GUEST BLOG: Gerard Otto – Barry Soper’s April Fools joke

Barry did his best to fool us all that the Beehive had forgotten Beijing this morning.

Barry tried suggesting that the Beehive were in a rush to do other things and as a result – they’d forgotten that China was our largest trading partner.

Nice try Barry but nobody was fooled apart from a few blunt tools in Dumb Town.

Ah yes April Fools day.

It was a good old joke when nearly all of us knew it was the conservative media who had forgotten our trading relationship with China – when they were having a screaming fit about this in February.

Barry thought he’d try that old joke again today.

Yes – the media deliberately forgot to mention that nearly every export category to China grew through 2018 ( Under Jacinda’s leadership ) despite Barry’s list of fake concerns.

Dairy exports to China grew by 8% but Barry never mentioned that. How come? ( Ice cream exports even doubled Barry )

Total beef and lamb exports to China from New Zealand in 2018 grew 39% to reach slightly over $2 billion – but Barry never mentioned that. Why was that Barry?

Was it at odds with your wee joke about terrible times and the end of all things?

Total seafood exports grew by 11% to reach $585 million but once again our intrepid media just could not report that in case National party voters got the idea that partisan prejudice might not be accurate thinking.

Total fruit exports to China from New Zealand surged by 33% in 2018 to reach $606 million. Zespri lead the charge with gold and green kiwifruit exports reaching $399 and $112 million respectively. Apple exports to China grew 50% to reach $66 million.

But Barry just placed his finger over his mouth and waved that all away….shush …not part of the narrative he was telling us.

Can’t have you all thinking that under PM Ardern things are going just fine now can we?

Total forestry exports to China from New Zealand in 2018 grew 16% to reach $3.3 billion, lead largely by the export of untreated logs, which grew 19% to reach $2.8 billion, underpinned by a 15% quantity increase.

Once again Barry looked the other way, determined to prove that there must be something really wrong here.

Total beverage exports to China from New Zealand in 2018 grew 7% to reach $62 million.

Total pet food exports to China from New Zealand grew 125% in 2018 to reach $23 million, and cat food surpassed dog food.

Vegetable exports totalled $23.7 million in 2018, with pea as the main crop, exports of which grew 5% to reach $19 million. Exports of squash grew 71% to reach $3.4 million.

Right now a couple of big old vegetables have been exported over to China to tell NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB the news about PM Ardern’s whirl wind one day trip there.

Although sour and bitter to taste, and sprouting useless stories that mislead the public, at least we’ll all be told what was for lunch and details about the door handles – where the press stand outside of the room and speculate on what is being said on the other side.

Whatever that is – it will only be reported in a negative light because last time Chinese Officials actually told Barry and his mates that there were no relationship issues with New Zealand – Barry and mates dismissed that to the rubbish bin.

Instead – Barry reported unnamed “Big Business” had told him some scuttlebutt anonymously over lunch :

“Having the ear of big business over lunch in Beijing over the weekend, one thing became clear: New Zealand is currently not the friend it once was but, like all longstanding friendships, it’s not beyond redemption.”

April fools anyone?

Barry wasn’t fooling anyone with that made up load of cobblers when all those export categories were booming and the official positions were all positive.

Poor Barry – the old tricks don’t work anymore.

People are just a bit too aware now of the political games partisan media try to play with the public.

Barry Soper’s April Fools joke

 

Gerard Otto is an activist and a writer.