The biggest challenge facing the new government in New Zealand is going to be steering a path through the current global financial turmoil. The situation has similarities to the sport of canyoning, or trying to steer an unwieldy raft through a steep set of rapids. There is no chance of going against the flow. Rather the aim is to come out at the end without collapsing in the process.

The temptation will be to take a path of withdrawal from all external commitments, and to look only to our own interests, with the aim of being able to return to ‘business as normal’ once the crisis has past. Environmental issues such as controls on carbon emissions, that are going to cost financially, will be pushed back down the scale of importance. Similarly overseas development assistance (ODA) will be cut back or restructured to only those programs that have a visible economic kickback for New Zealand. The political focus for the industrialised countries will be on protecting their own consumers and taxpayers.

Such a path has the potential for the poor of the world to end up paying the heaviest price for a mess that they have had the least part in creating. A recent article in the Financial Times says:

“A response to the crisis that does not take into account the needs of the world’s poor – or, worse, that results in reduced levels of engagement – would be grossly unfair. We all share responsibility for the persistence of poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy on a vast scale. The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security. The sense of responsibility that has galvanised western politicians into action to restore confidence in the financial system should, in a globalised world, also result in actions to accelerate achievement of the millennium development goals.”

There is a vision for an alternative that is beginning to be suggested by thoughtful leaders around the world. This is to see the bursting of the bubble of the “greed based economy” as an opportunity for a global restructuring in a number of significant areas. There is a need for new thinking and new ways of working. Ways that will work better for the planet and for the human race.

Newsweek has a cover feature of “The Green Rescue”, with an article about the creation of a new energy economy – a revolution in the ways that energy is supplied and used, a revolution that will work for a reduction in carbon output while at the same time creating new jobs and new economic growth.

A similar “Poverty Rescue” is needed – a revolution in economic structures that will bring significant justice for the poor, while also providing economic stability for the rest of us. The Financial Times article concludes

“Big problems are the opportunity for big thinking. We know that globalisation can be a force for good. But if its benefits are to be shared, and the world not to be polarised between those who are in and those who are ever more marginalised, we need a new mindset and new global arrangements. We face a moment of risk and opportunity. We urge political leaders to summon the courage and vision to seize it.”

This is the challenge faced by the new government in New Zealand. Will we be a part of circling the wagons to protect the old structures, or will we have the courage to be a part of this new vision?

We invite you to write to the Prime Minister, John Key, asking him not to scale back New Zealand's commitment to the MDGs and global poverty reduction. See sample letter