21 December 1999

Release Treasury Post-Election Briefing Papers

Treasury's briefing papers to the incoming Government will be released to the public today at 12 noon.

Treasury has produced two documents. The first - Welcome to the Treasury - explains Treasury's role and structure. The second - Towards Higher Living Standards for New Zealanders - gives a Treasury perspective on the state of the economy and on the policy issues confronting New Zealand.

"Treasury has provided an intelligent and pragmatic analysis of the problems and opportunities the country and the Government face. I found their report helpful and am happy to commend it to a wider audience," Finance Minister Michael Cullen said.

The documents will be available on the Treasury website [http://www.treasury.govt.nz/], from the Minister's Office, 7.4 the Beehive, and from the Treasury [471-5983]. They will also be circulated around the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>