Dear Editor,
“What’s the weather like with you?” The most common telephone question ever asked. We all ask it. It’s a conversation opener rather like the glib “How are you today?” that greets us at check out desks, shops, banks, in fact anywhere where a friendly introduction helps business.
Well, the weather down here in New Zealand has been rather odd. January was officially the hottest month yet recorded. The mean air temperature was three degrees Celsius warmer than usual, based on the country’s century old seven-station record. I am not sure what that all means but it has been warm and sunny in Christchurch. Thank you for asking.
No sooner is January over and a Minister of Drought is appointed (memories of UK 1976) and the heavens opened; floods, tempests and storms ravaged the South and West of The South Island in Biblical proportions and the inevitable discussion of climate change and global warming dominated the Press. Massive ice fields in the Southern Alps are quickly melting which in turn affects the levels of Alpine rivers and the lakes for hydro-electricity.
My very learned professor friend is a strong denier of climate change. He says that climate has always changed and it has done so naturally with varying degrees of drama and rapidity and that we have another Ice Age coming in a thousand years. Well that’s something to look forward to!
Something also that the New Zealanders have to look forward to is a new Labour Government. Their electoral system allowed a smiley, young, pregnant 37 year old to take office as Prime Minister having led the party for a mere handful of weeks. Jacinda Adern seems charming, approachable, different and appealing. She has had to find strange bed-fellows to gain power for Labour through the questionable proportional representative system. Her Deputy Prime Minister, one Winston Peters, is a veteran of the political arena. He is now the leader of the New Zealand First Party with a tiny following but a big kick! Peters has served on the front bench of both the National and Labour Parties and now at last he has real power especially when Jacinda hurries off on baby matters.
The Labour pledges are full of the familiar: First year student fees will be abolished, employment law is to be changed strengthening collective bargaining. Union numbers and union power will increase, child poverty will be targeted. The Australian Prime Minister is bewildered by New Zealand’s present politics. A stable government, an economy on the up…why change it? Certainly they have lost an honest, reliable leader in Bill English who won 44% of the vote for The National Party and now has resigned probably to return to the family sheep farm in Southland. By chance l bumped into Bill English last year in some remote cafe. Initially he thought that l was a potential supportive voter, on learning of my origins, he kindly assured me not to worry about Brexit “little old New Zealand will look after you Poms, have no doubt”, he said.
Jacinda has won much admiration for her five day stay at Waitangi for the annual celebrations surrounding the signing of the treaty that took place 168 years ago in The Bay of Islands. It is a bizarre occasion that fuels discontent and often riots and is hardly an event to be applauded by Maori or The British. Far better to revert to the former name for the holiday namely ‘New Zealand Day’. The nation is far too progressive and go ahead for such harking back to the past. Interesting to note that there are more Asians now in New Zealand than there are Maori. That is a difficult statistic to confirm as most people like to profess some Maori blood in the claims for water, land and coastal rights.
I promise to write about the property market next month and also to honour my designated section of the magazine namely ‘The Farmer’. A propensity for house auctions and a growing market from China for powdered milk should make for a riveting epistle.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Wheeler
