Tuesday, 19 May 2020 08:17

Protectionist politicians "stupid"

Written by  Peter Burke
Malcolm Bailey. Malcolm Bailey.

Politicians who advocate that New Zealand should adopt any form of protectionist trade policies have been labelled “stupid” by the chair of the Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ).

Malcolm Bailey is concerned about some of the remarks by certain politicians, whom he says have been quoted as thinking along these lines.

Bailey says at some stage COVID-19 will transition from being a health problem to an economic problem and any rise in protectionism will be bad for NZ.

Bailey says putting up the shutters in terms of trade barriers would be bad for everyone. He points to the example of Singapore, with whom NZ has an excellent trading relationship.

He says under a protectionist regime that country would virtually starve to death because they are not a food producer and in turn New Zealanders would be deprived of quality, cost effective consumer products.

“Anyone advocating protectionist policies is just plain dumb,” he says.

Bailey believes the market for dairy products has held up pretty well so far, but acknowledges that there have been challenges in terms of getting product to market. However, he says people have found innovative and pragmatic ways of sorting these out.

More like this

Every exhibitor with something valuable to offer for farmers

OPINION: Welcome to the second annual NZ Dairy Expo at Matamata – an event created to bring together the best of the New Zealand dairy industry in a focused, grassroots environment where dairy farmers and rural professionals can meet, talk, compare products, and make smart decisions for their farms.

Editorial: O Canada

OPINION: The Canadian government's love affair with its lifestyle dairy farmers has got it into trouble once again.

Featured

Case IH partners with Meet the Need

Tractor manufacturer and distributor Case IH has announced a new partnership with Meet the Need, the grassroots, farmer-led charity working to tackle food insecurity across New Zealand one meal at a time.

25 years on - where are they now?

To celebrate 25 years of the Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship, Ravensdown caught up with past recipients to see where their careers have taken them, and what the future holds for the industry.

Rockit Global appoints COO

Rockit Global has appointed Ivan Angland as its new chief operating officer as it continues its growth strategy into 2025.

National

Machinery & Products

Iconic TPW Woolpress turns 50!

The company behind the iconic TPW Woolpress, which fundamentally changed the way wool is baled in Australia and New Zealand,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Keep it up

OPINION: The good fight against "banking wokery" continues with a draft bill to scrap the red tape forcing banks and…

We're OK!

OPINION: Despite the volatility created by the shoot-from-the-hip trade tariff 'stratefy' being deployed by the new state tenants in the…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter