Politics

‘Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin’ And you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'” American Bob Dylan wrote this song as an anthem for change in 1963. …

Negative sentiment pervades global markets – from shares and bonds through to the “crypto crash” which has seen Bitcoin tumble through the floor, wobbly housing markets – even gold and silver are showing signs of tarnish. Investors have been here before. But this storm has a novel twist. Central banks are now raising interest rates to stamp out inflationary pressures, …

Changing the dial The United States is New Zealand’s third-largest individual trading partner and a major source of foreign direct investment, innovation and research, and tourism. There is significant opportunity to expand the relationship, but moving ahead in today’s uncertain world requires a focus on this key partnership and insight into the current environment. The macro global economic picture is …

Graham Skellern New Zealand can look forward to a burst of big-spending American tourists over the second half of this year (2022), says Air New Zealand chair Dame Therese Walsh. Walsh told the Inaugural United States Business Summit – ‘Changing the Dial’ that up to 31 million Americans were actively looking to visit New Zealand and three-quarters of them would …

Graham Skellern New Zealand will likely take a place in the Biden Administration-initiated Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), particularly with an eye to developing opportunities in digital trade, said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. She told the Inaugural United States Business Summit, organised by NZ INC. and Auckland Business Chamber, that “in the period ahead I expect we will be in a …

The Herald’s Project Auckland 2022 publishes today as Auckland’s city centre reaches a “turning point”. The report celebrates Auckland’s reopening for business after multiple lockdowns and constraints caused by the pandemic, and, takes a deep dive into plans to “reactivate” the city centre. The plans are impressive, and as their authors — Heart of the City and Auckland Unlimited — …

Former New Zealand Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Helen Clark back current government’s position of open and honest dialogue with China, reports Graham Skellern The seventh China Business Summit in Auckland – jointly presented by NZ INC. and Auckland Business Chamber – carried the beguiling theme of “The New China Paradigm.” In a full house of 500 delegates, it didn’t …

John Blaxland, Australian National University Talk of war has become louder in recent days, but the “drumbeat” has been heard for some time now as China’s military capabilities have grown. China does not want war, at least not yet. It’s playing the long game and its evident intentions have become more unnerving. Scholars like Brendan Taylor have identified four flash …

Jacinda Ardern’s speech at the China Business Summit was a crowd-pleaser. Geoffrey Miller explains its role in the “rebalancing” of New Zealand’s orientation to China and the West. For critics who believed she had gone soft on China, Jacinda Ardern’s line that differences between China and New Zealand were becoming “harder to reconcile” will be interpreted as tough talk. They will see …