This is edition 2026/009 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
Changing Lanes.
Chris Trotter
- 🤔 Questions why a Swedish appointee was chosen as Reserve Bank Governor if the government expected quiet compliance with US power and traditional Kiwi bureaucratic caution.
- 🇸🇪 Explains Sweden’s history of independence from US influence, neutrality, and solidarity with the developing world, making deference to Washington culturally unlikely.
- 🏦 Argues that by accepting the role, the Governor assumed a duty to defend central bank independence, a principle New Zealand pioneered and should uphold globally.
- ⚠️ Says Donald Trump’s public threats against the US Federal Reserve undermined central bank independence and required an international rebuke from fellow central bankers.
- ✍️ Defends Anna Breman’s decision to sign the central bankers’ letter as proper and consistent with her responsibilities.
- 🗣️ Criticises Winston Peters for publicly rebuking the Governor and insisting the Reserve Bank stay out of US politics.
- 🌍 Notes that monetary policy is inherently global, and pretending it can be purely domestic repeats the errors of Muldoonism and Trumpism.
- 🧱 Warns that a stable global economy cannot survive if subject to the whims of a single powerful individual.
- 📰 Takes aim at cautious Kiwi pragmatism in media commentary that prioritises avoiding US displeasure over defending principles.
- 👁️ Uses a Tolkien analogy to argue that appeasing power out of fear only places small nations under its control.
- ⚖️ Stresses New Zealand’s compelling national interest in preserving a rules-based international order.
- 🤝 Revisits New Zealand’s Cold War alignment with the US, noting it was justified by America’s clear democratic credentials at the time.
- 🚨 Raises doubts about whether the US under Trump still deserves that allegiance if it drifts toward authoritarianism.
- 🏳️ Suggests the cost of placating US power is rising, with allies pressured to sacrifice sovereignty and principles.
- ✅ Concludes that Anna Breman acted correctly and that blind loyalty to a changing America risks betraying New Zealand’s values and interests.
