Trans-Tasman ‘borderless’ travel on the table, says Gillard

Trans-Tasman ‘borderless’ travel on the table, says Gillard

By Paul McBeth

Feb. 16 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand and Australian governments are working towards ‘borderless’ travel across the Tasman as part of the goal of a single economic market.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Radio New Zealand the aim is “essentially borderless” travel that would see trans-Tasman flights treated much the same as movement between states as part of the nations’ steps towards closer harmonisation.

“We’re working to keep making further improvements to make a sense of borderless travel,” Gillard said in an interview.

Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key will today sign an investment protocol to lift the threshold required by firms wanting to invest across the Tasman. That means New Zealanders won’t face screening until they inject more than A$1 billion into Australia, as opposed to the current A$231 million, while Australians will be able to invest nearly $500 million before they’re scrutinised, instead of the present $100 million cap.

The protocol is part of ongoing steps to bring “regulations closer to each other” in a bid to make trans-Tasman business easier and to lift the economies of both nations, Gillard said.

The regulatory reform includes “harmonising patent laws” which means firms “don’t have to go through multiple approval processes” when introducing a patented product on the other side of the Tasman, Gillard said.

Yesterday, Gillard told a business audience in Auckland she and Key are working to make an extended Trans-Pacific Partnership a “reality” by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November. The proposed agreement aims to create a free-trade block spanning the Asia-Pacific region, and has grown from New Zealand’s P4 deal with Chile, Brunei and Singapore.

Later today, Gillard will give a speech in New Zealand’s Parliamentary Debating Chamber, though she was blocked from speaking during a formal session by the Green Party.

(BusinessDesk)

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