Slide 1 of 27

Thank you for this opportunity to update you on the economic outlook for New Zealand through to the year 2000-01. During the next 20 minutes or so, I want to:

• Remind you briefly of the progress made in New Zealand through continuous economic reform in the last dozen years.
• Describe how we saw the outlook and environment when the 1998 Budget forecasts were finalised in May this year.
• Then review how the outlook has changed since May, and bring you up to date with the latest initiatives announced by the Government two weeks ago on June 29.