Katherine Rich MP
National Party Economic Development Spokeswoman

1 November 2006

Beachheads programme making little impact

The Government's rosy rhetoric about its Beachheads programme does not match the evaluation it released today, says National Party Economic Development spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

Trevor Mallard announced the findings of the Ministry of Economic Development's first review of the programme and said it was providing valuable support.

"But the main criticism in the review is that the programme has made little impact on the performance of participating firms, as measured by turnover growth," says Mrs Rich.

"There are also incomplete policy objectives, a lack of data to provide a full analysis of the programme, and lost communication with programme graduates. This has meant newcomers to Beachheads are not being mentored.

"National is interested in the potential of the programme, but it needs to be developed and run properly.

"Given that the scheme currently helps only a small group of firms, it's important to iron out problems before the programme expands."

ENDS

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