Thursday, September 17, 2009

PGP Open For Business

On September 16th, I hosted a function at Parliament for around 100 people to officially launch the Primary Growth Partnership.

This major initiative, announced in the Budget, will see up to $140 million a year injected into primary sector growth and innovation. This is a huge investment for a country of our size, and it will bring huge benefits.

The Prime Minister and Bill Falconer, who will chair the Investment Advisory Panel, also spoke and both of them are very excited about the opportunities that PGP will bring to the primary sector.

Main players across the entire primary sector were at the function and people I spoke to were looking forward to getting involved in PGP.

This is the key to the success of the Primary Growth Partnership. It’s all about industry involvement; the PGP is truly a 50/50 partnership.

Since May, a lot of work has gone into developing the criteria for deciding the projects that will receive PGP funding, and the six-member Investment Advisory Panel is now up and running.

Bill Falconer is joined on the panel by John Brakenridge, Dr Kevin Marshall, Colin McKenzie, Joanna Perry and Jamie Tuuta. It’s great to have such an experienced team.

The Primary Growth Partnership is now open for business and I anticipate many fascinating and innovative ideas coming forward.