Tariana Turia: Time to dig out our pioneering spirit

There can be no argument that our nation is currently stretched by some complex social problems, including a wealth gap that has led to stark inequalities between groups of New Zealanders.
The book The Spirit Level tells us inequality rose faster in New Zealand in the late 1980s than in any other country, so we are now ranked the 6th most unequal society out of 23 rich countries.
So do we just shrug our shoulders, find someone or something to blame, and carry on regardless? I hope not.
I believe we fall back on what we have always known - our number eight wire mentality. The fencing wire that became a vital part of every farmer's toolkit is symbolic of our DIY attitude - applying our pioneering spirit to every challenge.
1. It was New Zealand that led the world in giving women the vote; in opposing nuclear power; in bringing The Piano and The Lord of the Rings to the big screen while at the same time promoting Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Weneti (the Maori Merchant of Venice) as the first movie made entirely in te reo.
2. Marie Clay is known worldwide for the reading recovery programme and the "six year net". The Aotearoa Maori Women's Sevens have been seven times winners of the world title in the Hong Kong and Roma internationals. AJ Hackett introduced the world to the bungy-jump; Arthur Lydiard invented jogging as a method of gradually building up physical fitness.
So now is the time to return to familiar ground - to focus on innovation and entrepreneurship to solve what appear to be entrenched problems like youth unemployment or the "tail-end" of educational under-achievement.
This is where inspiration comes in.
Ingenuity, innovation and creative courage are characteristics that define the New Zealand spirit. We need to apply these aspects of inspiration to now shape collective aspirations for all New Zealanders to experience success.
Recently I spent time with Davina Murray, a criminal law specialist. She described some of the young offenders she saw in her court as young boys who had forgotten how to dream - or who had been actively discouraged from making the full use of their talents. It was her view that we had spent so much time on developing project milestones and contract specifications for every programme imaginable that we'd lost sight of the bigger picture.
We need to return to our roots, to focus not just on creating jobs but more importantly on developing economies. We need to talk it up - to encourage our children to envisage a wide range of employment opportunities, to embrace change as an opportunity to learn another way to make a difference.
And most of all, we need to back ourselves and our families; to breed success by an attitude of confidence. It is vital that we continue to hold the highest ambitions for all of our children; and to nurture aspirations which will deliver us all a promising future.