One thing to ponder is that the current NZ Government, now into its second term is very inexperienced when it comes to Defence, National Security and Diplomacy at the political level. Remember in the last government it was veteran politician Winston Peters in his role as Foreign Minister and Deputy PM was the key minister with respect to external relations, supported by former professional soldier and experienced MP Ron Mark in the defence role. There is no one within the governments political ranks who has any international relations or defence experience of note. Many of the special advisors to support them are youngish social justice warrior hacks, with even less life experience or intellectual grunt. The other obsession is trade access, which harks back to the early 1970's with the double shock of the entry of the UK into the EEC and the simultaneous 1973 Oil Shock.
They are all out of their depth and simply ignorant. Their only world view is from what they have listened to on Radio NZ the woke public service radio station and the NZ Herald and Dominion Post (once serious metropolitan dailies and now tabloid trash) or to get an international flavour the Guardian. The current situation of Covid has placed the Government in a sub-intellectual bubble without any frequent contact to "adults" in other countries for information or guidance. They have no concept of how the world works beyond the nations borders and sadly are arrogant to think that it does not matter with vacuous virtual signalling sufficient engagement. Probably the first "adult" Ms Mahuta has met in her role is Ms Payne just this week. Ms Adern is simply a political celebrity, a political actress, - the Kim Kardashian of international politics who is fawned by and fawns over fellow media celebrities and late night show hosts. Her influence is on them and not on credible leaders.
And therein lies the problem. We have a government with a Cabinet that has no knowledge or idea about foreign policy, relations, geopolitics and geostrategy. They don't know or understand the basics, and when it comes to the complicated stuff they are stuffed completely. Furthermore they are blinded by their strict adherence to ideology and they don't understand the fundamental scientific principle that you have to change the theory to fit how the world works; not attempt to force the world to fit the theory. The universe just doesn't work like that.
We also don't know the type of and the quality of advice that they are receiving from MFAT, and that is a problem in itself because MFAT is run by a cabal of trade at all costs adherents, who won't consider the wider implications of their actions. I consider them the NZ Ferengi colony. I believe them to be diehard neoliberal globalists who haven't, or won't accept that the world has changed, and that economic philosophy has passed its use by date.
I get the impression that princess Jacindarella and her mob believe that they are geopolitically and geostrategically still in Uncle Helen's benign geopolitical and geostrategic situation of 2000. The other point is that for a PM and Cabinet that prides itself in its human rights stance and transparency, it is willing to lecture the Aussies, but is notably quiet about the PRC human rights abuses, genocide, and lack of transparency with regard to the WHO COVID-19 investigation. It also refused to publicly condemn the PRC for its unlawful political attack on Australia using trade as the weapon of choice. The attack wasn't about trade, but was an attack on Australia's sovereignty, which for all intents and purposes is an act of war. That's why I believe that the Ardern government is running an anti Australian foreign policy, just like her mentor Helen Clark did for the first five years of her premiership.
I am starting to form the opinion that the Ardern government is becoming a danger to NZ, more so than the Clark lead governments ever were. Mostly because of their inexperience, their inabilities and incompetent talent pool, and their refusal to listen to advisors and experts who give them advice that contradicts their ideologically driven imperatives.
There is also the matter of how much the CCP has penetrated the NZ political, bureaucratic, and social elites through its front the United Front. Both major political parties receive a lot of Chinese political donations funded by the CCP through the United Front using various corporations and individuals. My own view is that the kibosh should be put on this immediately.
