Clive Bibby: New Zealand’s reputation is being questioned

At a time when the defence of the realm is more dependent than ever on strategic alliances based on trust, we need to show our partners that we are capable of punching above our weight when the proverbial hits the fan.

We need to show we can be relied upon to compliment the contributions of others doing most of the heavy lifting in a way that is consistent with our size and limited defence capabilities. 

Unfortunately, the trust we used to represent as a given is open to question by those traditional partners who we are expecting to keep us safe.

Why is this so? 

Obviously the main reason for that is, prior to Britain entering the European Common Market, our traditional political and defence arrangements were based on trade.

And the bulk of that trade was with one country - The United Kingdom. We could send all the agricultural products we could grow - wool, meat, butter, cheese, and all kinds of fruit - that were generally not subject to the quotas or price restrictions as they are now.

In return, we would supply a contingent of quality troops to any war that involved the defence of the Commonwealth. 

It was a time when we could tolerate alternative thought and political activists because the majority of the population were comfortable with how things were. 

We were regarded as the British Food basket which was a mutually beneficial arrangement seemingly made in Heaven. We didn’t need to think about minority concerns because in a land of “milk and honey”, there was plenty for all.

But things changed dramatically almost overnight, and we were forced to grow up quickly and seek new markets for our produce with other countries, some of which we knew little about nor had much in common. Little did we know that we were about to enter a time of the unknown and be exposed as a nation re-discovering itself. Some of the home truths that emerged would prove difficult to accommodate and still are. 

In many ways it forced us to become an independent nation relying on quickly learnt skills about dealing with some of the most ruthless trade negotiators on the planet.

Thankfully, during the last 60 years, our representatives have served us well in that regard, but the modern world is no longer a place where even long held alliances matter as much as mutually beneficial trade. 

In this current climate that requires us to take sides as the superpowers flex their muscles in a power struggle over influence, we must be sure of our own capacity for contributing to the common cause - whatever form that might take and whenever it might occur. 

It is no longer good enough to pretend that internal problems are private matters. 

Our future survival will be dependant not on how we see ourselves but more on how our defence partners view our ability to contribute to an alliance in a meaningful way.

Issues like the stability of our government in the face of challenges to the rule of law by activists who claim preferential rights to our natural resources that are the result of false interpretation of our founding document, are becoming the basis for questioning our reliability in a crisis.

It is becoming embarrassing at a time when we need to be seen as one of the few stable, trustworthy countries who deserve protection from the threats to our trade routes and sovereignty. 

That protection will only come if our partners are convinced we are in control of things at home. The clean out of these subversive homegrown elements is long overdue. 

We need to be shot of this Woke environment that has the capacity to defeat us well before the Chinese warships dock in Wellington harbour.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.