Regional Council Notes

There is many a belief or practice from days gone by that is no longer acceptable to modern society today.

Whether it be medicine, food, sport or just about anything else we do in our day to day lives, the thinking on what is right is constantly under review.  To prove this you only need to read some old reference books which can range from horrific information to the downright funny.

The Complete Home Doctor from the 1950s extolls the virtues of smoking to ease the worried mind and quiet anxiety.  School for the Horse and Rider from 1932 tells us that there is no reason why a lady cannot ride a horse as well as a man if she tries hard enough and At Home in Your Garden talks about the benefits of sprinkling DDT around the lawn.  These examples illustrate just how attitudes change over time. 

This change has also affected our view of our environment.  It wasn’t that long ago that government saw our natural resources as something to be taken.  They were expendable.  We used them to make money, to take away our waste and to supply us with our needs.  The environment was a slave to man.  A new word popped up and everything was OK as long as it was ‘sustainable’.  The trouble was that much of the way we used resources, coupled with growth of Spopulation, made our way of doing things very unsustainable.

Then the finger pointing began with accusations coming out of the government spin departments as to whose fault it was that many parts of our natural world were in decline.  To make any progress though we all have to agree that it is in decline and how we can all collectively address this.

This is where the Greater Wellington Regional Council has a large role to play.  Like it or not regional councils nationwide are required, through legislation, to be the guardians of the environment.  They are also required through different legislation to be responsible for flood protection and some parts of regional economic development.  

These things seem at odds with one another with some calling the council too tough and out of touch while others bemoan the fact that we don’t do more, especially where waterways are involved.  

The fact is that we are all in this together and our current government is raising the bar on environmental matters.  As a nation we can accept that and all make an effort recognizing that this comes at a cost.  Alternatively we hang on to our old ways and resist change.  If that is you then please give some thought to the New Zealand you could well be leaving our future generations.

Adrienne Staples