1.40pm
Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand is promoting a common currency as a way to advance the transtasman relationship.
Allan Hawke's comments in today's The Australian newspaper -- ahead of Friday's business and political leaders forum in Wellington -- is Australia's strongest-yet official support for a common currency.
The topic will be discussed by the high-powered think tank of 35 leaders, led by foreign ministers Phil Goff and Alexander Downer, that has been convened with the aim of strengthening and deepening the economic relationship.
New Zealand would have to be reassured it was not an Australian takeover, Dr Hawke said.
He said Australia had "mishandled" an earlier attempt on a common stock exchange by being too heavy-handed but then went on to add New Zealand would only have the same status on the currency as an Australian state.
"I think it (the common currency) has a lot going for it," Dr Hawke, a former head of the Defence Department, told The Australian.
However, a spokeswoman for New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the issue was not on the forum's agenda.
The meeting was to "strengthen transtasman integration through the co-ordination of business, competition and regulatory law".
When the currency issue has been previously raised, there has been no suggestion from the Australian end that a "common currency" would be any more than New Zealand adopting the Australian unit.
Despite Dr Hawke's attempts to give assurances that New Zealand need not fear any threat to its sovereignty, he did little to dispel the earlier impression.
"There are a couple of countries in the Pacific Islands area that do have the Australian dollar as their currency," he noted.
On the issue of sovereignty he said the euro had not made the French any less French, or the Germans any less German.
However, those countries had adopted a new currency controlled by a group central bank -- the European Central Bank.
According to Dr Hawke, New Zealand could be "adopted into" the Australian economic system with the same status as the states and territories, which run their own budgetary affairs, but leave interest rates to be decided by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia.
"If you had that sort of union, maybe you'd contemplate appointing some Kiwis to the Reserve Bank of Australia to take their interests into account, and New Zealand would run its own fiscal policy," Dr Hawke said.
Bank of New Zealand chairman Kerry McDonald said opinions were divided on the common currency.
"But the bottom line for me is, regardless of some of the implications of some of the detail, as a decisive step towards closer integration I think it's very important and therefore worth taking," he said.
"What we have to do now is look at a process that will create a constituency for that.
"If it's on the table as a result of this exercise...I think it's now time to move forward."
Mr McDonald said that if it happened, he could not see Australia giving up its dollar.
"I expect the New Zealand dollar would definitely not be a candidate...so there are a few practical issues to be dealt with."
- NZPA
Common currency promoted by Aussie High Commissioner
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.