Young Enterprise Awards Scheme

Wednesday 23 October 2002

• Earlier this year, set up the Live Tall project for Canterbury. It's an idea many older people do not get, all young people seem to instantly get, and that has got over 130 groups signed up to it now.
• Live Tall is simply about making sure you make the most of what you have. Whether it’s ability, attitude, aptitude or all of the above.
• It's an idea that I believe is vital to our survival as a city and as a nation.
• It's an idea that all of you here today have already instinctively put into action with the various ideas and projects that got you here.
• This is an enormously exciting time to be a young New Zealander. Kiwis, old and new, now all seem to take pride and delight in being here in the dress circle of the Pacific Rim at the start of what will be called the Pacific century.
• We are all in the right place at the right time in a country that by international terms of history, is still enormously young and fresh.
• To make the most of this we need to have the courage to embrace the truth about our country.
• The truth is much more positive and full of achievement than the cynics and scaredycats would like us to believe.
• The truth is, we are an incredibly inventive and resourceful people.
• The truth is we are quick to take up and innovate with new technology. About one in 500 of our workforce in Christchurch is working in software already.
• We have amongst the highest levels of Internet connectivity in the world.
• Internationally in the last international Entrepreneurial survey, New Zealanders were second in the world.
• I believe the only barrier to reaching our full potential is in the attitude some of us have allowed ourselves to fall into.
• You have already broken through that barrier and I am delighted to be able to salute that and the promise of more achievement to come.