Outcome One: Prosperous and adaptable people, sectors and regions
To ensure prosperity now and into the future, our people, sectors and regions will need ongoing adaptation to changing national and global environments. This year has witnessed MBIE’s work towards supporting our people and businesses across regions to adapt to uncertainties.
On this page
Text version of outcome one – progress
MBIE continued to unlock economic development opportunities, sustainable jobs and infrastructure in the regions to foster regional growth. For example, the Kānoa - Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit managed a new $200 million fund to help communities realise their economic potential accelerating Māori economic aspirations and supporting sector transformation.
As part of our effort to build inclusive growth and resilience into both urban centres and rural areas, MBIE has contributed to the re-setting of tourism to be more sustainable and resilient. Our implementation of the $200 million Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Reset Plan provides nationwide support for the tourism sector. We also administer the Creative and Cultural Events Incubator Fund, with a particular focus on Māori and Pasefika arts and culture, which is unique to this part of the world. In 2020/21, the Incubator encouraged Aotearoa New Zealand’s creative and cultural events to apply for a funding boost to help them grow and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Another example of building resilience is through providing support to communities, workers and workplaces affected by the once-in-250-year flooding event in Napier in November 2020 via the Temporary Accommodation Service.
We continued to work towards balancing the dual imperatives of immigration so that we bring in the skills Aotearoa New Zealand needs while protecting our national interests and the interests of those arriving into our country. This ongoing work will be informed by a regional perspective, through the Regional Skills Leadership Groups, to ensure that our immigration, welfare and education systems are working in a coordinated way, which contributes to regions’ labour market aspirations. In July 2020, MBIE assumed responsibility for administering MIQ, which enables people who meet specific criteria to enter New Zealand while keeping COVID-19 at the border. In 2020/21, we worked with 15 councils and their communities across Aotearoa New Zealand in the Immigration New Zealand-led Welcoming Communities programme. This programme is crucial in building links in communities, promoting inclusion and diversity and facilitating knowledge sharing and best practice across regions.
What we're working towards
| Performance measure | Indicator | Current trend 1 | Desired trend | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase household incomes | Total real household median weekly income from all sources, by region | Increase |
Increase |
Total real household median income (from all sources, based on 2012 prices) was $1,655 per week in the year to June 2021. This is an increase of $67 or 4.2% compared to 2020, after a fall in 2020 affected by COVID-19. Over the past four years real median incomes have grown on average 2.5% per year. Regions with the highest annual growth rates in total real household median income (from all sources, based on 2012 prices) were Gisborne (11.3%) and Northland (10.9%) in the year to June 2021. Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/ West Coast had the lowest growth rate (-4.9%) in the year to June 2021. These regional incomes were Gisborne $1,632 in 2021, $1,467 in 2020; Northland $1,351 in 2021, $1,218 in 2020; Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast $1,401 in 2021, $1,473 in 2020. |
| Increase labour productivity | Labour productivity growth | Steady |
Increase |
Labour productivity growth was 0.6% in the year to March 2020, a change from 0.4% in the previous year. The five-year (2015–2020) compound annual growth rate was 0.7%, down from 0.9% in the previous period (2014–2019). |
| Decrease income inequality | Percentile ratio (P80:20) of household income after housing costs for all households | N/A | Decrease |
There is no update for this measure in 2020/21 as the report was not published online in 2020. In 2019/20 we reported that income for the top 20% of households was 3.05 times greater than that of the lowest 20% (after adjusting for housing costs) in 2018. The five-year average value of the ratio was 3.07. While this five-year average has fallen slightly in the last few years, it has been fairly stable since 2011. This ratio is a measure of household income inequality. P80:20 is the ratio of the incomes of the top 20% of households to the bottom 20% of households. |
1 Throughout the tables in this section, the current trend is reported as ‘steady’ where there is a change in the numerical value but the change is not signifcant.