Sack Him Christopher
After the 2005 election, the Chinese Embassy sent Zhang Wei to ask me if Winston Peters would follow Labour government policy. I said I didn’t know, but would ask.
Economy
exports
Local Bodies: The myth of New Zealand’s economic backbone
If the farming sector is the ‘backbone of the economy’ then why is it that we are struggling to stand upright economically at the moment? Is it because agriculture is a economic drain on the rest of NZ. It provides 85% of our export revenue. But contributes just 5% of GDP, 5% of the workforce, and 1-3% of tax revenue – which effectively measures the profit to NZ.
They all do it…
FiveEyes issues warning re possible Chinese intelligence recruiting methods! Beware! China issues warning re already recruited anti-China MPs. Cue shock horror!
China is not a threat to Regional Peace
The real threat to peace in our region does not stem from China, but from a “China threat” narrative—promoted by the United States to rally other nations behind its China containment agenda.
The Trump Shock: Why the US President Crashed the Global Economy
There is a method to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff madness. The chaos and confusion is deliberate; the aim is nothing less than the […]
Trade Like You Mean It: How Aotearoa Can Lead with Values in a Volatile World
In an era of weaponised tariffs, crumbling institutions, and trade policy made on the campaign trail, New Zealand’s long game is trust, credibility, and coherence.
If we choose to play it.
Not all Americans are Neocons
But the ones that run US foreign policy are. Matthew Hooton in a typical smear wants to label Helen Clark as anti-American because she warned that involving us in attacking Houthis was a ”slippery slope.” She’s not and he’s wrong.
New Zealand’s Greatest Economic Threat is Fonterra
Fonterra represents New Zealand’s largest internal economic threat. And promise.
Celebrating 50th Anniversary of PRC recognition
“When Joe met Chou, we have opened the door and said hello” captions the photo of the Beijing meeting between Joe Walding and Chou EnLai in March 1973. It followed New Zealand’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China on December 22, 1972, an anniversary definitely worth celebrating.
India and Free Trade – finally someone turned the lights on
After nearly 20 years of frustrating ‘Free Trade’ talks between India and New Zealand, the chair of the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC), Earl Rattray, has acknowledged that “a different approach to the traditional Free Trade Agreements which have served us well in many markets will be needed for India.” Whew. About time.
Diplomatic Values
Trudeau got a 10-minute stand-up with Xi followed by a public shirt-fronting, Albanese a 32-minute sit-down, and Jacinda Ardern a 50-minute formal bilateral. In the carefully calibrated world of the diplomatic dance-card, that says something. New Zealand would be foolish not to take advantage of what is on offer from China.
Who Pays the Price of Sanctions
New Zealand’s sanctions on Russia have not stopped the war in Ukraine. They may have made our parliamentarians feel better, and Tony Blinken was quick to congratulate us on falling into line with the US “high-impact sanctions.” The language is combative, but the evidence shows sanctions do not work. They can have significant blow-back effects, particularly if not combined with effective diplomacy.
Fonterra’s Capital Restructure
Fonterra is in the middle of a big restructure of its capital. It is still the case given its dominance over us that where Milk Supertanker Fonterra goes, we go.
Let the Mills die
From Kawerau to Nelson to Tiwai Point, our accelerated decline of heavy mass manufacturing factories continues.
The Very, Very Lucky Country
While Australia is rightly branded The Lucky Country, it looks like we can reasonably be called the Very, Very Lucky Country.
A tsunami of wing clipped kiwi?
The rush back home has definitely been happening and appears to mainly be constrained at present by the limits on quarantine facilities. It has already helped to mitigate the drops in immigration and probably will in the future. Nowhere near as economically important and productive as our exports. But useful for reducing unemployment for those not exposed to the export economy.
Hong Kong principles
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
Unthinkable Things
With the government clearly watching the unravelling of Australia’s Covid-19 response and putting in place $14 billion in preparation for a second infection wave, we are clearly now in a history-in-making territory of the highest instability outside a world war.
US China trade talks and New Zealand
Donald Trump’s trade war with China is way, way bad for New Zealand.
Kiwi Cultural Cringe is Alive and Well
New Zealand is too small for high-achievers and star-performers and does not offer enough challenges and rewards.
Fonterra’s loss
Fonterra has just reported an after tax loss of $196 million for the 2018 year. It’s never had an annual loss in its history.
It’s Time for a Cost-Benefit Analysis of Dairy Farming
Not just, ‘we’ve got to make the good outweigh the bad’. I mean: why should dairy farming exist here?
Australia and New Zealand budget days
Isn’t it time we at least synchronized the New Zealand budget with the Australian budget?
Evidence-based foreign policy
In the second stage of a false flag attack, facts go out the window and the sole issue becomes “are you for us or against us.” Our media and National Party politicians are well into this stage in the Skripal affair. But as questions mount and skeptics proliferate from all sides, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters may well be wiser than media advisers by not following blindly the western herd. 26 countries is not the whole world. Update: Porton Down unable to establish Novichok of Russian origin.
Economy 2018
It’s that time of year where we start making predictions for 2018. I see it looking not too hot, not too cold.
TPP, Corporate Coup or “Free trade”?
However. TPP ( The trans Pacific partnership) is NOT a “Free trade” agreement. It is an attempt to cement in corporate power, to override inconvenient local Democracy, and collect rents from local communities in perpetuity.
Since when was giving large companies extra rights in law, and rights to extract even more economic rents, “Free trade”?
No one owns water, apart from corporations who sell it …
The Herald has reported that ordinary New Zealanders are paying 500 times as much for water as corporations who export it.
Protecting our biggest export income earner
Tourism Export Council: “The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) in its current form is nothing more than a PR-stunt from Government who continue to ignore scientists and expert opinion re the state of our freshwater. The NPS-FM does not address the serious problems facing our waterways and, in fact, will make them worse.”
Another reason for water pricing
The Government will be embarassed by another example of a corporation planning to extract ten billion litres of fresh water a year essentially at no cost which has arisen.
TPP: An epitaph for self-interested treaties done in secret
The misogynist buffoon, under-skilled charlatan and ignorant bigot that the Americans have elected to be their constitutional monarch for the next four years appears to have effectively killed the constraint of trade agreement known as the TPP. From a freer trade advocate, avid exporter, and labour movement supporter with a touch of green :- Good riddance.
Trump final campaign ad
Donald Trump’s last campaign ad lifts the mood of a relentlessly negative campaign between two massively disliked candidates.
NZ Tech
The top 200 tech “exporters” are now turning over NZD 9.4 billion. This year revenue increased by more that NZD 1 billion. Which is pretty phenomenal bearing in mind the sluggish world economy. It meant that they grew an additional 3000 odd highly paid jobs in just those top companies. Even this intellectually bereft government isn’t proving to be too much of a hindrance to tech business.
Fortress NZ
TS regular Tony Veitch has some practical ideas as to how we insulate NZ from the ravages of neoliberalism and climate change. Readers may agree with some, none or all of the suggestions. However, whichever way you look at it, the time for hand wringing is over. It’s time for action.
Charles Hugh Smith – The Ultimate Long Game: Autarky and Resilience
Today, electronic numbers in electronic bank accounts are the most important things to the people who lead NZ. That’s going to have to seriously change. The country’s capacity and resources in terms of food, energy, water and cultural/social resiliency is what actually counts.
Trade retaliation
The Nats are in a difficult spot here, no doubt about it. The weak steel is a serious issue and it should be investigated. But their usual tactics of deny and lie have been caught out yet again.
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.