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21 January 2009
PM announces appointment to ABAC
The Prime Minister has appointed Gary Judd QC to the APEC Business Advisory Council of New Zealand.
Mr Judd is a senior lawyer, Chairman of ASB Group (ASB Bank and Sovereign Assurance), and Chairman of Ports of Auckland Ltd.
"Mr Judd's valuable experience as a businessman and his extensive legal background will make him an active and effective contributor to ABAC's work."
The APEC Business Advisory Council is a network of business representatives in each of the 21 APEC economies that meet four times each year to develop business perspectives on the issues being discussed among APEC economies.
ABAC provides a separate process for raising policy issues and offering private sector advice on trade and economic liberalisation efforts within the Asia Pacific region.
"When I was at the APEC Leaders' Summit in Lima, Peru in November I took part in the APEC Leaders' Dialogue with ABAC and addressed the CEO Summit hosted by ABAC. New Zealand will host ABAC's first meeting of 2009 next month in Wellington."
Mr Judd joins existing New Zealand ABAC representatives Tony Nowell, Company Director, and John Blackham, CEO of software company XSol.
His appointment is for three years.
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18 January 2009
Prime Minister’s fall results in broken arm
Prime Minister John Key broke his arm in two places in a fall at an event in Auckland on Saturday.
The fall occurred while exiting the stage using some stairs at a Chinese New Year event at the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, yesterday morning.
This morning he sought specialist medical attention for his arm. It was found that his right arm was broken in two places.
The arm is now in a cast and Mr Key has a further appointment with a specialist tomorrow to see whether an operation will be necessary.
At this stage Mr Key is planning to carry on his usual schedule tomorrow.
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15 January 2009
Prime Minister's Summit on Employment
Prime Minister John Key wants action from the Prime Minister's Summit on Employment to be held on 27 February in Auckland.
"The summit will be chaired by NZX chief executive officer Mark Weldon and will address a major challenge the country faces this year - how to retain and grow jobs.
"As I have stated many times, I am interested in what works, not ideology.
"New Zealand is facing challenging economic times as the global economic crisis washes over us. The National-led Government is implementing its economic plan, and we will see more initiatives in coming months.
"The summit will bring together business, union and other leaders in the community to address a vital part of a healthy economy - employment.
"A detailed agenda is still being developed, but we envisage that the summit will be open to the media.
"I am determined that this won't be a talk-fest. I want to see outcomes from the summit that we can move to examine and implement.
"In addition to the summit, I will be making a speech on the economy on Wednesday, 4 February, in Waitakere City.
"More details on the speech venue, and information on the summit, will be released in due course."
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12 January 2009
Economic Ministers to meet this week
Prime Minister John Key has called a meeting of economic Ministers for Thursday to discuss the economic issues facing the country.
"The economy will be the dominant issue for the country in 2009," he says.
"Ministers will be discussing the economic outlook, receiving briefings including an update on the international situation and planning future initiatives.
"The National-led Government is on-track with its action plan for the first 100 days, but we recognise more will need to be done to help address the challenges New Zealand faces.
"The Government's aims for the economy include putting more money in New Zealanders' pockets, better control of government spending and more productive use of public money, and building a stronger economy with more jobs by making businesses more productive and competitive.
"The meeting will take place in the Beehive on Thursday afternoon."
Ministers Bill English, Gerry Brownlee, Simon Power, Tony Ryall and Steven Joyce, will attend along with the chief executives of Treasury, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and State Services Commission.
