Joyce to speak at Australia Major Projects Symposium

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce is in Sydney today to speak at the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Major Projects Symposium to promote New Zealand as an investment destination.

“Australia remains our biggest financial partner with investments in New Zealand worth $51,837 million. There are opportunities to strengthen our relationship to help us become one of the most prosperous small countries in the world by 2030,” Mr Joyce says.

“We know we need to encourage investment, not just in Auckland or the big cities, but in regions around New Zealand to support growth and contribute to living standards for all. There are opportunities to attract further investment from Australia into our infrastructure, housing, transport, shared services sectors, and the Christchurch rebuild,” Mr Joyce says.

Mr Joyce will also use the Symposium to show support for an Australia-New Zealand infrastructure pipeline to jointly market infrastructure projects of scale to international investors. “A common pipeline could attract a wider pool of potential investors, and also allow trans-Tasman contractors to prioritise projects and plan more effectively,” Mr Joyce says.

He will also visit use the trip to advance New Zealand’s bilateral relationships in trade, investment, business, education and innovation with Australia.

Mr Joyce will visit Australia’s Information Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence (NICTA), a government R&D facility pursuing high-impact research to create national benefit and wealth for Australia, and Barangaroo Skills Exchange, a training hub for construction workers, to look at the role that industry can play in improving training and uptake.

Mr Joyce will return to New Zealand this evening.