We want businesses making well researched informed choices. To this end the government, in partnership with the private sector, will champion e-commerce across the community. This summit and strategy are the first steps. In the New Year the key messages from the e-commerce summit will be taken to the regions through a series of workshops. A guide for Business, which you have a copy of in your satchels.
Excellent research is crucial, and has been lacking so far.
To fill this gap the government will identify a research programme to better measure the uptake of e-commerce, improve our understanding of what hinders business uptake, and benchmark New Zealand against the rest of the world. Some of the significance of the strategy is that it is a commitment by government to consider the e-commerce angle across the whole range of its other activities. In terms of social policy, this includes work on digital divide issues. At a third of GDP, government activity is a huge part of the economy. It is therefore essential that government walk the talk.