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Nicola Willis: Minister for Economic Growth on new portfolio · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has started the new year with
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  Speaker 1: multiple changes to cabinet. Doctor Shane Letti has lost the
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  Speaker 1: Health portfolio. Simon Brown becomes a new Minister for Health
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  Speaker 1: while handing over his Transport portfolio to Chris Bishop Melissaly
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  Speaker 1: is gone, losing the Economic Development portfolio, which is to
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  Speaker 1: be renamed Economic Growth and handed to Finance Minister Nikola Willis.
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  Speaker 1: Finance Minister and Minister of Economic Growth. Nikola Willis joins me. Now,
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  Speaker 1: good morning, Nikola, thank you for your time.
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  Speaker 2: Good Marthery, great to be on the show.
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  Speaker 1: Is this a new portfolio or just a new name.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it is a new portfolio because the Pen's given
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  Speaker 2: me the mandate to make sure that across all of
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  Speaker 2: the portfolios that make a difference to our businesses, exports,
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  Speaker 2: our industries, our innovators, that we are doing all that
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  Speaker 2: we can so that they can grow, so that they
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  Speaker 2: can best more harm more people, add more value to
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  Speaker 2: what they're doing. And so that means pulling that together
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  Speaker 2: across government, working of course through the Economic Development Agency,
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  Speaker 2: are and doing the work that has been done there
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  Speaker 2: in the past, but building on that to really drive
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  Speaker 2: our growth ad you forward.
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  Speaker 1: So how are you going to do that. What are
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  Speaker 1: your plans for your extended role.
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  Speaker 2: Well, my plans are to get alongside New Zealand small businesses,
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  Speaker 2: our industry leaders, some of those entrepreneurs in our community,
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  Speaker 2: and to work with them to say, Okay, what are
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  Speaker 2: the things getting in your way that are making it
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  Speaker 2: hard to do business in New Zealand. Because the truth
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  Speaker 2: is when businesses are doing well, when they're investing, when
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  Speaker 2: they're spending, when they're hiring people, that's when all New
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  Speaker 2: Zealanders do well. And that's what we want to see.
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  Speaker 2: And we know whether it's regulation, whether it's the way
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  Speaker 2: the science system's working, whether it's the education system, infrastructure,
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  Speaker 2: our investment rules, those things can really get in the way.
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  Speaker 2: So we've been a government that's been making reforms across
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  Speaker 2: all of those areas. But we want to keep going.
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  Speaker 2: We want to go harder. We want to make this
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  Speaker 2: one of the best places in the world to do
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  Speaker 2: business because that will be fit everyday in New Zealand.
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  Speaker 1: So can you give me an example of how you
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  Speaker 1: might work with another portfolio and another department.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, a good example is the Science and Innovation Space.
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  Speaker 2: Doctor Shane Reshi as a Minister for Science, Innovation and
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  Speaker 2: Technology will take responsibility for delivering changes in that area.
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  Speaker 2: My role will be to work with some of our
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  Speaker 2: businesses and industries and to say what do you want
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  Speaker 2: to see happening there, and then to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: we're prioritizing that work effectively, that it's being delivered in
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  Speaker 2: a timely fashion, and also to make sure it really
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  Speaker 2: connects with that economic growth goal. Are we doing the
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  Speaker 2: things in our science and innovation system that will make
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand a wealthier place where people have better choices
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  Speaker 2: and better jobs, and across all of the portfolios, whether
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  Speaker 2: it's the commerce portfolio where we want to see greater
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  Speaker 2: competition in many of our sectors, whether it's the infrastructure
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  Speaker 2: portfolio where we want to see infrastructure delivered better. It's
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  Speaker 2: about continuously working with ministers to say, Okay, we're doing
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  Speaker 2: in a way that will make the ship go faster,
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  Speaker 2: that will make New Zealand grow faster. So I'm looking
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  Speaker 2: forward to it.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, you said yesterday that you want to make New
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  Speaker 1: Zealand a great place for the next generation. You spoke
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  Speaker 1: about our children wanting to live here in New Zealand,
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  Speaker 1: But what about Now what about the young people coming
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  Speaker 1: out of university? What about people thinking of having a
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  Speaker 1: family here in New Zealand. I mean we all want,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we don't really want to wait and need
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  Speaker 1: another generation for New Zealand to be a great place
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  Speaker 1: to be.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I know that that's exactly what I have in mind, Francisca.
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  Speaker 2: My point is for them to want to stay here.
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  Speaker 2: Those are exactly the young people I have in mind.
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  Speaker 2: They need to see not just about what New Zealand's
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  Speaker 2: doing now. They're thinking about what will my life be
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  Speaker 2: like in New Zealand. And I'm raising a family of
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  Speaker 2: my own when I'm here in my thirties, and I
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  Speaker 2: want them to look at New Zealand and see, actually,
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  Speaker 2: this is a country that's going to get beiser and better.
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  Speaker 2: We've got enormous prospects and a world where there's huge
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  Speaker 2: amounts of instability. Here, we are huge natural resources, incredible
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  Speaker 2: sectors across our economy in a government who's going to
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  Speaker 2: back them to grow so that this place will be
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  Speaker 2: a place of great jobs and opportunities. That's what I
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  Speaker 2: want our young people to see. That's exactly the agenda
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  Speaker 2: that I want to try forward.
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  Speaker 1: Nick and I thank you so much for your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning. Appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: That was the new Minister of Economic Growth there, Nikola Willis.
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  Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
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  Speaker 2: Listen live to News Talks at B from five am weekdays,
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  Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio