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| ‘TIS THE SEASON OF GIVING ~ 16 December 2007 |
| I’ve changed my mind. I once was cynical about philanthropy and charity. I saw people avoiding tax all week, taking shortcuts, and then on Sunday, dropping a few coins in the plate to appease their Gods and conscience. I was wrong. Well, mainly wrong...read more |
| CHANGE IN AUSTRALIA - WHAT IT MEANS ~ 27 November 2007 |
| John Howard’s conservative Australian government was always living on borrowed time. He snatched an extra term in government by manipulating the refugee issue based on an infamous claim of “children thrown overboard” and arguing that Australia will decide who and under what conditions people will come to Australia. That’s always been the policy of any government...read more |
| POLITICS IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND ~ 05 October 2007 |
| Governments get tired, Ministers predictable, and in the absence of great upheavals, the cycle turns and people want a change...read more |
| THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING ~ 27 September 2007 |
| I’m positive about climate change and energy savings and alternatives. Taking a helicopter view of the problem is a bit like examining the books of a company you are considering buying out...read more |
| TIME TO CUT BAIT AND FISH ~ 18 September 2007 |
| The Doha Development trade round hangs in the balance, but most now accept the developmental aspects of what an agricultural deal could do for the poorest countries and save consumers and taxpayers in rich countries...read more |
| FOR THE RECORD ~ 7 September 2007 |
| For some strange reason I feel compelled to reply to columnist Chris Trotter’s comments of last week. Poor Chris sits on the outside looking through the window pulling faces at those who don’t conform or pay him. He represents the ‘commentariat’ who hover and hoover around Wellington looking for handouts...read more |
| DEVELOPMENT, HOPE, AND DANGER IN THE MUSLIM WORLD ~ 5 September 2007 |
| We all need to understand better what’s happening and not happening in the Muslim world. The West and the rest of the non-Muslim world is in a dangerous cycle of self-fulfilling paranoia. That’s why I attended a conference of the Organisation of Islamic Countries in Malaysia recently...read more |
| RETORT ~ 1 September 2007 |
| The lowfat yoghurt really hit the fan recently because of an article I wrote suggesting that the current politics of personal destruction reminded me of Muldoon...read more |
| A RETURN TO MULDOONISM ? ~ 27 August 2007 |
| In the 1980’s, a cruelly funny cartoon appeared of David Lange. It had four panels - the first panel displayed a smiling picture of David, then slowly, over the next 2 panels, David’s face morphed into a picture of Roger Douglas. I’m expecting a cartoon of Helen Clark to appear, morphing into an angry Muldoon...read more |
| WTO DEAL DO-ABLE BUT IT’S NOW OR AT LEAST 3 YEARS AWAY ~ 12 June 2007 |
The headlines always cry, "Doha Development Round in Crisis", "Make or Break Meeting Looms", this time they will be correct...read more
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| "LEST WE FORGET" ~ 28 May 2007 |
| Enjoying the greatest, sustained economic expansion, beating the 1950’s and 1960’s, it is easy to take for granted the conditions and global framework that makes this success possible...read more |
| THE BUDGET AND HALF A MILLION KIWIS IN AUSTRALIA - TOO CLOSE TO HOME? ~ 22 May 2007 |
| Despite the Budget, yet another financial advisor has suggested I go and live abroad because of our tax regime. So long as you don't stay more than six months in New Zealand and base yourself in London, Switzerland or Australia, you are only taxed on income earned in those countries...read more |
| ANTI GANG CZAR NEEDED ~ 10 May 2007 |
| You know a government is running out of puff when politicians say, "If a problem was easy, it would have been fixed years ago." Equally pathetic is a former politician saying, "I told you so." But I did tell you so...read more |
| USING GREEN CAMOFLAGE TO REVISIT OLD PROTECTIONISM ~ 02 May 2007 |
| I'm often asked, "Isn't trade a promoter of global warming, shouldn't we retreat from the Doha Development trade round because of the Kyoto Treaty on global warming?" Like all successful lies, it has to have a bit of truth to it for it to become believable...read more |
| LET’S CALL THEM PREFERENTIAL TRADE DEALS - NOT FREE TRADE DEALS ~ 23 April 2007 |
| All multilateral trade rounds managed under the umbrella of the GATT, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, now the World Trade Organisation, are in crisis until a deal is done...read more |
| CAN A NATION OF THE NORTH GO SOUTH ? ~ 22 March 2007 |
| Douglas North, an American, won a Nobel Prize in Economics, pioneering work on the value of institutions in economic development. The higher the quality of institutions, the better the result...read more |
| ROUND WE GO ? ~ 31 January 2007 |
| It looks good news, senior Trade Ministers, meeting in the fringes of last week’s annual talk fest in Davos, Switzerland, have said there is a glimpse of movement in negotiating positions so the suspended Doha Development Round of negotiations can begin again...read more |
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