Trade Lib'n Network Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

25 October 2006

Trade Liberalisation Network Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

“NZTLN has now completed five years of advocating for more trade, as the best route to higher living standards for all New Zealanders” said its Chair Philip Lewin today.

Mr Lewin was speaking at the Network’s Annual General Meeting and fifth birthday celebration in Wellington.

The TLN was established in October 2001, as a business organisation aimed at encouraging broad public understanding and support for trade. Funded by New Zealand’s leading export interests, TLN works with other like-minded individuals and organisations sharing similar goals.

“Over the past five years we’ve produced website material, publications, speeches, “trade burst” sessions all around the country, and many media stories – all designed to point out the value of more trade to our country” continued Mr Lewin.

“TLN’s key objective has been to promote and safeguard an open trade policy, to be pursued by New Zealand Governments”.

“We’ve been non-partisan but nevertheless political in this work”’ Mr Lewin added.

“TLN has positively influenced the public climate of ideas around trade policy - both via lobbying of key decision makers and opinion-formers, and by maintaining a clear public and media profile”.

Philip Lewin concluded: “we are currently looking closely at possible new configurations among the New Zealand exporting community, for getting and keeping the trade message out there”.

“In handing over the TLN Chair today to my successor Stephen Jacobi, I am confident that this work will soon come to fruition, and that the TLN ethos will develop into even greater things!”

ENDS

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