Craig Presland, chief executive of Cooperative Business NZ, has hit back at comments by a radio broadcaster who branded New Zealand’s Pacific island neighbours as “leeches”.
Newstalk ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan made the controversial remarks during a discussion of prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision to visit the island nation of Nauru. Ms Du Plessis-Allan said the visit was a waste of time because the Pacific islands “don’t matter”, adding: “They are nothing but leeches on us. The Pacific islands want money from us.”
Challenging the remarks, Mr Presland, said the co-operative business model can aid the sustainable development of the Pacific region. He pointed out that New Zealand’s spending on aid to the islands is just 0.4% of the government’s total fiscal budget for 2018/19, and that the country has benefited significantly from Pacific labour since the 1970s, often in more physically demanding and low-paid jobs.
“In addition, New Zealand currently exports over NZ$1.5bn worth of products and services to the region every year – this amounting to around 13 times more than we import from these countries,” he said.
Presland also quoted foreign affairs minister Winston Peters, who had stated that New Zealand’s national security is directly affected by the Pacific’s stability.
“We seek to assist Pacific Island countries to achieve sustainable economic growth and improved financial management as the primary engines of lifting living standards and funding vital government services,” Peters had said.
“This is where the co-operative business model can help,” said Mr Presland. “It can help the Pacific nations’ economies grow stronger through member ownership, profits returned to members (suppliers, staff or customers) each year, and profits retained locally. Co-op principles lead to business endurance and true sustainability economically, environmentally and socially which can only be good for all Pacific nation economies.
“Pacific nations need business management skills and while some NZ aid programmes are targeting this area, much more needs to be done. Industry organisations such as Cooperative Business NZ can help here but, like the Pacific island nations themselves, we need the funding to do this.”
