Jim Hopkins: It's all going to get a lot harder

'The exodus could be a stampede'. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Most of us know the quote. It's one of the 20th century's more frequently cited lines. No matter that the chap who said it very possibly didn't, or not in those exact words. Often muttered, never uttered, if you will. The point is, we think he said what they say he said and that's what counts.

When American journalist Lincoln Steffans visited Russia in 1919, two years after the Germans smuggled Lenin back into the country to foment revolution, he was much taken with what he saw and said so in no uncertain terms.

"I have seen the future, and it works," Mr Steffans declared. And even if that wasn't precisely what he said it was exactly what he meant.

"I have seen the future, and it works."

They came to mind, those words, the other day, and have been there ever since, rattling away, inviting comparison between his then and our now. "I have seen the future, and it works." No it doesn't, Mr Steffans. Not now. It may. It will.

But not yet. If you were here today, sir, your line would be, "I have seen the future, and it's hard."

Because it will be. It will. There are no easy options any more. They're gone. Easy options are off. Whichever we choose in the next little while, they'll come from the hard, harder or hardest range. That's all there is in stock.

And it's not just politicians who need to understand this - some do already, they just ain't saying nowt.

It's us, ladies and gentlemen. We're the ones who've got to understand how hard it's going to be. And not only understand it but accept it too. If easy options are off, so are most of the petty complaints that preoccupy us.

A small case in point, one literally just to hand. In the background, half heard, there's a bloke on the wireless discussing a report about the cost of policy advice, upon which the gummint currently spends, fasten your seat belts, folks, $880,000,000 per annum.

Not any more. Gone. Finished. Cut. Maybe our Gloria's leaders have been spending $880,000,000 on policy advice - much of which is bollocks, as anyone obliged to wade through it will attest. But they won't be doing so any longer.

Between us, the electorate and its representatives have squandered billions on fluffy stuff in the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, all around this country, you'll find unsafe bridges, second-rate roads, inadequate infrastructure, things neglected, unimproved, arteries of growth clogged by neglect.

Don't blame the MPs, people. It's our neglect as much as theirs. They took their NIMBY cue from us. In this most insular of lotus lands, we were the ones who didn't want any ripples on the pond. Well, forget ripples. Now we've got to save the pond.

And you don't need to pay $880,000,000 to realise that's just got 100 times harder. There's a whole city to rebuild. No. There's actually two cities to rebuild. One tangible, the other intangible, but no less real. New Zealand is a city. We are. In population terms, we're a city trapped in a country's body. And the city's got to put the country to work.

Starting now, we must do more things and new things here. That's not an option. It's a necessity.

Heading into Timaru, the hitchhiker considered his options. Maybe he'd stay with his mate in St Andrews and see if he could find work. Maybe he'd go back to Christchurch - if things settled down.

Or maybe he'd do "what most people I know are going to do, head over to Oz". In which case, the slow leak of talent and youth becomes a flood. The exodus could be a stampede.

We don't have enough people here now. We could soon lose even more. The city of New Zealand could get even smaller.

And if you think that's fine, because we don't need a crowd, then you're missing the point. We do need a crowd. No ifs, no buts. All the problems we had have just got worse. A trouble shared, remember ... More people aren't part of the solution. They are the solution.

Immigration, irrigation, excavation; like it or not, and many won't, they've just become necessities. We've got to welcome more people, make more milk, mine more stuff. We can do all those things quickly. Or start to, anyway - and more besides, of course - provided we realise how urgent things are.

Three weeks ago we were reasonably close to the hardships of Greece and Ireland. Various ministers had even nervously mentioned the 'G' word and the 'I' word. Now, a terrible natural catastrophe has pushed us perilously close to those hardships.

We're the only ones who can avoid them. No one will do it for us. They might turn off the money spigot. That's all. The rest is up to us. We have all seen awful things in recent days. Now we must deal with them.

"I have seen the future, and it's hard." So are our choices. We're all pioneers now. It's a new world and we've got to be brave.