FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 February 2013


MEDIA RELEASE

Former Australian PM John Howard to speak to The New Zealand Initiative

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be the keynote speaker at the The New Zealand Initiative’s annual retreat dinner in Auckland on 21 March. Mr Howard will speak about ‘Trans-Tasman Relations in the Pacific Century.’

“My talk will focus on some of the joint opportunities and challenges before Australia and New Zealand in a regional economy dominated by the continued development of China and many other Asian economies,” says Mr Howard.

Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, says John Howard’s talk will be educational, inspiring, and enlightening.

“We are honoured to have one of the great statesmen of our time at our inaugural retreat dinner. I look forward to hearing Mr Howard’s vision for Australia-New Zealand relations against the background of Asia’s continuing economic growth story,” says Dr Hartwich.

John Howard was leader of the Liberal Party for 16 years and is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister. The Howard government paid off AU$96 billion in public debt, restored his country’s AAA credit rating and led Australia through the longest period of economic growth in its history.

The dinner is hosted by The New Zealand Initiative as part of its inaugural members’ retreat. It will be attended by members of the Initiative, which is a think tank supported by chief executives of major New Zealand businesses, and invited guests. Among the audience will be leading politicians and businesspeople as well as academics, media personalities and members of the diplomatic corps.

ENDS

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