Helen Clark is shipping out to work for Ban Ki-moon. Michael Cullen is shipping out to work for Simon Power. Labour is in transition.
In her valedictory speech on Wednesday, Clark highlighted this generational shift. She went to university at a time when “the baby-boomer generation came of age”. The Vietnam war, the nuclear debate and apartheid were “faultlines” running through our politics, “some ideological and some generational”.
It’s Easter. A time of redemption. But of what?
The traditional Christian Easter story is of the redemption of sins through a symbolic death.
In behind it lies a notion of reciprocity — debt and obligation. Maori call it utu. We each incur debts to others of widely varying sorts (including money) which create obligations to others. The “others” might include nature and, in green parlance, the planet.
The Group of 20 has congratulated itself on acting in concert to save the world. But will it?
At the heart of the crisis is a massive imbalance which at some point has to correct. The United States is afloat on Chinese savings.
It wants vast amounts more of others’ savings to stop the unemployment rout — now 8.5 per cent after the loss of 5.1 million jobs in 15 months — and help it spend more even though spending too much on borrowed money got it to where it, and we, are now.
Geoff Mulgan worked on Tony Blair’s “third way” for seven years. He thinks that in the changed world that comes out of today’s big mess there will be a bigger place for social innovation. He will bring that message here next week.
Mulgan is one of a growing number of heavyweights who think the world — at least, the rich world — will not, upon economic recovery, revert to how it was before debt got big and trust vanished and the financial system popped.
Rodney Hide used to chase taxis carrying overspending MPs. Since he went dancing with the stars he has been happier hunting regulators.
His Regulatory Responsibility Bill in 2006 lacked drafting rigour, Sir Geoffrey Palmer of the Law Commission said. But both Labour and National endorsed its general intent and under the National-ACT support agreement a task force has been set up to “carry forward” the bill.
The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance told us last week that “for the future” it “sees Auckland as a unique world city in the Pacific and that high liveability factors will remain Auckland’s most valued assets”. Really?
Royal commissioners have the power to compel evidence and their pronouncements have majestic status. Our accident compensation scheme came from a royal commission. So the Auckland commissioners are by appointment magisterially wise.
Mike Moore, Don McKinnon, Helen Clark: top multilateral jobs after top domestic jobs. What has New Zealand got?
First, connections and track record.
As trade minister in 1984-90 Moore was a great mixer, a vigorous proponent of free trade despite his early socialism and a perennial generator of a wide variety (and quality) of ideas — plus books to convey them. McKinnon resolved the Bougainville standoff with Papua-New Guinea.
Deep in the recesses of New Zealand’s political history lies the A-plus-B theorem. United States Federal Reserve Board chair Ben Bernanke could be mistaken for a disciple.
The theorem was central to the social credit doctrine, which took hold in the 1930s depression among farmers hit hard by the slump and among some professionals not trained in economics. It postulated a gap between what people produced and what they could afford to buy which the central bank or the government should bridge by creating credit.
State-owned enterprises make money for taxpayers. But do they make enough? John Key’s government wants more. But Key has “contracts” with the voters which limit his options.
SOEs were set up to be sold. For that they had to be turned into fully commercial operations, making profits and paying dividends to the taxpayer.
Cross-dressing: John Key told ACT’s conference on Saturday he was going to have a “red-tape bonfire”; Rodney Hide told the conference he was going to be “surgical and laser-like” in trimming regulations.
Isn’t it supposed to be other way round, Key cool and Hide hot?