Tasman alliance urged for growth

By KEVIN TAYLOR

The only way to improve New Zealand's social wellbeing is for the economy to grow and to join forces with Australia, a business-sponsored conference was told yesterday.

The "Changing Gear" conference in Wellington heard from speakers about the importance of improving economic performance to deliver health and education benefits.

And one speaker pushed the line that economic union with Australia was essential to boost our exports and economic growth.

Conference organiser Business NZ used the event as a platform to promote its 20-point scorecard of growth goals, a list the business lobby group plans to use increasingly in the run-up to the general election.

The list was presented to the more than 100 delegates at the conference as a scorecard of objectives.

The goals include cutting the company tax rate, cutting central and local government spending, reducing crown debt, increasing broadband coverage, improving educational achievement and numbers in industry training and spending more on roads.

Business NZ also wants a common transtasman currency, but the director of the Institute of Policy Studies, Dr Arthur Grimes, argued that New Zealand should go further.

He told the conference, which the institute co-sponsored, that "absolute priority" should be given to complete economic union with Australia to expand exports.

That included adopting a common currency and Australian competition and securities law, as well as a single stockmarket.

Dr Grimes said greater social spending on health and education required growth.

In addition to transtasman economic union, boosting gross domestic product required:

* More people through boosted migration.

* Increased savings by supporting either the New Zealand Superannuation Fund or setting up compulsory private super.

* Low marginal tax rates on high incomes.

Dr Grimes pointed out that if NZ had stayed third in the OECD income rankings its real health spending would be 45 per cent higher.

If it had slipped only as far as Canada and Australia, the spending would be 28 per cent more than it is.