5.15 pm - By NEIL SANDERSON
The Government should consider turning Auckland into a super city, or perhaps do away with local governments altogether and replace them with 3-4 regional entities, says a group of delegates to the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference.
A unified Auckland, with active links to Hamilton, Whangarei and Tauranga, would be better able to compete with Sydney and Melbourne, suggested a theme group at the conference.
Reporting to the final plenary session of the conference this afternoon, the theme group examining Sustainable Economic Strategies, made 10 recommendations, accompanied by a caution from the group's chair, Andrew Grant of consultants McKinsey and Company.
"Some of these ideas really push the envelope so please treat them in that spirit. But also there is a sense that we want not 'left' or 'right' - we just want ideas that work."
He said the proposed regional governments could assume the functions of local and regional governments and some national government roles. The goal would be "twice the effectiveness of government at half the cost".
Other objectives proposed by the group were:
* Build an unrelenting commitment to sustainable economic growth.
This would involve creating a national balanced scorecard to track our success and line up with initiatives such as investment in lifelong learning, promotion of workplace learning, and creating incentives for employers and employees to continually upskill.
* Expand the effective size of the New Zealand market.
The country would need to actively attract foreign investment, build a portfolio of free-trade agreements with other countries, and lift business aspirations.
* Foster entrepreneurship, and change attitudes to build a culture of success and pride.
A "young entrepreneur" system would be created, and business education would be compulsory in schools.
* Create the world's most inviting but sustainable business environment.
Business taxes could be re-engineered to provide a real advantage over other countries. Strategic clusters would link universities and 2-3 global "icon companies". The group noted that these measures must not be at the cost of New Zealand's attractive lifestyle.
* Create an education system that ensures access, develops a comprehensive skills base and is responsive to national needs.
Every education institution would be benchmarked globally, and be funded according to achievement.
* Create a new confidence and sense of optimism through stengthening our national identity, and position ourselves in the world as a unique, strong and integrated society.
New Zealand could be branded as "the world's richest lifestyle - a place to create real wealth while having a great life". A national marketing campaign would celebrate who we are, and a national speakers road show would feature New Zealand's "living legends".
* Create specialist industry clusters capable of international leadership through consultative and collaborative local processes.
Collective goals would be built through a team approach involving business, government and educational institutions.
* Identify ways to produce greater value in our areas of comparative natural advantage.
Every "new economy" opportunity in existing industries would be captured. New Zealand's bandwidth would be the world's widest, with near-zero user charges.
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