Burdon: A Man of Our TimeIt would be easy to make assumptions about someone like Philip Burdon. The product of a long line of landed gentry going back to the fourteenth century, and of well-heeled pilgrims on Canterbury's First Four Ships, brought up and educated as one of South Canterbury's privileged landowners, a distinguished old boy of Christ's College - and a self-made multimillionaire to boot. Burdon might appear to be the archetypal New Zealand Anglocentric conservative. The truth is very different. This man is also a passionate republican, a businessman with an acute social conscience, a liberal politician who fought relentlessly against the right-wing ideologues of his own National Party, and not only slowed their extremist free-market reforms but convinced his caucus that this philosophy must wear a human face. As Minister of Trade Negotiations, he steered New Zealand through the labyrinth of GATT reforms that made up the Uruguay Round, oversaw a tremendous expansion of New Zealand's trading links into the Middle East, Asia and south and Central America, and championed the cause of regional economic development in the Pacific-Asia area. And, especially through the Asia 2000 Foundation, he has striven for multi-racial harmony and to encourage New Zealand's Asian community to take a full part in this country's public affairs. But this is much more than the biography of a complex and interesting man. Critically acclaimed historian Edmund Bohan has also created a fascinating, lively and important portrait of an extraordinary period in New Zealand's history. |
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Contents
Foreword hy Ian Templeton | 9 |
Childhood and Youth | 26 |
Mushrooms and Cyprus 196879 | 37 |
1 A Puhlic Man 197281 53 | 81 |
Party Ructions and Election Dramas 198384 | 88 |
The Divided Caucus | 105 |
S Building Bridges with Business 198687 | 123 |
Opposition Again 198790 | 134 |
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ahility ahle ahout Air New Zealand announced APEC Asia Asian Auckland Australia Bolger Burdon Papers Cahinet Cairns Group campaign Canterhury caucus Christchurch continued Cotsford Cotty Cyprus Decemher dehate descrihed Douglas douht economic election electorate estahlished export farm farmers Fehruary Fendalton GATT government's hack hackground halance hase hecame hecause hecome heen hefore hegan helieved hench henefit hest hetween hoard hoth hrought huilding husiness husinessman Ihid industry inevitahle Lahour Lahour Party Lange leader liheral liheralisation lohhy major Maori McKinnon McLay Meadow Mushrooms memhers Michelle Berridge interview Mike Moore ministerial Muldoon National Party National's negotiations Novemher numher Octoher officials ohserved Parliament parliamentary party's Philip Burdon political politicians possihle Press prime minister prohlems puhlic Quek Leng Chan responsihility Richardson Roger Roger McClay Rogernomics Rowland Ruth Richardson sector Septemher 1995 social South Island suhsidies tariffs trade urhan Uruguay Round vote Wellington Winston Peters