Adress to the 2007 Export Awards
It is a pleasure to be here tonight to celebrate export excellence, particularly in Export Year 2007.
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It is a pleasure to be here tonight to celebrate export excellence, particularly in Export Year 2007.
Tonight's finalists are leading New Zealand companies across the industry spectrum, all the way from buggy designers to operators of ocean-based paua farms, and much else besides.
Their international successes, and those of thousands of other companies, mean that distinctively Kiwi products and services can be found in many corners of the world.
That's something we as a country can all take pride in.
We all know that a successful export sector is vital to New Zealand's long-term prosperity.
Our government is absolutely committed to working with the export sector to develop New Zealand's international markets. Export Year 2007 has seen our combined efforts rise to new levels.
I thank all those who have made a contribution to Export Year 2007. It has been a partnership between government and exporters.
We in government and our agencies have gained more insights into the issues facing the export sector through the especially close engagement with the sector over the year.
That's because private sector leadership has engaged with us around policies, programmes, and trade missions.
Among those missions, I was pleased myself to lead a substantial business delegation to Australia in June - and Phil Goff has been with a number of companies in Latin America and on the west coast of North America in recent weeks and months.
The enthusiasm of individual business owners, chief executives and senior managers, combined with their active and constructive participation in Export Year 2007, has contributed to the year's success.
Building on our hard work together during Export Year 2007, it is my pleasure tonight to announce changes to the Market Development Assistance Scheme to make it easier for New Zealand firms to expand to offshore markets.
Through this scheme over the past year, nearly 600 Kiwi companies have had half of their investment in international marketing initiatives approved for reimbursement - up to a maximum of $100,000. ----- That meant grants of $48 million dollars paid across those companies.
Obviously the scheme has worked well for those businesses, but others have suggested that the threshold for eligibility needs to be lowered. Our government is responding to that request.
I am announcing tonight that we are halving the amount businesses need to invest in their international market activities to $10,000 before they qualify for a 50 per cent reimbursement. The reduced threshold will be effective from tomorrow.
This change follows major boosts to the Market Development Scheme we have already made in the last 12 months, and makes it even easier for businesses to qualify for assistance when building those vital offshore markets.
The government's Export Credit Office has also stepped up to the plate this year to provide more support, developing a new contract bonding product for exporters bidding for United States federal or state contracts.
This initiative has enabled Kiwi businesses to bid for work in the US which had previously been financially out of their reach. It has proved so successful that the government has decided to extend the Export Credit Office's products further. The details will be announced by the Minister of Economic Development at the Export Year Breakfast tomorrow morning.
Successful as all these initiatives have been, we must keep looking to the future.
Tomorrow morning, Pete Hodgson, Minister of Economic Development will release a document which outlines the vision for New Zealand's exporting future shared by both the private sector and the Government.
The Export Year Private Sector Reference Group has been instrumental in making Export Year 2007 a success, and I thank them all for their involvement.
And special thanks must go to Ken Stevens, who has served as the Business Champion for Export Year 2007.
Ken has worked tirelessly to promote Export Year 2007 initiatives, encouraging people getting started in exporting and providing advice to those who are already exporting. He has travelled throughout New Zealand to events large and small.
He helped bring together the Chief Executives and Founders of more than 100 exporting companies at regional forums to brainstorm on the challenges they had faced and the solutions which can help overcome those challenges.
Thank you all for the part you have played in making Export Year 2007 a success and congratulations to tonight's 2007 New Zealand Export Award winners.