Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Coopers estimates, for example, that clean-tech industries represent a $9 - 22 billion
opportunity for New Zealand.
Labour believes that enhancing New Zealand‟s natural environment in order to improve our
competitive positioning in the global shift to green growth represents a huge opportunity for
all Kiwis to prosper.
Labour will work with key industry and research partners to develop a strategy that
will provide an overarching blueprint to match our research, exports and international
branding.
Too often our Crown Research Institutes, universities and businesses are disconnected from
each other, despite there being clear national advantage from collaboration. Some public
institutions hold on to intellectual property developed with taxpayer money with the result
that good ideas are not commercialised as successfully as they would be in the private
sector.
Businesses are often reluctant or face obstacles to access and use research expertise in
CRIs and universities, which inhibits high quality R&D that might have been undertaken.
There are a number of areas where closer collaboration – or clustering – may generate
benefits. New Zealand companies are highly specialised in some areas of health technology
as are leading universities.
Labour will explore how better collaboration between CRIs, universities and
businesses might be encouraged without imposing artificial coordination that wastes
time.
Labour will hold open positions for CRI scientists to encourage those who choose to
follow new discoveries into the private sector to develop them for commercial use.
Labour will use the concept of the Centres of Research Excellence to further
evaluate areas where a combination of research expertise can cluster and extend
into areas of business to give a better NZ Inc approach around areas where NZ has
significant advantage.
Labour will promote the clean and green technology sector as a source of
environmental-economic advantage for New Zealand.
New Zealand, for example, can make a leading contribution in reducing carbon output from
pastoral farming. It should be a world leader, in the combination of science and farm
management techniques to reduce carbon emissions.
New Zealand stands to benefit in the development of technologies and manufacturing in
areas of alternative energy, such as geothermal areas. It should build collaborations
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