Speech for the Young Designer Awards by Jim Anderton MP, Minister of Economic, Industry and Regional Development - Christchurch, Thursday 16 October 2003, 8:15pm
[ Last Updated 9 November 2005 ]
Greetings
Thank you Graeme Bennett for such a thought provoking introduction.
And thank you to the organiser of this event, Tom McBrearty of the Young Designer Awards Trust, for the opportunity to join you this evening, in this inspiring venue for this inspiring event.
Thank you too, to the young people who've been working behind the scenes to put this event together. It's great to be here, to see the awesome creativity and energy that you, the new generation of design leaders, will bring to bear on New Zealand industry.
Importance of Design
The organisers tell me these awards are about:
- Identifying, stimulating and encouraging the talent and abilities of students in all fields of design
- Developing industry awareness among students
- Increasing students' knowledge of the value of pursuing further education opportunities through tertiary institutions and design-led careers
- And, at an industry level, promoting and raising the standard of design in New Zealand education and industry.
Let me tell you, there is a really good fit between those aims and the coalition government's aims for New Zealand.
Design is increasingly important to the New Zealand economy.
The clothing industry has shown us how the application of design can transform a sector from being reliant on commodity production (like cheap T shirts) to being a producer of high value world leading goods. High end labels like World, NomD and Karen Walker have put us on the world map as a place of fresh, innovative design ideas. And with the fantastic designs on show here tonight, our future in fashion looks very bright indeed. But design isn't just about fashion.
The coalition government sees design as a process that should be at the heart of all competitive businesses.
Design is an enabling process that drives innovation, creativity and efficiency so that we can create competitive products that stand out on the world stage.
This transforming impact of design is something that can be applied to all aspects of the New Zealand economy. We have some fantastic design-led companies in New Zealand - Fisher and Paykel with their dish-drawer, Formway Furniture with their life chair are just two examples. But we want a lot more.
Design Taskforce and GIF
That's why the coalition government last year established the Design Taskforce as part of the Growth and Innovation Framework. The chair of that Taskforce - Ray Labone - is here with us this evening.
Thank you Ray, for your team's work and your commitment to the power of good design.
The Growth and Innovation Framework is about tuning the economy for growth. The government is focusing on building the conditions for long-term sustainable economic growth in order to improve the living standards of all New Zealanders.
The coalition's vision for New Zealand is:
- a land where diversity is valued and reflected in our national identity
- a great place to live, learn, work and do business
- a birthplace of world-changing people and ideas, and
- a place where people invest in the future
The GIF identifies innovation and knowledge as key drivers of growth, and seeks to increase innovation throughout the New Zealand economy. We see design as an important contributor to that.
The Design Taskforce published their report in May this year. The report, Success by Design, set out a blueprint for the use of design by New Zealand businesses. It indicated that we have many advantages, including a well-developed, internationally respected education system, which is evident in the quality of the entries for this award. Our cultural diversity, particularly our unique Māori and Pacific Island influence, delivers an innovative flair and freshness.
The taskforce identified a target of at least 50 existing New Zealand businesses becoming internationally competitive through design leadership in the next five years. And research carried out by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise indicates that there are an increasing number of New Zealand companies well positioned to make this leap.
But the report also identified some weaknesses.
We have not yet made the best use of these advantages. The vast majority of New Zealand firms are small, and many find design services too costly or see it as an add-on to their core business. Even among the bigger firms, there is a general lack of understanding of the value of design, and more could be done to improve the infrastructure of, and capability within, the design sector.
The Design Taskforce came up with a strategy for addressing these problems. The strategy has two parts.
The first is to raise the awareness of design among New Zealand businesses. This includes holding a high profile Design Conference next year, and the implementation of a communications and marketing programme to take the design message to New Zealand businesses.
The second part is implementing programmes aimed at making it easier for New Zealand businesses to understand, incorporate and utilise design in the way that has been so successful for the Fisher and Paykels and Formways of this world. Education initiatives will play a key part in this.
Government Response
I'm pleased to be able to announce tonight, that the coalition government has decided to support all the initiatives recommended by the Design Taskforce.
We have allocated $12.5 million over the next four years to implement the strategy that the Design Taskforce developed.
Much of this funding will be used by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to raise awareness and build capability. Some of the funding will be going to the Tertiary Education Commission to assist with improving design education.
We're also providing support for the establishment of a Design in Business Strategy Group. This group of design and industry leaders will champion the strategy among their peers and guide NZTE as it implements these initiatives. Government funding will get the group started for two years and during that time we'll also take a look at whether we need some kind of permanent grouping to promote design to business.
For me, the taskforce process has been a partnership aimed at building a better understanding of our potential and what we have to do to realise that.
Ultimately what we're doing is building a design strategy for New Zealand business -- so that in time you will see more opportunities for you to exercise your creativity and your flair for innovation here in New Zealand.
Congratulations to all of you here tonight. I'm going to enjoy the evening and wish you all the very best for a design-led future.
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