Greens Support Innovation and Hi-Tech Wood

-

In any competitive activity it is always a good idea to play to one's strengths and when it comes to industry and trade, New Zealand's strengths are a temperate climate, an abundance off natural resources and innovative people. Our major exports reflect the first two strengths only, powdered milk, meat and logs earn the majority of our income and 70% of all goods exported are primary products with little added value.

When I was growing up in the sixties in Southland I remember being aware of many amazing innovators and innovations. The Hamilton Jet was still a relatively new and exciting invention; George Begg lived down the road and sometimes tested his internationally competitive racing cars past our house; Burt Munro was breaking speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats and the prefabricated Lockwood homes (see image above) were popping up all over the place. New Zealand was often referred to as the Scandinavia of the Pacific because of our egalitarian society and our reputation for design and innovation.

We are no longer an egalitarian society and our reputation for innovation still just exists, but not because of Government investment (we commit around half the average for the OECD on research and development). Government procurement is now favoring cheap overseas tenders, which has had a detrimental effect on our skilled workforce. Our education system no longer encourages creativity and the technology and science learning areas of our curriculum have been pushed aside because of the focus on literacy and numeracy and data driven systems. It is too hard to measure creativity and technological talent.

The Green Party's latest announcement of awarding $1 million for innovative building design using hi-tech wood is a step in the right direction. It has been over 60 years since Lockwood Homes revolutionized the local building industry using an abundant natural resource and its about time we starting playing to all our strengths. Our talented innovators shouldn't be forced to sit on the reserves benches when we we are trying to compete in global markets and meet our domestic needs.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The US is actually unique for not valuing life!

-
Image
"...that’s what sets America apart from every other country; we value life. That is what makes us unique.” - Sarah Sanders There is a high level of delusion operating in the White House. The stream of mistruths that come out of President Trump and Sarah Sanders' mouths are clearly blatant lies but millions of US citizens believe them. With daily diets of Fox News and living in a very insular culture , there is little that challenges these false perceptions of US "greatness".  When comparing the United States of America with most other developed nations it becomes clear that it probably places less value on life than most and doesn't compare well with many developing countries too: If the US really valued life then it would abolish the death penalty, it is the only Western Country that executes people under law ( 23 people were executed in 2018 ).  If the US really valued life then it would have an equitable and universal health care system. The cur
Read more

The Destruction of New Zealand's Public Education System

-
Image
In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement, and when you compared us with other countries that were also culturally diverse and experiencing growing inequality, we were extremely successful. At that time our Early Childhood sector had received a much overdue boost in funding from the Labour Government after being underfunded (as a % of GDP) compared to other OECD nations for years. The sector was working towards a target of having 100% qualified teachers in all centres. We were also in the process of implementing a new National Curriculum and a complementary curriculum for Maori ( Te Marautanga o Aotearoa ). Teachers were excited about putting all their energies into the new ideas and approaches that were espoused in these co-constructed documents that had taken around seven years to review and write. Evidence, research and practitioner input had created something that would allow us to prepare New Zealand children to become
Read more

ANZAC DAY REFLECTIONS

-
Image
I find ANZAC Day creates a dilemma for me, consequently I rarely attend dawn parades. I fully support people recognising the human cost of wars and remembering family members who lost their lives on battlefields. A grandfather of mine fought in WW1 and was gassed in the French trenches, which compromised his health for the rest of his life. His wife (my grandmother) lost her young brother in WW2. The sacrifices and human costs of war should never be minimalised. However, while speeches at ANZAC parades are full of statements promoting peace and the futility of war, those who campaign hardest for peace, promote nonviolence and call for weapons reductions are often treated like criminals. Anyone who dares to mention our own war crimes or that of our allies are generally shut down or demonised. It has become a sort of cultural heresy to question the reputation and glorification of the ANZACs.  I would love to see greater balance in how we talk about war and properly recognise those who ha
Read more