New Advanced Tech Institute Backs Science Sector
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced the establishment of a new institute to grow New Zealand's advanced technology sector and boost high-value exports.
Minister Reti says the new public research organisation, to be named the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology (NZIAT), will play a leading role in turning world-class science into commercial success.
'The Institute will focus on breakthrough technologies like AI, quantum computing, and synthetic biology – fields with the potential to transform industries, grow exports, and lift New Zealand's global competitiveness,' Dr Reti says.
'It will be a cornerstone of our plan to grow a high-tech, high-value economy.'
The Government has committed an initial $231 million over four years to:
Invest in science and technology that supports industries with the potential to shape New Zealand's future
Develop skills and grow expertise in new and promising technologies
Help boost New Zealand's economy by innovating and commercialising new technologies into real-world businesses and products.
The Institute is intended to have a central base in Auckland, as an existing centre of innovation, and will invest in a broad network of smaller centres to conduct research in collaboration with universities, industry, and existing research institutions.
The first major investment, announced in May, is based at Wellington's Robinson Research Institute, specialising in Future Magnetic and Materials Technologies.
Additional investments will be confirmed following advice from the Prime Minister's Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council, which will meet for the first time today.
'New Zealand has made significant investments in areas of existing strength, like agri-tech, resulting in our global reputation for cutting-edge agricultural science,' says Dr Reti.
'This new Institute, supported by strategic advice from the Prime Minister's Advisory Council, will build on existing strengths and capabilities, and break into new technologies to grow our global reputation as a centre of innovation.
'This is about delivering long-term value for New Zealanders – transforming research into growth, jobs, and global impact,' Dr Reti says.
Notes
The Institute will initially be incubated within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) before becoming an independent entity when legislation comes into effect in July 2026.
Key innovation programmes will transfer to the new Institute from Callaghan Innovation, including the Technology Incubator scheme, New Zealand Product Accelerator, and HealthTech Activator.
The new Institute joins three other public research organisations launched on 1 July:
Earth Sciences New Zealand, to be based in Wellington
Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science, to be based in Wellington
Bioeconomy Science Institute, to be based in Lincoln.
These Institutes will continue to have a strong presence across the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
3 hours ago
- 1News
Sky TV agrees to buy Three for $1
Sky TV has agreed to buy Discovery NZ, which owns Three, for $1, the company announced this morning. The move was announced to the NZX, and would see US television giant Warner Bros Discovery leave New Zealand's free-to-air television market. Under the deal, Sky would take control of all TV3 brands, including Three, Bravo, Eden, Rush, HGTV, and the network's streaming platform, ThreeNow. The sale was made on a cash-free, debt-free basis and was expected to be completed on August 1. The deal also included a multi-year commercial agreement for the continued supply of Warner Bros Discovery's premium content to Sky. Warner Bros Discovery would retain ownership of its remaining assets in the New Zealand market, which included its pay TV channels, streaming service HBO Max, and Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) New Zealand. ADVERTISEMENT Sky had "no immediate plans" to change the content lineup on any of the Discovery NZ platforms related to the acquisition. 'This is an exciting, future-focused step for Sky and a win for our growth and ambition to be Aotearoa New Zealand's most engaging and essential media company," Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said about the acquisition. "It positions us to scale faster, puts real momentum into our strategy, and grows and further diversifies our revenue streams, particularly in advertising and digital." Sky expected the sale to: Deliver Sky revenue diversification and uplift of c.$95m on an annualised basis, with 25%from digital sources Add to Sky's existing audience a growing digital audience via ThreeNow Grow Sky's combined total linear television advertising revenue share to 35% and total digital television advertising revenue share to 24% Deliver material cost synergies primarily across Sky's content and broadcasting infrastructure Deliver a pathway to achieve incremental, underlying free cash flow from FY26 and sustainable EBITDA growth of at least $10m from FY28. Moloney said Sky was "uniquely placed" to "take the business forward and give effect to the opportunity to accelerate our growth strategy". "We see strong value in ThreeNow's high-quality broadcast video on demand platform, and Three's mass reach, and we are looking forward to creating opportunities to do more with our content, for more New Zealanders, in more ways that work for them across a comprehensive portfolio of subscription and free-to-access platforms.' ADVERTISEMENT Summary: The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including death of a The Cosby Show actor, vape product recalled, and how working less makes us feel better. (Source: Breakfast) Michael Brooks, managing director Australia and New Zealand for Warner Bros Discovery, said the move was a "fantastic outcome" for both companies. "The continued challenges faced by the New Zealand media industry are well documented, and over the past 12 months, the Discovery NZ team has worked to deliver a new, more sustainable business model following a significant restructure in 2024," he said. "While this business is not commercially viable as a standalone asset in the WBD New Zealand portfolio, we see the value Three and ThreeNow can bring to Sky's existing offering of complementary assets."
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Local Business Owner, Glen Williams, Selected As ACT Local Candidate For Palmerston North City Council
ACT Local has selected Glen Williams – a longtime Palmerston North resident and successful business owner – as its candidate for Palmerston North in this year's local election. Born in Levin, Glen and his family have lived in Palmerston North for more than 2 decades. His manufacturing business, Redpath Greenhouses, employs over 25 local people. Welltravelled and known for his strong work ethic, Glen brings realworld experience in business, people management, and financial oversight – the exact skills needed to make sound decisions, challenge waste, and ensure council delivers real value for ratepayers. Glen is standing to bring new energy to council, and comes without historical baggage or hidden agendas. He understands the importance of focusing on core services, keeping rates under control, and demanding accountability for how every dollar is spent. 'If elected, I'll keep council focused on its core services and work hard to minimise rate increases. I'll scrutinise every spending decision and demand clear justification before debt is increased. I'll strongly oppose the Māori Ward referendum and promote Palmerston North's strengths as a natural regional hub. Most of all, I'll keep reminding council it's your money they're spending, not theirs.' – Glen Williams Earlier this year, ACT New Zealand announced it would be standing Common Sense Candidates for local government for the first time — after hearing from New Zealanders across the country who are sick of rising rates, ballooning budgets, and councils that ignore the basics while chasing ideological vanity projects. When you vote ACT Local, you know what you're getting: Fixing the basics Lower Rates Cutting the waste Stopping race-based politics Restoring accountability Ending the war on cars ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says: ' ACT Local candidates are community-minded Kiwis who've had enough of wasteful councils treating ratepayers like ATMs. It's time to take control on behalf of ratepayers — to restore accountability and deliver real value for money. ACT Local is about getting the basics right: maintaining roads, keeping streets clean, and respecting the people who pay the bills. Our candidates won't divide people by race or get distracted by climate vanity projects. They're here to serve, not lecture." – Cameron Luxton
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Watch: Christopher Luxon mouths off at ‘frickin' Chris Hipkins over lack of policy
But that has not stopped inflation becoming a political problem, with Hipkins and Edmonds rounding on the Government for high prices this week. Luxon said the Government cared about people on low and middle incomes and helped those people through tax relief using fiscal policy to help the Reserve Bank fight inflation. Annual inflation in the past full quarter before the change of government was 5.6%. Luxon said Labour's outrage over high prices was 'crocodile tears'. 'This is the party that didn't support tax relief - moving tax thresholds. That's not deeply ideological, it helps low and middle income New Zealanders.' Luxon listed his Government's cost of living measures. 'They didn't support FamilyBoost, they didn't support Working for Families credits, they don't talk about helping construction workers by getting on board and u-turning on Fast Track [which Labour opposed, although not for supermarkets], they've got a gazillion positions on PPPs [Public-Private Partnerships], they're all over the place. 'They have no idea what to do - they put us in this mess, we are cleaning up the mess,' Luxon said. Labour leader Chris Hipkins hit back. Photo / Mark Mitchell While Labour opposed these changes in Parliament, it took to the election its own early childhood education policy, extending 20 hours free care to children under 2 years old. It also proposed a more generous Working for Families policy. National copied that policy on the campaign trial, but watered it down during coalition negotiations, costing some families $38 a week. Changes made in the 2025 Budget reduced some of this loss. Hipkins hit back at Luxon, noting that figures obtained by Labour and published on Tuesday showed the full $75 FamilyBoost tax credit was only claimed by a tiny number of households. This means few, if any, households are getting the $252 a fortnight National promised some would get from its tax plan. The Government subsequently changed settings of the policy, meaning more people will start getting more money from it. Willis said about 16,000 more families will get the tax credit. Hipkins defends lack of policy Hipkins defended Labour's light policy slate saying 'we're not even close to an election at the moment'. 'Unlike [Luxon], when we go into an election next year, I will make sure the policies that we have add up and we can actually deliver on them. They didn't actually do that and now they are suffering - and New Zealanders are suffering as a result,' Hipkins said. He said one of the reasons Labour was waiting to unveil policy is the Government has one more budget to deliver. That budget will detail how much money Labour would have to spend if it took over in 2026. 'Before we come out with significant policies that are going to cost money for example, we want to see what the shape of the Government's books are,' Hipkins said. 'I want to know we can afford what we promise,' he said. Hipkins would not say whether the party would have any policy before the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election in September. He has promised a tax policy before the end of the year. Willis also attacked Labour's 'crocodile tears' on the cost of living. Finance Minister Nicola Willis attacked Labour for its lack of policy. Photo / Mark Mitchell Willis took to social media on Monday to note Edmonds was unable to list any cost of living policies. 'I thought it was the most telling thing ever when Barbara Edmonds came down here to do a stand-up lashing us for a 2.7% inflation rate... when asked what specific policy she had to address the cost of living she said 'none' - none, none, none. 'Now that is to me, the boy crying wolf,' Willis said. In the stand-up, Edmonds gave no policy suggestions, she did not literally answer 'none'. Willis said Labour was gripped by 'shallow attack politics which doesn't put bread on anyone's table'. She alleged Labour was 'bereft of ideas' and 'internally divided on what the way forward for New Zealanders is. How much policy is normal In December 2022, the Leader of the Opposition was asked about his own lack of policy and gave a very similar answer to the one Hipkins gave on Tuesday. 'Look, we are one year out from an election ... rest assured, we will have policy,' the leader said. The leader of the opposition back then was Luxon himself. As political campaigning shifts to embrace 'small target' strategies, releasing lots of policy before an election campaign has become less and less common. Assuming the current Parliament runs a roughly full term and there is an election at the end of next year, we are about halfway through the term. At this point in the last Parliament, National had released a tax policy - however, it was careful not to promise that this would be the policy it would take to the election. That policy, published just prior to the 2022 Budget - the middle-Budget in Labour's second term - called on the Government to increase tax thresholds to deliver tax cuts to people to compensate for the higher taxes they were paying because of inflation. Later that year, National confirmed that this particular policy was only a suggestion for the 2022 Budget, but the party committed that its final tax policy would deliver at least the same level of tax cuts as the earlier plan. The final tax package was not announced until the end of August 2023 - less than two months before the October election. National had a handful of policy promises by this stage in the last cycle, including lifting the super age and reintroducing boot camps. Labour has also made some promises, including repealing the Three Strikes law, the future Regulatory Standards Act and reinstating the old Pay Equity Scheme in some form. That last commitment will come with a roughly $13 billion price tag, which will need to be paid for with some kind of tax increase, spending cut, or borrowing. National is keen to pin Labour down on just what combination of those three things Labour is planning. The Simon Bridges-led National Party took a different approach. In its middle year, it released several 'discussion documents' to members and the public testing potential policy ideas and giving a sense of where the party was headed. These discussion documents were meant to form the basis of National's 2020 election policy platform, however, that changed when the party imploded. Hipkins said the party was working on policy internally, but he would not say anything more. 'We haven't released discussion documents but that is the work we have been doing,' Hipkins said. 'We've got to make sure all the pieces of our policy fit together,' he said.
