Author: Colin James

Fleeting glimpses and faint quackings of a lame duck…

The consummate politician wowed the still-learning one so much he called her “President Clinton”. Well, if she had been President she might have been representing an administration with more authority than the one in which she is Secretary of State.

Hillary Clinton conceded a point to Murray McCully: instead of just jointly announcing the near-substance-free but usefully rhetorical “Wellington Declaration”, she signed it alongside him at the stagey “press conference” of just two questions a side. read more

Is the Tea Party coming to a polling booth near you?

Add them up: in Australia, Britain and now the United States, left gives way to right — or, rather, ins give way to outs. Hillary Clinton last week was the emissary of a de-mandated President. Is there a pointer for our politics?

What do we share with those three “Anglo” countries? A long period of widening inequalities, slowing or stalled growth in real incomes for large numbers and falls for many, offset by bubble economics which allowed an illusion that rising prosperity could be borrowed without repayments — then, since 2008, a hard post-bubble reality. Even in mineral-rich Australia credit and retail statistics are reflecting a squeeze on households in most states. read more

Juggling expectations: a small party's curse

The Maori party was formed in opposition to the Foreshore and Seabed Act (F&S). Now it is split over what to do about its replacement. This is both a classic dilemma of small parties and a specific matter of how far indigenous rights run.

Two years into its coalition with Labour, the Alliance began to come apart. Six months later it split. One wing, claiming to be the true standard-bearer, evaporated. The other, smaller, wing, pragmatically accepting the limits of a small party’s influence, stayed in government. read more

From the edge of the world, an idea or two

New Zealand a think tank? We’re 4.4 million at the bottom of the world specialising in exporting much of our best talent to more interesting, challenging and rewarding places.

We’re inventive. But our inventors mostly sell out to live the triple-B life plus offshore comforts. Governments have kept research funding below the OECD government average, thinking that they mustn’t pick winners (except for Sir Peter Jackson), that the point is early commercial wins, that this country is too small and that voters want the money spent on other things. read more

The big questions that come with Clinton

Having a trader as Prime Minister can work a treat: snip some workers’ rights here, tax breaks there, a bit of lolly and, hey presto, a film, jobs and tourism ads. Now, will trader John Key do the truly big stuff when Clinton 2 jets in?

The last National Prime Minister who met a Clinton here — Jenny Shipley with hard-dog-to-keep-on-the-porch Bill — went a little kittenish in his aura. Hillary doesn’t do kittenish and Key is a regular bloke. They have a lot to talk about in today’s altered world order. read more

Science, John Key and the Singapore syndrome

Here are two views on government science spending from last week. Struan Little, Treasury deputy secretary, dynamic economy: “Public investment in science yields benefits only when its output is applied in the economy. It is all about growth.” Wayne Mapp, Minister of Research, Science and Technology: “We are going to have to make the same sort of investment as our comparator countries.” read more

The foreshore party's long growth into realist politics

If all goes to plan Pita Sharples will have a new trophy to take to the Maori party’s annual meeting on Saturday: a constitutional review. It’s been a long time coming.

Hone Harawira last week put it this way: “The Maori Party will lead a constitutional review with a view to ensuring the Treaty of Waitangi is at the centre of that discussion and, hopefully, becomes a central plank in a Treaty-based constitution.” read more

Squaring (or not) Labour's economic nationalism circle

How does a small country do economic nationalism when the big fellas are waging currency wars? That’s a question from the Labour party conference. It comes in several parts.

The conference was in a markedly good mood.

That was in part because delegates could believe that, just conceivably, Labour might be able to do a Len Brown in the 2011 election. Brown’s win came in part by rousing out voters in lower socioeconomic areas, say his campaign manager and now political adviser, Labour up-and-comer Conor Roberts (30), and his offsider, Kate Sutton (29), an aspirant for Labour’s Te Atatu nomination. read more

Turning science from problem to opportunity

Most of politics is problem. Can it be opportunity instead? That was a challenge to Labour at its conference at the weekend. It is National’s challenge as ministers start to make their bids for next year’s budget.

The local elections were a flicker of both problem and opportunity. For Labour, opportunity: Len Brown, Celia Wade-Brown and a better “left” showing than Labour dared hope for — but councils spend 3 per cent of GDP and local elections mostly reflect local factors. For National, problem — but John Key’s poll results, while a bit down, are still stellar. read more

Are we heading towards a greener government?

You would expect the head of the Department of Conservation (DoC) to be a bit greener than a National-led cabinet. But what about the next Labour-led government?

Al Morrison won the Green party’s endorsement for this sentence in a speech at Lincoln University on Thursday: “We (humans) are degrading ecosystems and destroying species to a point where the services that nature provides, that we rely on for our sustenance and that determine our prosperity, are being run down and out.” read more