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Cameron Brewer: Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing on GDP growth · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So we had the GDP figures out and the first
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: three months of the year came in at a decent
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: point eight percent, showing an economic recovery was getting under way.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: We'll wait to see what the impact of the war
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: has been on the next figures. Manufacturing. Though, manufacturing let
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the charge up three point two percent month on month
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and five point six percent year on year, but the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Employers and Manufacturers Association say it's no time right now
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: to celebrate. The Manufacturing index had seven months of positive
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: which sort of came to an end around May.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: We were going through a good patch until mister Trump
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: put the brakes on.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Everything exactly right. So joining us right now is Cameron Brewer,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: who is the Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Hello Cameron, good morning Andrew.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: So what are the numbers show you will?
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: The numbers tell us that at the start of the
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: year the economy was recovering strongly and manufacturing was leading
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: the charge. So it was a really good start to
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: the year, Cavi.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: My question for you, Cameron is why manufacturing everybody else
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: is sitting down there in the point sevens and the
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: point eighth. But there here we got a three point
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: two and a five point six. What's happening in manufacturing?
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, manufacturing, we're seeing a bit of a renaissance in
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: New Zealand. And as I go up and down the country,
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: you know, things are still going pretty well in many
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: cases as far as forward orders go, and overall medium
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: to long term confidence. Manufacturing is doing pretty well. And
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I would say it's got a government that supports it,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: and it's got a sector that's it pins its ears
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: back and is looking to you know, it's in line
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: with our aspirations of growing GDP, of our growth a
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: gender and doubling our export receipts.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Well, for so long though, we did not have our
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: ears pinned back. For so long we thought, oh, China's
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: just beating us the cost of manufacturing so much lower,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: and we lay down and accepted defeat. So I'd love
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: to know it from manufacturing. What change is it that
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: we actually found products that only we could make and
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: that we could lead in the world stadium?
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well exactly that there's you know, you go around
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: in some of some of these high tech manufacturers and
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: high tech innovators, particularly around manufacturing is extraordinary up and
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: down the country. At the bottom of the South island
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: to the north of the North Is. It's amazing just
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: how much manufacturing is happening in New Zealand and how
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: much it continues to grow. You know, when you look
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: at it, some as you're saying, Andrew something at the
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: barbecue or dinner party, that it's a sunset industry. But
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: the reality is manufacturing is eight percent of our GDP,
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: It employs about order a million New Zealanders and it
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: represents about sixty percent of our exports. So a lot
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: of people are still involved in manufacturing. And thank goodness
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: for manufacturing because in that first quarter of this year
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: we saw it leading.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: The charge absolutely. And now I've got a peace deal
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: and hopefully times will get better and better and only
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: better and better for manufacturing. Cameron Brewer for Small Business
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: and Manufacturing. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
• 3:05
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• 3:08
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