11 October 2013
In this issue:

APEC Leaders' Meeting - Bali
East Asia Summit - Brunei
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Affordable Housing

This week, I've been in Southeast Asia, attending the APEC Leaders' meeting in Bali and the East Asia Summit in Brunei. This trip was a wonderful opportunity to discuss a wide range of important topics of regional interest with other world leaders.

One of these topics was the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is a multi-billion dollar trade deal that will give our economy a significant boost. At the APEC Leaders' meeting, it was agreed that the deal would be completed later this year.

There are 12 nations involved in the negotiations and together they represent 40 per cent of the global economy. The TPP will allow New Zealand exporters better access to some of the world's biggest economies.

Also this week, Housing Minister Nick Smith announced the first batch of Special Housing Areas under the Auckland Housing Accord. This will bring 6000 new sections onto the market to address the issue of land supply, which is the most important thing we can do to improve housing supply and affordability in Auckland.

National values home ownership. It provides stability for communities and security for retirement. But we also know that at the moment, our housing market is not as efficient as it could be.

This announcement marks another important step as part of our comprehensive package of reforms to improve housing affordability, and ensure more people can attain the Kiwi dream of owning their own home.

Regards,
John Key
Prime Minister

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