Michael

Today's XI. 📋

Today, we mark a historic milestone in the relationship between India and New Zealand: the signing of our Free Trade Agreement.   It was only 13 months ago that I travelled to India to meet with Prime Minister Modi and launch Free Trade Agreement negotiations. India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, but our trade relationship has only begun to scratch the surface of its potential. Prime Minister Modi and I could see that an FTA would be a massive opportunity for both our two countries.   Since my visit last March, Ministers Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay, and their officials, have worked tirelessly to negotiate a deal. The outcome of that hard work is a deal that delivers for India and for New Zealand. My congratulations to Minister Goyal, Minister McClay and all the negotiators who made this possible.   For New Zealand, this FTA opens the door to one of the world’s most dynamic markets and creates unprecedented opportunities to trade, invest, innovate and connect. This deal will help diversify New Zealand’s export markets, support the goal of doubling the value of our exports over 10 years, and put New Zealand exporters on a more level playing field with competitors already enjoying preferential access in India.   For India, this deal means growth, innovation and new opportunities. It gives Indian exporters tariff-free access to the New Zealand market from day one, and it gives Indian consumers improved access to our high-quality exports. It creates new ways for India to partner with New Zealand on agricultural productivity and benefit from New Zealand’s world-leading agri-tech and food-production expertise.   This agreement matters not just because of what it does economically, but because of what it says strategically. At a time of global uncertainty, this FTA is a clear commitment by both sides to stable, predictable, and rules-based trade.   And the India-New Zealand story is about more than trade. New Zealand and India are building a relationship that is bigger, deeper and more exciting every year – across trade, investment, defence, sport, and innovation.   New Zealand’s vibrant Indian diaspora is central to the strong relationship between our two countries. In Prime Minister Modi’s words, the diaspora is a “living bridge” between New Zealand and India. The contribution of the Indian community to New Zealand is immense: in business, in science, in education, in health, in the arts, in sport, and in communities right across the country.   While today is a big milestone, it is also just the beginning. We are excited about the next chapter in India-New Zealand relations.

What a performance. 🤩

This week, National has made a complaint to TVNZ about the conduct of its staff. TVNZ staff: • followed National Whip Stuart Smith into his corridor, an area where media interviews are not allowed without express permission; • aggressively banged on his door for several minutes, refusing to accept Mr Smith declining to add further to a statement he had already made, and; • pressured him about how he would be portrayed on Breakfast the following morning if he did not come out to talk to TVNZ. This behaviour is unacceptable and a clear breach of Parliament’s rules. We respect the role of media, but there are standards, and those standards matter. New Zealanders want a fair, balanced and accurate media reporting on the issues that matter to them – not a media-driven soap opera.

Maori Party leader Rawiri Waititi has drunk the Marxist kool-aid in huge gulps, and he's full to the brim with it. He says his party is on the comeback trail and he's got the policies that should make every non-Maori citizen afraid to go to sleep at night. Such policies include Maori sovereignty, a wealth tax and the abolition of prisons. Meaning if he gets his wish, the streets will be full of criminals, every wealth producer will have departed the country, and governance would be a shambles. If any citizens are indeed staying awake at night, it sounds like they might have good cause. Maori or non-Maori. Remember folks- this is who the media party and their separatist friends want to see in govt with Labour and the Greens. Via the gerry mandered system provided by means of the anachronistic "Maori" roll. Note: Mr Waititi is barely coherent as a speaker. Cutting umms and ahhs and repeated words and corrected phrases reduced the length of this video by half. His thought processes are equally incoherent. To make it worse, he constantly rocks back and forth like he should be wearing a strait jacket. Anyone voting for such a poor example of a parliamentary candidate should be ashamed of themselves.