PM To Unveil Innovation Strategy In Opening Speech

The Prime Minister will use her opening speech to parliament tomorrow to unveil the Government’s strategy to boost New Zealand’s economic performance.

Helen Clark says the innovation strategy is a response to last year’s Knowledge Wave conference, and will inform the 2002 budget.

However, she stressed at this afternoon’s post-Cabinet press conference that the strategy is not a budget statement, but a policy framework, and has no dollars attached.

She said that while New Zealand’s economic fundamentals are sound, that’s not enough to produce the level of growth the country needs to raise standards of living.

Miss Clark said the framework is a work in progress, which the Government has developed with a great deal of private sector interaction.

“We are rather big on public/private sector partnerships,” she said.

Miss Clark said substantial reports from the private sector and the Science and Innovation Advisory Council would be released tomorrow as well.

She said the framework is business friendly, but people shouldn’t expect anything resembling the economic agendas of the eighties and nineties.

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