NZ’s Economic and Trade Relationship with Australia

5 May 2000

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Submissions due: Inquiry into NZ’s Economic and Trade Relationship with Australia *****************************************************************

Closing date: 16 June 2000.

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has initiated an inquiry into NZ’s economic and trade relationship with Australia, for consideration and report back to the House.

If you wish to make a submission to the inquiry, please read the terms of reference (below); write your submission and forward twenty copies of it to David Sanders, Clerk of the Committee, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, Parliament House, Wellington. Your submission must reach him before 16 June 2000.

Please indicate clearly on the submission if you, or members of your organisation, wish to appear before the committee to present your submission. If you do wish this, then you should provide names, addresses and daytime contact telephone numbers for those persons wishing to appear.

Any submission received by the committee generally becomes public when it is released by the committee, or when it is presented orally before the committee, or when the committee makes its report to the House. If you do not want your address or telephone number released, such details should be omitted from your submission and provided in a separate covering letter. You may apply for any or all of your evidence to be heard in private or secret. Committees normally require reasons before agreeing to such requests. Please contact David Sanders tel (04) 471 9999 if you wish to make such an application.

Should the committee decided to hear submissions orally, hearings will be arranged at the committee’s discretion and you will be contacted regarding dates for the hearing.

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Terms of Reference

To inquire into NZ’s economic and trade relationship with Australia. This committee will consider issues related to this, including:

* benefits of Closer Economic Relations (CER);

* further development of CER;

* the future directions and role of CER as a platform for other Free Trade Agreements;

* management of the relationship including dispute resolution;

* the impact of the federal system on bilateral trade and economic relations;

* potential for harmonisation of tax, customs and business law;

* the investment relationship;

* industry assistance from government;

* a single trans-Tasman currency;

* the contribution to the economic relationship of the freedom of trans-Tasman travel;

* the economic value of the cultural relationship with respect to music, television, films and art;

* consideration of future steps towards closer relations between Australia and NZ including the implications, advantages and disadvantages of integration as one possible end point.

The committee will present a report containing recommendations to the House.

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PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand.
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