Buy foreign-made!
Remember how, a few months ago, it was revealed that Trade and Enterprise New Zealand had advised Levin clothing company Swazi to move its manufacturing overseas? Well, the government champion of New Zealand’s industry is at it again.
Trade and Enterprise - which proudly calls itself New Zealand’s economic development agency - has been casting around for software packages with which to run its finances. It has drawn up a shortlist of five. Guess how many are NZ-made? None. Good work, fellas. That’s an excellent way to encourage the local IT industry 
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July 6th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
Is my older age turning to senility? I actually believed that that this Govt had a strong policy operating in its departments to buy NZ made? Did it not?
July 6th, 2005 at 6:46 pm
Is the list of packagaes published anywhere?
July 6th, 2005 at 7:27 pm
yes fwwog but you know well as we do that soon as you create subsidy or benefit you get equal and opposite economic reaction .. i donts want to frighten you fwog by printing that reaction word .. buts how many windmills to get 12 pica watts fwwog
July 6th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
Trade and Enterprise has finances?
Well, I suppose so. Their needs aren’t exactly those of a regular commercial enterprise. That’s fairly clear. Not in business to make a profit. Specialized client accounting… really not a very common application.
If there WERE a NZ IT firm making exactly the SW that is required by NZTE it would probably be bankrupt the next day. The number of potential local customers could be counted in single digits.
Looking outside NZ one might find a few, I am astonished they found as many as 5, with the flexibility to do the work. Y’all can rubbish NZTE, I don’t think this is a good reason to do it though. Not unless you have a few more facts to show that suitable NZ product existed in the first place.
Whether you realize it or not, the IT sector is fully employed. It isn’t something you can learn to do in a day and there’s plenty of reasons for the best talent to take a plane ticket instead of a NZ paycheck.
Moreover, NZTE is part of the current government, that is THEY”RE ON OUR SIDE IN THIS ELECTION YOU >
Our job is NOT to make this government look bad. They do that plenty well without our help. Our job is to make the OPPOSITION look bad.
I said it before… FOCUS.
I say it again… FOCUS
That means CONSIDER EACH MOVE AND WORD in terms of its effect on the electorate. Winning isn’t everything… it is the ONLY thing. FOCUS.
respectfully
BJ
July 7th, 2005 at 9:30 am
Joy -
I don’t know what planet you’re living on, but if your evaluating IT for any company of mine I’d expect you to shortlist the ones that do the job best not indulge in economic nationalism. You could partner up with a local company to develop software from scratch, but that takes TIME and SERIOUS DOSH.
July 7th, 2005 at 10:36 am
I would be concerned if the wrong process were being used to contract. The process it seems to me is about ensuring the best programme is obtained. The country of origin actually doesn’t affect the functionality of the programme, so why would you want it as a factor.
Of course it would be a problem if quality kiwi companies are overlooked for no good reason.
July 7th, 2005 at 10:43 am
That is probably the point. What process was used in choosing the product and were there any NZ made products that could have been, or were considered?
July 7th, 2005 at 4:27 pm
Well there are some limitations to software that Government Departments can use - they are all tied to the Microsoft Platform because the Government signed an agreement in 2003 (G2003) to limited themselves to the Microsoft platform. Open source vendors have been attempting to tender, but because of the G2003 contract, none of their products can be used. In effect the Government has granted a foreign company a legal monopoly of the core operating system that can be run on Government computers. And guess where those millions go? To the United States of America. The Ministry of Education spent over $30m for three years, and that represents only a small portion of total Govt spending on Microsoft IT. So NZ vendors are already being overlooked because of this agreement.
July 7th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
Thank you Bernard… I didn’t know about that.
Can we please campaign against G2003!!!?
Not that I hate Microsoft …much, they’re just convicted monopolists on 2 continents and working hard to get a third PO’d with them. I hope to live long enough to spit on Billy’s grave.
Who in government needs his/her head extracted? Let me at the twerp.
respectfully
BJ