This year we have a bit more serious activity albeit spread across a plethora of initiatives. Steve Thompson, CEO, Royal Society of NZ recently calculated that there were 32 separate Government funded programs seeking to fund research and innovation. Plus some additional funding for various regional, growth and export oriented activities. While scanning all this I have had half an ear on the television broadcast of the budget debate in Parliament. Whilst Government support is nice to have, if New Zealanders are to regain the ground lost by successive well intentioned but role-challenged Governments since the 1950s, then it s the goal that has to change.
Businesses create jobs.
And there is no money to pay for law and order, welfare, education and health care unless business succeeds in providing those jobs. Further, innovation is the only means by which a small, remote nation like New Zealand can participate in the world markets. We can look enviously at other small countries like Ireland and Finland and wonder why we cant turn a switch and replicate their success. But as someone commented in The Economist last year, a circle with a radius of 2,200 kilometres centred on Wellington encompasses only 3.8m people and a lot of seagulls. A circle of the same size centred on Helsinki would capture well over 300m people.