Editorial: Rich list members deserve respect

There's nothing like a bit of success to kick the well-oiled Kiwi knocking machine back into gear.
And there's no greater example of this than in the annual publication of the National Business Review's Rich List.
Packaging billionaire Graeme Hart again tops the list with a $6.5 billion fortune, heading off Richard Chandler ($4 billion) and the Todd family ($2.7 billion.)
Prime Minister John Key is also on the list, with an estimated worth of $55 million.
In the wake of the list's publication, there's been the usual outcry over the widening of the gap between rich and poor in this country.
Darryl Evans, the chief executive of Mangere Budgeting Services, even went as far as describing the list as a "slap in the face" for poor families.
But is the pain these families feel the result of a metaphorical slap in the face? Or is the burning feeling more akin to envy?
There is no doubt that poverty is a serious social issue and one which is getting worse.
How to pull these families off the breadline and raise their living standards is something successive Governments have tried to achieve, largely without any great success.
It's a fallacy to think everyone can have the same living standard. It's simply not possible.
In all societies, there will always be those who are comparatively well-off, and those who struggle.
Every effort must be made to try to both support the lower tier and raise living standards.
But acknowledging the gravity of that situation does not mean we should damn those who are not a part of it.
Instead, surely we should admire the Rich Listers as examples of those who have risen to the top, normally through sacrifice and hard work.
Although Mr Key's tale of growing up in a state house has lost much of its shine after being repeatedly trotted out to gain political capital, for a perhaps more affecting anecdote, it's worth bearing in mind that Mr Hart was once a tow-truck driver.
New Zealanders look up to people like Sir Edmund Hillary and cheer for the little guy. It's a shame we can't do the same for those among us who have already succeeded.
Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz