By SIMON COLLINS and VERNON SMALL
"The eyes of those in power need to look into the eyes of those in need. Eyes together, then we can make change."
Those words from 17-year-old Gisborne schoolgirl Kesaia Waigth, and similar words from three other school students, yesterday brought Catching the Knowledge Wave delegates to their feet in the only standing ovation of the conference.
She spoke of a street in Gisborne where the houses are "lived in but dead - they have no signs of spirit".
"What is the use of this conference if I still go home and drive down that street and nothing has changed?" she asked.
"When I see it, passion boils in me. I can't put it into words, but I want to change it. This is the point of the knowledge society."
There is no doubt that most of the 450 delegates at what journalist Colin James called "a glittering gathering of the elites" also wanted change.
In terms of the "triple bottom line" of economic, social and environmental performance, James told the final session yesterday that the country was "doing well" on the environment and "not too badly" socially. But it was sliding relative to other countries on the economic scale.
He said the conference wanted the storyline to change and the logical national choice would favour the economic imperative.
Working groups proposed 142 action points including:
* Collaboration and networking among business, education and Government.
* A "national vision" and a "national scorecard" tracking the country's progress towards economic, social and environmental goals.
* A larger agency to attract foreign investment.
* A drive to recruit talented immigrants.
* An organised network of expatriate New Zealanders.
* Universal fast broadband internet access at low prices or free.
* Making New Zealand the world leader in security for information technology.
* Raising teachers' salaries, possibly tied to their performance.
* A radical reform of local government, including a single city for Auckland.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said that radical local body reform would not be high on her agenda and action on most of the other issues was under way.
"There is beyond doubt the basis for a shared vision, and there is certainly a willingness to go beyond talking to implementation and action," she said in her closing speech.
Globalisation had to be embraced - "a world without borders is made for a trading economy like ours".
New Zealand was "not a basket case" and the economy had actually performed better in the past few months than recession-bound Singapore or Taiwan, Helen Clark said.
But the conference had shown the need for a "talent hunt" for skilled migrants, the "overriding importance" of education and the need to underpin economic growth by spreading the benefits to places like Gisborne.
"We can't afford as a country to leave a significant minority behind," Helen Clark said.
But Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton took a sideswipe at organisers for failing to show New Zealanders' achievement.
He is planning an event of his own to rectify it.
He said the three-day conference was told what overseas experts thought should be happening here, risking an onset of "cultural cringe" from locals who thought we were not successful.
"The fact that we are being told so much what we should do, there may be some implication that we are not doing it, and I know we are," he said.
"That's a story that needs to be told. I don't think it was told at this conference. That's fair enough, but it needs to be told."
Mr Anderton, who is also Minister of Economic Development, said his proposed conference would probably be held next February.
He said he was not "bagging" the Knowledge Wave by announcing his plan, but he was keen to dispel the impression left by business guru Michael Porter in his speech to the conference.
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