[Question on screen: What is your impression of today's discussions at Ethnic Xchange 24?]

Huge hope for New Zealand. I mean many of the people here today weren't born in New Zealand. So unlike me, they're New Zealanders by choice. And so long as people from around the world keep choosing New Zealand, that's perhaps the biggest sign that we have great hope for our society. So for me, as a New Zealander by birth, seeing so many New Zealanders by choice, that's perhaps one of the best endorsements that anyone can make of our country.

[Question on screen: How can we reduce regulatory barriers for Kiwi ethnic entrepreneurs?]

We need to reduce regulation no matter what your background. We need people to be able to spend more time serving their customers, getting returns for their investors, creating opportunities for their workers, not complying with government rules. And the way to do that is to recognise the core of the problem that politicians and public servants face very small costs when they make a new rule. The people who have to follow the rule face very large costs.

And that's why we are introducing new transparency. If you want to introduce a rule, you have got to show what problem you're solving. You have got to show the rule has benefits greater than the cost to the people that have to follow it. And if we put in place those basic requirements, I think we will change the amount of rules that are made. We'll get rid of a lot of old ones, and people will be able to spend more time doing the things they set up their business to do, less time following rules and filling out forms.

[Question on screen: How do ethnic businesses contribute to New Zealand's economic growth?]

Well, we know that Ethnic Communities are already making a massive contribution to our economy, both in terms of businesses, firms, exporters, employers. But there's also untapped potential. We know that ethnic businesses are contributing significantly to exports and really high value exports.

We want to see that grow both through growing international connections, but also bringing the benefit of those connections to other businesses in New Zealand. So we see untapped potential and also a real sense of entrepreneurialism and excitement for many people in our Ethnic Communities who want to get on with investing and growing, and our Government's doing its job to make that easier.

[Question on screen: What is your impression of today's discussions at Ethnic Xchange 24?]

Wonderful to have such a diverse group of people in one room, full of ideas and wanting to network with each other. A really big range of people, people from very large and established businesses, but also young entrepreneurs starting out with new ventures. And there's real value, I think, in bringing those communities together, learning from each other and thinking about what our vision for the future can look like.

[Question on screen: How do you see diverse businesses contributing to innovation and technological advancement in New Zealand?]

People come to New Zealand with a will to do well and to get ahead and often leaving behind family connections and also language. But those connections can actually come to play to build the economy. And I just think, you know, the more the merrier, just get on and grow the economy.

[Question on screen: What is your impression of today’s discussions at Ethnic Xchange 24?]

It was a great audience, great discussion. All about growing the economy, making New Zealand a richer place, which means we can have better healthcare, better education. But actually this country needs to grow the economy and the only way to do it is through business, through science, technology, trade. Just making sure those connections work for us all.

[Question on screen: What is your impression of today's discussions at Ethnic Xchange 24?]

I think today, it just exceeded my expectation. And when I say that, it's because the audience got so much value from the conversation. When I think of the economic times you're in, people are struggling and they just needed that inspiration to say ethnic businesses are valued, they can make a difference. We shared data and evidence that showed them that. I think it just built their confidence and gave them that little fuel to keep going.

[Question on screen: What is your message to mainstream businesses?]

Mainstream businesses, you need to think about ethnic diversity as an advantage. It's an asset to your business. It's an asset to New Zealand. Start thinking about new ways of doing things, invite innovation, new perspectives. Draw on the connections your diverse staff may have. Let them be themselves and they will yield the benefit that you need through innovation, higher productivity, and other things that you can't even imagine right now.

[Question on screen: And your message for ethnic businesses?]

Ethnic businesses, realise your value. Begin to see the difference you can make to New Zealand. Offer your connections. Offer your perspective. Persevere, be resilient. This is New Zealand. It's different from where you might have come from. Keep going.

[Question on screen: Why was it important for the Ministry for Ethnic Communities to organise and host this event?]

The Ministry is the chief advisor to the government on ethnic diversity and the inclusion of Ethnic Communities, and including people in the economy is such a critical thing to do. So we wanted to convene this symposium, bring people from different sectors together so they can say what they think. They can say what opportunities they see as an environment. They can talk to the barriers that they face. Then government, economic development agencies, businesses, and communities can work on those solutions to make the boat go faster.

[What was a key moment from Ethnic Xchange for you?]

I think to me, one of the things that really sticks in my mind today was a business person said ‘we needed inspiration to keep going, to feel valued, to make a difference to New Zealand, and we were deeply inspired today’, and that was really high feedback for me.

[Question on screen: How important is it for ethnic businesses to connect with others?]

I am at the more, you know, retirement age, but to learn from the experiences, what the older generation have been through. And my experience is slightly different in that I'm third generation Kiwi.

So understanding the roots of the ethnic community here is so important. And realising that the majority of the ethnic people here are born overseas is also very important. It's important to connect with all of the generations and not live in a world where colonisation is ruling what the population does.

[Question on screen: How do forums like Ethnic Xchange support partnerships between the public and private sectors?]

It's really important, I think, for a country as small as New Zealand for people to know each other between the government and the private sector. You know, we're a small enough country that everybody can literally get in the same room. Having those partnerships develops trust, it develops confidence and hopefully that then leads to economic growth for New Zealand.

For New Zealand, we've got a greater opportunity to do this. The benefits that we have, just by the size and scale of our country, we can do a little bit better than others in the world.

[Question on screen: How do forums like Ethnic Xchange support New Zealand's business communities?]

Well, I think it's a wonderful occasion today. I mean, as soon as I walked in, you could feel the energy and the optimism in the room. I mean, the Ethnic Communities are  such an important part of New Zealand and such an important part of the future of New Zealand.

We work a lot in the countries that are connected with the Ethnic Communities, ethnic entrepreneurs, and just the creation of a place where people can connect and have that energy together is not to be underestimated. It's the soft tissue of a business community, and I think that really stands us in good stead.

[Question on screen: What do you hope people take away from today's conference?]

I would like participants of today to walk away feeling empowered of the ability migrants have to assist and transform New Zealand, continue to grow economies, contribute to our GDP, our community above and beyond. And that as we approach a globalising world, the more New Zealand can assist migrants and assist their quick success, the better we all are.

[Question on screen: Why is it important for businesses to know more about AI?]

At the moment New Zealand is only adopting, about 48% of companies are adopting AI. I would like to see AI as a tool to scale Kiwi businesses that help us over compete inorganically on a global stage. The only way we can really bat bigger than our shoes is actually to leverage innovative technology that allows us to over compete, act quickly, fail fast, scale quickly, try and try again.

And I hope people leave today's session less fearful of AI, more encouraged by what AI can do to get them from zero to profitable faster. And I hope people understand how invested Google is in New Zealand and New Zealand's economy.

[Question on screen: What impact do you think Ethnic Xchange will have on the people who attended?]

The overall impact that the Ethnic Communities could potentially, not just potentially, but actually contributing to the current economy is massive. From the Bank of New Zealand point of view, I think there is so much more potential that can be unlocked.

Hence, we have become one of the sponsors of this. This is such a good platform to bring everyone together, but also as an educational tool to actually support a lot of the Pākehā audiences to go, ‘wow, we actually have so many of those ethnic leaders’.

It's about empowering them. It's about bringing them to life, it's about bringing them to the centre of the stage and to go, let's do more.

[Question on screen: What is your impression of today's discussions at Ethnic Xchange?]

My impression of the symposium so far today is I'm hugely impressed. We've started the day with four ministers, all ,with direct portfolio responsibility for business and Ethnic Communities that are gathered here today. And all of those policy and government agencies set a context for New Zealand ethnic businesses to operate in. So great start to the day with them, and then we've moved on to hearing from business people and them sharing their experiences of starting and growing and maturing businesses in New Zealand. So I think hugely valuable transition through the morning so far.

[Question on screen: Why was it important for KPMG to be involved in Ethnic Xchange 24?]

Our purpose in New Zealand is fuelling the prosperity of New Zealand for all New Zealanders. If you're gonna claim those words, you have to be here today. You have to be here with your brand and our team mixing and supporting ethnic businesses in New Zealand.

[Question on screen: What drives you in the work you do?]

We live in incredible times, a world where there's incredible opportunity and an inordinate amount of challenges as well. And I do think that when I look around and I see amazing female leaders, we need them to be part of conversations and designing those solutions, especially in technology, especially in business. We need diverse leaders, we need diverse thinking, and women bring a holistic view of the problem and the solutions.

So I'm always championing bringing that diversity of thought into conversations. And it's my incredible honour that I get to work with amazing women every day, and we need to tap this potential even further.