'Huge impact': Nash hails success of Provincial Growth Fund

Economic and Regional Development Minister and Napier MP Stuart Nash at Mihiroa Marae with the CEO of Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotu, Tania Eden. Photo / Warren Buckland

The first three and a half years of the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) shows it is successfully creating jobs and boosting regional economic growth, according to Economic and Regional Development Minister and Napier MP Stuart Nash.

The fund was introduced soon after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Labour-led Coalition became Government in late 2017, with a particular focus on six lagging "surge" regions in the North Island prioritised for funding, including Hawke' Bay.

The evaluation, mainly of responses from stakeholders, covered the period to the end of March 2021, and results were announced by Nash today at a small gathering at Mihiroa Marae, at Pakipaki, south of Hastings, a marae which recently completed renovation work funded through the PGF.

In that period, during which some projects were reprioritised to meet new goals amid the Covid-19 crisis, almost $181 million of projects had been approved in Hawke's Bay, fourth nationwide after Northland ($572 million), Bay of Plenty ($233 million), and Tairawhiti/East Coast ($224 million).

There has as yet been no economic impact report for the region, although there has been one for Tairawhiti/East Coast.

But Nash said: "It's great to see that the PGF has made a huge impact in a very short timeframe. By providing investments into regions that have been historically under-funded, it has helped to build strong, resilient economies."

"We reset the PGF in 2020 with the goal of investing in smaller community initiatives as a way of addressing the impact of Covid-19 on businesses," he said. "The fund has provided regions with billions of dollars, which not only ensures economic security as we emerge from the pandemic but also supports the transition to a low-emissions economy."

He said that fund has so far committed $3 billion in funding, with $1.87 billion paid out so far, and of the 1359 projects approved more than 500 have been completed, providing work for over 16,000 people.