Sponsor's Message

Despite much lip-service being paid to the issue of fostering a knowledge economy, Labour seems to have totally missed the boat when it comes to actually delivering on a promise to create a suitably catalytic environment for such change.

As a result, two terms later, we find ourselves still very highly reliant on the export of raw primary produce such as milk powder, timber and wood pulp, meat and wool.

Where are all our highly profitable technology-based ventures which take full advantage of advances in modern digital communications in order to deliver there wares to a global market without reliance on ships, aircraft and other transport methods that have become increasingly expensive with the hike in oil prices?

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Anderton has spent a tidy sum of taxpayer's money purchasing photo opportunities by way of grants handed out by his MED - but I suspect nobody will be able to give us a bottom-line as to just whether these handouts have been a cost or a benefit to the tax pool.

Unfortunately, a change of government doesn't look as if it will do anything to improve the situation.

Maurice Williamson proved himself to be a real lame duck back in the 1990s when he had the IT portfolio and based on what he's said as the shadow minister, there's unlikely to be any difference if National takes power again.

Hell, I'm even beginning to wonder whether it would take a party like The Greens to get some *real* investment in NZ's knowledge economy (shudder!).

Of course I can understand why the main parties appear to have backed away from a KBE for NZ. It's much safer just to keep a "steady as she goes" attitude to the nation's future. There's always going to be a market for our primary produce and the "dot-com boom" has shown that it might be risky to invest in intangibles based on hi-technology.

However, we've got to realise that oil prices are only going to increase in the longer term -- and that will have a very significant effect on the cost of getting our physical exports to the market. Yes, at the very time we'll be needing more overseas earnings to offset the increased cost of importing oil -- we'll actually be earning less because transport charges will eat into our margins.

Come on Helen, Don et al. Why can't we bite the bullet and really get stuck in to creating a real KBE here in Godzone?

It won't even cost a snot-load of money.

Sort out Telecom's outrageous DSL monopoly so that we can get some real competition in the market.

Set up a few schemes that will incentivise local industry to sponsor students in their hi-tech tertiary studies and give those students working in knowledge industries a break on their student loans so that we're more likely to retain them once they've graduated.

Slash the rate of company tax so that multi-nationals are more likely to invest in NZ-based operations.

Hell, there are a long list of other ways we can really rev up a KBE here in NZ -- but they require action on the part of government.

It's really quite sad that, instead of focusing on such forward-thinking policies designed to improve our future prospects in an increasingly technological world, our politicians have opted to bicker, bitch, berate and bully each other in such childish ways.

To be quite honest -- none of them deserve our votes.

However, to pick the least offensive outcome, I'm giving my party vote to ACT, solely because it will be a wildly imbalanced parliament if we don't have a little more representation on the right of centre. Just look at all those left-leaning parties who might win seats. If National is the only true right-wing player then we're in for big trouble.

I'm also voting ACT rather than National because I don't think National deserves unbridled access to political power -- they've proven themselves untrustworthy in the past and will likely remain that way in the future -- they need someone to keep them in line.

And let's not forget -- without ACT we'd not have heard about the Hip-Hop tour fiasco, the twilight golf courses and a raft of other government rorts where large amounts of taxpayer money was squandered on the personal interests of just a few individuals.

Lighten Up
As the energy crisis hits, someone has discovered the 102nd use for a dead cat

And if you thought my $5,000 cruise missile was a dangerous device, take a look at what al-Qaeda are alleged to be using as an unmanned aerial vehicle these days. Let's bankrupt the Chinese because they're obviuosly arming terrorists with spy drones -- and we better outlaw the sale of such devices as part fo the war against terror eh?

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