Fran O’Sullivan has a good piece in the Weekend Herald warning John Key that he should not take his relationship with business for granted.
I spent a bit of time in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar while Minister of Education and Economic Development. A group of countries with tremendous potential for a wide variety of trade.
Some interesting parallels. Bedouin’ hongi – and camel from a hangi tested great.
On the first trip there had been a rocket attack in Riyadh a day before we were due to go in and after a discussion with full Cabinet their decision – really Helen’s decision was that Howard Fancy and I could go in but our education/business delegation stayed in Bahrain. We were expendable and it was important not to mess the Saudis around.
Another trip was a bit of a nightmare sleepwise – from memory eight nights in a bed during 15 nights away. There was a day sidetrip to England because we needed a Minister there for the 90th anniversary of ANZAC day and I was closer than NZ.
But the relationships grew walmer as we put time into it. They understood our position on Iraq and took opportunities to quietly point out the variety of reasons why they prefered NZ to Australia. And Kiwis who trade in the area know that.
There is a bit of repairing to be done. Hope the government realises that.
Of course Labour and business go hand in hand we all know that…not
Imagine the noise if PM Key had not attended the funerials
Just like the noise if National had lifted the tax on booze as is being pushed by Labour who no doubt remember Nordies “Black Budget” and the resulting fall out
“Imagine the noise if PM Key had not attended the funerials”
Imagine the silence if John Key had remained in the Middle East and allowed his senior minister, Tim Groser to return to NZ to attend his mother’s funeral. They couldn’t both return and my estimation of John Key would have risen if he had stayed with the business delegation. It would have shown that he is capable of getting his priorities right when it really matters. Instead, it’s John Key first and every-one else second.
Raymon said
Hey, are you the same poster who just took the mickey out of NZ business doing the engineering and fabrication work for the railcars in a very recent post?
You said something like NZ would get the products at over-inflated prices and maybe not even do as good a job as the Chinese or South Koreans?
Hey, it seems that YOU are a natural partner for NZ business then, Raymon. Not.
NZ must be doing something right because to enter UAE from Oman NZers are exempt from entry fee whereas Australians and others have to pay 50durams. Reflects esteem?
@ Ianmac
Could it be that esteem was built up during the nine years of the Labour government? I know Tim Groser was highly regarded as a skilled diplomat and trade negotiator during those years too.
Not trying to be clever. Just interested to know if that was the case.
What a lot of posters don’t realise is that the ME states place a huge emphasis on face to face – leader to leader – meetings to begin the negotiation processes. Without the status of the PM as the introduction to the meetings with the leaders the delegation was reduced to a mere let’s look and see what’s going on group of business tourists.
The GCC is an important trade area as well as an investment / investor region that NZ should be working closely with. Key’s leaving the delegation ignored the reality of working in the GCC.
Raymon A Francis,
The polite noise-making by Labour against the embarrassing and weak-kneed mess Key is making in and out of New Zealand is nothing compared to the screeching and baying and lying about Clark and Cullen prior to Key misleading his way into government. It was a disgusting display of a greedy and jealous rightwing party against calm, steady and intelligent government.
Groser should have been at that funeral.
Raymon, Labour proved friendlier to business in their last 9 years in Govt than National has proven friendly in forty years to “workers”. That being so, I can’t really see your point unless it is simply to bag Labour over anything and everything?
I’ve often thought that in the National backrooms they must have secretly wished Cullen was in their Caucus. Cullen, imo, single-handedly made it hard for National to oppose Labour for so long because Cullen had implemented economics that at times seemed more National than historic Labour. EG tightening spending, no lolly scrambles (that was National’s chosen path pre election, which Labour desperately tried to copy).
I agree, Key’s decision to attend a Govt workers funeral at the epxense of a colleague attending his mothers funeral was poor judgment. Can someone try and keep a tally on how many Got employed or Crown employed workers funerals are attended by Key from now on?
Being a small market at the end of a long logistical chain and with peak oil approaching, I wouldn’t be doing anything to piss off that motley crue who own almost half the world’s oil reserves…