It could be an American Military jet ski armed with a sling shot – NZ should still say NO!

1. The coast guard is okay? Still a branch of the US military/armed forces

   • Their coastguard is better armed than our navy!

     • I wasn’t aware USCG performed anti submarine warfare?

       RNZN already does a lot of work together in the pacific.

       We need the USAF heavy lift capabilities to build stuff especially in disaster zones.

       Because we just don’t have a credible heavy air lift of our own.

     • And probably crueler…..

   • No. It’s not. USCG has its own senator, department, funding, purchasing officer.

     The only thing the USCG has incomin with DoD is the UH-60B

     • The USCG is a branch of the United States armed forces. Normally it works under the DHS, but can be transferred to the Department of the Navy should the shit hit the fan.
       Knowing what’s going on in your waters is just as important as firepower.

       • Maybe we should have advanced the invitation to the coastguard instead of the USN. I’m sure if the chief of navel operations asked nicely the USCG admiral will lend him one of his cutters.

         I wouldn’t mind if USCG to send one of there cutters down here, it’s a good bit of kit and New Zealand could benefit from seeing what a real OPV looks like.

         NZ has a new Antartic treaty so if anything goes down in the Arctic, we have to respond. Our current OPV’s lack the range to accomplish this mission so where getting a 3rd OPV soon. So I think it will be a good photo op for our chief of navy

         • Yeah, if we want to be responsible, and set an example, we need to actually walk the walk. That means getting the capabilities to take care of our back yard. This will enable us to be less reliant on Australia and the US. It’s kind of nuts to think a first world island nation that relies on export doesn’t even have a single properly armed warship. But I guess sorting out our OPVs is a place to start.

           • I’m not that fussed about surface warfare capabilities. Our Anzacs where enough to ward of any potential threat possd by Indonesia during the Temor intervention. No navy is going to risk there billion dollar subs in a genocidal rage.

             I am in favour of a 3 frigate navy, 4 actually but I know we could never afford a fourth.

             I’d also ditch those in shore patrol vessels for another OPV, 6 OPV’s would be best so we could have one to the north and south at any given time.

             For me it’s more about hull numbers. Unless WW3 brakes out, the way the exchange rates are now a days, once we lose a capability, we’re not getting it back.

           • First world island nation? Where? There ain’t one in this neck of the woods…

2. But the Ruskies and the Chinese and the other nations who will also be there are a-ok?

3. To hell with protests Martyn. Just gimme some limpet mines and a wetsuit…

   • I didn’t know Greenpeace had a vessel in port…?

4. The Labour Government tried the same trick in 1985.

   When David Lange, just like John Key today, tried to get the USS Buchanan into our harbours.

   A report in the ‘Listener’ described how David Lange met with, (none other than our own), Nicky Hager. Nicky Hager was brought to Lange’s Beehive office, where Hager explained to Lange that the same protests that brought down the National Government of Robert Muldoon would be turned against his government.

   At the time of Hager’s warning to Lange, this was not an empty threat, Lange’s government was already vulnerable, becoming unpopular particularly with the unions, for the government’s extreme monetarist and neoliberal economic policies. It was the unions that had given steel to the anti-nuclear protests, with bans and strikes. After meeting Hager, Lange despite haven given secret assurances to US Secretary of State that the Buchanan’s visit would not be opposed, reluctantly had to phone the Whitehouse and tell them to turn their ship around, (The Buchanan had at this stage left its base in Hawaii and was already over half way here). Lange told the Listener that the antinuclear movement was his most feared lobby group.

   The Labour Party today makes a big play of being the party that made New Zealand nuclear free, and on many levels this is true, particularly at the grass roots where the LECs had become clearing houses for the antinuclear protest movement.

   Rod Donald probably the most effective Leftist lobbyist in New Zealand history, (later famous for his lobbying of the Bolger administration that saw this country achieve MMP). Donald, previously of the Values Party, had left Values to join the then opposition Labour Party. It was activists like Donald inside the Labour Party that got Richard Prebble (later of ACT) to put up his infamous private members bill calling for New Zealand to become Nuclear Free.

   The huge protests and strikes plus the work of activists like Donald who lobbied National MPs Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue to cross the floor robbed the Government of their majority, and Prebble’s bill was set to pass, which would have effectively made New Zealand Nuclear Free in 1984.

   To prevent the bill being voted on, Prime Minister Muldoon with the support of his cabinet called a snap election, the cabinet and Muldoon knew that National had little hope of winning the snap election, the snap election has one purpose to stop the antinuclear legislation. However their unspoken hope, was that a Labour government would be better at blunting the anti nuclear movement.

   Unfortunately things didn’t go quite to plan.

   On achieving power, just as expected, the parliamentary Labour Party under threats and pressure from the US, the Civil Service linke to our own deep state, (whose secret links with the US NSA have only just recently been uncovered), became very reluctant to pass the promised legislation. Instead the plan was hatched to bring in the Buchanan.
   Unfortunately (or fortunately), the protest movement was far too strong at that time for them to get away with it. But the Lange government did achieve what Muldoon could not. Muldoon had not been able to put off the legislation for one day.

   The Labour administration were able to put off enacting the anti nuclear legislation for three years.

   It was not until just one month out from the 1987 election, that the increasingly unpopular Labour Government facing revolt from their grass roots and the unions, for what had become known as “Rogernomics” finally agreed to pass the promised legislation.

   As a result the 1987 election became a landslide for Labour, their Left and working class base, despite being under vicious attack stayed loyal, and previous National voters pleased with the new neoliberal direction of the government also voted Labour.

   This swing was so profound that Labour almost won the most conservative seat in the country, Remuera. (Now Epsom), Only losing Remuera to the National Party candidate by 9 votes.

   The question is, Can we do it again?

   The victory against nuclear ships had many elements.

   Times have changed, a large part of the electorate burnt by Rogernomics no longer take part in the political process. As well as this; following the passing of the Antinuclear legislation the Labour government passed legislation making all political strikes illegal, this law was later incorporated and strengthened in the National Government’s Employment Contracts Act. The ECA also had the effect of decimating the union movement, removing one of the key elements of the successful antinuclear movement.

   Could we do it again?

   Would the unions be prepared to take illegal strike action?

   Could any National MPs be lobbied to cross the floor?

   Could the Labour Party LECs again become clearing houses and organising centres for protest action?

   • Let’s see how the Green vote polls around this issue.

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