Top 10 for New Zealand

nzedge.com is commencing a series of “Top 10s” from New Zealanders who will offer their ideas, forecasts, strategies and projections for New Zealand 2007-2010 and beyond.

Initiating the series is John Williams, former owner of the Marton company PEC (New Zealand) Ltd, which was internationally respected as the world's first organization to design and market microprocessor-based petrol pumps and service station POS terminals. John is a passionate advocate for an inclusive export-based vision for New Zealand. John has presented his vision and strategy to all senior politicians over the past decade.

We will invite all readers of this blog to create their own Top 10 for New Zealand and send them to us brian@nzedge.com

John William's Top 10 Strategies for New Zealand (see full text):

1. Maximise growth in the sectors where we currently produce world-class products and/or services. The growth sectors, which have already chosen themselves by their success in export are: Tourism, Dairying, Food & Beverage, Information Technology/ Communications/Software, Education, Bio-technology and Niche Sectors (which would include Film, SuperYachts and Forestry).

2. Ensure that at least 25,000 New Zealanders (net) return annually to settle in New Zealand and play a vital role in growing an export-led sustainable growth economy.

3. Increase exports by making New Zealand organizations aware that if they are successfully marketing their products in this country they must be world-class and therefore have significant export potential; and by introducing support programmes to assist organizations to maximise their exports

4. Introduce the “Kiwi Can” programme to all Primary and Intermediate schools to reverse the continuous drop in values that has occurred in the past 50 years.

5. Re-create the University of New Zealand to compete with the much larger and significantly better resourced US, European and Asian universities.

6. Market New Zealand as “Innovative New Zealand” to increase exports. New Zealanders are among the most entrepreneurial and innovative people in the world.

7. Ensure that the contribution to economic growth from the Maori and Pacific Island ethnic groups (50% of New Zealand’s population by 2050) is significantly and continuously increased.

8. Demonstrate the amazing innovation of New Zealanders by creating a newzealandinnovation.com website, which would detail all our world-class products, services, and ideas.

9. Establish a “Centre of Excellence” for Innovation and Entrepreneurship whose role would be to provide world-class product development, marketing and intellectual property protection advice.

10. Create and widely publicise a “Vision” for New Zealand: “To ensure New Zealand’s future as one of the world’s most socially cohesive, prosperous, and innovative countries, which is sustained by a dynamic, wealth creating, export economy.”

For the full text of John's Top 10, see http://www.nzedge.com/features/john_williams_top10.html

Risk Rd, by Ohinerau St, Greenlane, Auckland. Photo: Sweeney