Thank goodness for Roger!

Sir Roger Douglas

The Dominion newspaper, 9 January 2002, had this
headline along with these words:

"The Argentine crisis could have happened here, but for
Roger Douglas's decision to float the dollar, Michael Basset writes.

On Saturday, March 2, 1985, New Zealand passed a milestone in
its history. We joined the world that day....

Meanwhile, on the sixth floor of Wellington's Beehive at
10.30 that morning, Finance Minister Roger Douglas held what was arguably the
most important press conference of his career. Having gained Mr Lange's
agreement, Mr Douglas announced that New Zealand was adopting a more flexible
exchange rate; we were 'floating' our dollar.

This ended Robert Muldoon's basket of currencies where the
Reserve Bank kept pushing the exchange pegs against other currencies downhill.

In effect, we decided we wouldn't risk going down the
Argentinian route to prosperity....

Ministers held their breath. Now that we had removed all
controls, would the dollar float like a brick?...

Much to everyone's relief, the dollar gradually gained
strength....

We opened ourselves to the world without any great
catastrophe....

A measure of New Zealand's relative economic decline was
that Mr Muldoon devalued by more than Britain in 1967. Over the next 18 years,
as successive governments spent more than New Zealanders earned, our dollar
became linked to America's, but kept sliding. Imports and travel got more
expensive.

It was Mr Lange's government that decided there was no
point in trying to defy the laws of gravity. Henceforth we would make our way, without
regulations and controls. After 1989 a Reserve Bank, freed from political
controls except an instruction to curb inflation, was responsible for
determining monetary policy....

The biggest advantage in a floating currency is its
transparency. The value of the dollar tells everyone in neon lights where
our economic problems lie. In the 1980s and 90s Argentina's politicians
preferred to maintain an illusion...." (emphases added).

Much as we appreciate Dr Michael Bassett's comments on the
economy, the rest of the Rogernomics plan was not as successful, as readers of
our books will be aware. We quote from the NZ Listener, 19 December 1987,
under the heading: "The Plan", which is also written up in our book Final
Notice, on page 40: "By piecing together the statements and documents, it
can be shown that Rogernomics was a plan imposed by a small group of ministers
on a party which had confused ideas as to what it was letting itself in for...
Ultimately, the Lange-Palmer-Cagill-–Prebble-Douglas view of the economic
policy had been endorsed before the snap election...Even the Prime Minister
David Lange acknowledged the agenda of Rogernomics had been withheld from the
party, which had campaigned for his election. And then on page 46 of our book, Final
Notice, we quote the Christchurch Press article, dated 26 June 1987:
"Rogernomics kept secret from the Party. The Labour Party hierarchy kept
Rogernomics secret from party members before the 1984 general election, the
Prime Minister Mr Lange has told Australia television.

Mr Lange admits Rogernomics would never have been implemented
had it first been shown to party members, the Auckland Star reported.

Mr Lange said Labour's economic policy had to be sold to
the party and to the country in various DISGUISES (emphasis added), the
newspaper said."

We New Zealanders who were there at the time, who have any
knowledge of world affairs can see the result of Rogernomics at this stage. That
is, the selling up of much of our country in assets, making way for the demise
of sovereignty and the introduction of interdependence and a global village,
which the Bible tells us will ultimately be run by Anti Christ.

Never forget that New Zealand was the guinea pig and thus
Rogernomics was the first time that the plan had ever been put into operation on
such a scale, going through such stages as restructuring, corporatisation,
privatisation, shares at 49 per cent, shares at 51 per cent, paying back the IMF
and then bringing in investors to buy up the rest of the country.

Those of us who belong to our Lord Jesus Christ are very
clear in our minds that this world is not our home. We are pilgrims passing
through and yet to those of us who love our country, there is a natural sadness
as we watch overseas people buying up those things which were dear to us. We
quote from Hebrews 11:13-16 and put ourselves into the picture: "These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Verse 14: "For they that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country." Verse 15: "And truly, if
they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they
might have had opportunity to have returned." Verse 16: "But now they desire
a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to
be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."

Reader of this newspaper, we would ask you this question, do
you belong to the right Kingdom?