New Zealand might have avoided bailing out failed finance company investors to the tune of $2 billion if Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had held his nerve after the Lehman collapse, says former Finance Minister Sir Michael Cullen. For Cullen, the defining moment of the financial crisis was the day of Labour's campaign launch at the Auckland Town Hall — Sunday October 12. It will be remembered as the day Helen Clark announced the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee scheme. It was a move that reassured New Zealanders their bank deposits were safe, as big banks collapsed around the world. But it also forced the ... (full story)