Brian Easton

The Story of Our Economy has been one of Secret – and Occasionally not so Secret – Debt Crises.
Listener 11 November, 2000

Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money; Political Economy & History;

In 1939 New Zealand faced a debt crisis. The government had to roll over £17m of debt and borrow a bit more to pay for imports in excess to export revenue. The Minister of Finance, Walter Nash went to London to obtain the money. The terms initially offered were so harsh that expressions like ‘bankruptcy’ were used. Privately, of course, for the public had no idea how close a run thing it was. Writing up this story recently led me to think just how much the story of the New Zealand economy has been one of secret – and very occasionally not so secret – debt crises. Listing all of them would take more than this column, but many readers will recall the currency crisis of 1984.