Thank you for being here.

Let me acknowledge my Ministerial colleagues.  Let me also acknowledge our serving police officers, customs officers, treatment providers, community workers, volunteers and all of you who care deeply about New Zealand.

It is my privilege to regularly meet with groups like this one to celebrate some of the success stories of our country. 

Today my speech has a different purpose.  I want to talk about a problem that is wrecking lives, wrecking families and fuelling crime.

I'm here to speak about "P".  Methamphetamine, crank, ice, crystal.  Call it what you will.

Everyone in this room knows something of its horrors.  Some of you will have family members or friends who have struggled, or who are still struggling with it.  All have heard stories about the harm it does.

‘P' is a seriously addictive, viciously destructive drug. It's hugely damaging to those who take it and the people who share their lives. It comes hand in hand with violence. It allows gangs and organized crime to flourish. It entices young people into criminal careers. 

P hurts not just users and their families but also law-abiding New Zealanders who suffer from the crime it creates. 

To fuel their habit, many P addicts steal from others, typically stealing $1840 worth of goods each month to fuel their habit. They also finance their habit by dealing drugs in our communities, with a typical P user selling drugs worth up to $5100 a month to our children and loved ones. 

We have all read about the hideous violent crimes that have been committed by P users.  A P-fuelled car chase down the Auckland motorway ending in the death of an innocent 17 year old.   A samurai sword-wielding man on a violent rampage. William Bell and the RSA shootings.

Sadly, P is a very New Zealand problem.  We have one of the highest proportion of P users in the world.   

Some say we can't fight it. It's been around too long. The gangs will never give up.  There's nothing we can do. 

I don't accept that.  And this National-led Government won't accept that.

We will confront the P problem, using the full force of the Government's arsenal. 

My speech today will outline our plans for doing that.

My announcements draw on the work of a cross-Government taskforce that has been led by my Department for the past four months.

It's called on the best experts available, including my Chief Scientist Professor Sir Peter Gluckman. It's involved people who have been battling P for years including treatment providers, frontline police officers, Customs officials, researchers and community action groups.  

I have valued the input of Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne as we have put this plan together. He is delegated with responsibility for the National Drug Policy and he will have a critical role in making our plan against P work. 

I set up that taskforce with a clear mission.  Tell us what we can do to tackle P.

The resulting government action plan on methamphetamine contains a comprehensive set of policy changes.

Let me share its highlights.  The Government's plan has five main prongs:

1. We will restrict access to the precursor chemicals P is made from.

2. We will use new powers to break drug supply chains by attacking the gangs and criminal organisations that make, supply and distribute P.

3. We will ensure more P addicts get the treatment they need to quit by providing more treatment capacity and better routes into treatment.

4. We will support families and communities to stop people from becoming P users in the first place.

5. We will provide the leadership needed to ensure that government agencies charged with the responsibility for tackling P get results.

I'm going to outline each of these steps in some detail. 

Controlling Precursors

The first step is about making it harder for people to make P in New Zealand by controlling the availability of precursor chemicals.

As you may know, the main precursor chemical for the making of P is pseudoephedrine.

In New Zealand, pseudoephedrine (or PSE) can be bought over the pharmacy counter in a range of cold and flu medications.

What seems like straight-forward pain and symptom relief to you and me is gold to a drug-cook. 

It's just about all a first time P cook needs to get their drug enterprise started. That's why P cooks are prepared to pay crews of workers to buy it up at pharmacies. And it's why they have developed sophisticated techniques for manipulating pharmacists into giving it to them. 

Of course PSE is also sourced from offshore. However Police find evidence of domestically-bought cold and flu medication in up to one third of the P labs they bust each year.

So there's no doubt that the PSE available in many cold and flu medications is fuelling our P problem.  

That's unacceptable to me.

But I do accept that PSE offers relief from cold symptoms to many New Zealanders.

So the question is, can we provide that same level of relief while also restricting the availability of P to drug-cooks?

That's what I asked my Chief Science Advisor.

Professor Gluckman advises that clinical evidence shows there is a safe and effective alternative to PSE available for cold and flu relief.  It's already being used in up to three quarters of the cold and flu medications Kiwis use.  It's called phenylephrine.

For most people, medications based on this chemical are just as effective as those containing PSE.   

However, there's still a small group of people who may in some circumstances benefit from using PSE-based products instead.  

Based on this advice, and the advice of drugs experts, the Government has decided to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 to make pseudephedrine a Class B2 controlled drug. This will make pseudoephedrine a prescription-only medication. 

Legislation to achieve this will be introduced to Parliament shortly. 

When this law change is enacted it will mean that - as with other Class B2 controlled drugs - very tight restrictions will apply to the circumstances in which a doctor can prescribe pseudoephedrine and the quantities and way in which they can prescribe it. 

However, the alternative - phenylephrine -  will continue to be available in over-the-counter medication. 

This will be a blow to P cooks, and it's a blow I'm pleased to be delivering.

Happily, professor Gluckman has advised that we can be confident this decision won't affect the health of everyday Kiwis. 

I am also prepared to take further action if need be.

The Government's Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) has made a preliminary recommendation that pseudoephedrine should in future be de-listed as a medicine altogether, meaning it would not be available on prescription. 

Before authorising an outright ban of this sort, I first want to see how effective the new restrictions are and to gather more information.

Accordingly I have asked Medsafe to review the status of PSE as a medicine under the Medicines Act.   If they did recommend a ban, and the Government went ahead with it, I am advised that patients with a specific medical need for pseudoephedrine could still have access to it in tightly controlled circumstances.

I am also concerned about the seemingly ready availability of some of the other chemicals used in the production of P.

Stories of retailers selling in bulk are worrying.  But at the same time I don't want to unduly restrict the availability of these chemicals for law-abiding citizens.  There is a balance to be struck.

So I have asked Ministers Dunne and Collins to examine further means of restricting criminals' access to other chemicals involved in P production. They will report back to me with their recommendations by no later than May next year.

Breaking Gangs and Drug Supply Chains

The second part of the Government's plan is about coming down on the gangs and organized crime syndicates who peddle P for a business.

We know they will respond to a pseudoephedrine ban by trying to get more precursors and P in from overseas, through our ports and through our mail system. 

We will be ready for them.                                                   

At my direction, the New Zealand Customs Service is mobilising its resources against the trafficking of P and its precursors.

Today I am pleased to announce that Customs is establishing new dedicated anti-drug taskforces. 

Customs will direct these taskforces to undertake a series of high-intensity detection and investigation operations aimed at increasing the seizures of P and its precursors.

These taskforces will have access to the specialist detection equipment needed to blitz the channels that P smugglers use to import drugs and precursors into New Zealand.

More than 40 Customs officers will be redeployed to these specialist drug-taskforce duties.

Their work will include undertaking intensive inspection exercises to detect P and its precursors in cargo, fast freight and mail streams.  They will use new techniques that allow them to detect who is bringing in the P, who they're bringing it in for and when they're doing it. 

I'm not going to give the P smugglers a tip-off by revealing what those techniques are.  But what I can tell you is that a trial of them has been very successful. 

Over a two week period in August Customs trialled their new anti-P approach.  It resulted in 26 separate seizures totalling 46 kg of methamphetamine precursors.  This single operation resulted in seven arrests and it prevented the manufacture of up to 13kgs of P, representing a street value of up to $13m.

The impact of this operation on P dealers was swift.  Our intelligence tells us that as a result P became harder to obtain and the street price for precursors spiked.

And all that was achieved in just two weeks. So you can be sure, with the specialist taskforces running on a regular basis, P smugglers will find it very tough.

But breaking up drug supply chains is about more than what happens at the border.

It's also about the gangs and organized crime syndicates who make P in clandestine labs, distribute it, peddle it to users, and profit from its use. 

My Government is coming after them as well.

In response to the priority I have placed on tackling P, the New Zealand Police have developed a new Methamphetamine Control Strategy, which will be operating from November this year.

The Strategy is about disrupting and undermining P-related criminal activity.  It specifically aims to:

• Use intelligence in new ways to target gangs,
• work with customs to investigate syndicates who bring in P precursors illegally,
• target P cooks and
• seize funds and assets gained through P-related activity.

I won't go into much more detail than that today.  Because if I reveal the specific Police plans we can be sure the P dealers will adapt accordingly.

You can be sure that the Police will have more tools for fighting P at their disposal than ever before. 

Critically, their strategy will make use of the new legal powers this government is making available to the Police through our range of tough new anti-gang legislation.

These include:

• The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill.  When enacted this will give Police new powers to disrupt criminal gangs involved in the P-trade, including new powers to intercept gang communications, meaning they will find it easier to prosecute key gang figures.  It will also strengthen the law that makes it an offence to be a member of a criminal organisation, double the penalty, and make gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing. 
• The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Bill.  When enacted this will help detect and trace the profits of domestic criminal groups.
• The Search and Surveillance Bill. When enacted this will provide a more powerful search and surveillance regime, with new examination powers, more straight-forward rules around the use of surveillance devices, and enhanced powers to retrieve electronic evidence.

Most importantly, the new strategy will see Police using new legal tools to hit the gangs where it hurts the most.  In the back-pocket.

The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery Act) and the Sentencing Amendment Act we passed this year make it easier for Police to recover property and proceeds of crime from criminals. 

I expect the Police to use these new powers to take the criminal profits from those who make money from the drug trade.  Because I want to see these ill-gotten gains used to control the drug market. 

So today I am announcing that the recovered proceeds of crime that are returned to the Crown will be used to fund anti-P initiatives. This will include additional Police and Customs initiatives to fight gangs and organised crime syndicates. And it will include expanding drug treatment services. 

We will take the profits from the criminals and use them to heal those they have harmed. 

My message to gangs is clear:  this government is coming after your business and we will use every tool we have to destroy it.  We will be ruthless in our pursuit of you and the evil drug you push. 

Better treatment for P-users

Ladies and gentlemen, I am convinced that the two parts of the plan I have just outlined will make a dent in P supply, and ensure there is less of it in our communities.

But they alone won't be enough. 

Because for as long as we have large numbers of P users, and for as long as there are people who want to experiment with P, this ugly problem will plague our country. 

So the announcements I am making today are about fighting criminals.  But they are also about reducing demand for P, by helping addicts quit and deterring new users.

At the moment, too many P users who are ready to quit are not getting the help they need, when they need it.

Earlier this year the New Zealand Herald ran a series of stories about the effects P has on our communities.

One mother told of her desperate attempts to get her son into detox. 

After four years on the drug and constant urging by his family he had finally realised he needed to stay in a specialist addiction service.

But the shortage of treatment beds meant there wasn't a place available. He would have to wait for five to seven weeks.

She watched him cry on the phone, begging to get treatment.

He struggled for several weeks, but without the treatment he needed, fell back into his addiction.

The mother said that for her family it was like holding their breath and waiting and hoping they would get back their happy, wholesome son, brother and father.  They sought help and were told to keep waiting. 

I am determined to do better for families like those.

I am determined to help more P users to quit for life.

So today I am announcing the development of a dedicated treatment pathway for P users.

Starting this year the Ministry of Health will invest an extra $22m in the clinical services needed to ensure there is P treatment available for more than 3000 additional patients over the next three years. 

This investment will be made across different addiction services that cater to the varying needs and backgrounds of P users.

I have asked the Ministry of Health to make their investment wisely, and to ensure that only proven providers are funded to provide these services.

The Government's investment will allow around 2700 additional people to have ready access to one of 20 dedicated new ‘social detox' beds.

These are specialist services where addicts can get the immediate intensive support they need to address their P problem, and that will link them with the follow-up services in their community to help them stay off the drug.

The new funding will also allow up to 400 additional patients to get a longer course of treatment in one of 60 new residential beds that we will fund in specialist facilities, with treatment lasting up to four months. That's a 60 per cent increase in the amount of residential addiction treatment available. 

It's a huge step forward.  But it won't happen immediately.    

It's critical we ensure that these addiction and treatment services are staffed by properly trained employees and proven providers.  There simply aren't enough experts to dramatically expand addiction services overnight. But we can start improving them right now and keep building on them year after year.

So the Government's investment will build up over three years, with up to 700 additional patients receiving treatment over the next year, increasing to 1040 the year after that, and 1400 at full roll out.

This investment will make a difference to hundreds of families. But I don't pretend it will be enough to turn all P users away from their habit. Because some simply won't put their hands up for treatment.

We must to do all we can to encourage them.

Part of the responsibility for doing that falls on Government. 

Police and the Courts already have the power to divert known P-users into treatment.  I have asked my Ministers to ensure they are doing all they can to ensure this power is used wherever appropriate. 

But I am also making it clear to other government agencies that they have a role in helping P addicts get treatment. 

If someone turns up at a Work and Income office for example with obvious signs of P addiction then I want the Work and Income officer to know what he or she can do to help them. 

So I've asked the Ministry of Health to report back to Cabinet early next year about how we can ensure all frontline government staff are properly equipped to provide P users with the information and support they need to get treatment. 

In most cases however, we have to accept that the Government doesn't have the most important role in getting P users into treatment.

Instead, that burden lies with the family and loved ones of P users.

They are the ones who best know the havoc that P addiction wreaks upon their sisters, daughters, brothers and husbands.

So it worries me greatly when I hear stories of families who are at their wits-end trying to get a user to face up to their P-problem.

Too often, they find themselves without the support they need to intervene.

My Government is going to do better for these families.

For a start we will beef up and promote the alcohol and drug helpline so that people know who to call and can get expert help if they're worried about someone using P.

We will also ensure there's a better website with dedicated information on P use, and advice about what they can do to help.

Most importantly, I want to give families and medical professionals the power to help those who aren't ready to help themselves.

It's deeply sad to hear stories of families who know their loved one has a severe P addiction, who can see the harm that addiction is doing to themselves and the people around them, but who are powerless to force them to get help. 

Evidence suggests that once addicts are de-toxed from the drug, they are more able to make rational decisions and accept treatment.  So we need to get them to that first step, get the drug out of their system and get them into effective treatment. 

Right now the only relevant legal tool available to families who want to force their loved ones into treatment is the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Act 1966. This Act is outdated and little used. 

It's time there was a more effective legal means for families and doctors to get P addicts into compulsory assessment and treatment.

So I have asked the Minister of Health to review the Drug Addiction Act to ensure that compulsory assessment treatment for severe alcohol and other drug dependence is readily available by civil court order. 

Some may argue this is an incursion on the rights of individual drug users.  Well I say that ignoring their problems isn't good enough.  We have a responsibility to free them from their addiction, if forcing them into treatment is the way to achieve that then so be it.

Supporting whanau and communities to resist drugs and help users into recovery

The steps I have just outlined focus on treating known P users. But we also have to prevent new people getting hooked on P. 

I'm interested in what works. And I'm advised that the best tool we have for putting people off drug abuse is ensuring they get good advice from the people they are closest to, the people they look up to and respect in their own communities.  It could be a family member, a teacher, a coach, a kaumatua or their friends.

So if we're going to get on top of P then every New Zealand community needs to take ownership of the problem.   Our schools, whanau, clubs, and businesses all have a role to play in stamping out P use.

Our Government will help them do that. 

We will promote new Drug Education Guidelines for schools and as I outlined earlier we'll be promoting the drug and alcohol helpline and improving online advice.

We will also continue to fund ‘Community Action on Youth and Drugs' programmes in 29 parts of the country. These programmes support schools, sports clubs and other groups to keep people off drugs. I've directed that they include a specific focus on stamping-out P.

But I know that the efforts of non-Government organisations are just as valuable as our own. I'm heartened by the great work we're seeing these groups do in our communities, and the willingness talented people are showing to help fight P.

In the audience today are members of the Stellar Trust, which is one example of the kind of voluntary organisation that the Government wants to work with as we tackle P.   Today let me acknowledge all those involved in fighting P, and thank you, and others in organizations like yours, for all your efforts. 

We need your help, we are very grateful for it and we want to work alongside you. 

You have a vital role in ensuring fewer people try P and in making our families and communities stronger to fight against it. 

Leadership and Accountability

Ladies and gentlemen, in speaking of these plans I am conscious that their success will depend on the efforts of our frontline government agencies.  Our Police, customs officers, health and other workers. 

I will make their Chief Executives accountable for delivering on this plan. 

They will have to report to me every six months on the actions in the plan, the impact they're having and the progress they are making. 

These indicators will be very clearly set out in a public document I will release next week.  They will be clear, measurable and individual departments will be held responsible for achieving them.

If departments don't make progress towards this plan they will answer to me. I will expect their best efforts and, in return, where they are struggling the Government will stand ready to act. 

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't see the announcements I have made today as the conclusion of all that we will do on P.  These are critical steps.  But if further action is warranted, we will take it.  I am confident that with a clear focus we can make progress together. 

But I'm also realistic about how big the problem is.

I'm not going to claim that when this plan is fully rolled out P will be stamped out for good.  I'd love to promise you that, but I can't.

Throughout the world, wherever leaders have promised to stamp out drug use altogether they have found that to be an elusive goal.  Because drug-dealers and drug-users are notoriously adaptable. 

That's why we have to come at the problem from all directions.  By cracking down on precursors, breaking supply chains, providing better routes into treatment, supporting families and communities and strengthening leadership and accountability.

None of these steps will work in isolation. 

But I am confident that, taken together, they will make a difference.

That difference will save lives.

It will reduce the amount of P on our streets.

It will give families hope.

It will make P dealing harder for gangs. 

It will make our communities safer.

It will free people from the pain of addiction. 

If we can make progress towards those goals we will make this country greater.

We can make that progress, we will make that progress, and that's why I'm proud to be tackling P.

I look forward to working with you to do that.     

Thank you.  

E nga mana

E nga reo

E nga hau e wha

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa

To the powers

To the voices

To the four winds

I greet you all

Mr President; Distinguished representatives of the States of the United Nations; Mr Secretary General.

I have addressed this Assembly in te reo Mäori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, and I bring warm Pacific greetings from all New Zealanders.

I am deeply honoured to lead New Zealand's delegation to this General Assembly for the first time.

Like every New Zealand Prime Minister since 1945, I stand here today to reaffirm my country's commitment to this United Nations and to the United Nations Charter.

The founding members of the United Nations gathered in San Francisco in 1945 to create this Organisation out of the ashes of the most destructive war and the most debilitating economic depression in modern history.

They believed in the ‘larger freedom' of a world where collective action might avert common crises. 

They believed in the Rule of Law, where all States would be held to a universal standard, and in a world where all peoples, faiths and cultures, could flourish. 

They believed in a future where every human being would be ‘free from want', and ‘free from fear'.

And they wanted an international organisation and architecture that could deliver on those beliefs.

Distinguished representatives, New Zealand was active among those founding members in San Francisco.

And, as a small, independent, and diverse country in the Pacific, New Zealand still has a stake in this United Nations - this great meeting place of all States.

I have benefited personally from efforts to secure these ideals.

My family fled persecution in Europe, and I was privileged to grow up in a new world where a child of immigrants is now accorded the extraordinary privilege of leading his country and addressing this Assembly on its behalf. 

Distinguished representatives, we meet at a time of many challenges.

With 130 Heads of State and Government assembled here this week, this General Assembly represents our greatest opportunity since the World Summit in 2005 to reaffirm our collective resolve.

New Zealand embraces this opportunity.

Today I will focus on some of the most pressing issues demanding our collective response.  

Mr President, the crisis in the global economy continues.

We must remain resolute in our efforts to stabilize the global economy to enable a return to sustainable growth.

New Zealand welcomes the actions of the G20 over the past year. But in commending these efforts, we call on the G20 to heed the voice of the world's small economies and to ensure they are also heard in global decision-making.

Distinguished representatives, free and fair trade will be the principal engine for driving developing countries out of poverty and bringing greater prosperity to all.

An essential component in our response to the global economic crisis must therefore be a balanced and ambitious conclusion to the Doha Round of world trade talks.

A genuinely global agreement that reduces tariffs, eliminates export subsidies, reduces domestic subsidies and increases market access will see benefits flow to all States.

At a time when all countries are suffering from the brunt of the current economic crisis, further delay is inexcusable.

As one of the world's first truly open economies, New Zealand has an unwavering commitment to trade liberalization and to the pursuit of bilateral, regional and global free trade agreements.

We support the call of the UN Secretary-General for the immediate suspension of price controls and other agricultural trade restrictions to reduce soaring food prices and help millions cope with the highest food prices in thirty years.

And so, I call on all those States and groupings that have broken their undertakings and reintroduced protectionist measures to reconsider.

These actions are as harmful as they are unacceptable.  Agriculture, which is so important for developing countries in particular, is one of the sectors most affected.

Distinguished representatives, the escalation of poverty is a result of the economic crisis.

New Zealand is naturally proud of the efforts of the UNDP to strengthen its focus as the UN's largest development agency on poverty and on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

For its part, New Zealand pledges to continue to increase its Official Development Assistance, with a clear focus on the Pacific Islands region.

Aid effectiveness is just as important as the quantum of aid; and that is why, last month, we committed to the Cairns Compact that will strengthen development coordination in the Pacific Islands.

Distinguished representatives, the major focus of the General Assembly this year must be the challenge of climate change. 

Climate change demands innovation and a global response.  The world cannot afford to contemplate failure at Copenhagen.  Political leadership is needed, and it is on display.

At the Climate Change Summit this week the leaders of the world's three biggest economies showed their determination to both make Copenhagen a success and to take action themselves.

All countries must take action that reflects our individual circumstances, responsibilities and capabilities.

For our part, New Zealand is committed to securing a durable and meaningful agreement on climate change.  An agreement that is both environmentally effective and economically efficient.

I have set a target for New Zealand of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by between 10 and 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, if there is a comprehensive global agreement.  This is a per capita drop of 35 to 42 percent since 1990. 

New Zealand is acutely conscious that most of our greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock methane emissions, which so far no technology can reduce.

At the same time we are proud of our role as a food producer to the world and the contribution we can make to assuring food-security for the world's people.

Our challenge is to find a way to balance growth in agricultural production with the need to reduce emissions and reach climate change targets.    

This is not just a challenge for New Zealand, but one for the world.

Agricultural emissions make up 14% of all emissions worldwide.   As demand for food rises, so will those emissions.  Yet so far the only known way to achieve emission reductions from agriculture is through reductions in output.

That is not an acceptable response.  Not for New Zealand.  And not for a growing world that seeks freedom from hunger.

A better response to this challenge must be found.   In my view that response must draw on the power and possibility of science.   

Just as New Zealand is proud of its agricultural producers, so are we proud of our role in agricultural research.  This research has resulted in scientific and technological advances that have improved production and fed millions.

But advancing research in the area of emission-reduction requires a commitment so broad that it is beyond the capacity of any one country.

This is a challenge that requires collective action and it is collective action I call for today.

New Zealand has developed a proposal for a Global Alliance on the reduction of agricultural emissions.

This Alliance would undertake international research and investment into new technologies and practices to help reduce agriculture-related emissions, and for greater co-ordination of existing efforts.

Through a Global Alliance we can find solutions faster, make better use of the money that is being spent around the world and encourage all countries and companies to do more.

We have been delighted with the interest received in our proposal so far and we will continue working with others to explore the concept.

Today, my call to other agricultural producers of the world is to rise to this challenge and join New Zealand in this research effort.

Distinguished representatives, I now want to address some of the security crises that we confront.

Yesterday I had the honour to observe the High-Level Security Council meeting on disarmament and non-proliferation.

As a country with a proud record of promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, I was heartened by the expressions of support for a world free of nuclear weapons.

We must take full advantage of this historic moment to advance the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda.   We owe it to our generation and to those who follow us to progress our vision for a world free from nuclear weapons.

As a proudly nuclear-free nation, and as a country that has been at the forefront of this debate since the 1970s, New Zealand stands ready to play its part.

We are optimistic about the prospects for progress.

Last week New Zealand presided over the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.  Preventing the spread of nuclear weapons through the implementation of safeguards under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a fundamental pillar of the Agency's work.

Next year sees the five-yearly review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

New Zealand will actively work with our New Agenda Coalition partners for a meaningful outcome at that conference, to bring us closer to a truly secure world.

We will also continue to address the humanitarian harm of conventional weapons. We will work for a robust, action-oriented outcome later this year at the second Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention.

Looking back, I am proud of the role New Zealand was able to play in the negotiation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The government attaches priority to passing legislation to enable us to ratify this very significant treaty.

New Zealand also continues to play its part in maintaining and promoting international peace and security.

Peacekeeping remains one of this organisation's most essential tasks, and its most solemn responsibilities to its members.

While UN peacekeeping has been significantly strengthened since the testing it underwent in the 1990s, the demands now being placed on it are severe.

I want to express my profound gratitude to those civilians and military personnel who place their lives at risk to support peace and live up to the ideals of the United Nations Charter.

Ensuring UN peacekeeping is as effective and responsive as possible must therefore remain one of this organization's most urgent priorities. 

The United Nations provides the legal mandate - and often the operational effectiveness - for our joint efforts to achieve and maintain peace and security.

New Zealand is firmly committed to supporting UN peacekeeping - both its own operations and others it has mandated such as those in which we are involved in Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

All too often, the UN, has however, found itself unable to respond to emerging crises.

New Zealand therefore strongly supports the concept of Responsibility to Protect.  I am pleased at the solid foundation the General Assembly's recent debate on R2P has laid for its implementation.

New Zealand also strongly supports the International Criminal Court.  It is a fundamental tenet of our domestic legal systems that wrong doers must be brought to justice.  The ICC is the mechanism for applying that same principle to persons accused of the most serious international crimes. 

Distinguished representatives, New Zealand takes very seriously its responsibilities for creating and maintaining peace and security in its region and in the world. I am therefore pleased to confirm New Zealand's candidature for the United Nations Security Council for 2015 - 2016, in elections to be held in 2014. 

In advancing its candidature, New Zealand does so as a state committed to upholding the international Rule of Law, and to providing a strong and principled Pacific voice on behalf of small States like ourselves with an interest in a fairer and more secure world.

We all have a stake in a world where peace and the Rule of Law prevail, where all States are secure and can prosper, and where all people are guaranteed the human rights and fundamental freedoms promised them in the Charter.

But we also know that solutions to the problems we collectively face do not lie with aspirational goals and promises that can be - and far too often are - quickly and quietly forgotten or ignored.

Hard, pragmatic decisions must be made.

Enforceable solutions must be implemented.

We know that effective, collective action is in every country's long-term, national interest.

That is what New Zealand believed in 1945; and I recommit now to taking action to live up to the ideals of the UN Charter, here, in this great chamber, this evening.

Let me begin by thanking all those who have come here today to hear this address.

It’s great to be with a group of people who share a passion that means so much to me. 

That passion is the potential of New Zealand’s young people.

As youth workers, as youth justice experts, as community leaders, you devote much of your energy to young Kiwis, and in doing so you make an important contribution to our country.

After all, it is our young people who, more than any other group, will determine the future shape and prosperity of New Zealand. 

When our young people flourish, we all benefit. 

For it is their efforts that will boost the economy of tomorrow and, in time, pay for the public services we rely on. 

For New Zealand to become more prosperous, for our living standards to rise, for there to be more and better paid jobs, we need the next generation to be more capable, more skilled, and more ambitious than the generation before. 

Judging by most of the young people I meet, New Zealand’s future looks bright.  

As I travel around the country, visiting schools, workplaces, marae, I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm and energy displayed by our youth.  They are ambitious for themselves and they make me optimistic for New Zealand.

As Prime Minister I am determined to ensure our young have the opportunities they need to deliver on this potential and ambition. 

I want them to have the skills and experiences they need to succeed, to acquire productive jobs and good living standards for them and their families, here in New Zealand.

The Government’s policy priorities reflect this aspiration and today I will make a series of announcements that reflect that. 

The first set of policies is about providing young people from deprived communities with activity programmes in their school holidays.  

The second is about equipping our youth justice system with a better set of tools for dealing with young offenders.

I will detail these exciting policies in just a moment. 

But it’s important that you don’t consider these policies in isolation. 

They need to be seen in the context of the Government’s broader policy agenda for improving the lives of young, and indeed all, New Zealanders.

Because you know and I know, that doing better for our young people means doing better across a range of fronts. 

It starts with valuing families. 

That means respecting the vital role of parents, and doing all that we can to support the financial security of families.

The Government’s task is to make decisions – day by day and policy by policy – that will strengthen the economy so that it can provide Mums and Dads with the jobs they need, the incomes they deserve, and the financial security they want for their families.

The tough times of late show just how important this is. 

When the economy falters, it is everyday Kiwis who pay the price.  

The opposite is also true.

When the economy rallies, it is everyday Kiwis and their children who benefit.

The Government is working hard to strengthen our economy. 

From better infrastructure, to regulatory reform through to a better tax system, we’re making and will continue to make, the changes that are needed to make New Zealand’s economic engine run faster.

Economic policy is very important to me. 

Not because I think wealth necessarily brings happiness, but because I know that a lack of work and a lack of money reduce people’s security and choices. 

I simply want better for New Zealanders. 

The Government recognises that providing opportunities for young people is also about supporting families to support their children, whether through Working for Families, access to early childhood education or quality healthcare.   

I have been proud of this Government’s efforts to preserve these entitlements and improve these services, despite the magnitude of the recession. 

We are focusing on reducing bureaucracy, pushing resources to the frontline and getting better value for every taxpayer dollar. 

By doing these things we will be able to continue to preserve families’ entitlements and services into the future. 

We know that supporting our young people is also about valuing education.  

I view education as a liberator. 

It is the single most important rung on the ladder of opportunity. 

By and large, New Zealand has an education system to be proud of. 

But too many young people slip through the cracks and leave school without the skills and qualifications they need to succeed.

That’s what is motivating our National Standards policy. 

National Standards are designed to ensure primary school children are on track towards getting the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed.   

We have consulted with parents and teachers on a set of National Standards that will describe the basic literacy and numeracy skills every child should be expected to have at each year of their primary education. 

The final standards will be published in October.

From next year, we will require all year 1-8 schools to report to parents in plain English about how their children are doing compared to these National Standards. 

If children aren’t reaching the standards we will require schools to tell Mums and Dads so they can work with their schools to do something about it.

We’re also working with our schools and education providers to give them more flexibility to educate kids who may not do so well in a traditional academic environment.   

We know that some kids will get more from pulling an engine apart than studying Macbeth. 

So our Trades in Schools programme and Youth Guarantee are about ensuring that teenagers have more choices, are better engaged in education and better prepared for the workforce.

Finally, the Government knows that supporting our young people is about ensuring that, even in the toughest economic times, when they leave school they have access to opportunities for work, training, or further education. 

That’s why I was pleased to announce our $152 million “Youth Opportunities” package at the beginning of the month.

It provides for up to 16,900 opportunities for young people aged 16-to-24, who may be affected by increasing levels of unemployment over the next 18 months.

There is a range of initiatives from increased places in Limited Service Volunteers, more provision of polytechnic and wananga training through to government funded schemes designed to encourage businesses and communities to offer jobs to young people. 

We’ve been impressed by the take-up of the package so far, with almost 600 jobs being offered to young people as a result of the “Job Ops” policy. 

But we’re keen to see even more take-up.

You can all help with that. 

Of particular interest to those in this room may be the ‘Community Max’ policy. 

Community Max is designed to get young people working on worthwhile projects in their communities.   

If you come to us with a community project that fits the criteria, we will provide funding for the wages of youth workers for up to 30 hours a week at the minimum wage, a supervisor for every four young workers, as well as a training payment for every worker. 

It’s a great opportunity and one we’re keen to see being rolled out up and down New Zealand. 

So have a think about how you or your organisation might get involved. 

But the reason I’m here today is to announce two new packages aimed at young people under the age of 18.

BREAK-AWAY PACKAGE FOR SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

The first policy is a Break-Away Package costing $12.1 million over four years which is designed to increase opportunities for young people in school holidays.

This package will give children from deprived communities a break away in meaningful activities during the school holidays.

It will give foster caregivers a break away from their responsibilities.

And it will give selected young people a break away in fun and challenging activities with high-profile role models as a reward for turning their lives around.

Many New Zealand families already choose to get their kids involved in holiday activity programmes.  

They might, for example, send their kids to a rugby training programme for a week, on a surf lifesaving course, a kapa haka programme or a karate workshop. 

Kiwis like these programmes, not only because they give kids somewhere to be during the day while Mum and Dad might be at work, but also because they give kids a new range of experiences quite unlike those they get from school. 

Young people on a school holiday programme get the opportunity to develop new skills, to face some challenges, and to meet new young people in a new environment. 

Opportunities like this can be invaluable. 

But sadly the young people who may be most likely to miss out on these opportunities are also the ones who might gain the most from them.

I’m talking about young people in some of New Zealand’s lower socio-economic communities, where Mum and Dad might not be able to afford the programme fees or the programmes might not be on offer at all.

Instead of going on an athletics camp the kids from some of New Zealand’s poorest families might find themselves at a loose end in the school holidays with very little to do. 

I want to make sure that more families have the chance to get their children involved in meaningful activities in the school holidays.  

I also want to boost the efforts of the many great community providers who work with young people. 

This includes providers with a physical activity or sport focus such as the YMCA and families centres like Mangere East.

Holiday Activity Programmes

So today I am announcing that, starting this summer school holidays, the Government will roll out 15,000 one-week holiday activity programme places for young people aged 11-17.

This will increase to 30,000 places a year from next year onwards.

I want to see a diverse range of programmes, from drama to outdoor-adventure to organised sport. 

The key requirements will be that the programmes are safe, include physical activities and provide positive experiences.

The needs of different age groups will also have to be catered for. 

These programmes will geographically target young people from deprived communities and families under stress. 

Starting this summer, high needs areas in Auckland will be targeted. 

Over time, we will roll these funded school-holiday programmes out to other parts of New Zealand. 

Residential Respite Camps

Today I am also announcing 500 residential holiday respite camp places for children and young people who are being cared for by foster parents and extended whanau.

The camps will provide full residential care, and structured recreational programmes for children and young people in the age ranges of 5 to 7 years and 8 to 12 years.

The programmes will give foster caregivers a break, and they will give young people a positive experience in the school holidays. 

There will be 250 places from December this year, rising to 500 from next year. Initially we will focus on the younger aged group.

The Te Puna Whairoa Children’s Health Camps will be the first provider of these programmes. 

The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme

Finally, I am pleased to announce a highly-targeted new Prime Minister’s Youth Programme for 100 selected kids. 

This new programme will, each year, reward and foster achievement for young people aged 14 to 17 who have overcome adversity and made positive changes in their lives. 

This programme will be aimed at kids who have been recognised by community leaders as having done what it takes to really turn their lives around.  

They might for example be identified by a teacher, a local police officer, or a youth worker. 

I want the programmes to be a real reward for young people who’ve made mistakes but have picked themselves up and chosen to play by the rules and make the most of themselves.   

Over the course of the week-long programme, these young people will experience a mixture of fun and challenging activities that will open up future opportunities for them. 

What will make the programme unique is that, as part of the reward, a number of high-profile New Zealanders have offered to lend a hand and help raise the sights of these young people.

These include several high profile rugby stars – either All Blacks or super rugby players - actor Oscar Kightley, ex-All Black Norm Hewitt, and netball guru Raewyn Henry. 

I want the young people involved in the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme to be given the opportunity to spend time with these icons and learn from their experiences.

I’m sure that other high-profile New Zealanders will be prepared to invest their time in the young people on the programme and I look forward to their contribution.

The camps will be run by experienced providers, but the involvement of these icons will make them really special. 

We are expecting the programme to kick off in January 2010. 

FRESH START PACKAGE FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS

The second set of policies I’m announcing today is aimed at a much smaller, but often higher-profile group of young people – youth offenders.

Our extensive Fresh Start package of youth justice policies is aimed at those who have veered off the rails and who have found themselves in trouble with the police and the youth justice system. 

These range from Community Youth Development Programmes for at-risk youth who are yet to come before the courts, right through to military-style activity camp programmes for the worst youth offenders.

There are not many young people in this position.

Perhaps a few thousand at the most. 

But it is vital that we offer them an effective range of opportunities – based on the severity of their offending – to turn their lives around and give them a fresh start. 

If we don’t, not only are these young people likely to fall far short of their potential but, most significantly, they may pose a serious threat to the future safety of our communities.

The earlier we get these kids out of the crime cycle the less havoc they can wreak.

To do this, the youth justice system needs a greater range of tools than it currently has.

That’s what this Government has set about providing.   

We want to ensure that judges, when faced with a youth offender, will be able to tailor a package of measures that they believe will address that young person’s criminal behaviour and help them turn their life around.

I have previously announced our plans for bolstering the Youth Court with a new and strengthened range of orders, including longer sentences and military-style activity camps.  

Today I am going to announce more of the funding and implementation details of these policies and some new initiatives.

The legislation required to make the key changes needed is currently before a Select Committee.

We have been listening to the submitters who have come forward to comment on that Bill. 

The responses have helped inform today’s announcement. 

The feedback we have heard from some submitters has been about the great youth programmes that are working well but are currently under-funded by the criminal justice system. 
 
Today I am pleased to announce the Government’s plans for a broad range of these kinds of interventions, which we will fund with $72.4 million over four years.

New Community Youth Programmes

The first new set of interventions will be targeted at lower-level youth offenders, whose offending is yet to land them in court.

We want to get to these young people early and steer them away from more serious offending. 

There are already some great structured activity programmes out there that could help turn these kids’ lives around.  

These include the Police-led Youth Development Programmes and similar programmes run by community organisations.  

They are run by experts and include a mixture of activities that help young people to learn new skills and even develop new passions. 

Today I am announcing that the Government will fund up to 1000 places for young people at risk of offending to take part in Youth Development Programmes of this sort. This year 250 places will be available and this will increase to 1000 a year following that.

Young people will be referred to these programmes by the police, the courts, or other community leaders – for example school principals.

Funding for these programmes will total $9.8 million over the next four years. 

Mentoring, Parenting, and Drug & Alcohol Orders

The Government will also ensure that the Youth Court has new rehabilitation orders and access to a large number of funded places in programmes that tackle some of the root causes behind youth offending.

There are three things that everyone agrees can help rehabilitate a young offender. 

Working with parents to strengthen their role in the child’s life. 

Ensuring youth have access to ongoing mentoring from respected and well-qualified people. 

And helping them tackle their issues with alcohol and drug abuse. 

The Government wants to back what works.

We will put $9.4 million over four years into youth justice funding for programmes like these. 

This will create up to 300 places a year in mentoring programmes.

Up to 700 places a year in parenting programmes.

Up to 200 places in community-based drug and alcohol programmes. 

And up to 32 places in residential-based drug and alcohol programmes designed to help offenders with very serious addictions.

Court-Supervised Camps

We also want to ensure that youth offenders at the lower end of the scale can be directed into physically and mentally challenging activity programmes.

I want to see more of these kids, who may otherwise stick to old habits, getting a real chance to change themselves for the better. 

At the moment, hundreds of young offenders who come before the Youth Court are referred to a Family Group Conference.

If they successfully complete the plan agreed at the conference they can be discharged without being sentenced.
 
The Government wants to support these kids to help them turn their lives around at this early stage.

We will provide new Court-Supervised Camp Programmes to deliver more options for the Family Group Conferences and the Court.

An intensive adventure-camp experience could be the start that encourages a troubled teenager to get their life back together. 

I’m talking about programmes run by experts that take kids away from their normal environment and give them the rev-up they need.   

And that are then followed up with intensive mentoring so that the positive changes really stick.

The Government will provide $5.4 million in funding over four years to support up to 200 places in a new range of these Court Supervised Camp Programmes. 

These will include up to 10 days on an intensive adventure-camp experience as part of Court-ordered family conference plans.

Failure to compete these programmes will result in offenders being returned to Court and more serious sanctions being imposed.

Greater Youth Court Powers

I’m also keen to ensure that the Youth Court has the powers it needs to ensure that court orders are complied with, and that when offenders are released back into the community they can be closely monitored.

Today I am confirming that the Government has allocated funding to allow up to 30 high-risk youth offenders a year to be electronically monitored in the community while under a court-ordered Intensive Supervision order.

We have also allocated funding to expand the proven ‘Supported Bail Programme” which will provide intensive supervision and monitoring for up to 175 young offenders a year while they are on remand.

Innovation Fund

Finally, I’m announcing today an annual fund to encourage communities to come up with new and innovative solutions to youth offending.

Many of those responding to the Government’s proposals have said they have better ideas for helping youth offenders. 

This fund gives them the chance to prove it.

We will fund organisations with proven track-records to target up to 230 young people who are at risk of getting into a cycle of crime.  

We will provide $4.6 million over four years for this fund to encourage new ideas and new approaches. 

We expect, for example, that many providers will focus on new ways of dealing with Maori offenders, who are badly over-represented in the youth offending statistics.

Supervision with Activity Orders and Military-Style Activity Camps

I think the policies I have announced today will vastly improve the way our youth justice system deals with young offenders.

But I hasten to add that these programmes complement, not replace, the Government’s plans for military-style supervision with activity programmes and residential military-style activity camp programmes.

We are providing 50 additional places in supervision with activity programmes, and doubling the maximum duration to six months, followed by up to six months supervision.

We are also providing 40 places in residential military activity camp programmes for more serious young offenders.

These provide up to three months residential training, using army-type facilities or training methods, followed by up to nine months intensive support to meet each offender’s individual needs.

I know these programmes have come in for criticism from some quarters.

But I make no apologies for backing them. 

The current system for dealing with the more serious young offenders just isn’t working well enough. 

We have to be prepared to come at the problem differently and give new solutions a go. 

The military-style options I propose will provide serious young offenders with a structured environment and a complete package of support to address the causes of offending. 

Yes they’ll involve some marching exercises. 

Yes, they’ll involve military facilities. 

I support that. 

But they’ll also include long-term mentoring, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes, education, and an assisted move back into the community. 

Taken together they just might deal to some of the unexploded time-bombs currently sifting through the Youth Court. 

And that’s something I’m proud to back. 

All in all, the Government’s extensive range of initiatives in our Fresh Start Package for Youth Justice, together with our increased funding for interventions, will result in up to 3000 extra places in youth justice programmes each year.

These policies will go a long way towards dismantling some of New Zealand’s ticking time bombs.

They will turn more young people off a life of crime.

They will help make our communities safer.

And they will give more at-risk New Zealanders the opportunity for a fresh-start.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, today’s announcements are about doing better for the next generation.

I want every young Kiwi to be able to find a way onto the path of success.

And I want our children to have great expectations for what they can achieve. 

We owe our young people the opportunities they need to deliver the very best of themselves. 

They owe us their very best efforts in return.

After all, the future success of our country, the future success of each of us, relies on unlocking the potential of a new generation. 

Just as the Government is working hard to ensure that potential is released, I know the people in this room are giving back to your communities.

I think together we can make a real difference to our young and to our country. 

So I thank you and I welcome you on board a great mission.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. 

I’m very pleased to be back here in Australia again – my second visit this month. 

It’s a real pleasure to be here in Melbourne today to talk to such a diverse group of well-informed commentators on public policy as yourselves and to hear your perspectives on the issues.

Given your particular interest in economic development, I’d like to focus today on the trade and economic pillar of the trans-Tasman relationship.

In particular, I want to talk about how New Zealand and Australia can use CER - the Closer Economic Relationship - and our shared Single Economic Market agenda as a mechanism for building productivity. 

Above all, I’d like to share with you my vision of New Zealand and Australia working together to create a stronger, more connected and more streamlined trans-Tasman trade and business environment. 

In the current challenging global economic climate, this development of a more efficient and effective trans-Tasman trade and economic relationship assumes an even greater importance. 

It is vital that we join forces with our closest friends to meet these new and pressing challenges together.  Above all, we need together to send out the message loud and clear – our economies are open and will stay open for business.

There is also much to be gained by teaming up to position ourselves into the future and to take best advantage of the global recovery when it comes.

We need to develop an environment for business that releases our countries’ productive potential, and importantly, increases the growth, productivity and profitability of our tradeables sector – that is our companies that are in competition with the rest of the world.

An important component in any economic growth strategy is improving productivity.

My Government is working on a number of policy initiatives to increase productivity, not least to ensure that our economy emerges well placed to move ahead at the other end of this global economic crisis

There is no question that at the core of any successful productivity-focused growth strategy lies the New Zealand-Australia relationship.

Let me reflect a moment on this relationship from New Zealand’s perspective. 

For New Zealand, there is no relationship as significant or as diverse as that which we have with Australia.

The connections are more extensive and more entwined with domestic interests and processes than is the case with any other relationship.

The pillars of the trans-Tasman relationship are strong and mutually reinforcing:

• People-to-people links are the closest they have ever been and are getting ever closer. That is emphasised by the literally millions of visits each year across the Tasman. Ours is truly the most unique people-to-people, family and business relationship.
• That ease of movement also of course allows for frequency and intimacy of contact between the two countries, which in turn supports a huge array of business-to-business and government-to-government interactions.
• The high degree of economic integration between the two countries is under-pinned by one of the world’s most successful trade and economic relationships. 
• We have a history – a long history - of cooperation across a wide range of foreign and domestic policy issues and interests.
• And we have a defence alliance and defence cooperation with deep roots in history, and this is given contemporary relevance by joint deployments especially in our immediate region.
• Finally, in support of all of these factors, we have a bedrock of shared values and aspirations – values to do with democracy, good governance, individual responsibility and a “fair go”.

In terms of the trade and economic aspects of the relationship, it’s useful to remember that the moves towards greater trans-Tasman economic integration are recent ones – but we have come an extraordinarily long way in a comparatively short time. 

A far-sighted vision a little over a quarter of a century ago saw Australia and New Zealand agree to work towards mutual market opening and greater international competitiveness.

We should acknowledge the aspiration and ambition of those who provided the leadership to take us in new directions.

This vision led to establishment of the set of agreements we call Closer Economic Relations, or CER.  CER has been a remarkable success in both countries – it creates a market of over 25 million people for exporters.  For Australia, this means access to an economy about the size of Queensland. 

Since the signing of CER, Australia has become New Zealand’s number one trading partner and number one export destination, taking over 23 per cent of our total exports for the year ended December 2008.  Over the past ten years, New Zealand’s merchandise exports to Australia have more than doubled, currently running at nearly NZ$10 billion.

In turn, New Zealand is Australia’s seventh largest trading partner.  Australia is New Zealand’s number one source of imports, supplying nearly one fifth of our total imports, amounting to 4.2 per cent of Australia’s total exports and worth NZ$8.5 billion for the year ended December 2008.  This is a 64 per cent increase over the past ten years.

In total, trans-Tasman merchandise has increased by a staggering 86 per cent over the last ten years.

Similarly, two-way services trade has also increased significantly, up 67 per cent to nearly AU$6 billion.

CER’s success rests on the fact that it is comprehensive – there are now almost no barriers to trade in goods and services across the Tasman. 

But the success of CER goes beyond simply the mechanics of trade:

It has played and continues to play a key role in the internationalisation of the New Zealand and Australian economies.

It provides the gold standard against which all other free trade agreements that New Zealand and Australia have subsequently negotiated are measured.

And most significantly, it has provided the platform for ongoing trade and economic integration between our two countries. 

Having dealt with barriers at the border – tariffs, quantitative restrictions, import licences, and so forth – both countries are now deeply engaged in dealing with barriers behind the border. That’s where the real opportunities now lie.

This is occurring in the “Single Economic Market” process. This is where we are working to address the transaction costs – the ‘friction’ if you like – which companies face in doing business either side of the Tasman, especially as a result of different laws and regulations.

So work is underway to make it easier to do things, such as offer securities in both countries using the same offer documents; to simplify cross-border insolvency proceedings; to make trans-Tasman company registration easier; to improve the alignment in administration of competition law between the two countries; and so on.

While these are not intrinsically sexy subjects, the gains in these areas are significant and in very real practical terms make doing business across the Tasman easier. 

As I said earlier, today I want to share my aspirations about the next “far-sighted vision” for the trans-Tasman economic relationship. 

I want to create an environment where business can operate as efficiently as possible, to boost productivity in both our countries.

I want to achieve a seamless business environment.

What do I mean by that?

 It’s very simple – my vision is that a company here in Melbourne, for example, can do business in Auckland as easily as it can in Sydney

And I want us to build commercial partnerships and enhance the export capacity and performance for our Australasian businesses. 

I see three core areas where governments can make a real difference:

• developing smart regulation;
• driving productivity gains for our economies; and
• capitalising on our joint capacity for international influence, including leveraging into third markets.

Smart Regulation

Sadly, red tape is an issue for any government.

I am pleased to say, however, that cutting red tape is the business of my government.

We all know that if we get it right, then regulation will facilitate business.

But we all also know that when governments get it wrong – and they so often do - it creates a barrier to business. It stifles innovation. It stifles productivity.

That’s not my vision for our partnership.

This is an area where I know New Zealand can do better – and I am determined it will.

We are already engaged in a major review of the Resource Management Act – I would describe this piece of legislation as having been like a foot on the brake of our economy.

I expect that the outcome of that review and subsequent reforms will take the foot off that particular brake.

I am also pleased to see that Australia too is undertaking a similar process through the Council of Australian Governments and its Working Groups.

And I was particularly pleased when Kevin extended an invitation to me for New Zealand to participate in the Business Regulation and Competition Working Group.

I welcomed that invitation.

New Zealand’s involvement will mean we can share our experiences of cutting red tape and we can learn from yours.

So what we’re looking to do in the trans-Tasman space is in fact mutually reinforcing what we’re both doing at home.

I firmly believe that an essential concept in creating a trans-Tasman Single Economic Market must be to reduce transaction and compliance costs associated with operating in both markets.

Let’s get rid of the friction that is slowing us down. 

I want to reduce regulatory duplication, strip out compliance costs and streamline the process of doing business across the Tasman. 

Productivity Gains

Second, I believe we need to focus on generating productivity gains.  Smart regulation is a large part of this, but there is more to it than that. 

By working together, Australia and New Zealand can achieve economies of scale and scope in regulatory design and implementation. 

By operating under the same regulatory umbrella where possible, we can cut the cost of running a comprehensive modern regulatory system.

The elimination of tariffs between us has already been an important driver of productivity growth.    Our task now is to build on that, and the productivity dividend it will bring, with increased openness across a range of areas.

CER provides a great platform for productivity growth.

• It encourages innovation by our exporting and importing firms as they compete and are exposed to more competition in both Australia and New Zealand.
• It encourages the development of technology as the movement of capital and people  between our economies is increased. The enhanced linkages through services, for instance, are facilitating a sharp uptick in investment flows and skills transfers between our countries. That’s wealth and income creating – and a key driver of productivity
• It helps insert us into global supply networks by giving us the combined grunt to plug us both into regional and global networks, including through our expanding network of  Free Trade Agreements.
• And it assists with our broader economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. Both of our economies are actively pursuing FTA negotiations – both separately and together.
• I believe that our ongoing engagement with the region must include regulatory harmonization, infrastructure development, and collaboration. Of course we can’t expect that to be like CER overnight. But these are the drivers of growth – they facilitate transit trade and transport. They facilitate inward and outward investment flows.

The above effects accumulate to an economy over time.

And these productivity gains from trade result in not just one-off lifts in economic activity.  In fact such gains can drive sustained increases in the productivity growth rate over time.

That’s what really matters - sustained increases in the productivity growth rate over time.

That’s what I am really interested in as the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

International influence

The third element of my vision for our partnership is to strengthen our joint capacity for international influence. 

With CER as a template, we are already powerful allies on trade policy.

Trade Ministers Tim Groser and Simon Crean are working closely together to support and advance the WTO Doha negotiations.  Concluding these negotiations is a matter of vital importance to us both.

Similarly, we are in close dialogue on our wider trade policy objectives.  We are close partners in APEC and the East Asia Summit. 

We have just concluded joint negotiations with ASEAN on a free trade agreement – AANZFTA as it’s known. 

That is a very exciting and in fact historic development.  It is the first negotiation that CER has undertaken together.

I hope we can do more of these kinds of negotiations.

This 12 country FTA binds CER with ASEAN.

This 12 country FTA creates a free trade area of almost 600 million people. This new area has a combined GDP of over US$1.9 trillion and over US$1.7 trillion of global trade.

This 12 country FTA is a major opportunity for our two economies to plug ourselves directly into the most dynamic and fast growing region in the world.

We need to work together to maximise the gains from this agreement to the CER economies – something I hope to discuss with Kevin when we meet later this week.

But that’s not all we are working on.

We are both actively engaged in pursuing a Trans-Pacific Partnership – a visionary free trade agreement with key players in our region.

It is an agreement that will bind our region ever closer together – from the Americas to Asia, with CER benefitting all the time.

By ensuring ‘best practice’ regulation and policy amongst ourselves, we can influence other international standard-setters and send a strong signal to the rest of the world about the strategic priority we both accord the achievement of a Single Economic Market. 

And we are also then best placed to give a strong and united trans-Tasman push for keeping markets open. We both stand to reap significant benefits from a more liberal global trading system.

In the current economic climate, this is even more important. Staying open for business in both word and deed matters.

We are not just having to work to gain new trading opportunities, we are also having to work hard to maintain our existing markets. 

A number of our key trading partners have resorted to protectionist measures in the erroneous belief that this is the best way to help their economies. 

That is disappointing for their sake and for ours.

History tells us a compelling story in this regard.  It is in all of our interests to avoid having the global trading system mired in protectionism.

This kind of short sightedness will only stall the trade-led recovery urgently needed.

The global economic crisis has had profound international effects.

I am pleased, however, that the CER economies have weathered the storm well.

The one thing we’ve both learnt is that in times like these you just have to keep capital flowing – that’s investment flows in both directions as well as credit. That is the life blood of our two economies. If the credit isn’t there, then businesses can’t function, orders go begging, jobs are lost and then there is a domino effect through the wider economy.

For our economies - credit lines have remained open and investment flows have continued apace.

We already have over NZ$122 billion in trans-Tasman investment.  Australia is both the largest and fastest growing source of investment in New Zealand, with a massive 108 per cent growth in the six years to March 2008.

Right now, we are looking after a total of NZ$87 billion of Australian funds. 

Australia is the largest and fastest growing destination for New Zealand investment, up 89 per cent over the same period to NZ$34 billion.

My Government wants to make it as easy as possible for capital, just like people, goods and services, to flow freely between the two countries – that’s one of the fundamental pillars of the CER relationship.

That’s why we’re working on negotiating an Investment Protocol to the CER Agreement. 

We’re making significant progress.  Kevin and I agreed back in March that we should aim to get it done by year’s end. 

The new Protocol should make it even easier for you to invest in New Zealand, and for New Zealanders to invest in Australia. 

A springboard to third markets

Through all these steps, we can further boost trans-Tasman trade and build the size of our ‘domestic’ market to our mutual benefit.

But we can also tackle barriers to prosperity beyond our borders. 

A robust Single Economic Market gives us the extra economic strength that will help us to weather the current economic storms.  And it will provide an important springboard for our companies to the world.

The dynamism, economies of scale and innovation potential offered by the Single Economic Market is enormous.  It exposes us to new ideas, new skills, new technology, and new competition. 

And all of that enhances our mutual export capacity – and the same is true for Australia.

The Asia-Pacific region is a shared priority of our two Governments.

I’ve already talked about my aspirations for the AANZFTA agreement and my expectation that CER can leverage new opportunities in the 600 million person market we have created.

I am excited about developing further our strategy for engaging with Asia.  And Australia will be a key part of that. 

We need to build on APEC, the EAS, potentially the Trans-Pacific Partnership. All of these are forums where we already work together with a strong voice. We have the potential to leverage these to our mutual advantage.

A robust and progressive Single Economic Market is a cornerstone of our current and future relationship.  A strong, well-functioning and dynamic trans-Tasman market gives us a cushion against the tough times globally.  And it will position us strongly to grow and prosper when the worst of the economic recession has passed.

I believe that working together our economies and our business people can take the Single Economic Market to a new level.

I believe that new level will be and must be dynamic, outward looking, engaged and engaging.

I believe that the more we can do this, the more likely we are to produce together Australasian companies. Australasian companies that are at the cutting edge.

That is what CER is all about.

That is my vision for our shared partnership. 

I expect to have some exciting new initiatives to announce with Kevin later this week.

I expect these to inject new momentum into the SEM work programme.

And I expect these to allow the CER economy to soar to new and loftier heights.

Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to your Forum.

I’m always very keen to talk to business people, because it's business first and foremost that drives the growth and prosperity we all enjoy.

I’m here in Brisbane en route to Cairns, where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is hosting the Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting.

Since coming in to office last year my government has made our relationships with the wider Pacific Islands region a key priority. 

Last month, I visited Tonga, Samoa, Niue and the Cook Islands, following an earlier visit to Honiara and Port Moresby.

I know your government is also investing considerable energy in the Pacific, and together we intend to work more collaboratively in the region to help deliver sustainable economic development and political stability.

Earlier in the year, Kevin Rudd and I commissioned a study on impacts of the global economic crisis on the region.

This report, which is available this week, is aimed at assisting our Pacific partners successfully navigate their way out of the recession.

As business people, I’m sure your minds have been squarely focused on the global downturn as well.

This downturn has had a profound effect on our economies, but it is worth noting that Australia and New Zealand have escaped relatively lightly, compared to many others.

There are a few reasons for this. Our banks are among the best rated banks in the world and have plain vanilla asset structures with little or no securitisation.  We are both stable, open economies with flexible product and labour markets, floating exchange rates, robust monetary policy, and had relatively low public debt before the start of the downturn.

But as open economies we cannot escape being exposed to the economic woes of our important trading partners, whether in Asia, North America or Europe.

They have a direct impact on the exporters, businesses, banks and consumers here in New Zealand and Australia.

A robust Single Economic Market gives us some extra economic weight to help us to weather the current economic storms.

And a strong, well-functioning and dynamic trans-Tasman market will also provide an important springboard for our companies to come out of the recession taking on the world.

So today I’d like to talk about what the New Zealand government is doing to respond to its economic challenges, and how our programme relates to Australians and to Australian businesses.

I’d also like to talk about how our two countries can work more effectively together.

Because New Zealand’s relationship with Australia is about as close as it gets – whether we’re talking people-to-people contacts, business, academic or political links, trade or economic issues, defence, the environment or foreign policy.

In particular, Australia is a vital part of New Zealand’s economic future.

You are our number one export destination. And in fact of all the States and Territories Queensland has grown the fastest as a trading partner with New Zealand. I’m told there has been an almost 50% increase in total New Zealand-Queensland trade between 2004 and 2008. 

About a million tourists travel in each direction across the Tasman every year, many to and from Queensland.

On that note, Kevin Rudd and I intend to make some announcements later this month about streamlining trans-Tasman travel, which will have real benefits for visitors, tourists and business people.

Of course Australia also has a very large business presence in New Zealand. Our biggest banks, for example, are Australian-owned.

A strong New Zealand assists Australia and vice versa. Open competition drives productivity and in the long run will ensure both nations are well placed to compete on the world stage.

So when my Ministers and I think about how we can lead the country through the tough times that the global economy is facing right now, Australia, and Australians, are a big part of the equation.

As a government we are working on six policy drivers to get the New Zealand economy up and moving again, so that we can emerge from this recession strongly and more competitively. These are:

• regulatory reform
• investment in infrastructure
• innovation and business assistance
• a world-class tax system
• better, and more efficient, public services
• and education and skills

In a number of these areas, we already work with Australia, or can share lessons from each other’s experiences. I’d just like to touch on a few of them.

Regulatory reform

Let me start with regulatory reform.

My government is taking steps to reduce the red tape which is stifling our economy. We are looking at how to streamline and simplify our Resource Management Act, for example, and reviewing a number of other existing regulations. 

For a good example of how that can be done, we have only to look across the Tasman at the major regulatory reform programme that has been underway here through the Council of Australian Governments and its several Working Groups.

I’m delighted to say that when I met with Kevin Rudd in early March, he invited New Zealand to participate in one of those groups, the Business Regulation and Competition Working Group. 

Our participation in that Group will usefully feed in to our own thinking about how best to reduce the regulatory burden. We’ll also be able to feed our own ideas into the Group.

That will benefit business on both sides of the Tasman.

It will also help to the process of doing business across the Tasman.

Investment and tax

As part of our wider work on regulatory reform, the New Zealand government is looking closely at overseas investment regulations, with the aim of reducing compliance costs for investors and making New Zealand a more attractive investment destination.  

We already have more than $122 billion in trans-Tasman investment.  Australia is New Zealand’s number one source of investment. We want to make it as easy as possible for capital, just like people, goods and services, to flow freely between the two countries – that’s one of the fundamental pillars of the CER relationship.

We are also making significant progress on negotiating an Investment Protocol to the CER Agreement.  Kevin Rudd and I agreed back in March that we should aim to get it done by the end of this year.  This new Protocol should make it even easier for Australians to invest in New Zealand, and for New Zealanders to invest in Australia. 

We’ve also taken steps to enhance labour mobility across the Tasman by freeing up retirement savings between our two countries.

When our Minister of Finance, Bill English, was over here in Brisbane three weeks ago for his annual meeting with Treasurer Wayne Swan, they signed an arrangement that will allow people to consolidate their financial affairs and take their retirement savings with them when they move across the Tasman after working in the other country.

Tax

Another thing our governments have in common at the moment is that we are both looking carefully at our medium-term tax policies.

In New Zealand we have established a Tax Working Group to consider the medium-term tax policy challenges facing New Zealand.

And here in Australia the Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, is leading a review of Australia’s Future Tax Policy.

New Zealand is keenly interested in what that review recommends, because tax decisions made in Australia can have a profound effect on how business operates across the Tasman.

An important element for us will be the decisions taken on your system of franking credits, or what we call imputation credits.

Our two countries are the only two developed countries in the world which have such a system, but we have never got organised to recognise each others credits.

The New Zealand Government has made a submission to the Henry Review making the case for mutual recognition of imputation credits. We await with interest the findings of the Review and the Rudd government’s reaction to it.

There are other ‘trans-Tasman’ tax issues that are of concern to business too, of course.

I’m pleased to report that six weeks ago, the New Zealand and Australian trade ministers signed a revised Double Taxation Agreement which will help in a very practical way by lowering withholding taxes on dividend and royalty payments between Australia and New Zealand.

Investment in Infrastructure

Another major policy driver for the New Zealand government is investment in quality infrastructure.

Underinvestment over many years has meant that New Zealand’s infrastructure has become run down and in many areas is not serving us well at all.

One of the first actions my Government took was to signal an increased investment of $7.5 billion over the next five years in schools, roads, housing, hospitals and telecommunications. Nearly $500 million of that spending is already underway.

There is scope for huge synergies when it comes to infrastructure investment in Australia and New Zealand.

Many of the companies involved in infrastructure projects are trans-Tasman companies, or employ skilled engineers, designers, architects, builders or technicians from both sides of the Tasman. 

Through the Industry Capability Network there is enormous potential for companies in both countries to contribute meaningfully to the infrastructure work that both countries are keen to get underway.

Single Economic Market

I’d like to talk now about the work programme that’s been underway for some years to create a “Single Economic Market” in Australia and New Zealand.

The aim is to make it as easy for any of you to do business in Auckland as it is for you to do business in Brisbane.  It’s about breaking down barriers at the border, like investment screening.  But it’s also about looking behind the border at things like regulation, tax, or anything else that raises the cot of doing business trans Tasman.

Many of you will already do business in New Zealand.  And I am sure in some areas it is not as easy as it could be.  I would be interested to hear from you where you see the biggest barriers are to us achieving that aim. 

A vibrant and robust trans-Tasman economy will position us strongly to grow and prosper together when the worst of the global recession has passed, and will serve as an important springboard into Asia and beyond.

I am coming back to Australia for a State Visit in a couple of weeks’ time, and one of the priorities for my discussion with Kevin Rudd is how to inject new momentum into the Single Economic Market. 

We’ve already come along way, but together Kevin and I are keen to take this to the next level.

The dynamism, economies of scale and innovation potential offered by the Single Economic Market is enormous.   It gives us a combined market of 26 million people. It exposes us to new ideas, new skills and new competition.  All of that enhances our export capacity – and Australia’s, too, in the other direction.

The New Zealand government also wants to help firms to connect with overseas markets more effectively – and ensuring that those markets remain open. With strong trans-Tasman businesses, we’re in a better position to access those markets – whether directly or in partnerships.

And with a strong and united trans-Tasman push for keeping markets open, we have a much greater potential for a more liberal global trading system.

New Zealand, like Australia, is an ardent supporter of the WTO Doha Round.

We also have an active agenda of Free Trade Agreements under negotiation, particularly in Asia.

New Zealand’s historic FTA with China and our joint Australia-New Zealand FTA with the countries of South-East Asia have paved the way, but we’re also talking with Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and potentially even Japan.

Asia will increasingly become a global economic powerhouse.

For New Zealand and Australia, Asia offers exciting markets for tourism, education services, our high-quality agriculture products, the resource sector and many more.

In the year since we signed the FTA with China, for example, trade in both directions has grown, despite the state of the global economy.

Two-way trade between China and New Zealand grew by 19% to more than $9 billion New Zealand dollars in the year to February 2009.  

Last year we had 30,000 students from China studying in New Zealand, and I know there were many more studying here in Australia.

New Zealand and Australia have also signed an FTA with ASEAN, which is known by the tongue-twisting acronym AANZFTA.

It offers opportunities for New Zealand and Australian firms to benefit from the removal of a range of barriers to trade and the establishment of frameworks to facilitate the flow of services and investment.

By way of example, within twelve years up to 99% of current New Zealand exports to ASEAN and up to 96% of Australian exports will be duty free – representing a significant competitive advantage of other countries operating in the region.

The agreement also provides additional incentives to producers in the region to source New Zealand and Australian products.  And it provides ‘state of the art’ protections for investors and investments.

Climate Change

Just as the ‘Single Economic Market’ has provided great opportunities for trans-Tasman cooperation and exchange, I also see the potential for harmonisation between New Zealand and Australia’s climate change policies.

It makes sense for both Australia and New Zealand to impose similar costs on greenhouse gas emissions and to reward those who make reductions. It is essential that the many companies that operate in both markets are encouraged to reduce emissions in both countries.

I have met with Kevin Rudd to discuss harmonising our responses, as have our climate change ministers Dr Nick Smith and Senator Penny Wong. We have set up the Australia-New Zealand Bilateral Climate Change Partnership so that our officials can work together to identify areas where our policy settings can be harmonised.

The New Zealand Government favours a balanced, practical approach to climate change that has us doing its fair share towards this global problem. It is Government policy to reduce emissions to 50 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 and we’re committed to achieving that target. 

This goal is a challenging one as New Zealand’s emissions have grown sharply in recent years and as at 2007 were 22% above 1990 levels.

With regard to a 2020 target, which New Zealand will be tabling in Bonn next week, the Government has invested in economic analysis, scientific research and public consultation to inform the target setting process.

We have also looked at Australia’s target, which gives three levels of target dependent on international signup levels on a new climate change treaty.

New Zealand’s target will balance both the economic risk from climate change, the cost of emissions reduction and the risk to the environment. We will nominate a balanced but achievable target that reflects the international settings and commitment.

In setting a target we have examined New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions profile which is unique in the developed world and far more similar to a developing country.

While Australia’s biggest emission producing sector is coal fired power plants at a third of emissions, our agricultural sector is responsible for almost half of our gross emissions. To deal with these two quite different problems both countries are engaging in extensive scientific research.

Australia is taking the lead in encouraging commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage technology internationally.   New Zealand has joined as a founding member of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute to support this initiative.

To address our major emissions source, we have set up the Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research which will research ways to reduce emissions from a range of farming sectors. The Centre will be linking with other countries to produce globally beneficial research just like Australia is doing with its Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

As we move into the next phase of international negotiations to establish a successor climate change treaty to the Kyoto Protocol I hope that we can work closely with Australia to reduce emissions and find a durable solution to the global problem.

Conclusion

These days of global economic challenge – like all crises – give us the opportunity to develop new trans-Tasman business models.

The modern economy isn’t just about selling goods and services to each other – important as that is – but on developing those complex value chains that deliver a range of integrated products, services and investment across a number of markets.

We are already strengthening the integration of our two economies by building on where we have complementary skills and experience such as biotechnology, food and beverage product development and marketing, and clean technology.

But with the combined determined leadership of our two governments and the business sector, we should be able to give real meaning to the Single Economic Market.  

If we can collaborate much more vigorously at the business level to compete jointly against the rest of the world – to produce genuinely Australasian firms that are innovative and world leaders.

That is the challenge for us, and one which I’m looking forward to discussing with Kevin in Canberra later this month.

Thank you and I look forward to your questions.