But why subsidise Dunners or any other NZ town? You simply lower the overall standard of living! If you subsidize everyone the economy crashes like Venezuela!
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But why subsidise Dunners or any other NZ town? You simply lower the overall standard of living! If you subsidize everyone the economy crashes like Venezuela!
Given that you never ask a question without having your own answers, I'll bite. What do you think the government should do, particularly what should they do differently from what Shamubeel suggests? Government is not here to protect declining industry, and they do have policy and processes to help the workers who fall through the cracks and cannot find alternative work.
"The reaction from politicians and policy makers should be to support those facing redundancy and help them back into work. Longer term, we need to ensure workers of tomorrow are acquiring the right kind of skills to operate in a very different world of work."
I think that you frequently confuse the roles of the Executive government (law makers) and the government administration (policy creators and implementers) which out lives the Executive.
Manufacturing in Dunedin is ridiculous. We have and will continue to have better industries. Leave manufacturing to where raw products are sourced and / or are closer to markets. If you want to manufacture in Dunedin or Stewart Island for that matter, go for your life.
Government should provide financial assistance to Whittaker's to take over Cadbury's factory specifically for the manufacture of Dark Ghana blocks for export to each and every country that I may be residing in, visiting or changing planes at.
I have not seen a DG block for like a month now and I need my fix.
The political party that does that gets my vote (when I am allowed to).
Best Wishes
Paper Tiger
Of course tongue in cheek. ;)
Whittakers are now fourth generation NZ owned chocolate manufacturers (think about it, there can't be too many 1890's start-ups still prospering and growing in NZ?) who once moved their manufacturing from Christchurch to Porirua, north of Wellington.
The last thing Whittakers need is government support, and have quickly rejected the notion of buying the Cadbury's plant. They'll do fine without any government interventions or handouts. It's a great example of a privately owned NZ business who made good decisions, the first being to invest in their manufacturing capability and their people, secondly to continuously innovate and capture hearts, minds and taste buds, and lastly not to sell out to the first international that came their way.
Cadbury has had it coming, they did all of the opposite things. Now some people on political chat groups think that for some unfathomable reasons that the government should be doing something to stop or reverse an accumulation of stupid commercial decisions.
Mondelez International should not be surprised at all, imo, it has all been down hill since they have failed to innovate, destroyed a famous NZ brand by changing recipes and downsizing portions, and they are now closing their manufacturing in NZ because it is not viable. What part of that is surprising?
Soon enough we'll hear that is all because of the 'government'.
I would agree with most here: since it is disappointing that Cadbury decided that they could make more profits manufacturing in third-world countries rather than developed ones, our purchasing loyalty should go to Whittakers, being a real NZ-based alternative. And that's something that the government could encourage - keep production in NZ, keep innovating and linking up with other NZ businesses, build NZ-made brands that can be exported.
Too often this government stands back and doesn't give any direction, when we've paid taxes for them to give us a bit of leadership and direction as a nation. They react after the event, or they don't react at all. Look at some of the WINZ homeless in motels, giving NZ tourism a bad name. Just part of the baggage that National will carry to this election.