New Zealand economist Brad Olsen coming to Whanganui for public forum

New Zealand economist Brad Olsen will be coming to Whanganui for Whanganui and Partners' public forum. Photo / Tania Whyte

New Zealand economist Brad Olsen will be visiting Whanganui to give his verdict on the region’s economic growth and position.

Olsen, chief executive and principal economist at Infometrics, is coming as the guest speaker at a Whanganui and Partners (W&P) public forum.

W&P chief executive Hannah Middleton said it was the perfect time to invite Olsen to speak, as they have recently released figures outlining the region’s economic growth in 2022 and now can hear an independent view.

“We believe the metrics show we have a strong economic platform which will help us weather economic uncertainty and challenge, while also stimulating further growth,” she said.

It was also a chance for the public to gain a better understanding of how and why the economic measures the agency reports on are relevant.

“It’s important for people to understand why we track measures like GDP, for example, and how measures like this reflect the broad health of our economy but are also useful for individual businesspeople to understand.”

In 2022, Whanganui’s GDP grew by 5.6 per cent, the highest growth it has recorded since 2005 and ahead of the national figure of 5.3 per cent.

The region also recorded a productivity growth of 2.8 per cent, employment growth of 2.7 per cent, and unemployment fell from 5.7 per cent to 3.8 per cent.

“We know the dashboard we produce gives a broad view of the economy, but having a guest economist like Brad gives us a chance to put these figures into context and get an independent perspective,” Middleton said.

As well as this, she said she’d report on the agency’s progress to date as it works towards the goals set out in its Statement of Intent for 2022-23 and see the progress made at the innovation hub created between W&P and Te Pūkenga Whanganui.

The forum will be held at The Backhouse on Taupō Quay on March 7.

People can register for the event at Discover Whanganui’s website.