We're about to go public with the regional council's plan to "face our future" over the next 10 years.
To be up front, Facing Our Future is a big challenge and we are going to need to be bold in our resolve. On the face of it, we've got a region that's doing well, that's productive, has a great climate and a range of seemingly abundant resources.
But you don't have to scratch much below the surface to discover that things aren't as "rosy" as they seem and there is a lot of work to do.
Aside from being a great place to live – and it is – we also see unsustainable practices on our land and in our towns; inefficient water use; underperforming storm and wastewater systems; streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries polluted by silt and nutrients; and problems amplified by climate change. This is the alternative reality that we need to face and if we are to be successful in the future, our whole community has to pull together.
We need to face up to these challenges and take action now, not in five or 10 years' time. So we propose starting this year. We want the regional council to work at a bigger scale and at a faster pace to fix the issues in our environment.
We need to scale up our work in the area of land and water management and biodiversity. Our proposal to do this includes a mix of incentives, partnerships and stronger regulation. To see major change across our region in the next 10 years, we need a step-change of activity. We plan to put more people on the ground not just at our head office, but also more dedicated staff in Wairoa and Central Hawke's Bay.