Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Auckland – Technology is at the heart of improving productivity of government services and the second annual NZTech Advance Government and Technology Summit in Wellington on February 28 will play a landmark role in helping New Zealand become a stronger digital nation, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says.
The summit is a high-level event that will host the key players from government, industry and technology to lead discussions on transformative technology aiding the delivery of better public services.
The event will offer insights from people working behind the scenes about the government’s ICT strategy framework and the complex issues behind the government adoption of the public cloud. The public sector is single largest customer of the tech sector.
“This year we focus on advancing the use of technology across the public sector and building stronger collaboration across government,” Muller says.
“Among those attending are leaders and executives from government and technology, senior policy makers, senior advisers, controllers and strategists from government agencies and enterprise architects, technology and operations managers from local and central government, health and education.
“The summit has also attracted risk officers, transformation leaders, performance leaders and business partners within government and industry and finally chief information officers and their top team members from NZ-based and international companies.
“New Zealanders need to understand the benefits and challenges of implementing the acceleration of public cloud services. We must realise the deeper implications of working with data and security in the cloud.
“We will discuss how government and industry leaders can build a culture within government to support tech transformation and become a strong digital nation.
“Transforming government services will lead to better outcomes for all New Zealanders, especially those in most need. With up to 40 percent of all money spent on tech in New Zealand spent by the public sector, enabling agencies to share innovative ways of using technology will drive better public services.
“Technology is at the heart of the transformation that government is looking for. NZTech is committed to working with government to enable this transformation.
“Productivity lies at the core of New Zealand’s long-term economic challenges. Hard won in a small isolated economy, productivity in New Zealand has declined over the past 40 years, compared to other small developed economies. With services making up 70 percent of New Zealand’s GDP, it is here that the greatest productivity challenge exists.
“Technology is at the heart of improving productivity of government services. Discussions between government and industry are now far more “gritty” and open, and able to grapple with real issues faced by agencies.
“But the environment in many government agencies does little to nurture innovation. While there is a proliferation of data in government agencies, a resistance, or inability, to share and collaborate is undermining the value of the data.”
Muller says next month’s summit at Te Papa is central to both the government’s aspiration for the economy and transforming the way government operates and delivers public services. The tech the industry believes that more can be done to work alongside government to help bring about positive outcomes, he says.
For further information contact New Zealand Technology Industry Association chief executive Graeme Muller on 021 02520767 or Make Lemonade media specialist Kip Brook on 0275 030188
| A MakeLemonade release | January 24, 2017 |
New Zealand is under the spotlight as a world-class wine producer over the next two weeks with an influx of international media and wine trade arriving to attend a series of events that will showcase the country’s diverse regions and wine styles.
New Zealand Winegrowers are hosting over 90 international wine experts from around 20 countries at several events across the country including the Aromatics Symposium in Nelson, Pinot Noir NZ 2017 in Wellington, and Classic Reds in Hawke’s Bay.
“Our guests are here to discover what makes New Zealand such a unique place to grow grapes and explore the evolution in our wine styles” said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers.
“New Zealand may produce less than 1 per cent of the world’s wine but we are attracting serious global attention. The events come at a time when New Zealand wine exports are riding high, exceeding a record $1.6 billion.”
“We are confident the upcoming events will continue to fuel the interest in our world-class Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah and much more. New Zealand is ready to shine”.
New Zealand wine is exported to more than 90 countries, and is New Zealand’s 6th largest export good.
| NZ Winegrowers release | January 24, 2017 |
Auckland Chamber launches confidential service to ensure employers meet New Zealand wage regulations.
Increasing numbers of migrants and younger workers being taken advantage of by employers; notes Auckland Chamber head Michael Barnett.
Anyone who believes they have been underpaid, had their passport confiscated or wanting to clarify their employment conditions can register confidentially on a dedicated website: www.paychecknz.co.nz.
“We will investigate the situation in complete confidence,” said Mr Barnett.
He stressed that the Chamber was not being anti-employer in setting up the service. “But we don’t want the vast majority of good employers to be branded by the minority.”
Through other services, the Chamber has successfully assisted many hundreds of migrants and young people who leave school without qualifications into employment. “Many are vulnerable people who can easily be taken advantage of.”
There is also a small group of employers who are migrants who may not be familiar with NZ’s wage regulations; e.g. that the minimum wage is $15.25, and could make use of the service, concluded Mr Barnett.
| ACOC release | January 23, 2017 |
Odessa announce the release of the next generation of our popular business-productivity suite - ConceptDraw Office v4. The newest iteration of their award-winning software provides many enhancements and improvements addressing productivity and project requirements on Mac and PC.
The fourth edition boasts new and improved versions of each facet of the Office Suite. ConceptDraw Office v4 features a number of essential functional and interface improvements for both the Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows platforms providing knowledge workers, managers, consultants, and project managers with an extending power of each of its tools.
You don’t get much closer to the spirit of engineering than in the beginnings of waterjet cutting.
“I got started years ago, in about ’71,” said Dr. John Olsen, one of the originators of waterjet technology and currently VP of operations at Omax Abrasive Waterjets. “I had been reading about some experiments done on rock cutting in England and a friend of mine and I thought it would be fun to try and build a pump and cut something. That was a kind of back-alley operation; it was in my garage and his garage.” Dr. John Olsen is pictured above holding a tilting head waterjet with two linear actuators.
It might sound like many of the stories you hear about start-ups in Silicon Valley today, but the connections between waterjet and computing technologies run deeper than that, as Dr. Olsen explained:
“Oddly enough, one of the biggest changes that made abrasivejets practical was the advent of the PC. A jet is not a very rigid tool—it bends all over the place and makes taper and what-have-you. To make precision parts, you need quite a bit of computing power to predict what the shape of the jet will be so that you can compensate for it. At the time, we were told ‘Nobody will ever accept a PC on the factory floor. Doesn’t that sound funny today?”
> > > Continue here to the full article images and guide
A by-election to elect a new Member of Parliament for the general electorate of Mt Albert will be held in New Zealand on Saturday 25 February 2017.
Markforged announces a breakthrough technology in metal manufacturing - Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM), along with the introduction of the Metal X - the first ADAM 3D printer.
Extending the success of its revolutionary carbon fiber printing technology, Markforged now provides a rapid technique to produce metal parts for manufacturers in demanding industrial, automotive, medical and aerospace industries.
"Until today, the story of metal 3D printing has been million-dollar machines that fill a room," says CEO Greg Mark. "With the introduction of the Metal X, metal production is easier and more available than ever. Manufacturers and machine shops looking to augment CNC machining or find alternatives now have an answer. This revolution is not just about making metal parts - it's also about making plastic parts from a 3D printed metal mold created in days, instead of months," Mark continues. "Our mission is to help companies make better products, and get them to market faster." Not only does the Metal X printer make robust metal parts easy and inexpensive to produce, but it's now possible to create shapes and geometries that cannot be machined or produced with today's metal printers, opening up new possibilities for lighter parts with advanced built-in functionality.
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Trade Minister Todd McClay has said that New Zealand’s ongoing and future trade relationship with the United Kingdom is in good shape following agreement on the next steps for the newly established NZ-UK Trade Policy Dialogue.
The progress was made during a meeting between Minister McClay and his UK counterpart, Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“This is an important day for trade relations between our two countries as the Trade Policy Dialogue will ensure there is no disruption to trading conditions as a result of Britain leaving the European Union,” Mr McClay says.
Minister McClay has offered to host a meeting in New Zealand when Secretary Fox visits in the first half of this year.
Discussions will include market access, trade and investment, World Trade Organisation processes and prospective negotiations.
“Preferential access to high value export markets is important for New Zealand’s strong economic performance. An ongoing focus on promoting fairer trade and investment rules is key to our prosperity as a nation and the Trade Policy Dialogue will be a part of this,” Mr McClay says.
| Beehive, January 20, 2017 |
Atlas Copco (IW 1000/325), the world’s largest maker of industrial compressors, plans to split into two listed companies in a move that will see the departure of its longstanding Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Leten and could spark takeover interest.
A newly created company with sales of about 28 billion kronor (US$3.1 billion) will focus on mining and construction tools, and will be spun off to shareholders in a tax-free distribution, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement Monday. Under the plan to be put to shareholders next year, Atlas Copco will retain the compressor and vacuum businesses that have revenue of 74 billion kronor in the year through last Sept. 30.
“The new company is a business that a large player like Caterpillar or Komatsu might be interested in buying,” Swedbank analyst Anders Roslund said by phone. “I don’t think that’s imminent, but it’s an interesting and well-run business.” > > > Continue to full article
∩ Atlas Copco Plans to Split in Two
∩ Protesters chain themselves to Fonterra factory gate
∩ Unsuitable packaging problem for water extraction company causing problems
∩ English optimistic on some form of trade deal
∩ Advanced seismic engineering protects new MPI laboratory
∩ Australia thinking about an alternative TRANS-Pacific partnership
∩ From this day forward it's America first
∩ Breakers hot streak continues
∩ Trump to withdraw from TPP amid new trade strategy
∩ Future trade progressing with the UK
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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