Whinging Somalian refugees insult our charity. GO HOME THEN!

[mashman]

railguns for me please.

[Zedder]

railguns for me please.

Love 'em bro!

[Robert Taylor]

Thought the A4s were Vietnam era, picky

Yeah funny how pollys are al noise in opposition but shout up quick when in power. At least Helen had a vision, rose tinted and deluded, but a vision none the less.

In fairness the A4s gave a very good account of themselves in 82 in the Falklands war. The Argentine Air force was the only service that gave a good account of itself, although they were the enemy all respect to those brave Argentine pilots.

Helen sure had a vision alright, to create more people that voted for a living and less that actually worked for a living. That is a blueprint to keep socialist parties in power

[Robert Taylor]

True, which, coincidentally, is what the old "AirFarce" used to do as a primary operation.

Best investment on NZs future in my opinion.

Absolutely, we seem to have this benign belief that we will never be threatened. Given that fresh water, primary foodstuffs and sea harvest will be even more scarce in the future who is willing to argue that 100 million or more Indonesians and their equally unsavoury mates wont be eyeing up Australia and its almost totally undefended neighbour in years to come?

A credible defence force with overhead air cover should be a certainty and not a political football, that is one thing the Aussies have got very right.

And we as New Zealanders should not be freeloading off them.

[pete376403]

We're going to need a pretty big air force, then, just to keep up with Indonesia, let alone all their unsavoury mates..
The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel[citation needed] equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.[1] (wikipedia)


Like to suggest where the money for this is going to come from? Tax increase on small business owners, perhaps?

[arkeo]

[...] Let one or two in and then open the floodgates to all their hanger on relies.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6670...rooms-won-t-go

Ungrateful pricks insulting NZ for forcing them to live in third world conditions in Chch. Our own people are suffering in Chch, why should these refugees expect preferential treatment?

This is a very delicate question. Of course what I am going to say is not to meddle (I do not forget that I am a foreign guest here) but just to remark how things may be viewed in different terms. Italy is more or less a gate for Africa, and historical reasons (basically, Catholicism and a sound socialist tradition) favor uncontrolled immigration, just to use an euphemism. The scenario described in the link is everyday here, to an extent that may be difficult to realize from your green paradise.

I live in a small center that is (unfortunately, because I love quiet and green) rapidly growing. Many constructions have been made, 90% unsold because of the economic crisis. But all the cellars available (I mean underground warehouses, I am not sure of the term) have been quickly bought by Chinese bosses who in turn rent the rooms to poor people to live and work. They live in very poor condition; being mainly clandestine they seldom go out, spending weeks without seeing the sky, 10-20 per room. I could hardly imagine the level of hygiene and discomfort.

I try to take their role and imagine myself desperate, seeking for a better place to live in, but on the other hand I feel as I were pressed by some kind of invasion. So, I try to avoid judgments even if, I admit, is very difficult.

All this to say that as far as I can tell, NZ has the tremendous advantage of being far and isolate, so it is possible to decide what to do with immigration policies. I think that there are no other countries in the whole world that are at the same time civilized and far from some important problems that plague nearly the rest of the planet.

EDIT: as for the preferential treatment, consider that in Italy it suffice to be immigrant for being at the top of the lists for services, that are of course limited. In some cases there are more than 50-70% sons of immigrant in the schools, so many Italians, even not wealthy not to say poor, have to pay both school for children and other services.

cheers!

A.

[gammaguy]

Absolutely, we seem to have this benign belief that we will never be threatened. Given that fresh water, primary foodstuffs and sea harvest will be even more scarce in the future who is willing to argue that 100 million or more Indonesians and their equally unsavoury mates wont be eyeing up Australia and its almost totally undefended neighbour in years to come?

A credible defence force with overhead air cover should be a certainty and not a political football, that is one thing the Aussies have got very right.

And we as New Zealanders should not be freeloading off them.

give me a break

either you have never been to Indonesia(I have,many times)or when you were there you were asleep

Indonesia is easily self sufficient in water,food and a whole lot besides.

Its Vast land and sea mass sees to that

Granted,it is one of the most corrupt and poorly managed countries on earth,but that is the very reason why a concerted effort to invade and take over NZ is very unlikely indeed.

Yes,we dont know how lucky we are,but I can assure you NZ does not have the monopoly on anything,and whatever we have here,there are plenty of other places that have more of it.

Except maybe for cow shit

[short-circuit]

give me a break

either you have never been to Indonesia(I have,many times)or when you were there you were asleep

Indonesia is easily self sufficient in water,food and a whole lot besides.

Its Vast land and sea mass sees to that

Granted,it is one of the most corrupt and poorly managed countries on earth,but that is the very reason why a concerted effort to invade and take over NZ is very unlikely indeed.

Yes,we dont know how lucky we are,but I can assure you NZ does not have the monopoly on anything,and whatever we have here,there are plenty of other places that have more of it.

Except maybe for cow shit

...and horse shit - produced by countless blowhards like RT

[Robert Taylor]

...and horse shit - produced by countless blowhards like RT

I think Ive got a much better record than you re offering useful information on this site. Apologies for daring to express opinion.

[Robert Taylor]

We're going to need a pretty big air force, then, just to keep up with Indonesia, let alone all their unsavoury mates..
The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel[citation needed] equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.[1] (wikipedia)


Like to suggest where the money for this is going to come from? Tax increase on small business owners, perhaps?

The whole point is we dont even make any attempt to show that we are interested in defending ourselves. With zero effort why should anyone help us if we are threatened?

[Robert Taylor]

give me a break

either you have never been to Indonesia(I have,many times)or when you were there you were asleep

Indonesia is easily self sufficient in water,food and a whole lot besides.

Its Vast land and sea mass sees to that

Granted,it is one of the most corrupt and poorly managed countries on earth,but that is the very reason why a concerted effort to invade and take over NZ is very unlikely indeed.

Yes,we dont know how lucky we are,but I can assure you NZ does not have the monopoly on anything,and whatever we have here,there are plenty of other places that have more of it.

Except maybe for cow shit

Many Australians may care to argue that point with you.

[Robert Taylor]

We're going to need a pretty big air force, then, just to keep up with Indonesia, let alone all their unsavoury mates..
The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel[citation needed] equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.[1] (wikipedia)


Like to suggest where the money for this is going to come from? Tax increase on small business owners, perhaps?

Spend nothing on Somalian refugess and others of their ilk for starters

Trim the welfare budget, which is still out of control

Instil a culture of working for a living rtaher than voting for a living. Some way to go there.

We afforded a small Air strike Force before, we can again

[Tigadee]

Anti shipping rockets,patriot missile systems, & a few drones should sort it....

Drones are a good idea... Low cost/maintenance, easy training and large pool of potential pilots thanks to the xBox and PS3.

[Tigadee]

The whole point is we dont even make any attempt to show that we are interested in defending ourselves. With zero effort why should anyone help us if we are threatened?

Because unless we've suddenly struck a huge oil/gas/gold/diamond field, we're not really all that important (even strategically) and so not worth invading. We don't control shipping routes, we don't produce high-technology products, refine or produce large amounts of oil/gas, etc.

The Aussies would be the more likely target for valuable resources from land to water to precious metals to oil/gas. And there are enough mutual protection agreements in place that Oz and NZ would be protected in the event of a conventional large-scale invasion. Even China would assist Oz because they would not want the largest Muslim country in the world to gain access to uranium.

Plus, warfare is rarely fought on a large conventional scale any longer, not since the Gulf wars. Most conflicts are now fought on a small-scale unconventional manner. AND we're more likely to be bought over than to be invaded militarily...

[Robert Taylor]

Because unless we've suddenly struck a huge oil/gas/gold/diamond field, we're not really all that important (even strategically) and so not worth invading. We don't control shipping routes, we don't produce high-technology products, refine or produce large amounts of oil/gas, etc.

The Aussies would be the more likely target for valuable resources from land to water to precious metals to oil/gas. And there are enough mutual protection agreements in place that Oz and NZ would be protected in the event of a conventional large-scale invasion. Even China would assist Oz because they would not want the largest Muslim country in the world to gain access to uranium.

Plus, warfare is rarely fought on a large conventional scale any longer, not since the Gulf wars. Most conflicts are now fought on a small-scale unconventional manner. AND we're more likely to be bought over than to be invaded militarily...

Fair points but of course who knows how big our oil and gas reserves really are? Certainly also our fishery reserves are huge and more and moreso in the future we are a gateway to the Antarctic.

For those who are not prepared to learn from histories mistakes it is also fair to point out that we were very much under threat of invasion between 1941 to 43. Its lucky a few naval and air battles changed that horrible possibility