Excellent reporting by Charlie Mitchell on Chinese Water Bottling issue.
A long read but well worth it.
The fact that over several years New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) – the government agency responsible for economic development- encouraged China’s largest Water Bottling company to come to our country and plunder one of our most vital resources is testimony to how entrenched neoliberalism is in government departments.
No regard for Maori rights under the Treaty.
No regard for the environment either at home (the affect on the health of local rivers) or abroad (the millions of plastic bottles created and distributed across our planet)
Instead we have official promotion of consumption and to hell with the pollution and the environmental impact.
Just appalling
Good on everyone fighting the proposed giant plants in Whakatane and Belfast in Christchurch,
Kia kaha
Bryan Bruce is one of NZs most respected documentary makers and public intellectuals who has tirelessly exposed NZs neoliberal economic settings as the main cause for social issues.
I’m not sure it’s just neoliberalism that’s entrenched, this seems corrupt and treasonous.
Name some names of those who pushed for this, let’s see who these people are and what their ties to China are.
Indeed… esp their business ties to china.
THAT would be enlightening.
If NZ is truly at the mercy of countries who (if not plunder) exploit its natural resources, when for whatever reason the NZ public is not receiving them, I for one would love to see an accounting of NZers who are benefiting from such enterprises. Is collusion too strong a word?
Amen to this post.
Why is the NZ government and government advisors so keen to give away NZ strategic resources?
Why are they blind to the dangers of one sided trade deals that do not allow flexibility in the age of climate change and massive power divide, such as if China buys or influences the top 10 companies in NZ it makes a much bigger difference than if NZ buys or influences (but in real terms NZ business can’t anyway) the top 10 Chinese companies.
In short NZ will always be David to Golliath for most trade deals because we are too small to count or have any real influence.
Likewise if 5 million Chinese come to NZ and get voting rights within a few years of living here, it makes a much larger difference to our culture aka than if 5 million Kiwis go to China, (and Kiwi’s can’t buy land in China, and no voting rights, which seems like an uneven trade deal?
Clearly our neoliberal NZTE types are not very good at working trade deals to be fair on the NZ business and people!
Whenever NZ business does business with China and most other nations they seem to lose out from their forays into overseas partnerships. From Fonterra, Air NZ, Silver Fern farms…this then lowers NZ share or companies price going forward and puts pressure on shareholders and owners, and puts the company in more in debt, ready to be sold on, cheap.
…. kinda like another ponzi…
We must be pretty thick to give away our water for a few bucks.
Overseas corporates must be laughing all the way to the bank at the naivete of NZ hicks!
Not only ‘Overseas corporates’ , – but also treacherous domestic Nz’ers as well.
Our parliament and those who donate to those political party’s are full of them.
And that’s only the Green party for starters…
China will go to any country and take all the best from them only for their own economic interest and not for anyone’s elses so be warned I have seen China do this in Canada and Africawhen I was working in both counties.
We must now close down the rorting China is doing in our country as this is another damaging loss of our own resorces that we can not loose.
Well said Bryan we agree.
“The fact that over several years New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) – the government agency responsible for economic development- encouraged China’s largest Water Bottling company to come to our country and plunder one of our most vital resources is testimony to how entrenched neoliberalism is in government departments.
No regard for Maori rights under the Treaty.
No regard for the environment either at home (the affect on the health of local rivers) or abroad (the millions of plastic bottles created and distributed across our planet)”
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