✨ Speech from the Throne
5696 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 199 21 DECEMBER 2011
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives. It is my privilege to exercise the prerogative of Her Majesty The Queen and open the 50th Parliament.
E nga Mema o te Whare Paremata o Aotearoa, tenei aku mihi mahana ki a koutou, tena koutou katoa.
Following the General Election in November, negotiations between political parties have resulted in the formation of a National-led Government with a majority in the House on confidence and supply.
Confidence and supply agreements have been signed between the National Party and, respectively, the ACT Party, the Maori Party, and the United Future Party.
These agreements will enable the Government to operate in an effective, stable and inclusive manner.
Beyond these agreements, my Government anticipates co-operating with other parties in Parliament on issues of mutual interest.
Honourable Members. The driving goal of my Government is to build a more competitive and internationally-focused economy with less debt, more jobs and higher incomes.
A strong economy in turn provides the resources necessary to protect the vulnerable in society, maintain the rule of law, provide high-quality public services, look after the environment, and provide opportunities for young people.
Good progress has been made already, despite some very testing times. New Zealand has experienced three challenging years, including a major recession, the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, and a devastating series of earthquakes that destroyed whole parts of Christchurch.
But in the worst of times we have seen the best of New Zealanders, as they have risen to these challenges.
The economy is recovering, having grown in eight of the past nine quarters, and 63,000 more people are employed now compared to two years ago. This recovery is forecast to continue.
Looking forward, the biggest risk to the New Zealand economy is from the European debt crisis. The outcome of this crisis is uncertain and, as a result, the economic outlook for the whole world has deteriorated.
However, New Zealand is in a relatively good position to deal with any fall-out in the near term, and my Government is firmly focused on improving New Zealand’s longer-term productivity and competitiveness.
Honourable Members. My Government has a comprehensive policy agenda, and a substantial legislative programme that it intends to put before the House in the forthcoming session.
My Government intends to return to an operating surplus in the 2014/15 financial year and start to reduce net core Crown debt as a proportion of GDP.
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NZ Gazette 2011, No 199
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
🏛️ Speech from the Throne at the State Opening of Parliament
🏛️ Governance & Central Administration21 December 2011
Speech from the Throne, State Opening of Parliament, Governor-General, National-led Government, Economic Policy
- Governor-General