Chris Bishop: Sports minister hopes New Zealand's sporting success could lead to economic growth.

New Zealand's sporting success could lead to economic growth. 

The government's launched a Sport Diplomacy Strategy paper today with the goal of leveraging our sporting reputation globally. 

Sports Minister Chris Bishop told Ryan Bridge that there's plenty of opportunities, including the Blackcaps in India,  where the government's trying to ink a free trade deal.

He says another is the All Blacks playing in the U.S later this year. 

He says investors will be going to the game and there will be a series of events to drum up interest in New Zealand. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This one's a bit weird. Associate Sport Minister Chris Bishop
has unveiled a new sport diplomacy strategy which would see
our athletes used to strengthen global ties and boost trade.
The new initiative will first focused on India, the Pacific
and the US. The minister with US, now, good evening,
Good evening, So do we send Bob Charles to do
the tariff negotiations with Trump?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
No? Look, it's just about the fact that sport is
an area where New Zealand has true global reach, where
it might on the world stage for not only our pros,
but also our integrity, our professionalism, our sportsmanship. And it's
about tying trade and our economic and tourism linkages together
with sports so we can make sure we get best
banged for buck. You know, we haven't probably put our
best foot forward when it comes to linking and sport

(00:41):
to those other really important areas of our foreign and
trade policy.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So more of a tourism thing than a diplomatic thing.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, it's about all of the above, right, So it
will depend on the market you're going into. But if
you think about America, for example, which the US, which
is one of our first focused markets. You know, we're
trying very hard to get foreign investment from the US
into New Zealand. You know, Eric Stanford was up in
the US a couple of weeks ago meeting with foreign
investors and promoting our Golden visa. Now the All Blacks

(01:09):
are playing a game in Chicago against Ireland at the
end of October, and so we're just making sure that
you know, around that event, we're leveraging off that event
because the All Blacks are a global brand globally inmbassas
for New Zealand and the US. So there's a whole
range of things we'll be doing around that game to
attract investment. A lot of investors going to the game,
for example, New Zealand is arranging a series of events

(01:32):
around that to try and drum up interest in New Zealand.
And you know, the sky is literally a lot of
it when it comes to these sort of things.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Does it need a strategy? I mean, if you do,
can you not just invite some investors to a corporate box.
Do you know what I don't understand? It sounds about
eerie Ferry Minister.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, it's only a ten page strategy. I think people
who are ten Pa. Well, if people listening will know
that I'm not someone who is into kind of every
fairy fluff. You know, I'm the opposite of fluff. I'm
about actual results and actual things to do. So it's
a strategy to make sure we've got all working together.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
What's your miserable then what is the outcome that if
you can get an investor to an all blacks game,
is that a win?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
That is a win. If you think about India for example,
where we're negotiating a free trade deal next year, is
one hundred years caps India and New Zealand sporting. That's right,
hundred years of New Zealand India sport. So we today
again announced today that we'll be celebrating one hundred years
of that relationship and doing a whole series of events
around that next year and looking to invite Indian ministers

(02:34):
and Indian officials down to New Zealand to celebrate one
hundred years of sporting ties. And of course that makes
total sense because we're trying to deepen our relationship with India,
a very important market for New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Hey, a bit of a bruising week for the government
this week. The mood of the board. Well, for some anyway,
you've been Prime Minister, been looking as wounds, what's the
plan next week?

Speaker 2 (02:54):
I don't think that's that's the case at all. I
think actually it's been a really exciting week. I mean
I was up with the PM on Tuesday we launched
launch the o Teching and North of In two billion
dollar twenty four kilometer expressway north of Levin, and then
of course this morning we turned the side on the
first fast track project down at the Port of Auckland,
which is going to add hundreds of millions of dollars
to GDP. So you know, it's been Actually think I

(03:15):
think have been a really exciting week. Now, obviously we'd
want to see better mood of the boardroom results, we
take that on board. We'll listen to the feedback that's
come through there. But actually reading the commentary, some of
the things that the business leaders were saying we should
be doing, we are doing. You know, when it comes
to RMA reform.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Isn't that the problem? Isn't it the problem? You are
doing what they want you to do, but it's just
they don't like Luxon.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
I don't think that's the case. I think Actually, the
government has a broad agenda, a reform agenda across a
range of areas that you know we're really proud of
and you know we're always working hard to make sure
the public's are aware of that and we need to keep
working harder.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Obviously, fair enough, Minister, appreciate your time, look forward to
the deliverables on your sport diplomacy strategy that is Chris Bishop,
who is Associate Minister of Sport. For more from Heather
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