Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, December 12th, 2017 - 27 comments
Malcolm Turnbull is proposing law changes in Australia to try and minimise the effect that China is having on Australia’s democratic system. He may not be wrong in doing so.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 24th, 2017 - 49 comments
With socialist governments in rapid decline right across the world, and just a very few social democrat governments re-emerging after many years out of power, it’s useful to remind ourselves of what governmental combinations are working well.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, November 16th, 2017 - 41 comments
There are major similarities between Helen Clark’s decision to accept into New Zealand refugees from the Tampa boat and Jacinda Ardern’s pushing for New Zealand to accept refugees based on Manus Island.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, November 15th, 2017 - 338 comments
What’s with the academic panic epidemic about China? Two in our media in the same week, referencing each other with vague warnings about the Chinese bogey. It’s not quite Lionel Terry in Haining Street again; more likely in my view a case of singing to someones else’s geopolitical tune. No prizes for guessing whose.
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, November 5th, 2017 - 68 comments
Just before the election news broke that National MP Jian Yang had previously taught in a Chinese University training spies. A recent OIA release of his immigration application raises further issues.
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, October 17th, 2017 - 70 comments
Is it time for New Zealand to align itself with China rather than the United States?
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, September 14th, 2017 - 283 comments
Tax is emerging as the big issue of this campaign. How valid are National’s claims that Labour will introduce a variety of new taxes and what has National’s record been like? Update: in a smart tactical move Labour has promised no new taxes will be introduced until after the next election.
Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, September 13th, 2017 - 168 comments
Newsroom and the Financial Times have reported that National MP Dr Jian Yang was educated at a Chinese University specialising on training spies and was investigated by the SIS for possible links to the Chinese Government.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 23rd, 2017 - 63 comments
America used to be the most powerful nation in the world. But things are changing.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, July 4th, 2017 - 9 comments
Ad asks is the world more secure than a year ago? Is the danger of serious economic crisis higher or lower? Are the institutional arrangements and norms that resolve conflicts and enhance the prospects for international cooperation more or less robust than they were in July 2016.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 pm, June 5th, 2017 - 13 comments
Nicky Hager will talk about his book Hit and Run, and the issues it raises about New Zealand’s values and role in the world at 5:30pm on Wednesday 7th June at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington. The book is about important events and the incoherence of New Zealand fighting it’s longest ever war in Central Asia. This talk is particularly timely in view of this week’s visit of the American Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, March 28th, 2017 - 39 comments
At a time when the United States is reducing its diplomatic capacity and its willingness to enter into International Treaties New Zealand’s willingness to deal with China places it in an almost unique position in the western world.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 18th, 2017 - 60 comments
With former adversaries USA and Russia now the best of friends and with China now emerging again as the preeminent economy in the world the question is will the transition of power be handled smoothly?
Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, January 18th, 2017 - 16 comments
…including some already in the construction phase.
Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, December 17th, 2016 - 96 comments
Donald Trump’s telephone call with the Taiwanese president has created a response which it seems clear he did not anticipate.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 1st, 2016 - 10 comments
Barak Obama is leaving Donald Trump a number of international crises to face. What will the Donald do and will he make America great again?
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 12th, 2016 - 67 comments
National have slammed the door shut on the parents of already settled migrants who wish to move to NZ to complete the family unit. Minister Michael Woodhouse accuses elderly Asians of bludging off the NZ taxpayer. You won’t believe the howls of outrage from the right!
Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, August 20th, 2016 - 102 comments
The major powers are ramping up the stakes in Syria in a big way.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 11th, 2016 - 69 comments
Eight years after the Global Financial Crisis the major western economies are stagnant. Is this the new norm?
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, August 3rd, 2016 - 50 comments
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.
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, July 26th, 2016 - 56 comments
John Key has thrown Todd McClay under a bus and blamed him for dancing on the head of a pin and for no one telling Key that our second major trading nation wanted to dump sub standard steel on the local market.
Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, July 19th, 2016 - 50 comments
Yesterday this was the story: Speaking shortly after his arrival in Indonesia for a three-day trade trip, Key sought to pour cold water on the idea of any Chinese retaliation. While he could not confirm whether MBIE had received a complaint about steel dumping, due to the confidentiality of the complaints regime, the Government had […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, July 18th, 2016 - 137 comments
We can’t afford to be using sub-standard steel. We shouldn’t have to buckle to pressure to do so, but we have no leverage at all.
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, April 19th, 2016 - 85 comments
Our Glorious Leader John Key Il is considering a formal extradition treaty with China. No doubt some genuinely bad people will be sent back, but China’s definition of ‘criminal’ is very, very broad. Why are we sucking up to a country lacking both democracy and a legitimate judicial system? Could it be the money? Could it be the pandas?
We used to be better than this. And not so long ago. Where did we go wrong?
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 16th, 2016 - 186 comments
The world is currently facing a problem that even a few years ago was unthinkable. Oil is cheap and demand has dropped out of the market. What are the geopolitical implications of this?
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, August 31st, 2015 - 37 comments
Black Monday on the casino Chinese stock markets wasn’t a particular problem for NZ. John Key’s short-term thinking government will be. Both us and our next biggest trading partner Australia are now heavily exposed to falling Chinese imports and falling commodity prices. That is going to hurt over the coming years.
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, August 25th, 2015 - 156 comments
China’s sharemarket plunge has affected the rest of the world as stock exchange after stock exchange has posted losses. It appears clear that predictions of a Chinese sharemarket bubble market are correct and now that the Chinese Government is no longer propping up share prices they are crashing.
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, July 28th, 2015 - 70 comments
The Chinese Stock market sell off has started again a couple of weeks after rather desperate measure were put in place. The question has to be what will the Government do now?
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, July 15th, 2015 - 301 comments
Although the issue, the unfettered flow of overseas money into Auckland’s housing market, is important Labour’s current handling of this issue is not optimal and needs to be reconsidered.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, July 15th, 2015 - 176 comments
National need to act now to end the housing crisis. The market has failed and doing nothing is going to blight the future of Kiwis. The answer is easy. End speculation, build houses. But do National have the guts to do the right thing?
Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, July 14th, 2015 - 390 comments
Phil Quin: “I cannot, however, belong to an organisation that considers racial profiling fair sport. It really is that simple. I will rejoin once this or any future leader publicly repudiates such tactics.”
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