New Zealand in AUKUS? The political Kiwi conundrum over Pillar 2 membership
WELLINGTON — When Kurt Campbell, the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific “Czar” visited the Kiwi capital in March, one of his main missions was to feel out New Zealand’s leadership on the idea of their participation in Pillar 2 of the AUKUS military technology agreement.
At the time, New Zealand Minister of Defence Andrew Little stated that the government is “willing to explore” joining the agreement, currently based around Australia, the UK and US — sending eyebrows up in those capitals. Those eyebrows went up further when New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins followed a mid-April meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by saying, “New Zealand agrees with the AUKUS partners that the collective objective needs to be the delivery of peace and stability and preservation of an international rules-based system in our region.”
I spy with my 5 Eyes, something beginning with War.
Make no mistake, this new defence position is lining us up with America for their war on China.
Pretending otherwise is delusion.
Yes China is a threat, but signing up for another fucking war with America is not the solution!
We have to consider neutrality and independence over war and conflict, but if we go down that road we need to acknowledge that it will cost more!
To ignore the real need for us to invest far larger amounts into the Defence force and to build a bigger Air, Land and Sea service as a response to the crisis emergency is as unacceptable as climate denial is.
The current political spectrum in New Zealand can not radically adapt fast enough to adopt the changes we must make if we are to survive the climate crisis and geopolitical conflict…
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- Move away from intensive farming and look to become domestically self sustainable in terms of food.
- Immediately ban all water exports
- 5 year Parliamentary term.
- Upper and Lower House (Upper House 50-50 split between Māori & Pakeha that can hold up legislation if unhappy about Treaty issues)
- Massive investment into R&D from Government with the understanding research is to benefit NZ first before sold offshore.
- Large scale increase in Navy, Army & Airforce troops 3% GDP.
- Mass limiting of tourism numbers with increased tourist taxes.
- Only citizens can vote.
- Sustainable immigration and an end to exploitative migrant workers.
- Resettlement Programms for all pacific island neighbours.
- Increase refugee in take to 10000 per year
- Fully funded public services.
- Mass Green housing rebuild.
- 100% renewable energy for entire country.
- Massive native tree planting across previous farming land.
- Wholesale re-write of state services act to end commercial values.
- Investment into basic pharmaceutical production.
- Financial transaction tax
- Wealth tax
- Multinational tax
- Inheritance tax
…as the climate crisis unfolds more and more people in fury will turn against the current political system too wedded to the economic profits margins of the polluters. It is just a matter of time before the NZ electorate rejects the limitations of the current political spectrum.
Only the Māori Party is offering neutrality as our foreign policy – friend to all, enemy to none should be our position but understand that will cost us more.
The climate crisis will demand we have the military engineering capacity to rebuild from extreme weather events; have the military power to project across the Pacific in response to climate crisis civil disruption or extreme weather events; protection of fishing stock.
Independent Neutrality means increasing our GDP spend on the military and we need to invest heavily in drones, special forces, deployable troops and a far larger Navy.
We do not want to be dragged into another pointless American war, but we do not want to be economically subservient to China either.
Independent Neutrality with our own Military is the only way forward with a fierce diplomatic push for peace.
We can not be independently diplomatic if we are in the thrall of the US Military Industrial Complex.
We need to be less reliant on them and more self reliant on us if we want to have an independent voice and that requires a large upgrade of our entire military including our own Drone force.
It’s either get sucked into another pointless American war or becoming economically enslaved to Beijing on a burning planet.
We should show the courage of our forebears and stand up for us.
A defensive military pose that protects our realm or getting sucked into another stupid war.
Choose.
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