Open mike 18/11/09

15 comments on “Open mike 18/11/09 ”

• Comments are now closed

1. John Dalley 1

   18 November 2009 at 8:35 am

   I have a thought on the income gap NZ has with Australia. Within 19 years the gap will close even if New Zealand’s GDP does not increase. Why, China is busily buying into Africa with the seeking resources. Within 10 years, Australia’s income from mining will dramatically drop there by closing the income gap!
2. Tigger 2

   18 November 2009 at 8:36 am

   Nice piece by Rudman on the ‘March for Democracy’
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10609888

   He’s right, what other country holds a march to be able to hit their children?
   • Clarke 2.1

     18 November 2009 at 9:58 am

     Wow – that’s a great piece of political smack-down from Rudman. An excellent opinion piece.
3. gitmo 3

   18 November 2009 at 9:07 am

   While I realise that the Whale is anathema to this site this really is worth a read.

   http://whaleoil.gotcha.co.nz/2009/11/17/whats-to-hide-nick/#comments

   It’s almost Zetetic like ???
   • felix 3.1

     18 November 2009 at 12:32 pm

     Nick will be getting another double probing today on both of his incompetently handled portfolios. I’d almost feel sorry for him if he wasn’t such a genuinely unpleasant human being.

     Question 5 to the Min of Fin should be entertaining too.
4. prism 4

   18 November 2009 at 9:13 am

   Treasury wants the government to cut down on public services so it will save that expenditure so it will benefit the exchange rate as it will drop because of lower borrowing by government, and also from increased savings as people rein in their spending, so the exporters can get a better return because of a lower exchange rate and then be encouraged to increase exports.

   The economy is a beast that we must stroke and care for, the living, breathing people exist as a lesser concern. The economy is sick. But Dr Treasury has long-held beliefs on restoring it – like old-time doctors they bleed the patient. They did after 1984, and would like to apply that shock treatment now, but the government says no, the people might retaliate and dismiss their doctors in disgust.

   Then swop to another mouse wheel. Exporters pay wages and salaries and have infrastructure to maintain which results in money being spent in NZ maintaining our tax revenue level, but the profit goes overseas or if retained in NZ counts as borrowed money affecting our balance of payments and round and round we go. When we do well with exports so much of the profits become a drain or debt on the country’s finances.

   We can never get ahead, only the farmer co-operatives can save us. Half of our earnings come from agriculture, so they are vital. Interesting the fight that Turners have been having to wrest control of kiwifruit from Zespri and open the market so other companies can cherry-(or kiwi) pick. If they could get into the market they could be as successful as AppleFields in Christchurch or be able to sell on their interests to others overseas and take a profit.

   Thinking about Treasury the word chimera came to mind. I looked it up – 1 Greek myth, a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent. 2 a fabulous beast made up of parts taken from various animals 3 a grotesque product of the imagination . What a marvellous simile for Treasury, and dare I say it, also for many of our governments.
   • vto 4.1

     18 November 2009 at 9:23 am

     Yes quite prism. Did you see Fed Farmers president Don Nicholson in the Press this morning stating that every single New Zealander relies on farmers for the good life we lead. Claimed that farmers are the “Real New Zealand”. With all the associated unspoken implications that go with it. I suspect you could apply your prismness to his piece.

     Got my goat bigtime it did. have had to fire off an appropriately and politely worded discourse to him. Looking forward to his response.

     There are certainly some folk out there who operate on an extremely narrow focus.
     • prism 4.1.1

       18 November 2009 at 9:39 am

       vto it makes me very uncomfortable that we are so dependent on farming. Apart from Federated Farmers lobbying so they take the least responsibility for pollution-control etc. it is also very bad for a country to be largely dependent on one industry. All we need is for our customers to close out our exports for a while to shut us down possibly because of some new virus, or complaint that we didn’t do something exactly according to Hoyle and we are stuffed. Then the climate peaks of drought and too much rain, all at the wrong time ditto.

       The government have cleverly negotiated with the rest of the world to keep access to our produce markets open, but not cleverly enough to negotiate sufficient tariffs to protect a manufacturing base so we import just about everything, and don’t know or have the machinery to make it ourselves. So townspeople have had their jobs sacrificed on the altar of free trade for our farming exports. And farmers always feel so hard done by. They have essentially returned us to the situation in the early 1900s after we adopted the innovation of refrigerated shipping which got farming on to its present path.
       • Zaphod Beeblebrox 4.1.1.1

         18 November 2009 at 10:07 am

         As Don should know, there is a lot more to our agriculture than running about the farm doing all the manual work that is needed.

         Where does he think all the technical advice, product processing, product marketing, product innovation, financial advice to primary producers drug, and rural produce development and production occurs- not to mention health, education and social services that rural workers use?

         Yes we do have rural and urban centres for a reason.

         He may like the idea of us descending into a 19th century agrarian utopia, but to keep up with the modern world we do need to have some sophistication.,
5. prism 5

   18 November 2009 at 9:18 am

   If my rudimentary understanding of economics is too ‘rude’ please set me on the right path.
   • Bored 5.1

     18 November 2009 at 12:25 pm

     All you need to really know about economics is that economists definitely dont know.

     The problem I have with with listening to economists is that very few are able to frame their theories on a non material and mechanistic basis, bugger all of them understand that the economy comes secondary to what it is supposed to provide and support (i.e you and I). Allowing economics primacy over social issues is a one way trip to nowhere.

     As to how the economy really works, think of it as a sponge that everybody is trying to squeeze water out of without wanting to dip it into the water themselves.
6. BLiP 6

   18 November 2009 at 11:52 am

   Justice delayed is justice denied but, finally, protesters assaulted by police and denied their rights by a National Ltd® Speaker receive some sort of acknowledgement.

   Interesting to note that the speaker at the time, Doug Kidd, is still doing National Ltd®’s dirty work, only this time in secret.
7. Tigger 7

   18 November 2009 at 2:45 pm

   Key on why he won’t meet with the Dalai Lama:
   “The reason simply is I’ve decided that I wouldn’t get a lot out of that particular meeting. I don’t see every religious leader that comes to town. I’ve seen him in the past, I may see him in the future.”

   Way to dis the Lama, Mr Key! ‘It would be a waste of my time.’

   Honestly, this is worse than his ‘it was in my diary’ explanation…
   • Pascal's bookie 7.1

     18 November 2009 at 9:39 pm

     I don’t hold a lot of truck with Lamas either, but sheesh. He’s a political leader as much as a religious one.

     “I’ve seen him in the past, I may see him in the future.”

     Or maybe he’s a painting. Key’s relaxed about it anyhoo.
8. Draco T Bastard 8

   18 November 2009 at 9:25 pm

   World facing ‘catastrophic six-degree rise’ say scientists

   The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday.

   [snip]

   For the past month there has been a lowering of expectations about the conference, not least because the US may not be ready to commit itself to cuts in its emissions.

   /shrug

   Looks like we get the “end of civilisation” scenario at least and more likely an anthropogenic Extinction Level Event.

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS