New product is being marketed by Auckland-based Rakon (a world leader in its field)

Auckland-based Rakon  is a company few New Zealanders have  heard about, yet  it is a world  leader in its field.

The company designs and manufactures advanced frequency control and timing solutions. Its three core markets are Telecommunications, Positioning and Space and Defence.

Rakon’s products are found at the forefront of communications where speed and reliability are paramount. Its products create extremely accurate electric signals which are used to generate radio waves and synchronise time in the most demanding communication applications.

Hard times for farmers, but dairymen will be cheered by latest lift in prices at GDT auction

New Zealand dairy farmers will be going  into the  New Year cheered by the latest lift in prices at the fortnightly Fonterra  GDT auction,  the  third rise in a  row. It goes  against the trend of  past  years, where prices  have  sagged  at the  last GDT event in the  year.  

Both dairy farmers and  meat producers have been battling rising on-farm costs, while the  latter have  also had falling meat prices to contend with.

Rising costs hit farmers hard, but there’s more positive news for them this week

New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard.

But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report that  demand  from China   for  dairy  imports  will continue to expand  over the  next  decade.

New Zealanders have high expectations of new government: now let’s see if it can deliver?

The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?   

Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  inherits  is  in  bad  shape,  with little  indication inflation is  falling yet.

New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government

As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand.

It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  are needed.

It could be  the  more experienced ministers who are the first to step up.   One of  the  first  to show  enthusiasm   for the tasks  she has  been  given is  Judith Collins.

NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control

New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy.

After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge deficits and an inflationary burst, the  new  economic  team  first must cut  government spending. Then it must  find ways to  get the economy growing  once more.

Is political stability shifting down as NZ awaits new ministers moving into their Beehive offices?

As the talks to form a  new  government wrap up (40 days since the election), officials  ought  to be telling  the three  leaders what  is  happening in the outside world, along  with their briefing papers poised for  new ministers to wrestle  with.

Among the news items that  should be  brought to their  attention is  this  one:

Long coalition negotiations from the new Government have seen a major economics consultancy downgrade its perception of NZ’s political stability to its lowest rating in more than a decade.

First pointer to Luxon’s ability as our country’s new leader may come in the allocation of ministerial portfolios

The NZ economy,  battered  and  bruised after six years of  a Labour government, has  still to pick itself off the floor. But  those  who keep a  close  eye on it   can detect  some  green shoots,  even  as  the  country  awaits an end to  the painfully slow process  of  forming  a  new, three-party  government.

Incoming ministers  may blanch as  they open up  the books.

But at  least they will know they can  rely  on the farming industries to perform well  as  they are doing, while the  tech sector is booming  and  tourism is returning  as one of  NZ’s key industries.

Have the new leaders forgotten the parlous state of the country’s finances?

While National, ACT and NZ First  are scrambling over the formation of a new government, their  leaders appear to have forgotten the  parlous state  of  the country’s finances and the urgent need to get  them  back into  shape.

Political journalists were  so engrossed with  the eloquence of the outgoing Finance Minister that  the public were left unaware of what one critic  described  as  the “blundering”.

Will the new government (when formed) do what is needed to project Auckland as a city with world-class facilities?

As New Zealand awaits the formation  of a new government, it is giving the successful  candidates  plenty of  time  to absorb the lessons from the election — and, more importantly, work out what must be done to retain and build that support.

While some commentators  saw the outcome as a complete rejection of the legacy of Jacinda Ardern, and her successor Chris Hipkins, others focussed on the  fact it was the biggest swing since the emergence of the two-party system in 1938, serving as an indication of just how significant this turnaround has been.

Key Labour candidates lost electorate seats in defeats that no one saw coming.