4:12PM Monday 21 May 2012
NZ POLITICS DAILY: Clear left-right divide over Crafar sale
A very clear left-right divide has opened up in New Zealand politics over the issue of foreign investment, specifically over the sale of the Crafar farms. The political left has been pushing an economic nationalist line against the right’s globalised internationalism. This debate has evolved into a question of whether it is xenophobic or even racist to oppose foreign investment, especially the purchase of land.
On the right, Fran O'Sullivan (Key hits stride with Crafar farms decision) applauds the sale and hopes it points to John Key being prepared to ignore ‘the nervous nellies in his own caucus’ during its second term. The Government and its supporters accuse opponents of racism, especially Labour, who approved hundreds of thousands of hectares in foreign land sales and has only really raised concerns about farm sales now that Asian investors are involved – see: TVNZ’s Crafar outcry 'borders on racism' – Minister and Audrey Young’s Labour opposes Crafar sale to Chinese.
On what might be seen as the 'broad left', those opposing foreign investment include the Labour Party, the Greens, and even government coalition partner the Maori Party. Things are getting heated, with the Labour Party calling the sale ‘unpatriotic’, and the Standard attacking Fran O'Sullivan's triumphalism about the decision in a rather vicious blog post entitled Treachery.
Economic nationalism often doesn't fit neatly into the left-right divide. The xenophobia it normally attracts is at odds with the left's internationalist traditions, while on the right traditional rural capital is usually on the defensive against larger multi-national corporates.
There is no doubt that public sentiment is running strongly against the sale to Shanghai Pengxin, and the Government is feeling the heat. This morning John Key raised the possibility of tightening restrictions on land sales – see: Change to foreign ownership law possible, says PM. Key's instincts will be to make further placating noises like this but, as with his ’tenants is our own land’ comment, he may be setting a trap for himself down the line. Debates about foreign investment and xenophobia will continue to structure politics in this country for some time yet. In this regard, it’s worth reading Phoebe Fletcher’s blog post, Crafar farms: racism or economic nationalism?.
TVNZ's Tim Watkins – not exactly a raving rightwinger – reflects the left-right tension over foreign investment in a very good blog post which tends towards favouring the foreign investment, with some misgivings – see: Crafar Farms deal ticks the boxes – but where does it end?. Bernard Hickey (False comfort from chief borrowing addict) thinks it will end one of two ways. He says John Key is an ‘enabler’ who encourages us to use debt and asset sales to continue our deficit and, in doing so, makes the problem worse. He reckons that either New Zealand will eventually have an ‘intervention’, or else it will have nothing left to sell and no-one willing to lend to it.
With Aotea Square finally ‘un-occupied’ many are taking the opportunity to review the impact of the local movement. There seems to be a consensus that the movement's aims were not focused enough, there was not enough effort to reach out to sympathetic groups and movements, and that there was great political naiveté in thinking camping in central city parks would actually achieve anything on it's own. There are thoughtful reviews on the movement's potential and failings in Chris Trotter’s To: Occupy Auckland. From: A Vacillating Leftist, Sean Plunket’s Memo to protesters - occupy a Crafar farm, Tahu Potiki’s Remind me, what are they protesting about?, and Brian Edwards’ The Occupy Protests – Cause or Opportunity?. I’ve also written similarly about the experience in Dunedin – see: Eulogy for Dunedin’s Octagon Occupation. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but many of the challenges were pointed out in the first few days of the occupations when there was still widespread public sympathy.
In other articles of interest, John McCone has written has a very good background piece (Bringing down powers that be) on the Christchurch protest being organised for Wednesday, again highlighting how opposition to the council leadership is crossing traditional political lines. Far from explaining the need for the $68,000 increase, the release of CEO's Tony Marryatt's actual performance review may only increase the protest turnout – see: Marryatt's ratings fell but salary kept rising. Also, Rod Oram has a very good summary of Christchurch's economic challenges a year after the biggest quake – see: Anger in a city dispossessed. He highlights the failure of the insurance market as a major hurdle and calls for the government to take direct action to fill the gap left by the market. Finally, Tracy Watkins has provided a good analysis of issues and strategy for the Government in her column, The 2012 political circus is up and running.
Today’s content:
Foreign land sales
Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): Key hits stride with Crafar farms decision
Tim Watkin (Pundit): Crafar Farms deal ticks the boxes – but where does it end?
Audrey Young (Herald): Labour opposes Crafar sale to Chinese
Bernard Hickey: False comfort from chief borrowing addict
Danya Levy (Stuff): Change to foreign ownership law possible, says PM
Dion Tuuta (Taranaki Daily News): Land sales make Maori estate valuable
The Standard: Treachery
No Right Turn: Selling out New Zealand
Phoebe Fletcher (Tumeke): Crafar farms: racism or economic nationalism?
Danyl Mclaughlan (Dim-Post): I know it’s rude to point this out . . .
Anthony Hubbard (SST): Keep foreign hands off our land [Not currently online]
John Hartevelt (Stuff): Crafar buyer eyes more Kiwi land
John Tamihere (Sunday News): Leasehold is the way to go [Not currently online]
John Hartevelt (SST): Chinese whispers add to conspiracy theories [Not currently online]
Duncan Bridgeman (NBR): Crafar bidder's alleged Chinese underworld links probed [paywalled]
Newswire: Big farm sale expected in New Zealand
Occupy movement
Chris Trotter: To: Occupy Auckland. From: A Vacillating Leftist.
Sean Plunket (Dom Post): Memo to protesters - occupy a Crafar farm
Tahu Potiki (Press): Remind me, what are they protesting about?
Brian Edwards: The Occupy Protests – Cause or Opportunity?
Ian Anderson and Joel Cosgrove (The Spark): Occupying an impasse: learning from mistakes?
Gemma (Writical): Why Occupy Auckland failed
Bryce Edwards (liberation): Eulogy for Dunedin’s Octagon Occupation
Australia-New Zealand relations
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): NZ, Australia look to tighten economic ties
Tracy Watkins (Dom Post): Reprieve for Kiwis in limbo in Australia
Samantha Hayes (TV3): Tighter criminal checks and closer defence ties with Australia
Grey Ansley (Herald): PM admits changes at airports possible
Commencement of political year
Audrey Young (Herald): Key starts political year in defensive mode
Tracy Watkins (Dom Post): The 2012 political circus is up and running
Matthew Hooton (NBR): Labour ponders attack on PC welfare [paywalled]
Gordon Campbell (Wellingtonian): Steven Joyce – National’s Mr Fixit [Not currently online]
Rawiri Taonui (SST): Potential is for conflict or convergence [Not currently online]
Christchurch and local government CEO pay
Sam Sachdeva (Press): Marryatt's ratings fell but salary kept rising
Rod Oram (SST): Anger in a city dispossessed
John McCone (Press): Bringing down powers that be
Martin van Beynen (Press): Assisting the council for a free lunch
Dave Armstrong (Dom Post): Councils' golden pharaohs work for public bad
Christchurch rebuild
Ben Heather (Press): Low risk homes to get repairs first
Danya Levy (Stuff): Quake home owners in the dark on demolition
Alan Wood (Stuff): Rebuild momentum hit by recent quakes
Media and politics
Sunday Star Times: Editorial – Key needs to learn lesson from Canute [Not currently online]
Sunday Star Times: TV meddling turns off the voting public [Not currently online]
Phoebe Fletcher (Tumeke): NZ On Air censorship must be addressed
Treaty politics
Other
Herald on Sunday: Editorial - The disquieting Dotcom case
Natasha Burling (Herald): Taxpayers likely to foot bill for Kim Dotcom's extradition
Bruce Wills (SST): Milk regulation plans unlikely to fix price problem [Not currently online]
James Murray (TV3): New year, new Labour leader – what does the future hold for David Shearer?
Potaua Biasiny-Tule (tangatawhenua): Rebuilding Maori Democracy
Matt McCarten (Herald): The political pilgrimage our leaders fear to miss
Amelia Romanos (Herald): Lockwood Smith - inside the landlord's retreat
Darien Fenton (Red Alert): Paying attention
Neil Reid (Stuff): Fast-tracked oil consents bypass mayor, public
Susan Edmunds (Herald): Food, glorious food - but what a price
Michael Field (SST): Ship will sail for some fishers [Not currently online]
Michael Field (SST): Charter fishing from the inside [Not currently online]
Deborah Coddington (Herald): The market's to blame for obesity? Fat chance
Comments and questions
This is not a left-right issue. Laws have to be applied consistently. If existing New Zealand laws allowed foreign investments by, say, Britain, United States, Australia; then the same rules must apply to China. It is clear that this would be an ordinary transaction had the purchasing party been a more "traditional" country, but this is merely a mask for racism. Prime Minister John Key is right: you cannot have one set of rules for certain countries, another set of rules for another.
Agree with the above comment, however - instead of selling the land - could a continuous, 1000 year, on-going lease not have been a better option?
Terms of the lease - environmental standards exceeded, regular, on-goin lease payments to the government, animal welfare standards etc, etc.
we could have sold it to Fay hahahaaaa like the BNZ and NZ Rail then he could have sold it on for a profit a few years later.
Africa for the Africans,Asia for the Asians,white countries for EVERYBODY!
Everybody says there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY into white countries.
The Netherlands and Belgium are just as crowded as Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote assimilating unquote with them.
Everybody says the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY white countries to “assimilate,” i.e., intermarry, with all those non-whites.
What if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?
How long would it take anyone to realize I’m not talking about a RACE problem. I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?
And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn’t object to this?
But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.
They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-white.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white.
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