Living here on the East Coast after the floods, trying to stay sane in an environment that could easily drive you mad, it is hard to focus our attention on a credible recovery plan, costing as it will billions of dollars, when those who control the purse strings appear to have already written us off.
I suppose that
isn’t surprising given the sparsely populated region we inhabit and a cynical
view of political responses that would suggest we just don’t represent enough
votes.
However, there are very good reasons why money spent on our local recovery would be as good an investment as in any other place in the country.
I say that having
spent the last two decades promoting ideas for restructuring that, up until
now, have been ignored as either two expensive or incompatible with the
privileged minority groups that have had
their head in the public trough for years - and because they have such a
vested interest in our current underperforming economy, they see no reason to
change a single thing.
Their mantra
continues to be “l’m alright Jack” and unsurprisingly, are supported in this
suffocating stance by our elected officials.
You can’t make this up but it has to end.
So, what needs to happen in order to break this impasse and allow the people to break out of their confined space, using our natural resources (some old, some new) in a restructured way that could result in our region becoming the most prosperous in the land.
This is not a pipe
dream. It is based on a number of contributing factors that all align at a time
when economic restructuring is not just an idea but an absolute necessity.
However, for a
meaningful recovery to take place, the whole community must be willing to
divest itself of old prejudices, special interests and perceptions of
entitlement that would strangle this vision of a better world at birth. The
truth is that most of us must be prepared to change the way we do things in the
best interests of us all.
Climate change
which was a major factor in the devastation of established livestock and
forestry industries during the recent floods is here to stay and we have no
choice but to adapt these important contributors to our economy by bringing
them into balance with the changing weather patterns and its effect on the
local environment - in other words, a situation of peaceful co-existence.
That would mean a
transfer of income generating capacity from these older industries operating at
a reduced level to some new exciting opportunities which just happen to be waiting
relatively undeveloped only a stone’s throw from the city boundaries - 18000
hectares of some of the best arable flat land in the world which, with
irrigation, could turn our local economy on its head.
It is a no
brainer. Yet l am not at all confident that those who can make it happen are
prepared to swallow a few dead rats and adopt these simple proposals before we
fall further off the radar of government interest and its much needed
significant financial resources - a cash injection from a government fund
designed specifically to help provinces grow. We don’t have to go back any
further than Winston Peter’s “Provincial Growth Fund” to find a precedent for
this type of State investment.
It is interesting
to note that Labour reluctantly had to accept this part of the 2017 deal with
NZ First in order to become the Government. Ironically, it turned out to be one
of the few success stories of the Ardern led administration’s first term.
Are we likely to
see this type of lifesaver being recreated under future governments?
Time will tell but
the problem for us here on the East Coast is that we are already running out of
time.
We are hopeful
that the recommendations of the Parata Land Use Inquiry will force the
government to adopt meaningful restructuring ideas but, given the findings may
expose both Central and Local government as equally responsible for the
destruction, our immediate needs may have already become a low priority.
Government may be
forced to spend an enormous amount on legal defence of their bone headed,
ideologically driven policies that were avoidable.
Herein lies the
real tragedy. We appear to have been abandoned by the very people who should be
begging our forgiveness.
Unfortunately we,
the residents of this beautiful community, have become collateral damage of
misplaced pursuit of vain glory on the world stage while “Rome burns” at home.
We need to react
in unison against this threat to our democracy but any steps taken should be
conducted within the law. A revolution of the passive kind.
Clearly the best option is to send a message at the
ballot box next October.
That appears to be the only thing our current leaders
understand.
Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.
2 comments:
By arable do you mean for cropping (not pine trees)? Is the problem maori ownership, unreliable, unproductive local labour, remotemess? Is the world so short of food it will buy it from countries with very high minimum wage and a myriad carbon miles from anywhere? I gather the recent silt is not ex forest floor as much was previously but sterile deeper material and has not enhanced the river flats.
Yes Robert, in this context l am referring to cropping land although is is also land that has the flexibility, with irrigation, to grow most of the high end, non pollutant crops that are in demand throughout the world - not least in all of our major trading partners like China and India with their growing numbers of more affluent consumers. And the answer to your second question is also an emphatic Yes.
Our relatively efficient production of high quality food crops that the world has an insatiable appetite for, is the reason why we can transport these goods to the other side of the world and still compete in markets that earn us a tidy profit.
That is why the option to use the Tairawhiti flats in a way l am suggesting is an idea whose time has come.
I am not kidding when l claim that this type of development has the capacity to make us one of the most affluent regions in the country.
Your point about the silt origin is not a factor in determining the viability of the soils that make up the Poverty Bay flats - the recent floods left little silt on these 18,000 hectares because the stop banks held firm under the onslaught. The land in use is mainly a makeup of flood deposits dumped over centuries when the flats were unprotected that have evolved into high quality, well structured soils that are fit for purpose.
My concern is that special interest groups will limit the introduction of these inspirational policies simply because they are unable or unwilling to share the vision. It is the reason why we have become a backward, isolated community unable to realise our potential. It could be so different.
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