NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

<i>Michael Barnett:</i> Action can make our city the best

12 Oct, 2006 04:35 AM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Opinion by

Increasingly, cities are the generators of the wealth of nations, and Auckland is no exception. Because it is far and away the nation's largest city it offers businesses opportunities in scale and specialisation not generally available elsewhere in New Zealand.

There are job, investment and event opportunities that Auckland has
to attract, because if it does not they will be lost.

So Auckland must outclass other world cities in businesses, jobs and skills, and hosting international events.

Can Auckland offer a better deal to international businesses looking for world-class infrastructure - lower congestion, reliable energy supply and a skilled, adaptive workforce - and a higher quality urban, recreational and natural environment? Is the Auckland lifestyle competitive with other cities, including those in Australia and the Pacific? Larger cities may be able to offer more, but often at the cost of greater congestion and social decay.

On the other hand, Auckland wants to build on its already distinctive lifestyle - to attract jobs, investment and events that improve the nation's economy as well as increase Auckland's standard of living.

Now that we have decided on what economic development path Auckland wants to go down and unveiled the action plan to deliver, the focus of attention shifts to implementation.

We have done well to get to this point. The Metro Project Action Plan launch last week sets out a single platform of immediate and medium-term actions that will evolve for decades.

Through an extensive consultation process with political, business, educational, cultural and community leaders, an appetite for Auckland to change became evident, along with overwhelming support for action to boost Auckland's performance.

For Auckland to successfully compete requires united leadership, world-class infrastructure and urban centres, a powerful regional identity, a skilled and responsive workforce, and increased innovation and export strength. The Metro Action Plan integrates existing and regional initiatives into a single economic delivery plan that addresses these objectives. An implementation agency will be established to co-ordinate their delivery and to monitor progress.

Among the 31 actions the agency will enable on a region-wide basis will be the faster delivery of already agreed initiatives to develop world-class infrastructure and urban centres.

For example, the plan of action provides for: completion of an energy prospectus to secure supply and better manage demand, within one to three years; fast-track deployment of high-speed broadband across the region within 12 months; completion of the CBD and waterfront development by 2026; fast-tracking town centre developments in Eden Park-Kingsland, and a Parnell-Ponsonby corridor within two years.

Initiatives will be taken to transform Auckland into a world-class destination. They include a regional visitor strategy within two years, including a bed tax to help fund the amenities they will enjoy and the events we will host; developing, by next year, a major event portfolio to build a world-class capability and profile; providing world-class sporting, conference and convention centre infrastructure within five years; and building on Auckland's distinctiveness with a region-wide brand and database for tourism, business and community groups, to be in place by next year.

Aucklanders already in employment, job-seekers and new citizens all have the potential to benefit from 19 initiatives designed to upskill Auckland's workforce and increase innovation and export capability of the region's 115,000 businesses.

A skills leadership group will be established almost immediately and be tasked to deliver, within two to three years. a comprehensive database of the region's needs and achieve closer links with similar initiatives under way around the region.

For Auckland to lift its game and develop a skilled and responsive workforce that matches those in other world cities will require an integrated approach embracing employer-employee groups, private and public sector organisations and agencies, and representation of Auckland's diverse communities. A key objective must be to realise that the diversity of the workforce is an asset.

On the export front, action will be taken over the next two years to encourage high-growth potential businesses to achieve their potential.

Initiatives will include: improving access to pre-seed funding; improving co-ordination and information-sharing within investor groups and networks; ensuring tax policy rewards investment in early-stage ventures; gaining more value from offshore networks; and profiling innovation success in Auckland to encourage more business to locate here.

Auckland has good reason to be encouraged by the launch of this action plan. First, it is an unprecedented example of the region collaborating and working together to provide a single plan for advancing Auckland's economic development.

Second, the Government has given its strong backing to the initiative. At the project's launch, Prime Minister Helen Clark pledged the support of government agencies.

Helen Clark has previously commented on New Zealand's need for Auckland to stand up and be heard concerning international competition between world cities.

This plan is a start to getting Auckland back up to speed. As New Zealand's only city of international scale it is essential that Auckland takes effective and efficient action to transform its economy to a level needed to "step up" to be a city that performs at the top level.

In an initiative of this kind, the profusion of words and promises can smother the situation they seek to address. In this Metro Project Action Plan, the intention is to clear the decks of the talk about what Auckland's problems, and actually do something about solving them.

The key is action - taking effective and resolute action to harness Auckland's world-class potential.

As we move into the 21st century, we have the opportunity to build a new confidence in Auckland and Aucklanders, and enhance its reputation for innovation and enterprise.

Many people perceive Auckland as too disorganised and fragmented to be a true world city. The action plan illustrates the strengths we must promote and develop to consolidate and enhance our interaction with the rest of the world.

This is not an end game, but a beginning - a new chance for Auckland. Having started down this road, there can be no turning back.

* Michael Barnett is chairman of the Auckland Regional Economic Development Forum. The Metro Plan of Action is available at Auckland Regional Council - The Metro Project

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Going to be real cold': Polar blast brings monster waves, freezing temps and heavy snow

06 Jun 07:14 PM
New Zealand

Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 6 2025

Herald NOW

Herald NOW: Daily Sports Update: June 5 2025

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Going to be real cold': Polar blast brings monster waves, freezing temps and heavy snow

'Going to be real cold': Polar blast brings monster waves, freezing temps and heavy snow

06 Jun 07:14 PM

Auckland expects morning thunderstorms and hail, clearing by afternoon.

Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 6 2025

Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 6 2025

Herald NOW: Daily Sports Update: June 5 2025

Herald NOW: Daily Sports Update: June 5 2025

Hawke's Bay architecture shines at Te Kāhui Whaihanga awards

Hawke's Bay architecture shines at Te Kāhui Whaihanga awards

06 Jun 06:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search