New Zealand in AUKUS? The political Kiwi conundrum over Pillar 2 membership
WELLINGTON — When Kurt Campbell, the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific “Czar” visited the Kiwi capital in March, one of his main missions was to feel out New Zealand’s leadership on the idea of their participation in Pillar 2 of the AUKUS military technology agreement.
At the time, New Zealand Minister of Defence Andrew Little stated that the government is “willing to explore” joining the agreement, currently based around Australia, the UK and US — sending eyebrows up in those capitals. Those eyebrows went up further when New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins followed a mid-April meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by saying, “New Zealand agrees with the AUKUS partners that the collective objective needs to be the delivery of peace and stability and preservation of an international rules-based system in our region.”
I spy with my 5 Eyes, something beginning with War.
Make no mistake, this new defence position is lining us up with America for their war on China.
Pretending otherwise is delusion.
Yes China is a threat, but signing up for another fucking war with America is not the solution!
We have to consider neutrality and independence over war and conflict, but if we go down that road we need to acknowledge that it will cost more!
To ignore the real need for us to invest far larger amounts into the Defence force and to build a bigger Air, Land and Sea service as a response to the crisis emergency is as unacceptable as climate denial is.
The current political spectrum in New Zealand can not radically adapt fast enough to adopt the changes we must make if we are to survive the climate crisis and geopolitical conflict…
-
- Move away from intensive farming and look to become domestically self sustainable in terms of food.
- Immediately ban all water exports
- 5 year Parliamentary term.
- Upper and Lower House (Upper House 50-50 split between Māori & Pakeha that can hold up legislation if unhappy about Treaty issues)
- Massive investment into R&D from Government with the understanding research is to benefit NZ first before sold offshore.
- Large scale increase in Navy, Army & Airforce troops 3% GDP.
- Mass limiting of tourism numbers with increased tourist taxes.
- Only citizens can vote.
- Sustainable immigration and an end to exploitative migrant workers.
- Resettlement Programms for all pacific island neighbours.
- Increase refugee in take to 10000 per year
- Fully funded public services.
- Mass Green housing rebuild.
- 100% renewable energy for entire country.
- Massive native tree planting across previous farming land.
- Wholesale re-write of state services act to end commercial values.
- Investment into basic pharmaceutical production.
- Financial transaction tax
- Wealth tax
- Multinational tax
- Inheritance tax
…as the climate crisis unfolds more and more people in fury will turn against the current political system too wedded to the economic profits margins of the polluters. It is just a matter of time before the NZ electorate rejects the limitations of the current political spectrum.
Only the Māori Party is offering neutrality as our foreign policy – friend to all, enemy to none should be our position but understand that will cost us more.
The climate crisis will demand we have the military engineering capacity to rebuild from extreme weather events; have the military power to project across the Pacific in response to climate crisis civil disruption or extreme weather events; protection of fishing stock.
Independent Neutrality means increasing our GDP spend on the military and we need to invest heavily in drones, special forces, deployable troops and a far larger Navy.
We do not want to be dragged into another pointless American war, but we do not want to be economically subservient to China either.
Independent Neutrality with our own Military is the only way forward with a fierce diplomatic push for peace.
We can not be independently diplomatic if we are in the thrall of the US Military Industrial Complex.
We need to be less reliant on them and more self reliant on us if we want to have an independent voice and that requires a large upgrade of our entire military including our own Drone force.
It’s either get sucked into another pointless American war or becoming economically enslaved to Beijing on a burning planet.
We should show the courage of our forebears and stand up for us.
A defensive military pose that protects our realm or getting sucked into another stupid war.
Choose.
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There is no way that either of the major parties would break away from the U.S., or even be allowed to try.
There would have to be hundreds of thousands of protesters outside the Parliament every day, being shot at with rubber bullets. They would have to contend with endless smears from the press barons that they are all “Russians”, “racists”, “antisemites”, “fascists”, “far-right terrorists” and “C.C.P. stooges”. There would be a Grand Coalition to “save our democracy” from these dangerous “insurrectionists”, who must all be sent to prison for sedition.
But what if the protesters started winning? Millions of dollars from the N.E.D., Freedom House and the O.S.F. would suddenly pour into the country. Obscure Non Government Organisations would suddenly bring convoys of road coaches to the Parliament, full of curiously pro-war, pro-N.A.T.O. zealots. These “moderate rebels” would launch a Color Revolution: declaring on C.N.N. that “Chippy must go”, before “restoring democracy” — by banning the opposition, asking Victoria Nuland who the new Prime Minister will be, and perhaps allowing a shiny new U.S. submarine base to be built.
KR, we cannot feasibly challenge the Empire and hope to win. But we can obstruct and non comply. Our most sensible option is to prepare for the Empire to fail. To not do so will be fatal in a changed world.
You can’t have economic prosperity with no economic security
Economic security means you produce something somebody wants, and that you have trusted trade partner. Currently China fits that profile far more than the US. It is very informative to check out how the USA just broke Germany economic security through detaching the Germans from cheap Russian energy and resources, and from closer ties to the Chinese market.
There is an established playbook in how to deal with these ‘people’.
Paid agents of foreign powers like Anne-Marie Brady need to be tracked by government and civil society organizations, identified as such wherever they go, and prosecuted for their lobbying efforts. When the traitor organizations escalate to violence, the government and neighbourhood defence committees need to crack down on them. Simple stuff, really.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Great advice if you are the Roman Empire, not so clever if you are their adversary.
It applies equally to every nation.
I do wish that Helen Clark would butt out; she’s had her time, and wasn’t averse to a bit of silence back then.
Exactly Snow White. Clark can butt out of it. She and her hubby can butt out of saying what Eden Park can do and not do after 10pm as well.
Both north island air Force bases need to be restored / upgraded to there former glory.
Devonport naval Base needs a more strategic location.
& Partcipant s from acts boot camps can have the option of being drafted straight into t army.
“It is just a matter of time before the NZ electorate rejects the limitations of the current political spectrum”.
A matter of time? What’s the time line again?
KR, we cannot feasibly challenge the Empire and hope to win. But we can obstruct and non comply. Our most sensible option is to prepare for the Empire to fail. To not do so will be fatal in a changed world.
I just wish we could have our cake and eat it too. Neutrality is probably but Aukus 2 probably also is. 100% we need to get serious about our defensive capabilities.
I just wish we could have our cake and eat it too. Neutrality is probably not a great idea but Aukus 2 probably isnt also. 100% we need to get serious about our defensive capabilities.
How come two policies I’d quite happily support, neutrality and state funded universal dental care come from the two political outfits who have spent the last 2 and 3 quarter years doing SFA but winding people like me up?
100%
Martyn you failed to mention the bomb they dropped on Japan and saving the lives of many allied forces .
If the results of the election results in thw dreaded 3 why mess of Labour Greens and TPM our alliences will be in doubt as they could not be trusted with sensitive information.
And has anyone done any calculations what the effects of WW3 will have on climate change?
Unlike our nuclear free policy which David Lange said was not for export. To properly succeed New Zealand neutrality policy would have to be for export.
The thing about taking a neutral stance. If we achieved it. Australians and other Pacific people’s would demand it too. And the whole interlocking preparations for war would begin to weaken and even possibly unravel.
Elites want war, people don’t. What is true for us is true for China. I don’t believe the Chinese dictatorship is as strong and monolithic as it appears. You only need to look at the collapse of the seemingly monolithic and imposing Soviet Union, to know that the collapse of such a regime is a very real possibility. In our interconnected globe, only a racist would believe that an anti war movement in the West wouldn’t spread to China as well.
For a start, I don’t think a fratricidal war against Taiwan would be tolerated by the Chinese people.
Pat, I usually agree with what you say but you are missing part of the equation here.
China has real concerns about food suppiy in a changing climate and more than most countries China is looking at more flooding and desertification. I’ll bullet point so it doesnt get too lengthy.
1. China alone researches and plans 50 years ahead
2. China’s ability to produce food will continue to decline for years to come
3. China currently imports about 35% of its food
4. in 2022, China’s Headline Policy was Food Security
5. China’s population is declining and it is likely their economic might will be affected to an extent and therefore its revenue
6. Food shortages (not too extreme) will become the norm globally and food prices will continue to rise as climate change upends global agriculture
7. Taiwan is an exporter of food, all talks of nationalism are untrue and hide the more stark reality, one China figured out probably 20 or more years ago
8. Chinese people have been watching Koreans starve for years
9. What other countries in Australiasia produce food but dont have a large local population?
10. Is China expansionist, not particularly but they will not risk their system and people if push comes to shove
“Only the Māori Party is offering neutrality as our foreign policy” MARTYN BRADBURY
Te Pāti Māori, are in good company.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/first-world-war/conscientious-objection/maori-objection
….Kīngitanga leader Te Puea Hērangi maintained that her grandfather, King Tāwhiao, had forbidden Waikato from taking up arms again when he made peace with the Crown in 1881. She was determined to uphold his call to Waikato to ‘lie down’ and ‘not allow blood to flow from this time on’. Te Puea maintained that Waikato had ‘its own King’ and had no need to ‘fight for the British King’…..
….. In 1916 two Māori had been shot and killed by police attempting to arrest the Tūhoe leader Rua Kēnana at Maungapōhatu, in part because of his active discouragement of Māori recruitment….
…..A crowd greeted police when they arrived at Te Paina on 11 June 1918. After being escorted into the meeting house, they read out the names of those who were to be arrested. Nobody moved and Te Puea made it clear that she would not co-operate. The police waded into the crowd and began arresting men they believed to be on their list….
……The prisoners were taken to the army training camp at Narrow Neck, Auckland. Those who refused to wear uniform were subjected, like other objectors, to severe military punishments, including being fed only bread and water and being supplied with minimal bedding. When this failed to break their resistance, some were sentenced to two years’ hard labour at Mount Eden prison.
Te Puea supported those who had been arrested by bringing them food (which never seemed to reach the inmates) and attempting to visit them in prison. She was a source of great inspiration to the prisoners. One of those detained, Mokona, described how Te Puea would sit outside the prison so they could catch a glimpse of her when they went to the toilet. This was enough to make them want to ‘invent an excuse to go to the whare mimi. The fact that she was there gave us heart to continue.’
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