It is not an opportunity that comes along all that often but seemingly has been increasing recently.
Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett was in town earlier this month touring the Government's Green Paper on Child Abuse; yesterday high-ranking Labour MP Andrew Little was in town, while last week it was Labour's Palmerston North representative Iain Lees-Galloway.
So, what does it all mean?
Perhaps not a lot but maybe it signals that those in the corridors of power are waking up to the reality that our concerns need to be heard, and addressed.
We already have representation in the form of Chester Borrows, who has risen in the rankings of the Government to attain a ministry post, albeit outside Cabinet. Plus the MP for Te Tai Hauauru, Tariana Turia, co-leader for the Maori Party, has an acute understanding of the issues faced in her home town.
Whatever the reason for this seeming renewed interest in activities within our region, we must seize any opportunities these visits offer to further our cause and raise awareness of Wanganui as a great place to live, work and play. We must also highlight the plight faced by some of our struggling citizens and apply whatever pressure we can to ensure policies are fair and equitable for all citizens.
New look
Some interesting feedback on the news the Wanganui Chronicle plans to change to a smaller, tabloid size for its Monday to Friday editions from April 16.
For the most part, people have welcomed it for the convenience the reduced page size allows. Some, however, seem confused as to what the word tabloid means.
Tabloid refers to the size and shape of the page the news and advertisements are printed on. Nothing more, nothing less. The Saturday edition will remain in broadsheet complete as your weekend big read, with new news content, features and analysis.
News and feature sections of the week-day Chronicle will be enhanced and refined, as they have been for the previous 155 years of publication.
Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
