On December 15th, 1975, then Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon cancelled the 37-week-old compulsory New Zealand Superannuation Scheme, introduced by the previous Labour Government. This fund would have provided the infrastructure piggy bank we so desperately need today, post-Cyclone Gabrielle.
According to investment columnist the late Brian Gaynor, this “dreadful decision” transformed us into the low-wage, low-ranking economy we are today. He could have added (but didn’t) that subsequently the national debate is rife with toxic bickering about how and where to raise capital.
As a remote, rural city with challenging topography, Gisborne feels the downstream effects of the lack of a national infrastructure fund particularly acutely, but we must find ways to plan for and invest in the future regardless. GDC is to be congratulated for its Active Travel Strategy and Mode Shift plan.
I would go further and say that the present habit of driving children to school is an abject failure of parenting and if all children walked or biked our roads would be demonstrably safer.
At the age of eight I survived a poorly judged attempt to race the fire engine across the Mangapapa Bridge, which was single lane in those days. I certainly didn’t try that again, or dream of telling my parents what a fright I’d had. The response would have been it served me right!
