Well maybe there is...

New Zealand is about as far away as it is possible to get from the pending focus of western military action and possible terrorist responses -- so maybe our remote location and relative neutrality can work to our advantage.

With IT being pivotal to the operation of all Western economies, it is not at all unlikely that communications and data-processing facilities in the USA and Europe will become high-priority targets for terrorist attacks.

How useful would it be to have redundant processing and data storage tucked away on the backside of the planet then?

Likewise, anyone embarking on the development or maintenance of large software projects might find New Zealand an even more attractive place to undertake such work.

With the prospect of a dirty and protracted battle on its doorstep, the lure of cheap IT resources from India might be a little less attractive to many US companies. Could we fill the gap?

To realise this potential opportunity we'd need a fairly well organised and well funded sales campaign. Unfortunately, such a thing is probably beyond the resources of most of NZ's IT companies. However, it's something that might be worthy of public funding -- given the long-term payback and the government's stated intention to move us into the knowledge economy.

Readers Say (updated hourly) I'd rather they blew something up offshore!... - Adam FBI - You don't WANT feedback... - Rob NZ as a Data Haven?... - Martnz relations... - Dominic NZ... - Sam Have Your Say

But here's the flaw in what might otherwise be a great plan.

From what I read here, NZ is not interested in pledging military assistance to the USA or NATO anti-terrorism initiatives within the ANZUS framework.

That has to count as a black-mark against us.

Note: TV reports indicate that NZ *is* prepared to offer direct military assistance if called upon -- it's just that it will be outside the ANZUS alliance.

As if we didn't have enough trouble with the Aussies considering us to be a bunch of asset-stripping bludgers over the Ansett affair, now we open ourselves to claims of shirking our responsibilities in respect to ANZUS.

And, even if we could convince the USA and Europe that we're nice guys all the same -- there's the small issue of national security.

With our Air Force being downgraded to little more than a trans-Tasman air-taxi service for stranded Prime Ministers -- how can we really expect the USA and Europe to believe that their data and development resources would be safe here?

Another opportunity lost :-(

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