Andrea Vance
United Nations Headquarters New York, New York 10:17 PM EDT
Thank you very much. It is an honour for you to have me here today. Because just the other day, and that was a great day, we had Jenny here and her husband Scott to the White House for dinner. Very good, very nice dinner, and we had a lot to discuss…
PRESIDENT TRUMP:
Ah, yes. Well, ultimately, I’m the prime minister of New Zealand and she’s, um, the wife of the Australian prime minister. So look, first of all I’d like to acknowledge the warm and ...
PRIME MINISTER ARDERN: PRESIDENT TRUMP:
Yes, much to discuss. One of them, perhaps in our case, the biggest one is trade, We do a lot of trade together and we’re working on that. You’ve been getting great deals from America. Really great deals.
And this is a big win for our country. New Zealand is going to be an amazing state. Perhaps the best state you have ever seen.
PRIME MINISTER ARDERN:
Look, ultimately, as I understand it, New Zealand isn’t for sale. But look, as I said, New Zealand and the US have very warm and cordial relations ...
We’re doing very well. I think very soon we’ll have a larger deal down the road a little bit. Believe me. And that guy, the foreign minister, who’s right here, negotiating for New Zealand, why don’t we bring him in?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: PRIME MINSTER ARDERN:
Winston? you mean Winston Peters? He’s ah, look as I understand it, recovering from a small surgical procedure to address an old leg issue and has been advised, post-procedure, to have some days avoiding travel and not bearing weight on what I believe, or have come to understand, might be a foot-inmouth injury.
But look ultimately, Mr President, as I’ve said, although New Zealand has a very warm and cordial relationship with the US, ultimately, to the best of
I mean, great deal really. Yuge deal. Buying those guns…
PRESIDENT TRUMP: PRIME MINISTER ARDERN:
Look, ultimately, as I’ve said… Wait, Mr President, you have an interest in our gun buyback?
Unlike my failed predecessor, I’m a smart guy. I know a good deal. And when Bob said we could take all those New Zealand guns, as well. I mean, very good, very smart.
... And all your nu-cu-lar free weapons. You got to grab them in the purse. That’s the art of a good deal. Many people are saying
PRESIDENT TRUMP: PRIME MINISTER ARDERN: PRESIDENT TRUMP:
this deal is the biggest ever in the history of everything. I think a lot of good things will come from this deal. I love the many peoples of New Zealand. I love them Cindy, and they love me. But look we have plenty to discuss. I want to address two issues that we are going to need to deal with. The relocation. When you look at what’s going on with Chey-eye-na, I think the smartest place is the sea, you know, south of Chey-eye-na.
At the official level, as I understand it, you want to move New Zealand? To the South China Seas? As I’ve said before, China is a very important and highly valued partner for New Zealand and we have a warm and cordial relationship with the US. However, ultimately, I think there’s a general acceptance from those who are likely to be affected that that’s not going to work for us.
PRIME MINISTER ARDERN:
Nasty woman. I will be postponing my visit in December for another time. Sad!
PRESIDENT TRUMP: PRIME MINISTER ARDERN:
That’s Australia. You are playing golf in Australia. But look, as I said, we have a warm and cordial relationship with the US. I haven’t ruled it out. How about a working group?
Koa Saxby, Marahau
Steven Joyce’s column (‘‘How I Would Grow the Economic Pie’’, Focus, September 22) will share with motherhood and apple pie the approval of most readers. Indeed clear are the benefits of greater economic activity.
The elephant in the room is that it is impossible to continue indefinitely expanding a finite system. This fundamental truth was recognised several years ago (a couple of good books were written). But making the necessary vastly significant change would have required massive sacrifices and unpopular decisions. So it all got put into the too-hard basket.
The disadvantages of not changing are clear. We are going to run out of resources. And anyone thinking about global warming will see it happening all the faster.
I’ve no idea which person will eventually initiate the necessary crucial action. Perhaps it will be a reader of today’s Sunday StarTimes ...
Robin Russell, Hamilton
Lynley Cullinane, Christchurch
The system fails
If there is one thing I learned in 30 years of working in regulatory enforcement is that the worst systems are very good at catching honest people (‘‘Fraudster fell through agency cracks’’, News, September 22).
They are usually designed by bureaucratic wide boys who have never enforced anything and it can take decades to uncover the damage.
The Star-Times’ story on Roy Bishop and the Companies Office is a classic example.
The system relies on applicants being honest. No checks are carried out.
David Patterson, Porirua
Male predation
Damien Grant (Focus, September 22) is right in holding that social media is pre-empting the laudable legal principle of presumption of innocence.
He points out that the man at
Fr Merv Duffy, Theology Lecturer, Good Shepherd College, Auckland
Bennett’s baggage
In extolling the empathy shown by Paula Bennett to the complainants in the alleged Labour Party worker assault case (Focus, September 22), Andrea Vance overlooks her heroine’s track record to date.
Some of us can recall Bennett, as a new minister, scrapping night classes in a lot of schools. When some young mothers dared to complain, Bennett revealed private information about them.
John Capener, Kawerau
Dopey moves
David Slack (Focus, September 22) tells us that legalising cannabis is an ‘‘intelligent’’ step