Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

NZTech Manifesto Stresses Importance Of Technology To NZ’s Future

The next Government must support the use of technology to transform the economy, lift the performance of New Zealand industries and create high-value jobs, according to NZTech CEO Graeme Muller.

NZTech has released its manifesto for the upcoming election, New Zealand’s Digital Future, which cites six key areas the next Government must focus on to enable and grow Aotearoa as a Digital Nation: education, inclusion, sustainability, safety, growing exports, and lifting productivity
Highlights include:
• Developing a national Digital Skills Strategy to coordinate public and private sector initiatives to lift digital skills
• Providing affordable internet access to all New Zealanders, including free internet access in all public housing
• Developing a climate technology roadmap for New Zealand’s Emissions Reduction Plan
• Enabling biotechnology investment through modifying New Zealand’s genetic modification laws
• Increasing investment in critical cyber security infrastructure and education for New Zealand businesses and the public
NZTech represent 20 tech associations with over 2,000 members who collectively employ more than 100,000 New Zealanders. The organisation is a lead partner in the Digital Technology Industry Transformation Plan (ITP), a collaboration between the New Zealand tech sector and the New Zealand Government, to help grow the country’s second-largest export sector, responsible for almost $10 billion in exports.
As in past elections, NZTech continues to advocate for a Minister of Technology to be part of the next Government, a move which the National Party has included in its tech policy.
Technology impacts the entire economy and it needs a strong voice inside Government, says Muller.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Tech’s influence is so significant it urgently requires dedicated Government leadership and oversight. This role should address a wide range of issues that collectively improves digital safety, and lifts equity, sustainability and prosperity for all in Aotearoa, by creating jobs, export growth and impact through tech for good.

“The introduction of this level of focus should help with cross sector coordination to take advantage of tech where possible and be better prepared to manage any emerging tech risk, such as the role technology should be playing in our emissions reduction commitments.”

NZTech’s recent Digital Skills for Tomorrow, Today report identified the continuing challenges organisations across the economy are facing accessing the digital skills they need to grow or provide better services for New Zealanders.

“While work is underway to improve the development of local talent, immigration will continue to be critical to ensure we have the skills in New Zealand to take advantage of quickly evolving technologies like AI and cybersecurity,” says Muller.

In 2022 there were 23,433 tech firms in New Zealand who employed 118,070 people in New Zealand and thousands around the world. The top 200 exporting tech firms workforce grew 10.9% per annum and the average salary of people working in the tech sector is over $100,000. The tech sector is New Zealand’s second largest export sector, and exported $9.8 billion in 2022, while contributing $20 billion to GDP. View the latest tech metrics here. Learn more about NZTech and its work.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On The Government’s Smokefree Laws Debacle

The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out - for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable view is that the government was being deliberately misleading. Are we to think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a fool, or a liar? It seems rather early on in his term of office to be facing that unpleasant choice. Yet when Luxon (and senior MP Chris Bishop) tried to defend the indefensible with the same wildly inaccurate claim, there are not a lot of positive explanations left on the table.... More


 
 
Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More


Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.