In the last fifty years New Zealand has thrust itself forward as an ‘offering’ to the highest bidder. Yes, NZ is for sale. Not just the present Government, but previous ones have also put us on the blocks.
We have a massive public debt and we must pay that off or face dire consequences. The spectre of Greece and other European nations hover just beyond the financial horizon. It seems that the only way out of this dilemma is for us to sell ourselves. New Zealand and its docile labour force is up for grabs.
What will we offer our future masters? Hey, why not put the lot up and then we can sleep at night knowing that our benevolent overlords will take care of us. At least we can rest in peace, because the debt will no longer be ours. That debt itself can be bought and sold; tossed around in a sea of selfishness.
Imagine our power production, fisheries, minerals, prospecting rights and our land--- oh--- go the whole hog. Why not chuck in our hospitals, education services and all of our financial institutions. Oops, I forget--- aren’t they basically already owned by overseas interest? The Trojan horse has been and gone long ago. We have lived for quite a while, thinking that we are a sovereign nation. The old colonial set-up simply changed its name and assumed a different guise.
It seems that the process is way too advanced to respond to public disquiet and by the time we collectively punish the politicians of the day, it will almost be too late. When we attempt to renationalize our assets we will face a different type of enemy in the new war. Those who we thought were our allies will be actively involved in putting down any opposition to their aims to swallow up the remainder of our dwindling assets.
We will be modern day slaves in a low wage economy, where the profits will depart our shores. A new class of local lackeys will arise and serve their foreign masters.
‘But what about our mates across the ditch in Australia?’ you may ask----- Too late my friends. They will also have succumbed to the new order. Do we just give up?
Of course not! That is not the New Zealand way. It means we have to take a long hard look at ourselves and what we want as a nation and how we share our wealth. It may mean a different way of living--- one that is sustainable and one that has entrenched in law that New Zealand is not for sale. We will most definitely need to return to the more caring nation we were once known for around the world.
I am not being simplistically nostalgic. I believe we face many real challenges. We must end the flow of cheap imports and a return to a locally owned manufacturing base. It may mean that we won’t be able to live in the ‘see, need and buy,’ mode that we have made our own.
What I have briefly presented is most surely a naive piece of economic non-reality and one that will be shot to pieces from every quarter, but we cannot shirk our responsibility to keep as much of our economic heritage for those following and not give in to short-term gains. If we cannot reach across the political divide then we are doomed to a very uncertain future.
Slow down Mr Key and listen to the people! Keep our assets in New Zealand hands.
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