Key's Mandate: Promote Economic Recovery and Closer Ties with the United States

The November 26 elections in New Zealand saw Prime Minister John Key returned to power with nearly 50 percent of the vote, giving his National Party one of the country's strongest electoral performances in five decades. Key is expected to continue many of the foreign and trade policies launched...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2011
Main Author: Hiebert, Murray
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Economic policy
Foreign policy
National security
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The November 26 elections in New Zealand saw Prime Minister John Key returned to power with nearly 50 percent of the vote, giving his National Party one of the country's strongest electoral performances in five decades. Key is expected to continue many of the foreign and trade policies launched during his previous term, which began in 2008, including promoting closer ties with the United States and completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade architecture. Without a doubt, Key's top priority will be economic recovery from the global recession and the devastation caused by the Christchurch earthquake in February. His plan to balance New Zealand's budget by 2014 is built on a proposal to sell state-owned assets and cut spending. He plans to sell a minority stake in four key state-owned energy companies and reduce ownership of Air New Zealand. The government will keep a bare majority stake in the companies and ensure that most of the private shares will be held by New Zealand investors. These sales are expected to net at least $3.7 billion in the next few years.