Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken New Zealand one step closer to establishing a 'Trans-Tasman Single Economic Market' (SEM) with Australia.
On Friday afternoon, prime ministers from both sides of the Tasman commissioned a taskforce to investigate factors that are holding small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) back when conducting trans-Tasman business.
Both governments will also review their respective policy and regulatory frameworks to bolster digital trade between New Zealand and Australia.
“I see this as the next step in CER [the Closer Economic Relations agreement] and an extension of the potential that exists in the agenda for a Trans-Tasman SEM,” Ardern, who is meeting with Malcolm Turnbull in Australia, said.
Progression towards a SEM began 15 years ago, spearheaded by former Minister of Finance Michael Cullen.
In 2009, under the National-led Government, Prime Ministers John Key and Kevin Rudd committed to a framework to further develop the concept.
Progression since then has been slow, Ardern acknowledged in a speech she delivered on Friday.
“We want to see progress sped up in relation to smaller businesses especially in areas like the streamlining of trans-Tasman travel,” she said.
Three-quarters of New Zealand SMEs export their products to Australia and more Australian firms export to New Zealand than any other country.
In 2017, two-way trade between the two countries totalled more than NZ$150 billion.
Ardern said businesses have been lobbying her Government to make doing trans-Tasman business easier.
“The first leap into exporting for the majority of SMEs in both Australia and New Zealand is across the Tasman and it’s often a springboard from there to the global market,” she said.
She used the speech to underpin the importance of Australia to the New Zealand economy, saying it will be “a central focus of my Government’s agenda”.
“New Zealand and Australia. Business and government. We are each bound together.
“And the more we work together, the more likely we are to succeed.”
7 Comments
Bollocks ............ imagine the Aussies telling us what to do ?
Like Germany effectively dominates the EU due to its sheer size and economic power .
Our economy is not much bigger than Tasmania , how will we be treated in such a partnership .
Not as equals , of that you can be sure
With the goal of a single economic market, are there issues similar to what Britain and the Eurozone are facing now though? such as loss of sovereignty, decimated manufacturing, risks on economic policy being imposed on us as a country? Perhaps someone with a better head for global issues could do an introductory article on this for us?
Well, we could certainly use ACCC, because the stack of damp bus tickets with which we presently equip ComCom, has done precisely nothing to quell the Building Materials duopoly and all the other opolies that common taters can no doubt quote. But I rather doubt that's what the Gubmint has in mind....
To what end............ NZEXIT ?
We dont want our monetary and fiscal policy run from Canberra , nor do we want their laws , nor do we want an unelected bunch of over-paid bureaucrats telling us what to do , nor do we want the expense of said bureaucrats as a burden on the Kiwi taxpayer .
And for that matter , we dont want to use a common currency either
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