The Beehive Buzz

The image on the right is one of the oldest beehives in Aotearoa New Zealand. It dates to the mid 19th century and can be seen a the Te Waimate Mission in Te Tai Tokerau Northland. This beehive was crafted to "house" bees. It is therefore, in the widest possible sense, a building! But it is not this beehive that gives this page its name - The Beehive Buzz.

That Beehive is one of a group of buildings housing the New Zealand Government in its capital city Wellington. It houses the office of the  Prime Minister and those of other Ministers. 

Colloquially, "The Beehive" stands for anything that is associated with the functions  carried out by the Government of the day.  Think of it as similar to the way Americans refer to "Uncle Sam".

As Aotearoa New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy, "The Beehive" can be said to be representing "The Crown" - and that concept readers best explore for themselves by following the link. 

For the purposes of this website, suffice it to say, the Beehive Buzz is the entry point to the various engagements, entanglements, knowledge gaps and action items that I can identify between the fresh produce system and those who aim to guide and regulate by way of desire, official function and, possibly at times, misguided enthusiasm.

And these are the touchpoints we plan to raise, analyse and discuss here.

Former US President Ronald Reagan is known, amongst other things, for producing pearls of verbal wisdom that have  endured the passage of time. The most famous one, which has been linked to the former Soviet Union's attempt of sustainable perestroika, is dated June 1987.  Reagan was speaking on the West Berlin side of the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall and addressed the Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party by name: "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall". The wall came down two years later, in 1989.

There is another Reagan quote though, that goes through my mind frequently and that is: "I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help".

Tellingly, Reagan made this statement in at a press conference in 1986, in connection with US agriculture.  Regan went on to explain:

"A great many of the current problems on the farm were caused by government-imposed embargoes and inflation, not to mention government's long history of conflicting and haphazard policies. Our ultimate goal, of course, is economic independence for agriculture, and through steps like the tax reform bill, we seek to return farming to real farmers. But until we make that transition, the Government must act compassionately and responsibly. In order to see farmers through these tough times, our administration has committed record amounts of assistance, spending more in this year alone than any previous administration spent during its entire tenure. No area of the budget, including defense, has grown as fast as our support for agriculture."

Whilst Reagan used his quip within the context of changes to US agricultural subsidies for grain farmers at the time, the core of his message, "I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help", transcends borders and The Beehive Buzz will use Ronald Reagan's pearl of wisdom as a common  thread and potential recurring theme in our analysis of government/fresh produce industry interactions, both historical ones and those yet to come.