Every once in a while I write something, people listen and great stuff happens, but no-one notices that I bothered to begin with.
Such a case was Bruce Bisset’s “Create ‘Potential’ in Regions, Too” piece in Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Central government doesn’t care about growing the regions simply because there’s too much money being made, in too many ways, from Auckland’s rampant growth. ‘
Trying to devolve that growth is in the “don’t start” basket; better the provinces become a dull patchwork of dairying, forests, mines and service towns, with our best sent off to be grist in Auckland’s rapacious mills than offered a viable alternate future at home.”
I have been saying and writing about this sort of stuff for years. Yet no-one seems to have taken much notice.
But when someone who gets paid to voice the same opinions as I do, there’s suddenly a flood of publicity and activity towards it.
Just yesterday I read there was a “Forum” on demographic change in Hawke’s Bay and how best to handle it.
Other than local MP Craig Foss saying:
Hawke’s Bay having an older population “was not necessarily a bad thing. They’re not boy racers, they don’t wear patches”
The main concept HB Today highlighted was an academic’s recommendation to use retirees living on the pension as volunteer (i.e. “FREE”) labour to do tasks that younger generations would be paid to do, further deepening Hawke’s Bay’s economic and employment doldrums.
If that’s the best the nation’s “academics” can come up with, I’m REALLY glad I never went to university.
But back to Bruce’s article. Or rather the paper’s online comments section – which often makes better reading than the articles themselves.
Ardent pro-amalgamationalist and anti-Napier City Council complainer “Enid” wrote:
From a couple of grammatical slips in previous comments, “Enid” would appear to actually be a member of, if not one of the lead protagonists for “A Better Hawke’s Bay”.
He would also appear to be a former, apparently very bitter, Napier City councillor. So that might explain a lot of his constant bagging of NCC and his promotion of fellow pro-amalgamationalist Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule and his council.
But what concerns me in his comment is why are these “100’s of jobs” “pending transfer” to just Hastings?
The organisation he is a part of is called “A Better HAWKE’S BAY” – not “A Better Hastings” – why not share the love, jobs and opportunity?
Oh, that’s right…
And, Heck! Why are these hundreds of jobs just “PENDING”??
HB’s economy continues to suffer. Real estate prices are low, labour is cheap.
Or are these “100’s of pending jobs” at the mercy / whim of fellow ABHB members’ companies?
A Better Hawke’s Bay has some big, influential, moneyed backers with links to lots of big businesses. So is this is some kind of sick “If you don’t play by our rules, we’re taking our bat and ball and going home!” tactic from them?
Or is “Enid” just fishing with a red herring and these “corporates” who are “pending transferring 100’s of jobs to Hastings” are going to do just that – TRANSFER 100’s of jobs, along with the staff who currently fill them – negating any local employment for the positions, to Hastings?
We ALL want Hawke’s Bay to do better. Not just Hastings, Not just Napier – the entire region!
So I dearly wish those with the most direct opportunity and resources to make Hawke’s Bay better WOULD STOP STUFFING AROUND WITH IT!
