Leighton Baker
Leader New Conservative
It may already be a little bit too late, but New Zealand has a big decision to make in regards to the future of our nation.
Long term freedom or short term finance?
With tensions in the South Pacific growing daily and the US sending a strong message to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) that continued expansion of their territory will not be tolerated, we are going to be forced to take sides and this decision will have massive consequences.
China is our largest goods trading partner which means to offend them is to jepordise the $17B in exports that we earn annually and the $4B trade surplus we currently enjoy.
What appetite is there to swallow that pill when we have just dramatically increased debt and reduced earnings due to COVID-19?
To support them has a real cost of loss of freedoms and self-determination. The evidence of this is not just in their native populations incarcerated for “re-education” but also in some of our small South Pacific neighbours, and in African states where the Chinese push of their Belt and Road initiative has used debt to pressure leadership and UN voting.
Whatever the long term outcome, it is very obvious that we need to be strenuously working at developing other markets for our exports while simultaneously sourcing our imports from alternative nations.
Our exports to China are all mainly essentials like food and resources while our imports are around electrical and electronic goods which means we have both highly desirable exports and imports that are available from other markets, especially the developing markets like India and Pakistan. These are massive untapped markets which we could work on now while continuing to develop trade with the UK, Canada, Australia and the States.
Businesses heavily reliant on China will be naturally resistant to any stance that the government takes against the CCP as it will directly affect their profitability, but for far too long New Zealand has been guilty of short term thinking and the quick dollar, rather the long term outcomes for the Nation.
It is little like the African story about catching a monkey by having a trap full of peanuts that only an open hand can fit into. The monkey is only trapped by its greed and its choice to not let go of the peanuts rather than any physical containment.
A nation where people are important, democracy is defended and justice cannot be bought does not happen by accident. It is planned for, worked for and paid for by its citizens. The big question really is “How much do we want that nation?”
To an outside observer, it would seem that our current government would prefer State dependence over individual responsibility and equality of outcome regardless of effort or investment. It just takes a quick look at their current dictatorial rental legislation to see just how far that ideology is being pushed. Many Conservative type commentators agree that this election is not just about what colour controls the Beehive, but the very future of our Nation
Long term freedom or short term finance, we need to choose now while the choice is still ours to make.
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