New Zealand Herald Editorial: “..Key needs to be bold to close the gap..”
“..Alan Bollard probably regrets talking about making the most of the “crumbs that come off the Australian table”.
But poor choice of phrase aside, the Reserve Bank Governor was making a reasonable point about the advantage to New Zealand of being so close to a country “blessed by God sprinkling minerals”.
The two economies are already closely interlinked, and we should make every effort to profit from Australia’s good fortune.
But Dr Bollard went too far in saying there was no chance of closing the income gap with Australia.
If the Government’s aim of achieving this by 2025 is too optimistic, it must, nonetheless, remain an important goal, irrespective of the year selected as the target.
Anything less than a reducing gap and young, mobile New Zealanders will continue to select Australia as their preferred place of residence.
Dr Bollard’s resigned view springs from Australia’s wealth of minerals “across the top of the surface in very easily accessible areas”.
He might have added that, generally, no questions of environmental protection hamper the extraction of these riches.
Most are in remote areas that are of little use for other activity.
The governor might also have noted that Australia has the good luck to have a ready market in a booming China.
But mineral riches do not, on their own, guarantee prosperity..”
go to source/story>>Editorial: Key needs to be bold to close the gap - Politics - NZ Herald News