Chief Executive’s introduction
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Tēnā koutou katoa,
As the Government's lead microeconomic agency, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has a critical role in supporting a productive, resilient and growing economy. Our work spans the systems, services and partnerships that enable businesses to invest, innovate and grow, while ensuring New Zealanders can participate in and benefit from economic opportunities.
The 2025/26 year was one of both achievement and reflection for MBIE as New Zealand continued to navigate a complex economic and global environment, with ongoing fiscal pressures and international uncertainty. Against this backdrop, MBIE remained focused on supporting the Government's priorities and delivering critical services relied upon by millions of New Zealanders.
My appointment as Secretary for Economic Growth reflects a clear expectation that MBIE will sharpen its focus on outcomes and help drive New Zealand's economic performance. This means being relentlessly focused on what makes the greatest difference for growth, productivity and prosperity, while ensuring we deliver value for money and maintain public trust and confidence.
While we can be proud of our achievements, we have also taken an honest look at where we must improve. The discontinuation of the Biometric Capability Update project and findings of the independent Greg James Review of the Biometric Projects highlighted shortcomings in our governance, oversight and delivery practices. The findings of the Privileges Committee in relation to this project highlighted the need to strengthen our processes, training, assurance, and accountability for providing accurate, complete and timely information to Parliament and its committees.
As Chief Executive, I accepted these findings.
We did not meet the standards expected by Ministers, Parliament and the public. A programme of work was established in response to strengthen governance, assurance, risk management, financial oversight and organisational accountability. This remains a key priority.
As an organisation, we are committed to strengthening our culture, performance, lifting capability, and ensuring MBIE is best positioned to support the Government's ambition for a stronger economy and better outcomes for all New Zealanders. We are continuing to evolve how we work, use technology and deliver services so we can continue to improve as a modern and effective public sector organisation. We strengthened organisational capability, invested in leadership and workforce development, and improved our use of data and digital technology.
A renewed focus on economic leadership is also beginning to shape how we work across MBIE. We have been strengthening our engagement with businesses, industry groups and stakeholders across the economy, building a more visible presence and drawing on their insights and deepening our understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing New Zealand’s economy. This strengthened understanding helps inform the delivery of the Government’s work programme.
We delivered a broad programme of economic reforms, including open banking, competition, consumer, building, and tenancy reforms, a new economic benefits test, simplified procurement rules, improved digital services for business and supported actions across the Going For Growth agenda. MBIE also progressed major reforms to the science, innovation and technology system, we established new public research organisations, launched New Zealand's first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and supported greater adoption of emerging technologies.
Ensuring New Zealand has the workforce needed to support growth was also a focus. We supported changes to immigration settings to help businesses access the skills they need, including changes to the Skilled Migrant Category to provide new and faster residence pathways for skilled workers, and the introduction of new seasonal visa pathways and reforms to the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme to help employers meet workforce needs.
We made significant progress in supporting regional infrastructure investment to improve resilience, connectivity and economic opportunity through projects across New Zealand. We also supported the Government’s priorities for energy security, new generation capacity and increased renewable energy use, with renewables providing around 95% of generation in the December 2025 and March 2026 quarters.
When international geopolitical events disrupted global fuel supply chains, MBIE led the Government's response, coordinating with agencies and industry partners to maintain fuel security and supply and minimise economic disruption. This experience reinforced the importance of resilient infrastructure, strong cross-system coordination and long-term preparedness, and has informed further work to strengthen New Zealand's approach to energy security.
Alongside this work, MBIE continued to deliver frontline services relied on by millions of New Zealanders from immigration and tenancy services to consumer protection, dispute resolution and business registries.
Again this year, our people demonstrated a strong commitment to public service. They delivered for New Zealanders while responding to emerging challenges and implementing change in areas where we must improve. I thank them for their hard work, dedication and contribution to MBIE's purpose of Growing New Zealand for All.
Nic Blakeley
Secretary for Economic Growth and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Te Tumu Whakarae mō Hīkina Whakatutuki