‘Natural resources a source of wealth and competitive advantage’ says Joyce

Finance Minister Bill English says that the goal of the Business Growth Agenda is to deliver better jobs for New Zealand, both in terms of quantity and quality. “For that to happen we need more businesses getting the best returns for both our economy and our environment from our natural resources.?The report sets out the initiatives that the Government is taking to improve the way we use and manage our natural resources, 49 of them in total.?The Government is taking a hard look at how all our resources are managed, so we can continue to grow our economy and look after our environment,? Joyce says.

But while there was a need for conserving the environment, utilizing the advantage of our abundant natural resources was important if New Zealand wanted to sustain growth according to Joyce, saying: “New Zealand has abundant natural resources. We rank 8^th?in the world for our overall natural capital and 1^st?if calculated on renewable resources per capita. Our resource base is a significant source of our wealth and competitive advantage.”

The report encourages businesses to find ways to become more innovative to get the best results for the economy and the environment.

Building Natural Resources?is the fifth Business Growth Agenda progress report. It follows reports on Export Markets, Innovation, Skilled and Safe Workplaces, and Infrastructure. There are more than 250 initiatives detailed across the five reports released to date. The sixth report,?Building Capital Markets, will be published early next year.