Over the years and in addition to the speeches he gave in various roles, Don wrote various articles and letters to the editor, some of which are recorded below.
At SOLOC 2 you said you were not a libertarian. We already knew that, of course, but as a matter of interest, just why are you not a libertarian? If we take "libertarian" to mean one who believes all adult interaction should be voluntary, what fault do you find with...
I did not go into politics little more than 18 months ago for the sake of the salary, or for the pleasure of being driven around in an LTD. I went into politics because I am deeply concerned about where New Zealand is heading under the present Government, and I...
As long as you’re not an exporter, or somebody competing with imports, you probably feel things are going pretty well at the moment. Retail sales growing steadily, the property market booming, unemployment the lowest in years, inflation low – that can’t be too bad?
Because it’s time to get real. This country is not performing as it should, and I'm not prepared to see it slide further behind. I owe it to my children and grandchildren to ensure New Zealand performs better.
In the September 2003 issue of Grey Power Lifestyle Quarterly, there were two items which gave a totally misleading impression of the National Party’s policy on New Zealand Superannuation.
Over the last few years, the New Zealand economy has been pretty buoyant – the result of the reforms of the late eighties and early nineties, a very low exchange rate in the 1999-2001 period, good export prices, good growing weather down on the farm, and the strong inflow of...
Your editorial on Saturday, backing the Minister of Justice in his refusal to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into all aspects of the Christchurch Civic Crèche case, is misguided.
In your last issue, Simon Hempseed expressed delight that I am no longer guiding monetary policy in New Zealand because, he said, I increased interest rates whenever it looked like the growth in property prices was higher than general inflation.
Bob Edlin’s comments (The Independent, 21 May 2003) on my behaviour as Governor of the Reserve Bank can’t go unchallenged.
Most businesses want the same sort of things that all New Zealanders want – a growing economy, offering plenty of well-paid jobs, in an environment which enables everybody to enjoy the fruits of their labours in safety.
Helped by the reforms of the late eighties and early nineties, and stimulated by strong commodity prices, the lowest exchange rate in New Zealand’s history, and a strong surge in net migration – the result in large part of the security concerns triggered by international events – the New Zealand...
Ross Robertson (The Independent, 2 April 2003) attacks me for “suggesting make-work schemes” for the unemployed and for “suggesting there are 134,000 people being paid to do nothing”. He says “make-work schemes do nothing to up-skill the unemployed”.
It’s unfortunate that economists have done such a lousy job explaining why economic growth is important. I am often assailed by people who say that “people are more important than growth”, as if growth was somehow not about people.
As we reach the 20th anniversary of CER, it is common to find business people wondering aloud whether the time has come for New Zealand and Australia to adopt a common currency.
This paper was prepared by Don when he was the Finance spokesman for the National Party. It was intended to provoke discussion and debate among the wider National Party membership, and indeed among the public.
Chris Trotter produced a typically thoughtful commentary on my speech to the Orewa Rotary Club late last month (The Independent, 5 February 2013). But I confess I do not fully understand his argument.
A couple of weeks ago, the Waikato Times (23 September 2002) had an editorial praising the new Policy Targets Agreement which the Minister of Finance had just concluded with the new Governor of the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank Act requires the Governor of the Bank to use monetary policy to “achieve and maintain stability in the general level of prices”, and requires that, before anybody is appointed as Governor, what this should mean in practice should be agreed between the Minister of Finance and the...
Brian Easton (New Zealand Listener, 7 September 2002) has taken issue with my claim that the current Government has not reversed most of the big changes in economic policy introduced in the eighties and nineties. Having read his article carefully, I stick with my original contention.
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