Politics

Kevin Rudd’s new chief of staff Jim Murphy has strong links with New Zealand’s policy and business elites, even if his boss doesn’t. Murphy, an Australian Treasury deputy secretary, was at Peter Costello’s side when the former Australian Liberal Treasurer co-launched the Australasia single market process with former NZ Finance Minister Michael Cullen a decade ago. A taciturn man, he …

With Tony Abbott lagging as preferred PM against Kevin Rudd, Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull has cast the election as a contest between a presidential pitch and “a traditional cabinet-based, consultative team approach to government”. In a speech titled “Leadership in times of Uncertainty”, Turnbull said: “We do not see this election as a presidential contrast, a contest between Kevin Rudd …

newzealandinc.com couldn’t resist giving KRudd’s famous video one final airing after the Aussie Prime Minister called on “our friends in Beijing” to get on with the FTA with Australia. (The amusing video was leaked by the Gillard camp when they set out to roll Rudd in 2010). But that was then. Rudd has now called on China – Australia’s largest …

May 19–21 saw several hundred delegates from across the United States and New Zealand gather in Washington for the biannual U.S.-New Zealand Pacific Partnership Forum. The forum, organized by the United States–New Zealand Council, has been instrumental in helping to normalize relations between the two countries, which had cooled significantly following New Zealand’s 1985 ban on nuclear-powered or nuclear weapons-capable …

The real value of the Future Partners delegation was not so much the tokenism of young faces in the room or additional youthful enthusiasm in the Q&A, but in the real crux of knowledge transfer and succession planning. Being chosen as one of eight under 30 year olds by Fulbright New Zealand and the US NZ Council as a ‘future …

By Brierley Penn When a panel of business leaders in the US-NZ trade relationship took the stage during the second day of the Pacific Partnership Forum, the key takeaway from their discussion was unquestionable. The TPP must be completed as soon as possible, lest we witness the painfully slow crawl to progress that marked the Doha Round of WTO discussions. …

newzealandinc.com interviews Johanna Shelton of Google to get her perspective on New Zealand business and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

newzealandinc.com brings you all of the best from the social media space at the US-NZ Pacific Partnership Forum taking place in Washington D.C. Tim Groser: US could achieve “reverse takeover” of the WTO via #TTP and TTIP #USNZnext — Chye-Ching Huang (@dashching) May 21, 2013   “A plan without a vision, can become a nightmare and vision without a too …

Treasury secretary Gabs Makhlouf asked panel what keeps them awake at night in relation to TPP. Cal Cohen – a nightmare that the negotiations not include the US. Urge the negotiators to achieve high standards but do expeditiously. Can’t expect Canada to open up dairy market if we won’t open up sugar. Also apparel for a country like Vietnam it …

New Zealand Oil & Gas chairman Peter Griffiths has thrown his support behind legislative moves to make directors liable if the companies they govern fail to meet health and safety obligations. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Institute of Directors yesterday released health and safety governance guidelines for directors outlining best practice and advice for company boards. …