Clive Bibby: The best of the best

Last Sunday night’s Country Calendar and from what we already know about next week’s story, provide all the evidence of why this nation has become one of the most efficient producers of agriculture products in the world.

I can say that without having seen the next episode simply because l already know about the East Coast property that compliments the magnificent portrayal of our mixed race farming families that we saw in the 30 minutes joy ride into the Clarence River valley - and will no doubt repeat the exposure in a weeks time at a dramatically different North Island location.

You can’t “make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” no matter how hard you try if the basic ingredients aren’t there and these two families are typical of so much that demonstrates why we are world leaders in so many areas.

They also show why there is so much promise for the future if only the government would leave us alone to get on with doing what we do best.

It isn’t difficult to work out why these families are prospering where others have failed.

And it has nothing to do with State sponsored gerrymandering of the system in order to allow them to flourish.

We just need to sit back and listen to them tell it like it is, especially including the sacrifices that each family has made in order to make it happen.

No need to complain about the isolation or the logistics of dealing with specific geological features that could and do limit progress.

Instead you will note the characteristics that ensure, not only their survival but also the reason for their continued success.

It is all about respect for the environment, their respective kaitiaki role caring for what they have been entrusted with, their succession planning and most important, the moral values that provide the cornerstones of any well structured business.

We don’t hear of any reliance on Governments or sense of entitlement that allows access to subsidies that seem to be needed to prop up other families in similar circumstances. No hint of preferential treatment given based on race.

They just get on using what they have in abundance - a passion for hard work involving all members of the family making a contribution, an ability to identify the key areas where capital expenditure (sometimes major portions of limited farm income) has to be prioritised during the bad times - especially by recognising their responsibilities to those outside the family who are critical to the wining formula when times are good again.

Unfortunately, this type of “kiwi endeavour” is in danger of becoming a relic of a past age when everyone accepted their responsibilities to one another and made their own individual contribution to the nation’s well being.

We are being lead into the “valley of the shadow of death” where people of different colour are being encouraged to think selfishly about their own needs while ignoring the plight of those who are worse off.

It is a trap from which we may not emerge unless there is a dramatic change of ideological persuasion at the very top.

I am convinced that the majority of kiwis still believe in the old adage that “we are our brother’s keeper”.

But that acknowledgement of responsibility for those less fortunate will not mean a damn thing if those who can make it happen for all are denied the opportunity to do so.

The current policy of “divide and rule” will never work in this country, especially while we have the foresight to see where our best interests lie.

We can and should be doing much better! 

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.