Say whatever you want about war and conflict, but Australia entering the submarine club is major.
Very few countries have them and those that do are large, with correspondingly sized economies.
Australia is the smallest by a mile and yet there they are, now in a partnership with the United States and Britain in a deal that is specifically designed to manage our part of the world against China.
And where are we in this? The answer is nowhere.
And our reaction to the Australian news was that we are still nuclear free, and apparently proud of it, and the subs aren't coming here.
In that comment is everything that is wrong with us.
Since we made the nuclear stance the world has changed, and dramatically. No one cares whether we are nuclear free and it's entirely possible they never did.
We now look introspective and hopelessly naive.
Here is the thing with Australia - this has come about under a Labour Government, proving that you don’t have be run by war-loving conservatives to make decisions like this.
In fact, Anthony Albanese is a socialist. He is a hard lefty, but realism is realism and he sees what we are choosing to ignore.
Which is not to say we want submarines. But what we do need is a sense of realism and what we do need is a reputation that might involve us looking just a bit more interested than we are.
We need America and we need Australia and we need to be seen to be doing our bit, which we aren't.
Then we come to coal and more realism from a Labour party leader.
While we ban mining and exploration for anything that remotely looks fossil, Australia continues to make a fortune.
So, we've got a Labour leader but an economic reality resulting in $24 billion worth of coal being sent to India. India was where Albanese was before he went to the U.S this week to buy subs.
How is it a left leaning Prime Minister, in a very left leaning Government, can support his economy and economic future by understanding the cold hard truths of the world in which we currently live?
And yet the Labour Government on this side of the Tasman is wedded to thought-bubble theory that achieves nothing tangible. And certainly nothing to the bottom line.
They're cut from the same ideological cloth. And yet one gets it and the others are in fairyland.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings.
In that comment is everything that is wrong with us.
Since we made the nuclear stance the world has changed, and dramatically. No one cares whether we are nuclear free and it's entirely possible they never did.
We now look introspective and hopelessly naive.
Here is the thing with Australia - this has come about under a Labour Government, proving that you don’t have be run by war-loving conservatives to make decisions like this.
In fact, Anthony Albanese is a socialist. He is a hard lefty, but realism is realism and he sees what we are choosing to ignore.
Which is not to say we want submarines. But what we do need is a sense of realism and what we do need is a reputation that might involve us looking just a bit more interested than we are.
We need America and we need Australia and we need to be seen to be doing our bit, which we aren't.
Then we come to coal and more realism from a Labour party leader.
While we ban mining and exploration for anything that remotely looks fossil, Australia continues to make a fortune.
So, we've got a Labour leader but an economic reality resulting in $24 billion worth of coal being sent to India. India was where Albanese was before he went to the U.S this week to buy subs.
How is it a left leaning Prime Minister, in a very left leaning Government, can support his economy and economic future by understanding the cold hard truths of the world in which we currently live?
And yet the Labour Government on this side of the Tasman is wedded to thought-bubble theory that achieves nothing tangible. And certainly nothing to the bottom line.
They're cut from the same ideological cloth. And yet one gets it and the others are in fairyland.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings.
11 comments:
You have hit the nail on the head. New Zealand is fast making itself into an unintelligible tribal nothing. No one but itself to blame.
Or, is the present flurry of action towards Co-gov and then He Puapua is to make sure that Maori will lead the negotiations with China - which will certainly come ?
Mr Hosking, what do you know about the deal - anything ?
Since it will take too long to build the new subs the Aussies will lease some Virginia class subs which will be stationed in WA. The following is from moon of alabama: "Perth will thereby be built up into a base that is compatible with the likely permanent stationing of U.S. nuclear submarines. These carry nuclear weapons.
The 'leased' boats, or at least their propulsion parts, would of course be still manned by U.S. or British sailors. The Australians already have problems retaining crews for their existing submarines. The few that will be available for the 'leased' boats will not be enough to run them. The Australians would pay largely for the privilege of being guests on board of doubtlessly U.S. commanded submarines. But why did I call this a "huge but short term win" for the U.S.?
It is a win in that the U.S. has gained a submarine base in Australia and will get paid for using it. This looks well if the intent is to wage a cold war on China. It is doubtful that this is a necessary strategy and it is equally doubtful that it can be successful. The weapons manufacturers will of course still love it.
But it is a only a short term win in the sense that the U.S. will lose many of its current and potential future partners over it. It has degraded its QUAD partner India and Japan to second tier status. It has increased suspicion in Indonesia, Malaysia and even Singapore of eventual nefarious plans against them. "
There we are Mike - a losing position all round for Australia , especially when the bill will be in excess of $368b.
The coal hard truth...
The Government or more correctly the whole 120 MPs in Parliament may not have worked it ou,t but those thinking of emigrating to another country have.
100% pure rip-off? New Zealand voted second-worst place to move to
New Zealand has been ranked second-worst place in the world to move by immigrants, according to a survey.
The expatriate networking organisation InterNations surveyed nearly 12,000 respondents of 177 different nationalities, living in 181 countries. Respondents were asked how their new homes performed on factors including quality of life, cost of living, safety, financial outlook, bureuacracy, and ease of fitting in.
In a resulting ranking of 52 countries – those for whom there was a large enough sample size – Aotearoa New Zealand ranked in the doldrums, at 51. It was beaten to the bottom by Kuwait.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/14/100-pure-rip-off-new-zealand-voted-second-worst-place-to-move-to
What a conundrum New Zealand has created for itself. Who would you rather have developing coal, oil and gas beds? Maori as part of their rights to natural resources or the amoral such as ExconMobil (parent company of Mobil)?
They will perform a stone age haka if the Chinese invade and they will all die laughing or from boredom. Kiwialan.
Take two people give them the same information, one goes left and one goes right. One path leads to prosperity the other socialist drivel.
And the strange thing is the wrong choice is blindingly obvious yet they still head down the wrong path.
God only knows why!
Our kids will make the choices for us by walking away and we will follow them to pastures greener.
Saving our resources for the Chinese.
New Zealand of course chooses neutrality which really means not upsetting China.
You are surely not proposing that Angry Andy as Minister of Defence could be trusted to have an influence over the strategic control of anything more lethal than a water pistol I hope. As for realism from any politician other than Maureen Pugh "you've got to be dreamin mate".
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