{"id":41696,"date":"2018-08-29T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T04:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=41696"},"modified":"2018-08-29T11:43:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T01:43:52","slug":"australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

If Australia weren\u2019t so important to New Zealand, New Zealanders could relish the farce masquerading as politics in Canberra.<\/p>\n

Australians used to denigrate New Zealand\u2019s post-1993 proportional voting system. But Helen Clark got nine years in office, John (now Sir John) Key had eight years before handing over to Bill (now Sir William) English for a ninth year, and Jacinda Ardern is solidly supported in her party and by her two coalition partners, with a credible prospect of six years or more.<\/p>\n

Now, some joke, to understand Canberra\u2019s whirling turnstile of prime ministers, we must remember that Australia grows bananas\u2014abundantly.<\/p>\n

In the early 1980s, Australian deputy prime minister Doug Anthony worried that New Zealand\u2019s dicky economy might make it an unstable neighbour\u2014hence, he told me, the need for the closer economic relationship free trade agreement (CER).<\/p>\n

Turn that around. Is Australia now stable enough to be a reliable partner in the region and build CER into a genuine single economic market?<\/p>\n

Ardern talked<\/a> on Friday of \u2018close ties in all areas of our relationship, including on trade, economic, defence and security matters\u2019. \u2018[W]e cooperate closely in our region and on the international stage.\u2019<\/p>\n

She said she was \u2018looking forward to working with [Prime Minister Scott] Morrison to advance that\u2019.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Winston Peters noted<\/a>\u00a0that Morrison was involved in New Zealand tourism administration when the \u2018high-profile\u2019 \u2018100% Pure New Zealand\u2019 campaign slogan<\/a> was coined.<\/p>\n

Morrison headed the NZ Office of Tourism and Sport from 1998 to 2000. The Audit Office criticised<\/a> a report of his to Tourism Minister Murray McCully on the separate Tourism Board. McCully resigned after the Audit Office criticised his dealings with the board.<\/p>\n

Peters depicted Morrison as \u2018familiar with the New Zealand political psyche, the composition of New Zealand, how [we] think and work\u2019.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t mention Morrison\u2019s hard line as immigration minister foreshadowing Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton\u2019s detention and deportation of convicted prisoners born in New Zealand, some of whom had lived in Australia since they were children and were criminalised there.<\/p>\n

Add the inhumane treatment of refugees on Manus Island and Nauru and refusal to take up New Zealand\u2019s offer to resettle some of them.<\/p>\n

The Morrison\u2013Dutton party could be called the Illiberals. In July, Justice Minister Andrew Little called Dutton\u2019s policy \u2018venal\u2019<\/a> and didn\u2019t retract the comment when Dutton hit back. Earlier that month, Peters\u2014as acting prime minister while Ardern was on maternity leave\u2014said Australia had breached<\/a> the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in detaining a 17-year-old New Zealander.<\/p>\n

Still, Ardern on Friday gave Malcolm Turnbull credit for the \u2018Pathway to Citizenship, which has allowed many New Zealanders to regularise their status in Australia\u2019\u2014around 600,000 people born in New Zealand live in Australia\u2014and thus claim some services they have paid taxes towards but are denied while not citizens.<\/p>\n

And the turmoil does not\u2014at least not yet\u2014undermine cooperation in security and development in the South Pacific. New Zealand has begun a \u2018reset\u2019 of its engagement with the island nations, recognising its growing Pacific ethnic minority, the important marine food and other resources in the sparsely populated region, and China\u2019s growing presence, including with large loans.<\/p>\n

New Zealand also values the positive aspects of Australia\u2019s engagement in East Asia, including the expected announcement of a free trade deal with Indonesia.<\/p>\n

But there are differences. One is between New Zealand\u2019s \u2018independent foreign policy\u2019 and Australia\u2019s tight US military alliance and more assertive stance on China\u2019s activities in East and Southeast Asia and influence in Australia\u2019s universities and its politics.<\/p>\n

Another difference is on climate change. Morrison is a coal champion. Ardern backs the Paris accord.<\/p>\n

And New Zealand businesses find progress frustratingly slow on removing obstacles to the single economic market. Australia is the biggest foreign market for manufactures and a stepping stone to bigger markets.<\/p>\n

Insiders say Australia moves on a matter needing joint action such as CER only when it\u2019s high on Canberra\u2019s domestic action list.<\/p>\n

And why not? Australia is the bigger sibling in this unequal \u2018close relationship\u2019. Bigger siblings are often dismissive\u2014sometimes with justification, as over New Zealand\u2019s paltry defence contribution (now being edged upward).<\/p>\n

This dismissal is usually veiled behind platitudes. But sometimes the veil slips. Julie Bishop declared during New Zealand\u2019s 2017 election campaign that she couldn\u2019t work with a Labour government. Interference in another country\u2019s election offends diplomatic propriety\u2014Bishop was foreign minister. Turnbull didn\u2019t correct her.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s life. More worrying to Wellington is instability in Canberra, because stable politics there are critical to a stable relationship, and even a switch to Labor wouldn\u2019t assure that, given its travails and Bill Shorten\u2019s unfamiliarity with the Tasman sibling.<\/p>\n

For now, to New Zealanders Canberra truth looks stranger than fiction\u2014as Politik<\/em> editor Richard Harman\u00a0unintentionally encapsulated<\/a> in a typo calling the deeply factionalised Liberals \u2018fictionalised\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Australia weren\u2019t so important to New Zealand, New Zealanders could relish the farce masquerading as politics in Canberra. Australians used to denigrate New Zealand\u2019s post-1993 proportional voting system. But Helen Clark got nine years …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":41698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[106,2053,73,376],"class_list":["post-41696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-democracy","tag-jacinda-ardern","tag-new-zealand","tag-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If Australia weren\u2019t so important to New Zealand, New Zealanders could relish the farce masquerading as politics in Canberra. Australians used to denigrate New Zealand\u2019s post-1993 proportional voting system. But Helen Clark got nine years ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-29T04:30:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-29T01:43:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"646\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"430\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Colin James\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Colin James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg\",\"width\":646,\"height\":430},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/\",\"name\":\"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-29T04:30:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-29T01:43:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/d57e876422d0caaeb10ea9f87657f51f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/d57e876422d0caaeb10ea9f87657f51f\",\"name\":\"Colin James\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2092c8fa08e0bd3f9bf4d18799683176?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2092c8fa08e0bd3f9bf4d18799683176?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Colin James\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/colin-james\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist","og_description":"If Australia weren\u2019t so important to New Zealand, New Zealanders could relish the farce masquerading as politics in Canberra. Australians used to denigrate New Zealand\u2019s post-1993 proportional voting system. But Helen Clark got nine years ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2018-08-29T04:30:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-29T01:43:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":646,"height":430,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Colin James","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Colin James","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2808petersbishop.jpg","width":646,"height":430},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/","name":"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-08-29T04:30:14+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-29T01:43:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/d57e876422d0caaeb10ea9f87657f51f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australian-bananas-the-view-from-new-zealand\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Australian bananas: the view from New Zealand"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/d57e876422d0caaeb10ea9f87657f51f","name":"Colin James","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2092c8fa08e0bd3f9bf4d18799683176?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2092c8fa08e0bd3f9bf4d18799683176?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Colin James"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/colin-james\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41696"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41724,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696\/revisions\/41724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}