Given that it was a holiday weekend, it may have been that
no one in the Prime Minister’s Department was reading the daily journals that
masquerade as publishers of respectable journalism these days and may have
missed it.
But you can bet that those with responsibility for keeping an eye on potentially dangerous material in the media would have been quick to poke Maharey’s offending words under Saint Jacinda’s nose first thing Tuesday morning. On sighting it, she may even have choked on her coffee. It was a shocker.
Background.
It would take too long to regurgitate Maharey’s full column
in my response, suffice to say that the former Labour front bencher went to
great lengths to describe the nation’s economy as underperforming and incapable
of supporting the aspirational targets we have grown to believe we are capable
of.
He pontificates that our poor economic performance is based
on two pillars of the economy that need restructuring.
His rationale for these profound statements goes something
like this:
The first is that we host too many tourists that are not
spending enough money per head in this country. He implies that we are not
marketing our tourism destinations in places where the residents are awash with
discretionary funds who, as soon as they know about NZ, will all rush to spend
their life’s savings in our country as opposed to doing the same in other
competitor tourist spots on the globe.
The second is that our income from our multi-faceted
agriculture industry is based on animal production and fish harvesting
techniques that are inefficient by design. We end up with too many products of
not high enough yield.
He smears the current industries by accusing them of being
inept performers compared to our international counterparts - whoever they may
be.
In both industries he advocates earning more from less.
He doesn’t know what he is talking about.
This country survives on trading, often in markets at the
other side of the world.
The fact that our standard of living is rated amongst the
richest countries on the planet is solely dependent on our exporters having a
better product to sell and being able to market it better than our competitors.
It follows that the more you sell at these prices, the more we can afford to
deliver higher living standards to the whole population of New Zealand. More
and better schools and health services. More aged care and handicapped
facilities. Better infrastructure, sporting, and leisure facilities.
As the economy grows, we all benefit.
So, why do we have to listen to this rubbish from people who
should know better.
Perhaps he is trying to find a way that will justify the
draconian measures suggested by his colleagues in the current administration in
order to achieve their emissions targets solely by slaughtering 30% of the
dairy herd. Or to transfer blame for the collapse of the tourism and
hospitality industries away from those who needlessly allowed it to wither on
the vine during the harshest lockdown in the world.
It didn’t need to happen that way.
It beggars belief that a former Cabinet Minister in a
previous Labour Government would expect us mere mortals to accept his
disturbingly false summary of the nation’s recent economic performance on the
world stage.
He has the audacity to mistakenly apportion blame for what
he describes as “under performance” at the feet of the county’s two main
earners of overseas funds who have for decades led the world in their
respective fields.
He rambles on about being more efficient and
entrepreneurial, suggesting we could have done so much better had we
entertained tourists of the type who individually spend more money and produced
more from numerically less numbers of genetically superior animals.
Last time l looked, we were already doing both those things
And our world leading agricultural scientists have already bred animals which,
when fed different diets, expel up to (in some cases) 80% less methane gas.
The reality in truth is somewhat different to the feeble
mischaracterisation Maharey offers.
In fact his inability to correctly diagnose the cause of any
reduction in earnings from our cornerstone performers is just another example
of how out of touch he and his Labour colleagues really are.
Most people will know, having witnessed life under Covid in
this country that the destruction of the tourism industry and the sabotage of
the agriculture industries ability to take full advantage of record overseas
prices are direct results of government’s misguided obsession with both its
defence against Covid and its commitment to its Paris agreement emissions
reduction targets.
In the case of the Tourism Industry, the self-employed were
left to close their doors as government induced lockdowns strangled the
industry of its clientele until it lost its ability to function. It became the
sacrificial lamb that enabled the Prime Minister to crow about her initial
successful elimination policy. Too bad for those who have lost everything.
Similarly, the agriculture industry has watched helpless as
the Crown Jewels of our limited high producing grazing land are being sold off
to Carbon farmers at a time when we should be using every acre to produce red
meat that the world’s insatiable markets demand at prices we have never seen.
It makes no sense!
As a past Chancellor of Massey University, one would expect
Maharey to at least know something about the true nature of how this nation
provides the money to pay for all the welfare and educational facilities that
ensure we remain in the top group of functioning democracies in the world.
In case you hadn’t noticed Steve, the only reason we will
remain in that group of select performers is if you can persuade your suicidal
comrades to take their jack boots off the neck of our two great institutions -
ones that you obviously have never worked for.
They wouldn’t have you.
Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.
7 comments:
More central planning required. When that fails... more central planning required. Yes, it is scary.
I wonder who appointed Maharey.
He and others of the left persuasion, who hold positions in our once great Universities, are responsible for the decline of educational standards in these institutions.
I remember being summoned to the VC's residence on the Massey campus years ago and receiving instructions from the then VC.
I was quite nervous and very respectful of the 'boss' at that time.
Now we have a shambles.
Spoken like a true blue old school farmer. Should we really be using every acre of land possible to produce red meat? A very inefficient way of feeding the masses in my opinion.
When the economy does well we all do well you say.....Really?
SM is symptomatic of this entire Labour regime...no connection to the real world.
what would you expect from one donkey deep in the dumming down on our once great university system
Well actually yes Lesley. Certainly if the economy grows, it provides the opportunity for all to share in the benefits of that growth.
And again yes when we are in the unfortunate position of having to produce more (red meat) from our limited land capable of doing that, it makes sense to squeeze as much product out of our dwindling resources with that capacity.
It might be different if other products were capable of earning as much from our overseas markets as red meat currently does but at this moment in time we should flog that option for all its worth.
Name me another export earner with that capacity?
Yes Lesley, when the economy does well, we all do well.
To have the education of our future generations dumbed down to a level where all are equal commits us to the level of lowest performer, and we can never rise above the level of those with the least skills. We are better than that and we can and do have industry and people who rise above the rest and help us care for those who need help.
I believe the latter is what will improve outcomes for all in our society and provide us and our descendants the opportunity to live better lives and thank god for it.
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