Chester Borrows: We should care more in 2016

Chester Borrows PHOTO/FILE

HERE we go heading off into another year, chewing over the gains and losses of 2015 while wondering about the opportunities and threats of 2016 lying ahead.

There is no doubt that for Whanganui, for the future of our city and district, the big three will be flood recovery, returns from the agricultural sector and the outcome of the local body elections.

The mid-winter floods on June 20 last year couldn't have happened at a worse time. The damage was extreme, so the land took longer to stop moving and remediation will now take longer to complete - and will be more expensive.

A few hours of rain set farm incomes back up to a decade and, no doubt, some will sell up before seeing fully restored properties. Coming at a time when the River Road and various businesses selling river experiences were just gaining traction, the flood devastated our biggest and most consistent tourist magnet - the river.

Dairy returns and inconsistent red meat returns are probably the biggest threat to recovery of the agricultural sector because these are the means to pay for the flood damage.

Rural exports are, by and large, what keep the life blood flowing through the veins of Whanganui industry. Low interest rates and lower exchange rates should be of some help here as businesses will find it cheaper to borrow to invest for expansion and, at the same time, their products will be cheaper to overseas customers.

We may see a preference for New Zealand made goods and products as opposed to more expensive foreign competition on the world market. As an example, the last time we had a dollar this low, local company Q-West was building a lot more boats for foreign buyers which dried up when the New Zealand dollar climbed into the high 60-plus cents against the US dollar. Now, having admirably won many New Zealand contracts, it will be interesting to see if foreign customers come back.

The local body elections will be a significant focus in Whanganui with a signalled change at the top. Those who put themselves forward for council and the mayoralty will, hopefully, come under a deal of scrutiny - it will be the vision and experience of those elected this year that will drive Whanganui for the next 10 years if not longer.

Whanganui is crucially in competition with other centres for infrastructure and capital investment and we need a leader and a team of councillors more collaborative than divisive, which has been the hallmark of a few in the current crop.

Unfortunately, politics is an individual sport and not a team game - the exact opposite to what the public wants and expects.

Some politicians only see a need to collaborate if there is a beneficial political outcome for them personally. Meanwhile, those who take it seriously and read all their minutes, research issues and take on training while attending all the meetings and seeking to find logical solutions to problems quietly slip under the gaze of the voting public. Others with a higher profile will get elected anyway - but who will be best for Whanganui?

My greatest hope for 2016 is that New Zealanders will care more about their fellow global citizens, and especially about other Kiwis.

There seems to be so much "I want what she's got" mentality rather than to question how to lift the prospects of us all. I hope that we will all get to know our neighbours a little better, and want better for each of them.

We have read the New Year's Honours list, but the greatest honour comes when we celebrate a life not known for grand exploits but for a life led in the community among the people they care about.