Is it just me or are there other people out there wondering just what it was that Judith Collins did wrong?
Alright, if the cabinet manual says that cabinet ministers shouldn’t be seen promoting business then the cabinet manual is in ass, particularly if the manual doesn’t allow ministers to promote New Zealand-made goods in another country.
What sort of madness is this?
Even better, the Minister of Justice had dinner with a man from customs; hopefully she was able to talk to him about ensuring a smooth ride for New Zealand merchandise past the petulant Chinese border officials.
Oravida is a New Zealand-owned company that exports New Zealand meat, wines, seafood, fruit and dairy products to China. And Judith tried their milk – actually our milk – and praised it.
What was she supposed to do, pull a face and spit it out?
Mrs Collins spouse is a director of the company.
Give her a medal for a great choice of husband.
But not in “tall poppy syndrome” New Zealand.
We’ve always been taught the path to New Zealand’s prosperity is to make commodities we can export. Surely then a major role of all politicians and ministers in particular is to encourage exporters. And anyway isn’t wining and dining with international business executives what Trade Minister Tim Groser does on a regular basis?
That’s what annoys me about the nutty Greens. Their whole role in life it seems is to stifle economic growth hence their opposition to dairying, mining and oil exploration. A host of countries have lifted their living standards dramatically on finding oil and natural gas within their borders and their economic zones; think Great Britain and North Sea oil and the energy stranglehold Russia now has over Europe.
The Greens want multi-million dollar cycle-ways, extended maternity leave and a liveable wage, but offer no way to pay for these except the extra tax revenue from legalising cannabis.
And the Prime Minister was reported as being angry with his Justice Minister; if he really was, then he’s as silly as the Greens. Herr Clark smoothed the way for the free trade agreement with China and the Key government and all of us are reaping the benefit of this, thanks in part to Mrs Collins and her entrepreneurial husband.
Anyway I’m beginning to think the PM is losing the plot. Do we really need a costly referendum to decide if we want a new flag when surveys have clearly shown that the vast majority of us are perfectly happy with the one we’ve got?
We don’t need a new flag, but we could certainly do with a new national anthem.
The words of the current anthem defy rational explanation. They were written for another era and I suspect the lyricist will have even confused his own generation.
Never mind, I have come to the rescue and have the answer.
The government needs to buy the exclusive rights and ownership of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s classic hit The Southern Cross. This will be expensive; about half the cost of the nonsensical and totally unnecessary referendum.
The music is hauntingly beautiful, but the words will need to be altered to suit a national song. You would certainly leave in the heart-stirring line: “When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you understand now why you came this way.” You could even contemplate using the ensuing lines: “Because the truth you may be running from is so small, but it’s big as the promise, the promise of a coming day.”
I’m happy to re-write the rest of the lyrics, but there are undoubtedly greater pens than mine.
We keep the current flag; the anthem and the flag will become a matching pair.
At international sporting events other country’s athletes will hold back from winning just so they can experience the thrill of hearing the New Zealand national anthem!
By now the Prime Minister will be ecstatic, unless of course it’s not allowed in the cabinet manual.
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