Content area
Full text
Alan Moran remembers a giant of free market advocacy.
I first met Roger Kerr over 30 years ago when we were each on our respective government teams negotiating the Australia-New Zealand 'Closer Economic Relations' treaty. We shared a comity of views that were far removed from the mercantilist approach of win-lose characterising trade negotiations then and now.
Roger moved out of the bureaucracy to become the founder and Executive Director of the New Zealand Business Roundtable in 1986, a position he held until his death in October. Under Roger, the Business Roundtable became the most influential policy agenda setter in New Zealand and had considerable collateral impact on Australia.
In his 25 years as head of the Business Roundtable, Roger was the spokesman and chief commissioner of a series of policy papers covering all matters where...