Hard News: Not Helping
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Like for instance, if President Obama & Ron Kirk agree to an FTA with NZ, on the condition that NZ sings up to an ETS.
ETS beget carbon leakage and that increases pollution. An ETS is a highly regressive tax of no discernible benefit.
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McCully's moves would seem to change NZAID's way of working to be closer to the model of AusAID, which declares an aim doing its work in line with Australia's national interest.
the changes do raise the possibility of foreign policy having undue influence on where and on what aid goes, to the detriment of things like the relationships between NZ and recipient countries and implementing NGOs and the communities in which they work. It also may lead to aid becoming commercialised if the money is going to NZ services or goods (like AirNZ flights), or the militarisation of aid if humanitarian action is done at service of making the work of the NZ military (or police) more popular - such as the army building clinics in order to win the 'hearts and minds'.
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Has anyone seen my kitten?
You better hope he's not huffing it. It may be too late.
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Which is a shame - you should be paid for that stuff!
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I did a detailed survey of the academic literature (~700 papers) on NZ's relations with the Pacific a few weeks ago, and it's come in handy.
McCully just doesn't seem to get it.
Not only would politicising aid mean less chance to tackle the causes of suffering, but it is also bad politics.
Murray McCully does not seem to realise, but the Pacific Island states feel bullied already by some of the actions of New Zealand and Australia, and advice from these countries on how to conduct their affairs has come in way that has been seen more as a directive than as friendly help. Thankfully, MFAT, Goff and Clark have realised this, and have mainly applied a softer hand, excepting Fiji’s regime.
The rhetoric that McCully is spouting about being able to force Pacific hands on issues by using aid as a blunt instrument is quite disturbing. Pacific nations aren’t likely to respond well to this kind of approach, from the academic literature I’ve read that examines how these countries actually feel about NZ and Australia’s role in the Pacific. McCully seems to have no idea that NZ’s position in the Pacific comes as much from relationships and it’s Pacific immigrant community as it does from being a regional power. These are smart and proud people, and deserve our respect.
To do otherwise is cede the Pacific to China, which is greatly increasing its aid delivery (and Taiwan to a lesser extent), and is doing so in ways that leaders of these countries are quite comfortable with. Tonga, for example, is now well out of the sway of New Zealand, despite longstanding ties - which they're entitled to of course, but it is only with careful work
I've just realised however, perhaps this is what McCully wants; a China like approach, designed to fatten the wallets of politicians and introduce long-term corruption and instability, in an attempt for short-term favour. Is he really in favour of such an approach?
Perhaps they think that they can have the best of both worlds, in a savvy politically aware MFAT that curries favour and influence while bringing up economies. I'm sure that in his minds eye there is a coherent vision of what NZ's aid contribution should be. That it doesn't seem to match what development practitioners have to say, or that there has been absolutely no attempt at consultation speaks that it probably has no resemblance to what works.
It is also a bad move politically in the rest of the world. NZ’s aid goes to a large number of countries. NZ’s contribution to Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest country, is not huge, being around $14 million, and directed to a small number of programs, but I know that it is noticed and appreciated. Developing countries are by their nature growing in economic terms, and growing in influence. Aid forms an important part of bilateral relations, and to lose this in order to try and shape the Pacific is an incredibly shortsighted and naive.
Unless they're planning to increase the aid budget substantially... let me know when that happens, will you?
Not only will these changes have harmful effects to alleviating suffering if they come about, they are likely to harm rather than help McCully’s vision of a New Zealand with regional clout. And that is doubly stupid.
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It is only with careful work... and respect that this relationship can be rebuilt.
My 'just realised' got in the way of that sentence.
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Guardian provides API to open up its content for re-use.
Like, for instance, adding a killfile facility to Comment Is Free?
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Just in, I notice that John key, in rejecting the idea of a shorter working week, states:
"It is not my ambition to turn New Zealand into France,"
I don't see why not? Contrary to one of the big lies of the right, France is a wealthy country with good wages, working conditions and welfare benefits. Not to mention taking less of a hit from the crash than the Anglo-Saxon economies.
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France is a wealthy country with good wages, working conditions and welfare benefits.
And cheese. Honestly I cannot get over how average-to-awful cheese is in New Zealand.
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I don't see why not? Contrary to one of the big lies of the right, France is a wealthy country with good wages, working conditions and welfare benefits. Not to mention taking less of a hit from the crash than the Anglo-Saxon economies.
Quite. Not perfect, mind, but we could get policy ideas from outside the Anglosphere just occasionally.
And we'd have good cheese. We already have the wine.
This is one of my pet grievances, actually. I'm a vegan, so don't eat any, but it makes me doubly disturbed to see all that suffering by cows go to waste. Why can't we make cheese, instead of sending it all overseas as low value dairy solids?
Anyway, this is why the English (and by extension, NZ) had such bad food until very recently. It's been around a few times, it might have been here.
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Giovanni, absolutely. The problem was the monopoly New Zealand Dairy Board, and now the problem seems to be Fonterra.
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And cheese. Honestly I cannot get over how average-to-awful cheese is in New Zealand.
Pardon me? You do realize it's the de facto national currency, right? Clearly you haven't encountered the tasteless orange rubber (occasionally tasteless yellow rubber) that passes for cheese in North America. Kiwi cheese is a beautiful memory.
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And cheese. Honestly I cannot get over how average-to-awful cheese is in New Zealand.
Exactly. Most cheese here is tasteless rubbish. For a country with such a big dairy industry it's such a pity.
Remembering the outstanding cheeses from all over the UK and Europe that I used to get in Borough Market, I long for the day when the Wellington sunday markets have local micro producers' cheeses, preferably with some flavour to them.
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@ Sof
Yeah, similar thoughts went through my head with the systematic undoing of Winston. It felt like Winston was the real threat to National and we know what Winston thought of National, so KAPOW, BANG!IMO
Yeah, although I always thought that Winston was more of a smug pr*ck. McCully I find truly venal.
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Quite a good week then for the producers of
Diplomatic Immunity to air their first episode. David Fane was excellent. -
Well I for one am disgusted at this knocking of our dairy industry. It's incredibly unpatriotic. These objective and informative videos explain everything a decent, patriotic New Zealander needs to know about the backbone of our economy.
/sarcasm.
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Don't be silly James. We all know the backbone of our economy is bicycles. It will end in tears I tell you, just wait till those cows get in the way of the bicycle track then you'll see.
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Milk on the cycleway. It'll be carnage!
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Viola, le fromage et sur le bicyclette. marde. Ou est le bouffe, ah, le bouffe est sur le bicyclette ill avec une escappe, vitte vitte arreste le bouffe, le bouffe est missapropriare mon bicyclette, Sacre bleu fromage.
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Keep taking the tablets, Barnsey ;-)
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Damn it. I knew I'd forgotten something.
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These objective and informative videos explain everything a decent, patriotic New Zealander needs to know about the backbone of our economy.
This video, on the other hand... Banned on Youtube.
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on the other hand... Banned on Youtube
Pro- whalers will have a field day.
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We already have the wine.
I wouldn't go that far. Still have to figure out what a New Zealand winemaker has to do not to win a silver medal or better at some sort of competition.
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Still have to figure out what a New Zealand winemaker has to do not to win a silver medal or better at some sort of competition.
Wither Hills winemaker Brent Marris figured that out.
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