Progress made on trans-Tasman single economic market

Thursday 14th July 2011

Progress towards a single economic market for New Zealand and Australia was made in talks between the governments today.

Finance Minister Bill English and his Australian counterpart, Wayne Swan, met in Wellington this morning to share updates on their respective countries, with particular focus on domestic developments and how international trends were affecting growth.

In a joint statement following the talks, the pair said considerable progress had been made in strengthening trans-Tasman ties.

The ministers released a stock take of the steps being made towards a single market, which showed progress in converging accounting and financial reporting standards, aligning regulatory regimes, and coordinating the enforcement of consumer laws.

"New Zealand and Australia are committed to a single economic market to stimulate business activity, drive job creation and improve the environment for doing business on both sides of the Tasman," the statement read.

"Moving towards a seamless trans-Tasman economy will deliver benefits to consumers and businesses in both countries."

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