Dec 1, 2017  - Thank you to ANZ for the opportunity to speak today.  This morning I want to outline the goals and some of the key policy initiatives in the government’s economic strategy; update you on the steps we will take before Christmas including the release of the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update and Budget Policy Statement, and the implementation of our 100 Day Plan.

It is only just over a month ago that the government was formed, built on a coalition agreement between Labour and New Zealand First, and with the support of our confidence and supply partners, the Green Party. While these are three parties with different traditions and histories, they are bound together by a shared desire to deliver a fairer and better New Zealand.

In both these agreements, there is a common mission statement that reads “Together, we will work to provide New Zealand with a transformational government, committed to resolving the greatest long-term challenges for the country, including sustainable economic development, increased exports and decent jobs paying higher wages, a healthy environment, a fair society and good government. We will reduce inequality and poverty and improve the well-being of all New Zealanders and the environment we live in.”

The parties that make up this government have a shared belief that the status quo and the tired out former government were failing too many New Zealanders.

While the fundamentals of our economy were, and are, strong, the purpose of it had become lost. While some enjoyed the fruits of growth, many did not.

This government will change that and build an economy with the purpose of delivering shared prosperity. We are committed to removing the social and infrastructure deficits that have emerged, and to shifting the focus to improving the wellbeing of all our people.

This will be an economy fit for purpose for the 21st Century. Resilient, Adaptable, Productive and Inclusive.

One of the things that struck me over the last few years as I have moved around the country was that the message I received from workers in smoko rooms was the same one I received from Executives in board rooms – the gaps in our country have grown too large. In this year’s Mood of the Boardroom survey 70% of the CEOs said they were concerned about the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Concerns about child poverty, homelessness, and inequality dominated the election.

It’s not the New Zealand way to see our fellow citizens left out and left behind. The clear message from voters was that we had to do better, to fulfil our country’s egalitarian mission.

And to do better, we have to do things differently. In crafting our plans and agreements we have had this at the forefront of our minds.

On a personal level I have had in my mind a man who last year sent me a copy of a letter he had sent to the then Prime Minister. He and his wife both worked, 60 hours a week in total, but they were not making ends meet. He was struggling to pay the bills and he said his children did not play sport because he could not afford the fees. He ended his letter saying “I am lucky. I have a house to live in and my wife and I both work. But we are poor.”

It is a not a successful economy where people in work feel poor or lucky, simply because they have a roof over their heads. A successful economy must be one where all our people can live a life of dignity, security and hope.

Economic strategy

The goal of our economic strategy is to improve the well-being and living standards of New Zealanders through sustainable and inclusive growth. This means moving beyond narrow economic indicators and measures of success, and instead puts the well-being of our people and the environment at the centre.

Budget Responsibility Rules

Underpinning our strategy are our Budget Responsibility Rules.

We set these out earlier this year to ensure that everyone understood our commitment to responsible fiscal and economic management. In government we will abide by these rules.

To recap, this means that we will deliver a sustainable operating surplus each year unless there is a significant disaster or major economic shock or crisis. We will ensure that government spending as a proportion of the economy won’t rise above the recent historical average of 30% of GDP. We will reduce net core Crown debt to 20% of GDP within five years of taking office.

In order to meet these rules, it will require discipline. We have an ambitious programme and a plan to deliver on. We will grow the economy by making it more productive and we will have greater revenue from rejecting National’s tax cuts and cracking down on multinational tax evasion and speculators in the housing market.

But that will not be enough in itself. We also need to reprioritise and seek out programmes that are good value for money.

I have directed all Ministers to assess their Budgets against the new government’s priorities. If programmes are found that do not match these priorities then Ministers should consider whether this funding can be re-invested in new, higher priority areas which match our strategy. This work is already underway and will contribute to Budget 2018 planning.

The last Labour-led government showed that it is possible to be fiscally disciplined and deliver progressive policies. We will do the same.

I want to mention two other pieces of work that underpin our strategy. We have already begun the work to modernise our monetary policy. While in general our Reserve Bank Act has served New Zealanders well, after 28 years the legislation needs to be updated.

We will continue to ensure that inflation is carefully managed within the target band. But we will expand the objectives of the Reserve Bank Act to provide monetary policy support to our goal of improving the wellbeing of New Zealanders, including focusing on maximising employment. As announced within our first two weeks in office we will review the work of the Bank in two phases, looking at the objectives and decision making first, and then other issues including the macroprudential framework in the second. The independence of the Bank remains paramount.

We have also established the terms of reference for a Tax Working Group to investigate possible changes which would make our tax system fairer and more balanced. At the moment, our system supports the speculative economy over the productive one.

The group, led by Sir Michael Cullen, has a mandate to propose changes that will make our tax system fit for a 21st Century economic plan, including the changing nature of work and commerce, and the enhancement of our environment.

Living Standards Framework

One of the things we will be doing differently is how we decide our priorities and how we measure the success of our economic strategy.

It is true to say that our GDP growth in New Zealand has been relatively impressive on a global scale. But that tells us only a fraction of the story. Firstly, it is a measure of activity, not the quality of that activity. And secondly, on a per capita basis, our performance has been significantly less impressive than many of our OECD counterparts.

Our supply and confidence agreement with the Green Party commits us to working on new sustainable development indicators. Alongside this work I have asked the Treasury to further develop and accelerate the world-leading work they have been doing on the Living Standards Framework. This focuses on measuring our success in developing four capitals – financial, physical, human and social. These give a rounded measure of success and of how government policy is improving our well-being.

This is a far better framework for judging our success. It is easy to say a policy is successful if it grows GDP, but what if that is at the expense of the physical environment? How can we be successful if the skill level of our workforce is not improving at the same time? If we do not have strong communities, any individual success can easily be undermined.

Success for us will mean more than just a strong balance sheet - as important as that is. It will be marked by how we improve the well-being of all our citizens.

This framework is still being developed, but I see this approach of focusing on well-being and lifting living standards as a core element of how we will create our future Budgets and measure the success of our work.

It is too late in the process to make significant changes in this regard for the 2018 Budget, but I will have more to say when I deliver that Budget about how this approach will drive our future work.

We will, however, take the first steps in this direction as part of our 100 Day Plan. We will introduce legislation to set measures of child poverty and a requirement to set reduction targets against them. This will include amending the Public Finance Act to ensure this work is part of our Budget process.

I want to say something about the way we must work if we are to achieve the goal of our economic strategy. This will only be possible when central government partners with local government, businesses, iwi, unions and communities. There are some big challenges in front of us, which I will now turn to, but I want to be clear that we will be coming to you to solve them together.

Delivering the Economic Strategy

To deliver this strategy we will have a number of areas of focus. We will develop detailed plans over the coming months but today I want to highlight several key issues.

Lifting Productivity and Wages

Fundamental to creating a more inclusive and prosperous economy is increasing productivity, so that New Zealanders achieve more with every hour they work and our businesses become more internationally competitive. For the last five years we have had almost no labour productivity growth. Low productivity has been a cloud over the New Zealand economy for decades and previous governments have failed to tackle this issue – this government will not.

Lifting the skills of our people is critical to solving the productivity challenge. We believe that learning for life is core to the further well-being of our people and to promoting our economy. The Future of Work Commission undertaken by the Labour Party in the last two years identified this as one of the most important transitional factors in the changing world of work.

Just as the first Labour Government moved to make a full secondary education the norm for people we need to update that vision for the 21st Century. We are sending a clear signal that post-school education and training will be for all.

Let me be absolutely clear – our first-year fees-free policy will come into force from the 1st of January 2018. This is for all quality post-school training. Only about one-third of school leavers go to University. They will benefit from this policy, but so will the other two thirds - those who will go to Polytechnics, other training programmes, apprenticeships and industry training. This policy is also for those who have not studied or trained before but are in work now.

Also critical for lifting productivity is increased investment in Research, Development and Innovation. The first step in this is the introduction of an R and D Tax Credit. Beyond that we will move to work smarter, adding value to change the mix of our exports and using and creating new technologies.

We also want to see wages rise. The government can and will take action to help this happen, including through lifting the minimum wage, paying core public sector staff the living wage and improving fairness in the workplace. But it is through improving productivity and developing new technologies and approaches to work that we will see long term sustainable improvements.

Just Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

Climate change is the greatest challenge facing the world and has the potential to undermine our primary industries. But our response to it is also an opportunity to develop new high wage jobs. The government’s commitment is to sustainable development that makes the transition to a low carbon economy. Work is already underway, under James Shaw’s leadership as Minister for Climate Change Issues, to develop a Zero Carbon Act and an Independent Climate Commission. Through our $100 million Green Investment Fund we aim to stimulate $1 billion of new investment in low carbon industries by 2020. This will contribute both to New Zealand’s climate targets and to the sustainability of our economy going forward.

Supporting Regions To Thrive

It is essential that the regions of New Zealand thrive again, for the sake of the people who live there and to take the pressure off Auckland. Long-term under-investment and inter-generational poverty are undermining areas of the country that have enormous economic potential.

The cornerstone of this government’s response to this is the $1 billion Regional Development (Provincial Growth) Fund agreed with New Zealand First as part of the coalition agreement.

This fund will (among other things) invest in regional rail, supporting the planting of a billion trees over the next ten years, an investigation of the future of the upper North Island Ports, and investment in other large-scale capital projects.

The criteria for the fund are currently being finalised. But I can say that successful bids will have to have robust business cases that show long-term development potential.

There is also a strong commitment to forestry with the development of a NZ Forest Service to be located in regional New Zealand and the regionalisation of some other government services.

Infrastructure To Support Sustainable Growth

One of the biggest challenges facing the incoming government is the need to update and build the infrastructure for sustainable and inclusive growth.

We will make the necessary investments in our health and education assets to ensure that we do not have hospitals that make people sick, or schools where students cannot learn. This is the core role of any responsible government.

Beyond that, we know that at a local government level, a significant amount of infrastructure is inadequate, aging and vulnerable. Many of our local authorities are either at the limits of what they can borrow, or do not have the revenue to service more debt.

At a central government level, we have an urgent and pressing need to fund the infrastructure that will support the unlocking of growth opportunities.

The fiscal plan that we have used as the starting point for our Budget has room for significantly more capital investment than the previous government. This is as a result of a slightly slower debt repayment track that will allow us to make investments such as the capital injection to kick off KiwiBuild.

But to create the 21st Century infrastructure, New Zealand needs to be innovative. We need to unlock capital and capture the value of investments through the work of urban development agencies and innovative instruments such as infrastructure bonds.

We want to work with those who can be partners in taking forward developments that build and modernise our infrastructure. Ministers have come together to identify and co-ordinate this work.

Growing exports through a Progressive Trade and Investment Agenda

New Zealand will and must remain open to business and the global economy. We welcome foreign investment that adds value to our economy, improves productivity and grows jobs.

This does not mean, however, that anything goes. Where we have drawn the line, is to say that we will not accept that there is value in having offshore speculators buying existing residential property and keeping first home buyers out of the property market. We continue to welcome offshore investment that adds to our housing stock.

We have heard the concerns of New Zealanders that they do not want to be tenants in their own land. To this end, we have already issued a new directive to the Overseas Investment Office and legislative changes will follow, to be introduced as part of the 100 Day Plan. We recognise the importance of an efficient and effective overseas investment regime and will be working to improve the operations of the Office.

When it comes to immigration, we must have people with the right balance of skills coming to New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on closing regional skills gaps. We must ensure that those who come to study are in quality courses and are not exploited or are simply here to gain residence.

Where there are genuine skill gaps that need to be filled to drive sustainable economic growth, we will continue to support entry of the people with those skills.

Labour-led governments have a proud record of delivering high-quality trade agreements that open opportunities for our exporters. The government will build on this record.

We have made progress with the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership. This agreement now balances improved market access with preserving our right to regulate in the public interest and also builds a progressive agenda in areas such as sustainable development, labour rights and gender equality.

We will continue to pursue this style of high-quality, progressive free trade agreement, with the European Union, UK and other nations.

Supporting Maori and Pasifika Aspiration

As we move towards the end of the major Treaty settlements it is timely to reset the dial on how the Crown and Maori work together, and how to focus on maximising the strength of Iwi. Through the work of both Minister Kelvin Davis and Nanaia Mahuta the government will support Maori in this process. At the same time, our economic goals will not be met if we do not improve the outcomes of Maori in employment, education and housing where there is still a significant and ingrained disadvantage.

Next Steps: HYEFU/BPS/100 Day Plan

The first steps in delivering on this government’s new economic strategy are included in our 100-Day Plan.

Just last night the first two significant pieces of legislation were passed - twenty six weeks Paid Parental Leave (at a cost of $325m over the forecast period) and the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill that significantly increases minimum standards for rental housing.

Progress is being made on all the measures in the Plan. These include the introduction of a minimum wage of $16.50 an hour from 1 April 2018, in line with the coalition agreement with New Zealand First to lift that to $20 an hour, with effect in April 2021. Contributions to the New Zealand Super Fund will re-commence within the 100 Days. Student allowances and the living costs component of the student loan scheme will both increase by $50 per week from the 1st of January next year.

I want to highlight one part of the 100 Day Plan that will be one of the most significant policies this government will pass this term. Our Families Package. This is an ambitious programme to give low and middle-income workers a much-needed boost in incomes and address inequality and child poverty.

It is paid for by repealing the previous government’s tax cuts, which gave $400m per annum to the top ten percent of earners. Again, in the election the message on this was clear. New Zealanders knew that now was not the time for tax cuts. And that included more than half the CEOs in the Mood of the Boardroom.

This package will deliver increased targeted assistance to families through Working for Families changes, greater support for children in early years of life through Best Start, support for increased cost of living for our seniors and those on low incomes through a Winter Energy Payment and support to deal with soaring cost of rents through the Accommodation Supplement.

It is a major shift to improve families’ well-being, along with other initiatives such as the minimum wage, reducing cost of doctors’ visits and improving the quality of rental accommodation.

In less than a month of being in office, we have worked to develop the details and assess the costs of the plan. All the fiscal costs of the 100 Day Plan, which are currently being finalised, will be incorporated into the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update. This will be released, along with the Budget Policy Statement, on Thursday December the 14th.

You will see when the Half Yearly Update is released that we are meeting our Budget Responsibility Rules, in particular the commitment to reduce net core crown debt as a percentage of GDP to 20% within five years of taking office.

One of the core elements of the 100 Day Plan is the reversal of National’s tax cuts. This provides $8 billion of fiscal headroom over the forecast period. This will more-than meet the costs of the 100 Day Plan and provide further resources to invest in Budget 2018 and beyond.

The Budget Policy Statement will outline our priorities for Budget 2018 and show the level of operating and capital allowances for the next four Budgets. These allowances provide the expenditure necessary to deliver our policy plans, including the coalition and confidence and supply agreements.

All these commitments – outside the 100 Day Plan, which will already be in HYEFU – are now subject to the normal Budget process to finalise details and costings. We will, however be providing the current estimates of the costs of the policies in the coalition and confidence and supply agreements at the time of the release of the Budget Policy Statement.

The HYEFU on 14 December will also include Treasury’s latest forecasts for the economy.

There have been a range of forecasts for economic growth since the new government was formed. Some are more pessimistic than others, with both the Reserve Bank and the OECD Economic Outlook more optimistic than some of the bank economists.

In general these economists agree that over the next year there will be some softening of growth as the housing market remains flat and as net migration tapers off slightly. Then, there is a consensus of a stronger growth track through 2019 and 2020 which is expected to be supported by government policies such as increasing R&D tax credits, increased wages and export growth.

In other words, we’ll be swapping out population growth and the buying and selling houses to each other as our two main growth drivers for much more sustainable ones. That sounds like a good description of our plan.

If that means slightly lower growth for a year while the transition to a productive economy occurs, then that will be a price worth paying.

As one economist put it, we will be passing on the baton of growth.

While I understand a new government and the change that comes with it will inevitability cause some uncertainty I think there is a clear understanding that the government’s policies will ultimately be good for sustainable growth.

Relatedly it is good to note that in the Reserve Bank’s Financial Stability Report released this week the Government’s Housing Plan was highlighted as a reason the Governor felt confident to ease LVRs.

Conclusion

It is sometimes easy to forget that it is little over a month since the government was sworn in. We are making good progress to building the better and fairer New Zealand we have been charged with doing by the public.

The foundations on which we are building our economic strategy are disciplined and careful fiscal and economic management, and a clear goal to see the well-being of all New Zealanders improve. We are moving at speed to implement a 100 Day Plan that will lift incomes and well-being. We are putting New Zealand back on a course of fairness, compassion and shared prosperity. It is early days, but the journey is an exciting one. I look forward to working with you all over the coming months and years.

| A Beehive release  ||  December 1  2017   |||

UDC once among world’s biggest finance companies

Dec 1, 2017  - The failure of the ANZ to consummate its sale of UDC Finance to China’s HNA Group is further evidence to the effect that it is one thing to sell an asset into this region. It is another thing to actually get paid for it.  There are now strong indications that the UDC sale is now back at the point of its departure, the signing ceremony.

Dec 1, 2017  -  Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (for itself and on behalf of Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund) has requested an immediate trading halt to be applied to their respective securities on: 1. the ASX;2. NZX Main Board/Debt Market; and3. the Fonterra Shareholders Market. This request has been made to give Fonterra time to consider the outcome of its arbitration with Danone regarding Fonterra’s 2013 whey protein concentrate precautionary recall. Fonterra has been advised that it will receive the arbitration tribunal’s decision today. The decision document is expected to be both lengthy and complex and neither party has been given advance notice of the tribunal’s findings. Fonterra will not be in a position to immediately assess any financial implications and advise the market. Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said the Co-operative expected to make a market announcement in relation to the Danone arbitration decision as soon as possible after the decision is received. “Fonterra remains in a strong financial position and any damages award will not affect our ability to operate. We will share further details with the market, our farmers and staff as soon as practical,” he said.

| A Fonterra Communications release  ||  December 1, 2017   |||

Nov 29, 2017  - Synlait Milk (NZX: SML; ASX: SM1) today announced that long-time Chief Executive Officer and founder John Penno intends to step down from his position in the next 12 months, as part of an orderly transition to position Synlait for its next phase of growth.  “John has been an exceptional leader for Synlait, but there was always going to be a time when he would move on to fresh challenges. I am glad John’s decision has come at a time where we can provide a well-managed leadership transition. The company is in very healthy shape with a strong balance sheet and a clear future growth plan,” said Graeme Milne, Synlait Chairman.

Mr Penno has been the CEO and Managing Director of Synlait Milk for 12 years, and a founder of Synlait five years before that.

“The Board is embarking on an international search for the right person to lead the business into the future, and John has committed to continuing in the role of CEO until a successor is found and in place.”

“The new CEO will be taking on a company in strong shape, and with a clear vision and growth strategy. Synlait has grown from a start-up in the early 2000s to a highly profitable company listed on the NZX and ASX, with a team of 600 staff, a blue chip set of customers focused in the infant formula category, and committed farmer suppliers. It is currently earning annual revenue of $759 million and has a market capitalisation of over $1.3 billion.”

“From this platform, the company is looking for a CEO with the skills and experiences to take Synlait up another level. We have already signalled to shareholders our intention to continue to develop our infant formula business, and enter new categories where there are significant opportunities.”

“We have expressed our desire for John to continue in a governance role on the Synlait Milk Board of Directors,” said Mr Milne.

“After 17 years of living and breathing this company, it is time to move on, but I share the Board’s intention for me to continue as a Director of Synlait Milk,” said Mr Penno.

“There will be very clear processes to ensure the incoming CEO has the freedom and scope to make her or his mark on Synlait’s future, and I’m looking forward to taking a supporting role.”

“Once the new CEO is in place, I am looking forward to getting back to my entrepreneurial roots and will be looking for opportunities to get involved with start-ups and young companies, which is where my wife, Maury, and I want to continue to make a contribution.”

| A Synlait release  ||  November 29,  2017   |||

Nov 29, 2017  -  New Zealand Energy Corp. ("NZEC" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NZ) announced today it has filed with Canadian regulatory authorities its third quarter 2017 financial results and management discussion and analysis, which documents are available on the Company's website at www.newzealandenergy.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Reflecting on the direction of the Company after the third quarter 2017 results, Chairman James Willis said: “During the last quarter the results for the Company were adversely affected by a number of issues arising from equipment failures and unplanned maintenance. I look forward to a better production performance in the next quarter. We continue to make solid progress towards implementing the Waihapa enhanced oil project. Small but important steps, such as upgrades to the gas processing system (to restore full gas dehydration and measurement) have been completed. And arrangements to enable sales of non-specification gas are being finalised. It is an important project for the Company - the Board, our CEO Mike Adams and his team are focused on ensuring we continue to optimize the project (technically, operationally and financially) and on safely implementing the next redevelopment stage in Q1 2018.”.

Cash used in operating activities for the nine months was $104,829 (2016: $131,768) and for the quarter was $170,437 (2016: $84,143). The net loss for the nine months was $1,463,669 (2016: $2,886,458), of which $1,236,800 (2016: $1,741,293) was represented by non-cash items (depreciation, depletion and accretion). For the quarter, the net loss was $320,376 (2016: $1,126,194) of which $382,531 (2016: $523,198) was non-cash (depreciation, depletion and accretion). The Company achieved average net daily production of 206 boe/d (87% oil) for the nine months (2016: 231 boe/d (76% oil)); and for the quarter 106 boe/d (93% oil) compared to 150 boe/d (84% oil) during the third quarter of 2016.

| An New Zealand Energy Corp. release  ||  November 29, 2017  ||

Nov 28, 2017  -  New Zealand FinTech startups need to be braver and take advantage of rapid innovation and change happening in Asia, says a Kiwi-Asian business and technology trade expert working to attract Asian FinTech startups to take part in version 2.0 of Kiwibank’s FinTech Accelerator, run in partnership by Kiwibank and Creative HQ.  Darshan Shetty, of Auckland and Beijing-based Xing Cheng Xing (Rising Star), says Kiwi startups can learn much from what’s happening in FinTech markets in China, India and Vietnam.

Many Kiwi ventures are too focused on breaking into the United States and European markets, Shetty says.

“Of course, we need to focus on the US and Europe markets, but innovation and change is happening a lot more – and lot faster – in Asia than the US and Europe.

“China is way ahead of the game, especially with WeChat and Alipay leading the charge. India and Vietnam are not far behind but are catching up fast.”

The onus was on Kiwi FinTech startups to be much more agile in putting ideas into practical application – and to take a few risks.

“Compared with Asian startups, Kiwi startups tend to move much slower. Having a clear idea of things is crucial, but there can be a tendency to overthink things, rather than taking action.

“We need to start taking a few more risks as a startup ecosystem and be braver in working closely with Asian markets.”

New Zealand’s reputation in Asia was as a primary producer. That reputation needed to be diversified into FinTech and innovation.

“On the whole, no one knows much about New Zealand when it comes to tech innovation,” Shetty says. “We’ve always positioned ourselves as a country that makes meat, milk and manuka honey and, of course, the Lord of the Rings movies. These are maybe the only topics we ever talk about (in Asia). But New Zealand is much, much more, it just seems we’ve forgotten and ignore the innovation success of Kiwis.”

Shetty says blockchain, cryptocurrency and app-based FinTech innovation was exploding in Asia and were areas Kiwi startups would be well advised to focus on.

“Another area would be to simplify ways to get smaller investments into the New Zealand marketplace from investors who actually want to invest here, rather than just coming here as immigrants. Stock market apps are another growth opportunity in Asia in the automation of market prediction and advice.”

The inaugural Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator resulted in the successful launch of startups including Sharesies, Accounting Pod and Tapi with support, funding and expertise to build, develop and expand their products in New Zealand and world markets.

That success had encouraged Kiwibank and accelerator partners Creative HQ and Callaghan Innovation to launch version 2.0 of the programme, which will be run by Creative HQ’s Lightning Lab accelerator.

Kiwibank’s Peter Fletcher-Dobson says focus of the new accelerator is on helping Kiwi FinTech startups develop a “global first” approach.

“FinTech’s a $1 trillion global industry, with investment increasing every year. As a country with talented people and a good regulatory environment, we can be at the heart of development.

“By having overseas ventures involved, we can expose Kiwi startups to the thinking and technology being applied internationally. The global networking potential alone will be invaluable.”

James Hartley, Manager of Financial Markets Policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, agreed that New Zealand was well-placed to be a leader in FinTech innovation.

“We’ve got some of the most modern and supportive financial markets legislation in the world. On top of that, the World Bank ranks New Zealand as the easiest country in the world in which to both do business and start a business. We’re also the least corrupt country in the world and sit high in financial literacy and innovation rankings.

“Because we’re a small country, we can co-ordinate and act quickly when responding to change. Our policymakers and our Financial Markets Authority are engaging with the FinTech sector and taking an agile approach to innovation. We know larger countries struggle to provide the level of access and openness we have here.”

Applications for the Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator 2.0 close at midnight on December 3. More information can be found at https://nzfintech.kiwi/programme.

| An NZFinTech release  ||  November 28, 2017   |||

Nov 27, 2017  -   New Zealand accounting software CashManager is the first to achieve one of the holy grails in accounting software: direct GST integration with Inland Revenue.  Filing GST returns will become a whole lot easier for businesses using the accounting software from today — they’ll be able to send their GST return to Inland Revenue in less than a minute.

CashManager is making this service available to both its online customers and its PC-based customers.

CashManager is the first accounting software programme to successfully offer this feature on Inland Revenue’s new Gateway Service.

The Gateway Service is the portal between the private sector and Inland Revenue allowing software developers to integrate their products with the tax department’s.

 CashManager Managing Director Grant Hewson says the new feature will make filing GST a breeze for users.

“Integrating directly with Inland Revenue’s Gateway Service eliminates the common risk of human error when manually transferring data from one system to another. Thanks to CashManager, filing tax returns is just a few clicks away; it’s seamless.

“On top of this, amendments to GST filing periods can be actioned from within CashManager instead of having to go through Inland Revenue.”

Other big name cloud based software companies have worked with Inland Revenue for some time on this GST integration. It took CashManager just two months to achieve this result on the new Gateway Service.

“Our system is smart and built for constant development,” says CashManager developer Penny Slater.

“Data security and systems reliability are our two most important priorities so we’re pleased to say the integration is fully tested and robust. Our clients can rest easy and enjoy the extra time they will free up every year thanks to the integration.”

The CashManager team worked closely with Inland Revenue to deliver the feature, a coveted task amongst software gurus, says Hewson.

“CashManager is the first in the industry to connect via Inland Revenue’s new Gateway Services — this really is quite a feat for us as one of the smaller players.

“Automation is something Inland Revenue is really focussing on and it is great to see them working so closely with the private sector.

“The less time Inland Revenue staff have to spend manually handling things like GST returns, the more time they can spend assisting New Zealanders in other ways.”

| A Cashmanager release  ||  November 27,  2017   |||

Nov 24, 2017  -  Australia has reiterated the importance of New Zealand to its foreign policy direction in its latest white paper, with particular emphasis on the role it sees New Zealand playing in its economic engagement with Pacific island countries.  In the Australian government's 2017 foreign policy white paper, released this morning, the relationship with New Zealand is described as "our most comprehensive" and the authors say Australia is committed to deepening it further.

Australia sees itself as "delivering a step change in our engagement with Pacific island countries", with an aim for "more ambitious engagement, including helping to integrate Pacific countries into the Australian and New Zealand economies and our security institutions". Its long-term angle is a region-wide free-trade area that includes all major economies.

The partnership with New Zealand will be central to advancing that agenda, the white paper says.

"New Zealand will remain an essential partner in support of the economic growth, stability and security of the region. Australia and New Zealand will align our approaches to the Pacific," the paper says. "Our cooperation has wider regional and global dimensions. We have high levels of police and military interoperability and collaborate on strategic planning, capability development and intelligence. This will continue to be essential to prosecuting shared interests, including in the Pacific."

The paper discusses the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus, an agreement signed in April this year by New Zealand, Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It built on existing trade deals and will come into force in mid-2019. As part of PACER Plus, both New Zealand and Australia committed to spending at least 20 percent of official development assistance as "aid for trade" in the Pacific region, to help address supply-side constraints and build Pacific island countries’ capacity to trade.

"Economic integration within the region and with Australia and New Zealand is vital to the economic prospects of the Pacific," the paper says. "Growth is constrained for most countries because of a combination of remoteness from markets, limited land and resource bases, the dispersal of people over many islands and environmental fragility.

"When in force, [PACER PLUS] will lay the ground for stronger trade and investment, increasing business confidence through transparent and enforceable rules. Australia will work to improve opportunities for growth and jobs and to strengthen the economic resilience of the region by increasing opportunities for labour mobility to satisfy unmet demand in our labour market, investing in skills, and helping countries to capture growth potential in sectors such as tourism."

The paper stresses the importance of Australia's relationships with the US and China for its interests in the Pacific, and its drive to forge closer relationships with both, even as the two super powers jostle for dominance in the Pacific region. New Zealand is still Australia's biggest tourism market, with 1.4 million Kiwis visiting the country in the latest year, but China was close behind at 1.3 million and had a growth rate of 10 percent compared to New Zealand's 2 percent.

Australia's alliance with the US is central to its approach in the region, and it will broaden and deepen its cooperation with that country, but the government is "committed to strong and constructive ties with China" and wants to strengthen its partnership there as well.

"To support a balance in the Indo–Pacific favourable to our interests and promote an open, inclusive and rules-based region, Australia will also work more closely with the region’s major democracies, bilaterally and in small groupings. In addition to the United States, our relations with Japan, Indonesia, India and the Republic of Korea are central to this agenda," it said.

| Source:  Sharchat   ||  November 24, 2017   |||

Nov 24, 2017  -  Artificial intelligence, machine learning and smart data are major themes at next year’s MobileTECH 2018. This is one of New Zealand’s largest agritech events and will see technology leaders from throughout the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors gather in Rotorua in late March.  The pace of change within the primary sector is continuing to be driven by advances in new digital technologies. While New Zealand has been a world leader in traditional farming systems, it is critical for the sector to maintain and grow productivity through the smart adoption of these new innovations.

“MobileTECH 2018 will continue to be a platform for change and showcase where the industry is headed,” said Ken Wilson, MobileTECH’s programme manager.

“The 2018 programme will feature over 35 speakers covering disruptive topics like the integration of machine learning in health and safety systems, blockchain for secure agricultural transactions and key learnings from the successful rollout of the Internet of Things (IoT) to farms throughout New Zealand.”

Thundermaps uses machine learning algorithms and big data to redefine health and safety in rural locations. OSPRI now use Thundermaps to protect their contractors working on farms. The system tracks millions of data points to ensure, via a mobile app, that the contractor receives relevant real-time hazard warnings no matter how remote the location. Both companies will be presenting at MobileTECH.

Blockchain is set to become the future for payment and supply-chain systems. Australian-based company, AgriDigital, will be on-hand to discuss what this means for the primary industry. AgriDigital delivered the world’s first live settlement of a physical commodity using blockchain technology. The pilot project saw the sale and successful delivery of 23 metric tonnes of wheat to a beef farm in NSW using the blockchain system.

The Internet of Things has moved from being an exciting upcoming technology to one that is delivering real benefits to early adopters throughout the industry. A number of speakers, including network provider Spark Ventures, agritech company ReGen and King Country farmer Lachlan Chapman, will focus on the real-world application of IoTs.

“The MobileTECH 2018 programme will open with the big technology trends and discuss how we can improve investment and collaboration within the agritech community,” said Mr Wilson. “Day two gets hands-on, highlighting practical case studies on the adoption and use of these innovations by primary sector businesses up and down the country.”

MobileTECH 2018 will be running on 27-28 March 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Further details can be found on the event website, www.mobiletech.events..

| A MobileTECH release  ||  November 24,  2017   |||

Nov 23, 2017  -  Air New Zealand is exploring the use of blockchain-based systems within its business, reinforcing its global reputation for innovation and embracing new and emerging technology.  Blockchain is being used globally to build encrypted, shared platforms, providing a secure and efficient way to track the exchange of goods or information. Air New Zealand is looking at a number of potential use cases for the distributed ledger technology including cargo and baggage tracking, retail, distribution and loyalty programme opportunities. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says applications of blockchain are developing rapidly, and the airline is excited by the possibilities. “With its built-in efficiency and security, blockchain has the potential to trigger huge innovation in travel, paving the way for new business models and collaboration.” Air New Zealand is partnering with Swiss travel platform Winding Tree, which is developing the world’s first travel marketplace on blockchain to connect suppliers such as airlines and hotels directly to sellers. “While we are still exploring its benefits, blockchain may offer a streamlined way to retail airfares and ancillary products alongside our current channels. In removing complexity from the sales chain, customers benefit from reduced transactional costs, and airlines benefit from swift and secure sharing of information,” says Mr Golan. Winding Tree Founder and Chief Executive Officer Maksim Izmaylov says Winding Tree is a decentralised alternative to the current travel distribution landscape.   “With a business-to-business marketplace system powering blockchain-based travel booking transactions, startups and companies will be able to gain direct access to travel service providers’ offerings.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Air New Zealand, as it’s an important step in bringing blockchain technology to the travel industry and creating opportunity for innovation,” says Mr Izmaylov.

Air New Zealand has worked with a range of leading technology partners to introduce innovations to enhance the customer experience. These include its artificial intelligence backed chatbot Oscar, who helps customers with queries online and through the Air New Zealand mobile app, and its experiment with the social robot Chip, who assisted customers with check in at Sydney Airport earlier this year. German carrier Lufthansa has also recently announced a partnership with Winding Tree.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  November 23,  2017   |||