NZ is getting less remote
Mar 5th 2011, 11:34 pm
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 383
NZ is getting less remote
Back in the earlier decades NZ was nothing short of the moon from our European perspective when travelling was concerned.
Then came the internet which enables me from Finland to communicate with you just like this. Isn't technology a wonderful thing?
However, in the future NZ is far from being considered a remote country. The whole economic emphasis is gradually shifting away from the North Atlantic to the Pacific and in that situation a country like NZ is really a very big player.
Or perhaps not. What are your thoughts on this issue? Is NZ remote even by the Pacific standards? There is no doubt that the Pacific economic boom will make Australia an economic super power but will there be crumbs for NZ as well?
Then came the internet which enables me from Finland to communicate with you just like this. Isn't technology a wonderful thing?
However, in the future NZ is far from being considered a remote country. The whole economic emphasis is gradually shifting away from the North Atlantic to the Pacific and in that situation a country like NZ is really a very big player.
Or perhaps not. What are your thoughts on this issue? Is NZ remote even by the Pacific standards? There is no doubt that the Pacific economic boom will make Australia an economic super power but will there be crumbs for NZ as well?
Mar 6th 2011, 3:10 am
#2
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Joined: Aug 2008
Location: Top of the South
Posts: 348
Re: NZ is getting less remote
Back in the earlier decades NZ was nothing short of the moon from our European perspective when travelling was concerned.
Then came the internet which enables me from Finland to communicate with you just like this. Isn't technology a wonderful thing?
However, in the future NZ is far from being considered a remote country. The whole economic emphasis is gradually shifting away from the North Atlantic to the Pacific and in that situation a country like NZ is really a very big player.
Or perhaps not. What are your thoughts on this issue? Is NZ remote even by the Pacific standards? There is no doubt that the Pacific economic boom will make Australia an economic super power but will there be crumbs for NZ as well?
Then came the internet which enables me from Finland to communicate with you just like this. Isn't technology a wonderful thing?
However, in the future NZ is far from being considered a remote country. The whole economic emphasis is gradually shifting away from the North Atlantic to the Pacific and in that situation a country like NZ is really a very big player.
Or perhaps not. What are your thoughts on this issue? Is NZ remote even by the Pacific standards? There is no doubt that the Pacific economic boom will make Australia an economic super power but will there be crumbs for NZ as well?
For what it is worth I would like to thank you for posing such interesting scenarios here on the forum, they always engage me, but I am not always good with the typed word!
Remoteness in this day and age is only a feeling, the physical aspect no longer exists imo. In this day and age we have 14 year old girls circumnavigating the planet in boats whilst chatting to Mum on Skype; I mean what ever happened to remoteness! And what's with all this tweeting???
When I first returned to NZ I found being so far removed from Europe very weird, but China and USA are close; business is swift and uncomplicated. In my case I no longer do any business with Europe; it is all here in my 'backyard'.
Mar 6th 2011, 5:26 am
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Perth WA
Posts: 173
Re: NZ is getting less remote
I'm not sure whether NZ is "really a very big player" no matter where the world's economic centre shifts to, but isn't that the charm of the country?
From a personal point of view I wonder how much you will benefit from the fact that China and the USA are "close" (not really) and I don't believe NZ benefits greatly from that fact as a country either. Yes it is an advantage that Australia is relatively close. Skype and the internet won't make travel distances any shorter or cheaper either, don't underestimate that. Being located at the edge of Europe is different than being located at the edge of Australasia if you have a European background with ties still to your old country. There is definetly a physical aspect to the remoteness of this region.
From a personal point of view I wonder how much you will benefit from the fact that China and the USA are "close" (not really) and I don't believe NZ benefits greatly from that fact as a country either. Yes it is an advantage that Australia is relatively close. Skype and the internet won't make travel distances any shorter or cheaper either, don't underestimate that. Being located at the edge of Europe is different than being located at the edge of Australasia if you have a European background with ties still to your old country. There is definetly a physical aspect to the remoteness of this region.
Mar 6th 2011, 2:37 pm
#4
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 383
Re: NZ is getting less remote
Perhaps it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that NZ is going to be a big player when the economic emphasis moves to the Pacific rim region but it will no longer be considered a remote country. There is nothing wrong with being remote, I have often told my fellow countrymen that Finland would be suited to have a geographic location like NZ because most Finns don't like Swedes, they don't like Russians, they don't like Estonians, they don't like people from any country, they often don't even like their own countrymen.
