The Country 20/08/25: Dr Jacqueline Rowarth talks to Jamie Mackay

“It’s the economy, stupid. This phrase remains both relevant and important, despite its age. It was coined in 1992 by James Carville, when he was advising Bill Clinton in what turned out to be a successful run for the White House, and has appeared at regular intervals because it has captured the frustrations of the times repeatedly”. So writes a leading primary sector academic.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's the economy stupid. This phrase remains both relevant and
important despite its age. It was coined in nineteen ninety
two by James Carvill when he was advising Bill Clinton
and what turned out to be a successful run for
the White House, and has appeared at regular intervals because
it has captured the frustrations of the times repeatedly, so

(00:24):
writes doctor Jaquelin Rowath, and are excellent fortnightly column on
the country. Dot Co dot In said, And what has
James Carville and Bill Clinton got to do with Green
MP Steve Abel.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
The interesting debate he had with Finance Minister Deputy Prime
Minister Nicola Willis on whether farmers keep all the profits
for themselves whilst spreading pollution widely. And Nichola kept trying
to point out that the money that is brought in
from exports goes fund the New Zealand economy and filled

(01:02):
and notes figures are like seven point two times every
one million dollars for dairy is seven point two million
of value to our domestic economy. That's huge and eight
point to six something like full time equivalents. It's employment
and it's money circulating being shared.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
What are these fiscal halfwoods and that's a good description
for them in the green. So how do they think
we pay for the likes of health care, education, infrastructure?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
So think that we should be paying more taxes so
that we can have better education, health and infrastructure. But
of course if you make more taxes, then the other
money that's lubricating the rural economy. And remember that Auton said,
you've got to give us money to the government because
we don't have agriculture. I love that. So through the

(02:01):
taxes that we pay at every stage with the new
money coming into the country, we are supporting every component
of New Zealand. That is we as in the agricultural sector.
But how they think, well, you know, we know what happened.
They borrow more and that's not good.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well, Heaven help us if they ever get near the
treasury benches. Now, a number that always not astounds me
but confuses me is that dairy is four percent of
New Zealand's GDP. Yet it is I mean, the primary
sector accounts for what's seventy to eighty percent of our
total export income. Dairy's half of that. It always surprises

(02:44):
me that that number isn't higher.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Because people buy such a lot, and they're just fascinating.
The whole retail economy, which does do quite well in
terms of productivity, is based on the money that comes
in from exports, and so the GDP figure is quite different.
It's probably around just over three percent. You see, it's
less than four but I agree with you, it doesn't

(03:08):
seem right. Remember that is the dairy milt products. And
what we then see is the magnification through the community
that allows them not to attribute it to dairy but
to attribute it to food sales, or clothes sales, or
car sales, those sorts of things. So that's why it's

(03:28):
much smaller.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
The likes of Steve Abele and his mates and the
Greens will bang on about things like agriculture being the
biggest user of water. But you point out because I
think we agriculture does use eighty percent of air water,
but we only as a nation use five percent of
the available water anyhow, So where's the problem.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
I don't see it. But again, it's less than five percent.
It sort of depends exactly how you count it, but
certainly the amount that's used to remember, most irrigation water
eventually makes its way act into the system but we've
used it first, and by using it, that's where we
create our export value. Because most countries are water poor,

(04:09):
we are not, and our efficient irrigation systems allow us
to produce food effectively and then export it for value.
So horticulture and dairy in particular are the users of water,
a tiny, tiny component of that which we have. And
yet I'm for better water storage, proper infrastructure, better water

(04:33):
storage that is then distributed in a precise way. Precision
technologies has come a long way since the nineteen forties.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Check well, and you're getting me very excited talking about
water storage. You know it's a hot spot for me.
I love a good damn hey, thank you very much
for your time. As always, this is an excellent column.
You can read it on the country dot co dot nz.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Cheers, OK, Thanks Jomie