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Between Politics

After leaving Parliament in 2007, Don returned to business, assuming directorships at a number of New Zealand companies - over time these included ANZ National Bank and Transpower.  He was appointed an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law and Management at La Trobe University in Melbourne for a period of three years the same year, and an Adjunct Professor of Banking in the Business School at AUT University in Auckland in 2008. Following Don's re-entry to politics as ACT Party Leader in 2011, he resigned most of his other activities in order to focus on politics.

As part of the Confidence and Supply agreement between the National and ACT parties reached immediately after the 2008 election, the John Key-led Government committed to closing the income gap with Australia by 2025 and to establishing an advisory group both to report annually on progress towards achieving that goal and to make recommendations about how best to achieve it. As a result, the 2025 Taskforce was set up by Government in July 2009, which Don was appointed to chair. The New Zealand Government wound up the 2025 Taskforce in May 2011, following Don's re-entry to politics as ACT Party Leader.

The Taskforce was tasked with investigating the reasons for the recent decline in New Zealand’s productivity performance, to identify superior institutions and policies in Australia and other more successful countries, and to make recommendations on the steps needed for New Zealand to achieve Australian living standards by 2025. The Taskforce's first report, Answering the $64,000 Question: Closing the Income Gap with Australia by 2025, was released on 30 November 2009 and can be downloaded by following this link. The Taskforce's second report, Focusing on Growth, was released on 3 November 2010 and can be downloaded by following this link. More information about the Taskforce can be found on the Treasury website.

This page lists some of Don's major speeches and articles (including his activity as Chair of the 2025 Taskforce) between leaving Parliament in 2007 and re-entering politics as ACT Party Leader.