26 May 2005

Anderton encourages partnerships with NZ business

New Zealand is an excellent place to find and grow partnerships that connect to global niches, global value chains and successful businesses, Jim Anderton said in speaking to American investors and business people in New York last night.

"If you have been watching the New Zealand economy for a few years, you might be surprised at how much it has improved. It’s performance over the last five or six years has been as strong as for any comparable time in the working life of just about anyone in the workforce today.

"Growth has averaged four per cent a year over the last six years. That has clearly out-stripped the OECD average of 2.5 percent. Unemployment fell at the end of last year to its lowest level since we started collecting household labour force data in the mid-eighties. Economic growth in the last few years has been particularly strong - 4.8 per cent in the year ended December 2004.

"These are signs that we are on our way to achieving our main objective: an inclusive, high wage, high value-added, high growth economy, enabling a higher quality of life for all New Zealanders.

…..

"As the world demands more uniqueness in production, and as the premium for creativity rises, I believe our global partners will come to value the skills of New Zealanders more in the future.

"I urge you to deepen your involvement with New Zealand with confidence that we are headed your way the right way," Jim Anderton said.

FULL SPEECH NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.beehive.govt.nz/anderton www.progressiveparty.org.nz

ENDS

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