Mapp Wayne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Mapp Wayne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:670;Page:16527] 
Hon Dr WAYNE MAPP (Minister of Defence) 
: 
 New Zealand has a clear challenge ahead and that is to build exports and growth. That is the critical issue facing this nation beyond all else. Opposition members spend all their time talking about social issues. They did that during 9 years in Government. What happened during that period? New Zealand exports since 2005 have gone backwards. That is what happens when we take the eye off the ball. The previous Government did that and that is why we are in our present situation. That is why this Government has a relentless focus on the economy. We are dealing with a global financial crisis. We are dealing with debt—$300 million per week. I know that Opposition members just airily dismiss it as if it is of no particular consequence and no particular constraint on their $5 billion of promises in just 1 month. They are truly in la-la land on that issue. That is why National is building the conditions for growth. That is why we are building on science and innovation. 
I heard Mr Goff talk today about Sir Paul Callaghan. He obviously does not read what Sir Paul writes. This is what he wrote in the  
Dominion Post  
today; today I note: “… our thinking is too often mired in fashionable cliché rather than serious analysis. Ten years ago we went for ‘biotech’ … Now politicians tout ‘clean-tech.’ ” What did we hear Mr Goff talking about today? I think it was about cleantech. Fashionable cliché rather than serious analysis is exactly where Mr Goff is mired. 
Sir Paul went on to say: “Our future lies in the niches of a world economy … We will creep up on our competitors in the odd spots in respiratory humidifiers”—such as Fisher and Paykel Healthcare—“in crystal-controlled oscillators for GPS on a chip”—such as with Rakon—“in magnetic resonance sensors for the oil industry.”—such as Magritek.” 
Building science and innovation has been my central focus as a Minister. I have been systematic in this regard over the last 2 years. In 2009 there was a focus on fundamental science building up the Crown Research Institute Capability Fund building up the Marsden Fund building up the Health Research Council and establishing the Prime Minister’s science prizes and also arranging the appointment of Sir Peter Gluckman as the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser. 
Early in 2010 we then moved to the reform of the Crown research institutes. We established a taskforce gave them clear objectives and bulk funding for core science and a clear recommendation from the OECD. That has been rolled out. Also last year in the Budget there was building business support for science and innovation. This year on 1 February the Ministry of Science and Innovation was established. Members will hear a great deal more about that over the next few months. However I note that when Labour published the new appointments Mr Shearer who apparently supports the Ministry of Science and Innovation still described himself as a spokesman for research science and technology. All I can say to David is “Catch up.” That is indicative of Labour really. It has to catch up all the time. That is just one small microcosm. 
The programme in each of those 2 years essentially rolls out over 4 years. I shall focus on some of the key initiatives. The technology development grants will grow from $22 million this year to $62 million 3 years from now. The commercialisation transfer budget will grow from $4 million this year to $8 million 3 years from now. The Rutherford Discovery Fellowships primarily for advanced post-doctorates will grow from $1 million this year to $9 million 3 years from now. That will fund in that year alone 50 new Rutherford Discovery Fellowships. That is 50 scientists who will be able to stay in New Zealand building their careers as they advance on from post-doctorates. That is a significant change. Also the science infrastructure fund will grow from $7 million this year to $15 million in 3 years. 
This week we announced $30 million for the national supercomputer project an infrastructure project spread across the University of Canterbury the University of Auckland the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and GNS Science and using other infrastructure as well. I will give members an insight on the companies that get those technology development grants because that is where the rubber hits the road. These are the sorts of companies: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare $500 million of sales last year; Gallagher Group $160 million of sales last year and the one New Zealand company mentioned in a publication in German by Hermann Simon called  
Hidden Champions of the 21st Century 
 about companies that dominate in their field; Rakon with sales of $144 million; Tait Electronics and security $200 million of sales; and the list goes on including Skope Industries Weta Digital and 27 other companies. 
Each of these companies has its niche the kind of approach identified by Sir Bill Gallagher. Each of these companies are leaders in their fields. Our challenge is to grow these companies and a whole range of other companies around them much faster than we have done in the past. That in a sense points to New Zealand’s future. We are already strong in primary industries. That has been the foundation of the New Zealand economy for 150 years. There have been good prices for those primary products in recent years but it is not enough. 
We are strong in tourism. That generates jobs across all the skill levels but with a particular concentration of employment in lower-skilled opportunities. It is a huge sector of our economy. These sectors will grow and particularly in the tourism sector they are job rich. But in truth we also need to add a third sector loosely called high technology. Some of that might be in biotechnology; some might be in information technology or digital media. Much of it however will be in niche manufacturing. Today those companies generate $5 billion of exports. Some as I have said are quite large like Fisher and Paykel Healthcare; many are in the $30 million to $100 million range of exports. They are all listed in the Technology Investment Network publication known as the TIN 100. I know this is well known to various members around this House including I note Mr Shearer. 
The companies in this publication are the ones we need to grow. We need to see the Fisher and Paykel Healthcares grow to be billion-dollar companies. We need a hundred companies to grow from $50 million of exports or thereabouts up to $100 million. That way we would get to $10 billion of exports. That would be just the start of the challenge. Many of the companies are yet to exist or are in their infancy. That is why we also have the technology vouchers a pilot programme with $5 million this year but it has been oversubscribed. We will grow it according to demand. That really sets out the challenge for this nation to grow a new sector of our economy. That is the way we will close the gap with Australia over time. That will be a very substantial challenge in its own right. 
The new Ministry of Science and Innovation also has an innovation board. We have included on that board some of New Zealand’s leading science entrepreneurs including Dr William Rolleston who also runs a company within the TIN 100 group South Pacific Sera a biotechnology company in the Canterbury area. My colleague Amy Adams will know that company particularly well. Also included on the board is Mr Grant Ryan of YikeBike also another Canterbury company. Why have I mentioned that company? The YikeBike was one of the 50 top inventions.