Small is beautiful - On why Switzerland is successful

The New Zealand based columnist Oliver Hartwich describes why the Swiss are successful:

"If you are looking at Switzerland from outside, you cannot help but wonder how this small piece of central Europe – mountainous and with no obvious strategic advantages over its larger neighbours – made itself a world-class economy.

Well, for a start it probably helped that the Swiss never became part of the EU. Where other European countries succumbed to the idea of an integrated continent, the Swiss stubbornly remained independent and did their own thing. And it worked well, so there is hope for Britain after Brexit. --

For many years, Switzerland has been ranked as the world’s most competitive country by the World Economic Forum (New Zealand is 16th).
The key to Switzerland’s success is its decentralised nature. If every tier of government has income tax-raising powers, and if the various tiers of government are small in size, it is not difficult to imagine what this set-up will do to economic development. As councils and cantons can feel the results of their political decisions in their own pockets, of course they will pursue growth-friendly policies. As they realise that their residents are not just inhabitants but taxpayers, of course they will try to keep them happy.
Switzerland has chosen a path to economic development that is diametrically opposed to New Zealand’s and to most other developed economies. Instead of trying more centrally controlled policies, Switzerland has opted for the principle of subsidiarity. That means relegating decision-making to the lowest tier possible.
From a New Zealand perspective, the Swiss approach to governance is the polar opposite of what we have been trying so far. But even we have to realise that Swiss government yields much better results than we could ever hope for.
In a nutshell, Switzerland means that big does not always mean better and that small can be quite beautiful. It also demonstrates government needs performance incentives in order to, well, perform. That is not so surprising if you are in business but for government, apparently, it’s a big discovery."

A sign of things to come: The first claim for asylum from a "climate-change refugee" in New Zealand

Is this a surprise to anybody?:

THE first claim for asylum from a “climate-change refugee” is set to be heard by a court in New Zealand.

The man from the island of Kiribati arrived in New Zealand six years ago and has since settled and fathered three children.
Immigration authorities have twice tried to send him back to the Pacific island, but he has argued rising sea levels caused by global warming means it is not safe for him to return there.
His lawyer, Michael Kidd, plans to argue his case before the High Court on 16 October.
Kiribati, a string of 33 coral atolls about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, has about 103,000 in habitants and has been identified by scientists as among the nations most vulnerable to climate change.
In a transcript of his immigration case, the man said that around 1998, king tides – extreme high tides – began regularly breaching the sea walls around his village, which was overcrowded and had no sewerage system. He said the drinking water would then make people vomit, and that there was no higher ground to escape to.
He said returning to Kiribati would endanger his two youngest children. He said: “There’s no future for us when we go back to Kiribati. Especially for my children. There’s nothing for us there

A University of Auckland law expert thinks that there could be a need to widen the definition of a refugee to include climate-change refugees:

Professor Bill Hodge, a law expert at the University of Auckland, said there was no evidence of persecution on the grounds of gender, race or belief. But, he said, even if the man loses, his case might fuel calls for a widening of the definition of a refugee.

If the court in New Zealand does not grant this man asylum, then he should apply for refugee status in a European Union country. Surely the man from Kiribati - and millions of other "climate-change refugees" must be entitled to asylum somewhere in the EU, "the global leader in climate change policy". After all, isn't it the EU, which through its "climate aid" programmes has made the "natives"aware about being the victims of human caused global warming.

Here is a shortlist of the most "vulnerable" areas, from where the EU can look forward to welcoming future climate-change refugees:

China came out as far and away the world's most vulnerable nation overall, followed closely by India. Bangladesh and Trinidad and Tobago also made the top 10, as did the African nations of Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Sudan and Rwanda. But a different examination limited to just vulnerability to extreme weather risk found new countries on the endangered catalog, like Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Mozambique and the Philippines

New Zealand climatologist on claims that Australian heatwave is related to global warming: “It’s really [just] hype.”

Not unsurprisingly, warmists like Prime Minister Julia Gillard have been quick to link the heatwave in Australia and New Zealand to human caused global warming. Fortunately, there are still scientists, who refuse to jump on the lucrative global warming bandwagon:

A New Zealand scientist has denied popular claims the recent Australian heatwave and other extreme weather events around the world are linked to global warming.

Australia has experienced record hot weather in the last week, with temperatures reaching 48degC and bush fires burning throughout the south-east of the country.

New Zealand has also had an extreme summer of weather, with record-breaking high temperatures in some areas, and tornados and flooding in others.

These extreme weather patterns have again sparked debate over global warming, with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard suggesting a link between the country’s recent heatwave and climate change.

"Whilst you would not put any one event down to climate change,” Ms Gillard told media last week, “we do know over time that as a result of climate change we are going to see more extreme weather events and conditions."

The Australian government’s Climate Commission released a report last week stating: “climate change has contributed to making the current extreme heat conditions and bushfires worse”.

But associate professor of climate and environment science Chris de Freitas, from the University of Auckland, says this is not the case.

“There is no evidence to suggest that,” he says. “It’s really [just] hype.”

Dr Freitas says Australia is a “land of extremes” with heatwaves like those seen this month not uncommon. He says they are not necessarily a sign of global warming.

“It’s speculation, not fact.”

Read the entire article here

Promoters of the Mother Earth cult have "blessed" the new Greenpeace mega yacht

Matauri Bay in New Zealand, has over a kilometre of beautiful white sand and crystal clear water. It is particularly popular in the summer when thousands flock there. (Image wikipedia)

High priests of Greenpeace, one of leading promoters of the Mother Earth cult, have "blessed" their new mega yacht in the "spiritual home" of the Greenpeace fleet:

The new Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior made its first public appearance in New Zealand today when its crew visited Northland's Matauri Bay, described as "the spiritual home" of the environmental organisation's ships.

They paid tribute to the original Rainbow Warrior, bombed by French agents in 1985, and to Ngati Kura, the guardians of the old ship's gravesite on the seabed surrounded by the picturesque Cavalli Islands.

Kuia and kaumatua from Ngati Kura and Ngati Rehia were taken out to the ship for a blessing and a whakatau (formal welcome) in blazing sunshine around 11am.

Among the speakers was captain Joel Stewart, who thanked Ngati Kura for giving the first Rainbow Warrior such an inspiring resting place and for giving all Greenpeace ships a spiritual home.

By visiting Matauri Bay the crew was accepting the baton from the first and second ships, and the duty of caring for Mother Earth.

Read the entire article here

PS

Captain Stewart and his fellow travelers must be congratulated for picking the right date for their Pacific cruise. The "blazing  sunshine" of the pristine Matauri Bay most certainly beats the cold and grey January weather here in the northern hemisphere. 

(While the greenies are enjoying their holiday in the sun, heavy snowfall is making life untolerable for thousands of Syrian refugees in the Middle East and close to 200 people have died in India due to severe Siberian winter weather.) 

New poll: New Zealanders now less concerned about global warming than in 2008

Global warming scaremongering is not working in New Zealand either. The number of people who consider climate change an "urgent and immediate problem" is now considerably smaller than in 2008:

The proportion of New Zealanders who believe climate change is an urgent and immediate problem has fallen from more than three quarters to just over half in the last four years, according to a new survey.

The poll for the Carbon News website found that 52.4 percent of adult New Zealanders considered climate change to be either an urgent problem (21.4 percent) or a problem for now (31 percent).

14 percent said it was a problem for later, 19.5 percent said it wasn't a problem, and 14.1 per cent said they didn't know, according to a statement from Carbon News Friday.

A similar poll conducted in 2008 showed that 75.4 percent of New Zealanders considered it to be an urgent problem (26.1 percent) or a problem for now (49.3 percent), while 9.2 percent said it was a problem for later, 13 percent said it wasn't a problem, and 2.4 percent said they didn't know.

The statement from Carbon News, a specialist information service on the carbon markets, said the drop was in line with a recent survey by Yale University, which showed that over the same period, the number of respondents ranking climate change as a high or very high priority for the U.S. government had dropped from 54 percent to 40 percent.

Read the entire article here

"Warm Up New Zealand" campaign a success in Kiwi land

As cold winter weather descends on New Zealand, the government´s Warm Up New Zealand campaign is proving to be a success:

Cold weather is proving good business for some companies.

Heaters and wood burners, gas fireplaces, insulation materials and heat pumps are flying out the door of DIY, specialist and hardware stores.

Businesses providing services through the Government's Warm Up New Zealand campaign are also enjoying brisker trade and with frosts hitting sea level areas of Auckland, consumers are opening their wallets.

Dave Elliott, Mitre 10's marketing general manager, said sales of locally made wood burners and low-cost panel heaters were up nationally.

-

Tony Te Au, general manager of Tasman Insulation, said people wanted warmer homes and Warm Up New Zealand had helped drive sales.

World leaders in New Zealand for climate talks (read: Rugby World Cup)

Ban Ki-moon: "In rugby, you lose teeth. In diplomacy, you lose face"


United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, China's Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao ....

Why are these, and a great number of other international top leaders suddenly in Auckland, New Zealand?

Official reason: 
They are all participating in the Pacific Islands Forum in order to discuss climate change

Real reason:
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the forum's final day had been deliberately planned to coincide with the opening match of the Rugby World Cup as a way to attract more international guests to the Pacific summit.

"It was a conscious strategy to make this a magnet for big multilateral organisations whose presence could only enhance the standing of the forum but also provide practical support (read: money) for its initiatives," he told the NZ Herald.

PS
Already on his arrival in Auckland, Ban Ki-moon showed his knowledge of rugby by giving the following unforgettable statement:

"In rugby, you lose teeth. In diplomacy, you lose face"

EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who - like to other dignitaries - was welcomed by traditional songs and ukuleles, did not comment on the World Cup. But already before his arrival Barroso let it be known that his intention at the meeting is to announce even more "climate change" aid to the (not) "sinking" islands:

I will reemphasise the key role the EU intends to play as the region’s second largest donor to promote sustainable development and in helping to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region."