Article 1: Can Japan forge a tripolar Asia?
Colin James for the New Zealand Herald for 1 October 2003
First of three on Japan, with a fourth for the Business Herald
Down here at the end of the world we know what it is like to be an outlier nation. We see Japan as part of Asia. But Japan acts like an outlier too.
A problem with genetic modification (GM) is that it invites us to take risks and the twentieth century gnawed away our tolerance for risk gone bad.
It doesn’t help that insurance companies insure only fully calculable risk fully covered by premiums. So they have refused GM cover.
One big GM risk involves this complex calculation: will losing “GM-free” status lose food export markets? A deeper risk is the one science constantly courts as it opens up the unknown: what might it unleash?
Guess who is the most admired businesswoman of this country. Telecom’s golden woman, Theresa Gattung? Telstra Clear’s feisty Rosemary Howard? No. It’s Helen Clark.
That is the finding of a poll by BRC Marketing and Social Research. It comes in the wake of other polls demonstrating widespread public ignorance of the crucial role of business in raising and maintaining living standards.
How come farmers are so powerful? They turn rich countries’ presidents and prime ministers to jelly. Poor countries’ leaders made jelly of the WTO trade talks on behalf of farmers.
In rich Japan, where I am just now, full-time farmers are fewer than 1 per cent of the workforce. But, working through an arcane political system, they have frozen negotiators for decades.
The government’s share of the economy may have less effect on growth than previously thought — but the expenditure and taxing mix may be holding us back.
These are among findings in a study by Dr Arthur Grimes, a former head of economics at the Reserve bank and director of the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University, now with Motu Research, a think tank, and adjunct economics professor at Waikato University.
What can business do next, now that Margaret Wilson’s Supreme Court is on its way?
Labour MP Tim Barnett has supplied one answer: make more submissions to Parliament’s justice and electoral law committee, which he chairs. The committee is moving on to a wider inquiry into the constitution.
Major changes in management of the state sector are planned by the government and it is trying to build cross-party support in advance of legislation due in Parliament in November.
The changes, which follow the “review of the centre” in 2001, will:
* give more flexibility in financial reporting and control to improve coordination between departments and more clearly link their work to government objectives;
Matt Robson’s contribution to last week’s debate on the Gambling Bill spoke volumes — but not the volumes he would have liked.
Robson wanted tighter controls than the new law imposes. He said he had hoped that working with the Greens he might have got that.
Instead, Labour’s leadership had to turn to United Future for a majority for the bill.
Want to get rid of the Queen? Have a written constitution? Entrench the Treaty of Waitangi? Or stop all such ideas in their tracks? You look to be about to get a chance to put your case.
After it reports the Supreme Court Bill back to the House, probably this week, Parliament’s justice and electoral law committee intends to inquire into the constitution.
Tony Blair said Saddam Hussein could activate MWD in 45 minutes. George Bush said Hussein had been trying to buy uranium in Africa. Helen Clark said in last year’s election campaign all relevant documents on the 2000 GM corn scare would be made public.
Blair was wrong. Bush was wrong. Clark was wrong.