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Andrew Dickens: A good news story out of the Government · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And it's a bit easy to be negative these days.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Times are tough. Talk is cheap, and I know some
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: people think I'm a little bit negative, but I like
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  Speaker 1: to manage expectations about stuff and realistically appraise things and
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  Speaker 1: not get too carried away with rhetoric. But today, today
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to praise the government and I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: be positive. The surprise announcement that free trade talks between
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand and India will start next month was to
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  Speaker 1: me great news that I was not expecting. Like PPPs,
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  Speaker 1: it won't be a game change a short term, but
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  Speaker 1: it's certainly, like PPPs, a step in the right direction.
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  Speaker 1: The welcome given to Christopher Luxen was quite a thing.
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  Speaker 1: There were flags and billboards all over town that was
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  Speaker 1: rowly welcome from folk dancers, they were happy to see us.
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  Speaker 1: And then the news that we finally will negotiate. We've
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  Speaker 1: recently battled them in cricket. India loves us and they
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  Speaker 1: know we're already good friends. And look, the benefits for
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  Speaker 1: both countries are going to be large. And for too long,
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  Speaker 1: our need for dairy to be part of a comprehensive
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  Speaker 1: deal has held talks back. But India is still a
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  Speaker 1: way away from needing us in dairy. They have a
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  Speaker 1: huge but poorly performing herd of cows. I mean they're
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  Speaker 1: yield as atrocious, but they are still self sufficient. And
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  Speaker 1: I was reading yesterday the estimates of local production are
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  Speaker 1: falling short for the Indian market in about twenty five
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  Speaker 1: years time, certainly not tomorrow. They don't need dairy now,
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  Speaker 1: they will need dairy in the future. And I remind
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  Speaker 1: you about the Chinese Free trade deal which we sign
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  Speaker 1: but finally got dairy included twenty years after our first agreement.
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  Speaker 1: So this free trade thing is a long conversation. When
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  Speaker 1: they need us, they need us, and there's a lot
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  Speaker 1: more to India than just dairy. Space space is a
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  Speaker 1: no brainer. India's already aiming for the moon, They've already
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  Speaker 1: been there. We have space, we have great tech. It
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  Speaker 1: is another sector that we can benefit from India's expertise
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  Speaker 1: to help our productivity. Our it is atrocious. And with
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  Speaker 1: all eyes on Chinese expansion in the Indo Pacific region,
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  Speaker 1: there are many reasons for a closer relationship. That's why
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  Speaker 1: Christpher Luxen is talking right now at a defense seminar
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  Speaker 1: in India, and if tensions were China increase, our manufacturers
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  Speaker 1: will need India's cheap labor, and on China, we need
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  Speaker 1: to have India on our side, the same way we
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  Speaker 1: walk the tight rope with America on Pacific security, and
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  Speaker 1: we still have a relationship with China. So why will
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  Speaker 1: While we will always consider dairy as a cornerstone to
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  Speaker 1: our competitiveness in global trade, we have often spoken of
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  Speaker 1: the need to have some diversification in our export markets
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  Speaker 1: and this deal offers us a chance to grow and
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  Speaker 1: become broader base and with a bit of luck. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure of it. Deare we will join the ride
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  Speaker 1: as years go by. For more from Early edition with
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talks it Be from
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  Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.