Can Councils and Government Really Be Pro Development?

Last year I was part of a State Services convened panel to look into ways that government could encourage innovation in business and service delivery. While fine in theory I could envision the horror of Departments of Innovation forming with innovation quota being allocated to all arms of government.
Innovation is not like that. It crops up in the most unlikely places and happens when it happens, not according to set times lines. The best that government and local bodies can do is not to prevent it with strangulation by regulation.
So, it was with some scepticism that I attended the local council’s Economic Development Summit.
Attitudes are the most important aspect of pro-innovative pro-development programs, so it is fine to see local and central government folk at least adopting a positive attitude, particularly in the face of a bureaucracy almost purpose designed to prevent innovation or development. We need to commend these first faltering steps as it means giving up some the control so beloved by council staff, and instead empowering ratepayers to actually have a go.
The mayor kicked things off in a positive way. (Why is it all mayors subscribe to the "never use a sentence when a paragraph will do" speech philosophy?). The PM herself followed endorsing this giddy message of business growth.
Then Parakura Horomia shuffled on stage to front the audience of so-called movers and shakers, surprising them all with an emphatically delivered message that Maori are on the move and are a commercial force to be reckoned with. They want to develop their assets, mostly land, and they mean to get on with it using partners where it is wise to do so. He probably under-estimated how ready the business audience was to embrace and support this message, never the less he made some great points worth repeating here.
Nearly all Maori of his age (50ish) had parents who earned their income from manual labour, but that is changing. Twenty percent of all qualifications earned in NZ last year were earned by Maori! Maori are the biggest fishing company in the South Pacific and the biggest group in meat exporting in NZ. They have been rated the most entrepreneurial people in the world, especially their women. Maori do Research and Development and they are starting to think globally.
Maori business success is NZ success! Surely this is the way to better living standards and better relations, but can we do it?
In the midst of this radiating euphoria, and while some of us tried not to think of just how slowly things really happen when the bureaucracy decides to help, a few of the old worries surfaced. While encouraged to expand broadband it was pointed out that although now available nearly everywhere, the council don’t allow their building inspectors to contact the public via email.
Anti-mining quotes slipped from some of those on stage, yet we are encouraged to match the Aussies for productivity. Well, the main difference between Kiwi productivity of and that of our pro-Japan rugby mates, is that their main industry is digging things up and exporting them.
Much has been made of the recently reported figure of $1billion of farming exports from Northland’s 4500 farms, probably covering nearly a million hectares. What about the fact that Northland’s two mining companies using the area of about 5 farms produced $200million of product? Gold mines are on the menu. Can we face up to sense in good mining practice with our rather Luddite way of thinking?
A few years back an Australian prospector found a deposit of Cinnabar, (the ore body containing Mercury,) by tracing very high Mercury levels in a Northland stream until the level dropped. He sought permission to export this stuff, but was rebuffed by those opposing mining on the basis of danger to the environment. The result is no mine, no income but Mercury still here leaching into the stream. Is this innovative development?
Wayne Brown