2013 in 3D
Prominent New Zealanders provide their predictions, both light-hearted and serious, for 2013.
through passing legislation.
There will be other controversial contemporary claims made by Maori in 2013 that will test the Treaty of Waitangi partnership.
Pasifika who have been the traditional under-complainers will find their voice, and demand more attention and resources to improve their economic prospects and protection of their languages. They will argue indirect discrimination, which is a breach of section 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
2013 will be the last full year of government before election year in 2014, so it will be busy. A lot of legislation will need to be passed to deal with the legislative backlog in Parliament. A new Speaker of the House will impact on how Parliament operates in terms of exacting accountability from the executive. Expect national politics to intensify, with National having to work harder to retain its lead in the polls.
2013 is also election year for local government. With such a large work programme on many councils’ agendas and especially Auckland – with the amalgamation of old bylaws and the release of the unitary plan – there will be a lot of lobbying!
How many people does New Zealand need?
More. How much more is a political question as well as one of economic viability and sustainability. The sort of immigrants New Zealand wants won’t be attracted if we don’t put out the welcome mat and provide an economy with opportunities.
What’s the biggest challenge New Zealand faces?
Staying globally competitive and dealing well with Auckland’s growth – which is faster than the rest of New Zealand – and it’s unique demographic changes. And of course, the Christchurch recovery.
Where do you plan to spend the holidays?
With my family and my dog; next to my pool in sunny Auckland and in Nelson.
NAT TORKINGTON
Makes things happen online, in open source software, at Kiwi Foo Camp and for O’Reilly Radar.
What are your predictions for New Zealand in 2013?
Specials on the birth of the royal baby to swell our finest news organs. Baby to have at least eight middle names, none of which will be Tangiwai. Nation divided into those who believe a modern nation has no business idolising the inbred parasitic professional handwaving ruling class of its former colonial oppressors, and those who bought tea-towels with Pippa Middleton’s bum.
Tourism New Zealand to follow up the attention-getting ‘‘100 per cent Pure’’ campaign with a series of strategic marketing alliances with global brands as diverse as dog food (‘‘100 per cent Purina’’) and ageing Britgoth (‘‘100 per cent The Cure’’). Truth in Advertising laws permit environmentalists to broker an agreement where, for three months, our waterways are branded ‘‘100 per cent Manure’’. Declining interest in such sponsorship sees a change after ‘‘100 per cent Panmure’’.
Weather to continue to happen, the government remaining ineffectual in preventing it. John Key to have a timely photo op with Bear Grylls, eating a polar bear.
Fonterra to announce Collateralised Dairy Obligations, a complex swap of tranched leveraged Milk Production Unit futures via a real-time auction platform based in the Cayman Islands. Nobody understands it, everyone wants to buy shares in it, and we only had to guarantee a dozen Kim Dotcom-esque police raids of teenage television downloaders to be able to offer it on Wall Street.
As the last domestic journalism job is offshored, another New Zealand software company will sell overseas for tens of millions. Universities to turn out a record crop of barely-employable arts and literature majors, IT languishing as single-digit percentage of all grads. Gerry Brownlee to investigate mining natural resources of irony.
How many people does New Zealand need?
The number is much less important than their attitude: A small country of confident, inquisitive, and happy people will be more successful and more fun to live in than a larger country of dour dullards (such as England).
What’s the biggest challenge New Zealand faces?
Supporting parents and schools so that they will produce confident, inquisitive, and happy adults.
Where do you plan to spend the holidays?
We’re taking the family to Pataua to play music, swim, and get the hell off the laptop and the XBox and the mobile phone and the tablet and . . .
SEAN HUGHES
CEO Financial Markets Authority.
What are your predictions for New Zealand in 2013?
I am not sure we will ever know what ‘‘normality’’ looks like again in financial markets. I fear that ongoing uncertainty about the health and robustness of the global financial system will continue to impact on investor confidence, but in New Zealand we should focus more on wariness rather than abstinence.
I think we also need to have a real conversation about how to lift levels of financial competence and understanding across all sectors of our community and