The Government has launched a new approach to industry policy, aimed at growing more innovative industries in New Zealand and lifting the productivity of our key sectors.

New Zealand has a strong economic foundation but our productivity has continued to fall behind our main competitors. To take advantage of the opportunities of the technological revolution the Government has announced Industry Transformation Plans will be developed for key sectors.

Industry Transformation Plans will be sector-led and government supported. They will involve partnership between government, business, workers and M?ori.  Each will be unique to its industry but will build on any existing work to:

• describe an agreed vision for the future state of the sector; and
• outline the actions required to realise this vision, including investment, innovation and skills development.

The Government is committed to working with its partners to grow more innovative industries. Boosting productivity, including redirecting investment towards more productive sectors, is crucial if New Zealand is to lift the standard of living of all Kiwis, and this will be a key initiative for achieving this.

The initial priority sectors for developing Industry Transformation Plans are agritech, digital technologies, food and beverage, and forestry and wood processing.

Over time, this could be expanded into other areas such as creative industries, tourism, aerospace, health technologies and renewable energy.

WeCreate is the alliance of New Zealand’s creative industries and has worked with government to provide to quantify information and statistics about the current extent and potential of the creative industries.

Creativity is a proven driver of human health and development, educational achievement, social harmony and economic growth. WeCreate unites over 25,000 Kiwi artists and organisations who enhance our society and culture, and contribute billions of dollars, and more than a hundred thousand jobs, to our economy. The New Zealand Society of Authors is a member of the We Create coalition.