Opposition Finance spokesman Bill English has confirmed he will be attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Melbourne next week.

The summit is a meeting of business and political leaders from around the Pacific Rim. It is one of the key annual events on the World Economic Forum's calendar.

"The Government is being represented by Michael Cullen inside the forum with Green MPs Sue Bradford and Nandor Tanczos protesting outside the forum.

"I hope this divergence of views does not create confusion among other attendees at the Summit over the nature of New Zealand's Government.

"The summit is a unique opportunity to find out more about the economic forces driving the changes which affect New Zealanders. The programme shows that the people attending this forum are concerned about many of the same issues as we are - including the impacts of globalisation, and how to secure economic growth during a time of rapidly changing opportunities.

"I am also keen to compare the Government's economic policy direction with that of other countries in our region. The contrasts are likely to be quite striking," Bill English said.

Mr English will travel to Melbourne on Monday.

Ends

A printable formatted copy of this press release will be available on http://www.national.org.nz along with an archive of previous releases.

© Scoop Media