Innovation, technology, and science central to Going for Growth

This latest update focuses on what the Government has been doing to ensure our science, innovation and technology system is set up to deliver growth, investment and commercialisation. This includes:

• Creating the Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council to set priorities for the system, and ensure public investment is delivering value for New Zealand.
• Establishing three new Public Research Organisations – the New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science, the New Zealand Institute for Earth Science, and the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science – from existing Crown Research Institutes, to unlock innovation, drive economic growth and improve lives by translating ideas into commercial success.
• Committing $231 million to establishing a fourth Public Research Organisation, the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology (NZIAT), a cornerstone for growing a high-tech, high-value economy.
• Through the NZIAT investing $71 million in an advanced technology platform to grow New Zealand's hi-tech exports based on cryogenics, superconductors, magnets and processed material. A further $70 million will be invested in innovative AI research and applications.
• Launching New Zealand’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy, to boost productivity and capitalise on the $76 billion AI could add to our GDP by 2038.

The update was released during a visit to a dairy farm in Waikuku, north of Christchurch, by Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis and Science Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti. The Ministers also welcomed a $1.2 million investment from AgriZeroNZ in Canterbury start-up Āmua, which is developing a wearable device for cows that could reduce nitrous oxide emissions by up to 95% and nitrate leaching by 93%.

This is the fourth chapter that has been updated since the launch of Going for Growth in February 2025. An update to the Promoting Global Trade and Investment chapter will be released soon.

Read the Minister’s press release:

Backing innovation to boost farm productivity(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz