These pages contain the original text of the Tertiary Education Strategy documents. Only edit content if you notice the text is inconsistent with the final published document. Feel free to develop your own cross references and index structure.
Infrastructural Development
Successful development of a knowledge society depends on a modern infrastructure and its supporting laws and institutions. Infrastructure facilitates markets for goods and services, supports the work and skills of people, and enables the diffusion of ideas and knowledge. Infrastructural issues facing New Zealand include:
- changes in settlement patterns affecting urban infrastructure, especially international migration into Auckland, with the city’s relatively low population densities making for small economies of scale and stretching the physical infrastructure beyond capacity;
- demographic trends, particularly the growing numbers of retired people and of young Maori and Pacific peoples, require different planning for our cities and settlements to cater for more community diversity, reflect changing lifestyles, and attract and retain talented people;
- emerging knowledge-intensive enterprises are locating within urban centres, creating the need for a new dimension in settlement planning, that supports desirable lifestyles;
- broad band internet access is important throughout New Zealand if our biological industries, centred rurally, are to adopt the information revolution;
- our modern society and economy have yet to experience major volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and the ability of our infrastructure to withstand such disasters has yet to be seriously tested; and
- development of the regulatory infrastructure, (public policies, legislation and regulations) that is consistent with international norms and will provide for the operation of a modern business sector and a knowledge society.
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