Those themes are consistent with Government thinking as we move to speed up the transformation under way in our economy.
The Government is placing a huge emphasis on education, particularly literacy and numeracy programmes and early childhood education.
We are now considering the recommendations of a working group that has produced a blueprint for improving the quality and participation rates of early childhood education services.
Considerable work is going on to lift the quality of tertiary education and to tackle destructive competition in the tertiary sector.
In September, the Government announced a $35 million change fund to enable universities to adapt to a more strategic, specialised approach. Tertiary education is an investment priority, with $800 million earmarked over four years to freeze fees and cancel interest on student loans.
Another initiative, establishing Centres of Research Excellence, was provided for in this year's Budget.
The Science and Innovation Advisory Council, created by this Government, has proposed an innovation framework for New Zealand.
Work led by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is now being done to coordinate policies that can contribute to a more innovative, upmarket economy.
To boost innovation this Government has increased spending on science and research and improved the tax treatment of research and development.
The importance of science to our development as a knowledge-based nation was reflected in the Government's decisions last week in response to the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification.
Those decisions were about keeping up to date with the latest technologies, while not compromising the health and safety of our people and environment.
We are pioneering business incubators, which provide workspace and support services for new businesses. They are a key part of the Government's economic development strategy and $1.85 million has been set aside for their development this financial year.
Last month, I opened the Dunedin Fashion Incubator, a showcase for the talents of the city's young designers.
New Zealand is already a highly connected society and we are continuing to build more sophisticated links.
Also last month, the Government announced it was launching up to six pilot schemes to pave the way for broadband services - high-speed two-way internet connection - in regional New Zealand. The Ministry of Economic Development will pay for the $300,000 pilots.
Two Government-private sector projects have been looking at how to attract and retain both talent and greenfields foreign direct investment. On September 16, the Government responded to calls for New Zealand to attract more skilled and business migrants by unveiling a new immigration programme, which focuses on attracting talent.
We are now finalising a talent visa policy to ensure that employers can speedily recruit skills not available in New Zealand.
The Government has put $100 million into the newly created New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, which will co-invest with the private sector in seed and start-up businesses.
Recommendations from the Knowledge Wave conference for expanding the venture capital industry are still under consideration.
This is a cross-section of the work going on to build a more skilled, innovative and enterprising nation.
There are many other initiatives aimed at boosting our performance in areas such as trade, business, education, science, research, the creative industries and tourism.
This work is critical to our future, and the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference helped to give it momentum.
Other Herald features
Our turn
The jobs challenge
Common core values
Proud to be a Kiwi
