- Hon Andrew Bayly
Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits.
During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed Husic, Dr Andrew Leigh and Julie Collins, and representatives from competition and investment regulators as well as manufacturing meetings.
“There is a lot to cover on the visit, and I intend to bring back some examples that could benefit New Zealand consumers, small business operators and the manufacturing industry,” Mr Bayly says.
“Our economies are deeply interlinked, and the Prime Minister has made it clear from his recent visits to Australia that New Zealand will prioritise opportunities to work more closely together. I look forward to my discussions with Australian Ministers on how we can work more closely together to deepen our Single Economic Market.
“Australia’s regulatory reform agenda, particularly in relation to competition policy, is of interest to New Zealand because we want to maintain the high levels of regulatory alignment in relation to competition.
“I am also interested in how Australia is using a range of tools to encourage competition across the economy, including in the grocery sector where we share similar challenges. While in Sydney and Wollongong the Minister will visit a number of manufacturing research centres and high-performance manufacturing sites.”
Mr Bayly will depart on Monday 25 March for Canberra, before travelling to Sydney and Wollongong. He will return to New Zealand on Thursday 28 March
