Kia ora koutou katoa, he waka eke noa which means towards a better future
together. 'Together' is an important word for us in New Zealand. It says a shared
vision. It puts the people at the heart of policy decisions. It's about building
a happy, healthy, prosperous New Zealand, which everyone can benefit from. Togetherness
is the core of our strategy to deliver well-being and recognises that
the spheres of our lives, our environment, our people, our economy are
interconnected and interdependent. These same principles lie at the heart of the
Sustainable Development Goals. I'm proud to present New Zealand's first voluntary
national review on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The report
is a demonstration, I hope, of our strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. New Zealand, as many know, is richly blessed as a nation.
We have tremendous physical and human resources. We are a diverse and agile
nation. We are innovative and resilient but we also have our share of challenges
and one of these is to ensure that all New Zealanders achieve a decent standard
of living and have a strong sense of well-being. Leaving no one behind
requires openness and honesty about the challenges we face and it is an approach
we brought to our first review of the Sustainable Development Goals and to our
domestic agenda. As we transition to a sustainable, productive and inclusive
economy, we do require a deeper understanding of the groups who will be
most affected so that we can ensure the right strategies are in place to support
them. It does require us to do things
differently. It requires solid disaggregated data to base decisions on
and we've developed a new suite of statistical indicators. They're called
indicators Aotearoa New Zealand. They go beyond economics to incorporate
social, cultural and environmental measures. The indicators will provide a
clearer picture of New Zealand's overall well-being
as well as a measure of our progress towards the Sustainable Development
Goals. Alongside this, we have developed a new analytical framework that emphasises
the diversity of outcomes meaningful for New Zealanders. This Living Standards
Framework, as it's called, will be part of our toolkit to analyse and assess policy
options that enhance well-being and support New Zealand's achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals. New Zealand is strongly committed to being a
leader and a constructive partner nationally and internationally, and the
global effort to create a more sustainable and inclusive economy. We
recognize that all Sustainable Development Goals are connected and
cannot be achieved by governments alone. This report, I hope, also highlights our
government's priorities including working towards eradicating poverty,
improving mental health, addressing inequalities, thriving in a digital age
and transitioning to a lower emission sustainable economy. These initiatives
are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We know the cumulative
value of small incremental steps, the day to day decisions and actions that we
make a difference and change people's lives. We have seen and heard inspiring
stories of what New Zealanders are doing already and we want to bring all New
Zealanders regardless of their circumstances or experience along with
us on the journey. In the spirit of Goal 17, we are committed to partnership.
Partnership with Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and partnerships
with communities, with business and with our international friends. We've made
a good start. Our challenge is to continue this momentum together.
He waka eke noa.