And perhaps, on examination, it is no surprise to find that little old New Zealand is blessed more than most other comparable states in the number of natural resources we have at our disposal. The problem is (in Fred Dagg’s assessment) “We don’t know how lucky we are.”
Let’s take a step back and look at our history of using our natural resources compared to our competitors in the markets where we sell the things we produce..
1) It is clear that the number one determining factor of success or failure in 1st World economies is the cost of cheap reliable energy.
Our economic development record is based almost entirely on our choice of a mix of clean, renewable, reliable energy sources when establishing an infrastructure that suits our land based economy.
Sure we have made some bad decisions at government level in the past which is now impacting on our ability to maintain public access to cheap power - ie.the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery being the most glaring example which, in hindsight, looks like being the most politically motivated gaffe in this nation’s history - but for all that, our future growth still looks like being dependent on how we combine the needs of plants associated with high energy use (eg, the AI centre planned for Southland) with the natural resource (cheap hydro power) available nearby.
Mind you, in that context, I can’t see how the proposed “Pump Hydro” scheme also down South comes close to passing the pub test on that one but someone must have convinced Government to give it a go.
2) Which brings us to the second important natural resource - our Kiwi scientific ingenuity and entrepreneurial talent.
We have shown an ability to lead the world in so many different categories of human endeavour and it is not just on the sports field that we excel or punch above our weight.
On a per capita basis we surprise even ourselves when reading about this person or the next leading the world in their respective field.
Scientists like Rutherford, Jurists like Cook, Heart surgeons like Barret-Boys , Film maker Peter Jackson, not to mention the research and entrepreneurial leaders in the Agriculture, Conservation and Fishing sectors who support our land and sea based industries.
3) A relatively safe, welcoming environment that enables us to develop our natural resources while offering other world leading entrepreneurs a place to develop theirs alongside and bringing their own type of employment opportunities in the process.
This is particularly true for makers of blockbuster films like James Cameron who actually owns property and lives here part of the year.
Also, given the rush to develop AI based technology that requires huge amounts of clean, renewable, relatively cheap energy, NZ is seen as an ideal safe spot by some of the world’s largest developers to build plants that compliment our long term development objectives over a wide range of industries.
We should no longer be in a position where development decisions are based on a philosophy of “borrow and hope”.
Given that future cheap, clean energy will be a commodity relatively based on a number of factors that affect the cost of production - not least the possibility of a small nuclear reactor being an acceptable part of our mix, we are better better placed than most to achieve growth targets we set ourselves.
As these plants become cheaper to build and maintain, their reliability and benefit as a valued, contributing part of the national grid can no longer be ignored.
Similarly, a recent Australian scientific breakthrough in the development of Hydrogen energy looks like making that source another for consideration.
Taken as a whole, it augurs well to have users of our surplus energy competing for long term contracts. We will no longer have to sell our clean energy to large users at discount prices because there are no other client users of the power in such large quantities with their associated significant employment opportunities - eg the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
In summary, our economy is well placed to ensure the cost of developing locally domiciled new industries in a competitive world stage environment is an attractive proposition that can’t be ignored.
“We are open for business like never before.”
Who knows where it will end but one thing is for sure - constructive forward planning will need to be supported by politicians who are interested only in positive outcomes for all New Zealanders.
Unfortunately, recent squabbles between and within political parties and pressure groups suggest progress will continue to be limited compared to what it could be if we all decided to forget our differences and work together.
While there is life there is hope but in the meantime we keep allowing these radical, self styled privileged groups to determine the outcome of debates that have become unnecessary logjams in a system designed to benefit us all..
Time to grow up.
Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.
9 comments:
Clive, if we really want NZ to prosper political parties must be forever banned from Parliament. You must have noticed what these miscreants have done to us over the last 30-40 tears.
Don't tax technology.
Blockchain projects and protocols are the future but NZ seems hell bent on crushing this new technology.
Burn more coal.
Parliamentary democracy doesn't work without parties. In NZ's case you would have 123 'independent candidates' if there were no parties. But those individuals with common platforms would start acting as blocs and you'd effectively have parties back in no time even if not in name.
Political parties are also good in that they draw attention away from individual politicians in favour of policies.
(Sarcasm) we are so lucky that we have dropped from the 3rd highest standard of living to somewhere in the middle. We are so lucky that highly skilled kiwis are forced to move to Australia. We are so productive that we are forced to import minimum wage slaves from India.
Yes we are so fortunate that purchasing power is eroding faster than wages can compensate. And some politicians even want to tax that price inflation.
No. I don’t feel lucky. I feel ripped off. And that appears to be an appropriate response given that the Epstein files show that the operating system of the world is not democracy but blackmail.
Winston Peters: Police the bathrooms!
The Opportunities Party: Let’s look at renewable energy!
Voting public: Winston will lead us to a better tomorrow.
This is a little anecdote for readers of my vintage (1950s).
My family (Dad, Mum and little me at age 6) were among the last 'assisted migrants' from Holland to NZ in 1961 (the scheme ran 1947-62). You travelled by ship in those days (an old tub called the Seven Seas, scrapped in 1977) operated by a German company - all spin 'n span and regimented, down to telling you where you had to sit for meals in the lounge.
We shared a table with a couple who had a ghastly little girl (funny how you remember such things). When my father asked the husband where they were going, he said Australia, and I remember his face falling when Dad said we were going to NZ. At that time, NZ was the prime destination. After all, as my mother had informed me, Australia was a terrible place full of criminals sent there from Britain to get them out of their hair, whereas NZ was the land of milk and honey.
I wonder who was laughing 20 years later...... no I don't. And 65 years later? Hm, let me think about that one...........
We are going rapidly backwards, let down by our administrators, and part Maori not making the effort to move forward.
Fred Dagg and Clive Bibby are right, ‘we don’t know how lucky we are’. Or partly right, actually. Many, I think most, Kiwis are well aware as to how lucky we are, though you might not think so, judging by the moaning that is pretty common in this newsletter, most of it by people who, whatever the reason, don’t wish to be identified.
It is true that there is much about that of which we can be dissatisfied, but that’s nothing to what is the case in much of the world’s population. Yes, we were once the most prosperous country outside north America, and now have been overtaken by quite a number of countries, but that is because many have recovered from the destructive effects of WW2. Australia, too, is seen as a more attractive place, but actually, life there is remarkably similar to ours. Being a considerable bigger country there are greater opportunities than here. But then, the same could be said for America where many Aussies, and from other countries as well of course, have moved to for the wider opportunities. (Not so many now in the age of Trump.)
How does New Zealand rate in President Roosevelt’s four freedoms, the theme of his 1941 State of the Union speech to Congress: Freedom of speech, of worship, from fear and from want? Very well, I would say. So yes, I know just how lucky I am.
Thank you Ewan. well said.
I don’t write stuff seeking endorsement of my opinions but yours just happens to mean more to me than most
And we both know why.
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