Eighteen months ago John Howard was much eulogised on his tenth anniversary as Australian Prime Minister. Now many of those eulogisers are polishing his political epitaph.
There is, quite apart from opinion polls, a discernible shift in public attitudes and an alternative, Labor’s Kevin Rudd, who seems to measure up.
Little noticed in Helen Clark’s reshuffle was her promotion of Pete Hodgson — to the post of minister of innovation in all but in name.
Mind you, she didn’t actually draw attention to it until her keynote speech on Saturday at the Labour party’s conference when she said he was “in effect” minister of innovation.
Left columnist Chris Trotter was invited to lead a “new thinking” workshop on “the media” at the Labour party conference starting on Friday. Had he not pulled out, this would have complemented his paper in January at the party’s summer school for new thinking, where he led a chorus of the socialist marching hymn, the “Red Flag”.
The National party’s interest in New Zealand First’s conference this weekend will be in the prospect for rubbing along in Parliament after 2008. But a much bigger support challenge looms for National elsewhere.
It has long been taken as read in senior National circles that if National needs the numbers after the next election and New Zealand First survives the election, Winston Peters will stay on as Foreign Minister.
Last week two energy strategies, next week a White Paper titled “Our future with Asia”. What do these have in common? And is there a place for Europe?
One clue comes from Australia, now heading into a crunch election.
A new study by the Australian Strategic Studies Institute (ASPI) states that we are in “the third energy shock of the post-war [post-1945] era”. This differs from those of 1973 and 1979 in being driven by rapidly rising demand, not constraints by suppliers.
Colin James book review for NZ Herald Perspectives page for 12 October 2007
Brian Easton, Globalisation and the Wealth of Nations, Auckland University Press, 234pp, $49.99
We are all global now, aren’t we? Well, actually, no. We’re still, the great majority of us, solidly local. For most, “globalisation” is what other people do.
Wrench the dazed gaze off black Cardiff Arms and flick to the town hall. It’s local elections time.
If you take local politics seriously or have a particular gripe or just a sense of civic opportunity or duty, you have probably already voted. If not, you probably won’t and you will be in the majority nationwide.
Do you think humanity will do anything serious about climate change? Does humanity think it much matters whether it does or doesn’t?
Note: “humanity”, not “New Zealanders”. We here can have only the tiniest effect. Anything we do can be relevant only in solidarity with what those in far more populous countries do.
Tomorrow is Dominion Day. What’s that? The centenary of the day New Zealand was declared a dominion. Ummm.
Dominion Day is one of the dates lighted on by people hunting for a national day which doesn’t remind as much of division as of unity, as does Waitangi Day, and doesn’t commemorate military defeat, as does Anzac Day.
This week, two months late and nearly eight years after a self-proclaimed climate-friendly government came to power, comes the greenhouse gas trading scheme announcement: some firm decisions, some preferred options and some choices yet to be made.
The government’s explanation for taking eight years is that there was not a parliamentary majority. But that mistakes the true nature of majorities.