PM announces appointment to ABAC

The Prime Minister has appointed Gary Judd QC to the APEC Business Advisory Council of New Zealand.

Mr Judd is a senior lawyer, Chairman of ASB Group (ASB Bank and Sovereign Assurance), and Chairman of Ports of Auckland Ltd.

"Mr Judd's valuable experience as a businessman and his extensive legal background will make him an active and effective contributor to ABAC's work."

The APEC Business Advisory Council is a network of business representatives in each of the 21 APEC economies that meet four times each year to develop business perspectives on the issues being discussed among APEC economies.

ABAC provides a separate process for raising policy issues and offering private sector advice on trade and economic liberalisation efforts within the Asia Pacific region.

"When I was at the APEC Leaders' Summit in Lima, Peru in November I took part in the APEC Leaders' Dialogue with ABAC and addressed the CEO Summit hosted by ABAC. New Zealand will host ABAC's first meeting of 2009 next month in Wellington."

Mr Judd joins existing New Zealand ABAC representatives Tony Nowell, Company Director, and John Blackham, CEO of software company XSol.

His appointment is for three years.