 million plus over four years bringing total public investment to $621 million; an almost 45 per cent increase since Labour took office.

Tertiary education:

$149 million package to build excellence in the tertiary education sector.
$110 million student support package.

Business support:

Up to $12 million over four years for a new Major Events Fund; part of the $500 million Growth and Innovation package, most of which has already been released.
$30 million to promote greater workplace productivity.
$10 million operational funding over four years to the Maori Business Facilitation Service.

Already announced:

$56.9 million to assist young people make the shift from school to work; includes another 500 Modern Apprenticeships and expansion of the Gateway programme.
Up to $10 million a year in the next three years and up to $12 million thereafter for NZ Trade and Enterprise.
$6.6 million extra a year, $26.5 million over four years, for Investment New Zealand.
$16.1 million over four years for the Strategic Investment Fund.
$35 million over four years to fund a new Market Development Assistance Scheme to help exporters develop markets.
Up to $2 million a year boost for Brand NZ promotions.
$1.7 million this year and $800,000 next year toward trade deals with China, Thailand, Chile and Singapore.
$3.5 million to help New Zealand take full advantage of opportunities presented by participating in next year's Aichi Expo.
$1.65 million to begin work on a new embassy in Cairo.
$40 million over four years to promote international education.
$26 million over four years for sector focussed development.
$1.2 million in each of the next two years for management development.
$2.3 million over three years for textile industry transformation.
$62 million over four years to better integrate migrants into the economy.
$3 million for the International Investment Opportunities Fund in 2004-05, increasing to $4 million in 2005-06 and $5 million a year from 2006-07.
$11 million over three years to develop tourism infrastructure.
$21.2 million for new initiatives, conditional on industry agreement, under the Forest Industry Framework Agreement.
$500,000 available if needed for further infrastructure stocktake work in the coming year.
$8 million over the next two years to ease the costs to exporters of Customs export clearance.

ENDS

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