Kiwis are poor because they choose to be, says Sir Paul Callaghan, one of the country's top scientists.
"The choice is as simple and as stark as this: New Zealanders like to work in low-wage activities. Tourism is a classic example. Or people thinking about growing wine and look it's great,
it's a nice lifestyle but, frankly, the revenue per job is poor," he said.
Callaghan says the Government's goal should be to get more workers into jobs that produce high-value exports.
If this is done, he has no doubt it will produce wealth for the country.
"If you look at the profile of high-tech companies in New Zealand, you see the diversity [of what they develop], you see some surprising strengths. We've got a tremendous capacity and we have the capability of growing this sector significantly," he said.
However, Callaghan said the Government did not seem interested in boosting technology and innovation.
"There is no political leadership around this. One of the sad things about the Budget is the signal the Government sends about innovation is that it's actually one of Bill English's like-to-haves, not a must-have.
"I'm not expecting us to ramp it up to OECD levels overnight in a time like this, but [the Budget] doesn't gel with a Government that says 'we want to lift per capita GDP'," he said.
