Speech to the 1998 Planning Hui of the Adult Reading and Learning Assistance (ARLA) Federation of Aotearoa New Zealand: Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland, Saturday 20 June. Published in Nga Kete Koreo, the Journal of Literacy Aotearoa, July, 1999.
Keywords: Education;
During his second voyage of discovery, James Cook had two boats which arranged to meet in Queen Charlotte Sound. They did not. After waiting around, the Discovery had left a week or so before the Adventure arrived in late 1773. The arriving crew found a tree stump, which told them there was a message below. They dug it up, to be told – in a rather curt note – that Cook had sailed on. The Polynesians were amazed, for here were two men communicating, without being in each other’s presence, and without a human intermediary.
Listener 19 June, 1999
Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Macroeconomics & Money;
The OECD report on the Irish economy, released this month, is unusually fulsome about their economy, describing its performance as “stunning” and “the envy of countries around the world.” They were referring to the last three years, but they could have been referring to the last fifteen. The accompanying table shows an annual GDP growth rate of 6 percent, high employment and productivity growth, low inflation, a balance of payments surplus, and the almost halving of unemployment.The feat is all the more extraordinary because their economic performance before 1985 was worse than New Zealand’s. Between 1978 and 1985 Irish employment actually fell, consumer inflation was marginally higher than ours, and at 8 percent of GDP the current account deficit was even larger than New Zealand’s is today.
Presentation to Information Workshop on Disease Moderating Agents, sponsored by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand: Thursday 17 June 1999.
Keywords Health
The Public Policy Context
Public policy is about problem solving. The specific problem I shall look at today is who with multiple sclerosis should be able to obtain access to Interferon-beta therapy? But public policy answers to such questions have to take place from a wider perspective. Resolving the public spending problem on multiple sclerosis has to take place mindful of the tradeoffs with other public spending (including on other diseases) and the raising of the revenue (typically via taxation) to fund them. There has to be a consistency between the specific answers, for otherwise the various decisions – the resolutions to the problems – becomes a matter of arbitrariness, creating ongoing tensions (and further problems) because of inconsistencies.
Listener 5 June 1999
Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money;
The Cook Islands lost 13 percent of its population in the last two years, about the same as New Zealand losing Christchurch. The economy suffered some severe external shocks – mainly from New Zealand – which contracted the economy. The government tried to spend its way out of the crisis, ran out of foreign currency, and the consequential cuts plunged the economy into depression and unemployment.
