In store for 2006: a psychic's insights

By John Cousins
Last year the Bay of Plenty Times brought you some headlines that no one would have dreamed about 12 months prior.
"Devastation - city pounded by heaviest rainfall in 95 years," shocked us all last May, and who would have predicted that Tauranga's 21-year love affair with Winston Peters was rapidly coming to an end?
A hoax bomber in Devonport Towers, who transformed the CBD into a ghost town, and six murders also left us gobsmacked.
Curious about what big story may be next, we decided to try and take a sneak-peak into the future with psychic Kevin Reed's help.
The 47-year-old rattled off his prophesies without any sense he was contriving to impress. Mr Reed prefers to think of himself as being sensitive to others' feelings and energies, rather than psychic.
He was barely into his teens when he started delving into Eastern mysticism, metaphysics and spiritualism.
He admits to having doubts about how he makes his living, saying that being sceptical kept him honest. Every time he started thinking that it was a psychological game of chance, something happened in a one-to-one reading that jolted him deeply.
NATURAL DISASTERS
"No more floods. No earthquakes or tsunamis...only that the Bay will be hit by a landslide. It will be steady as she goes. Tauranga does not dwell on hurt. It just gets on."
MAN-MADE DISASTERS
"I don't see any airport crashes or shipping disasters. I feel there will be a better radar system." (He has a vision of large aircraft and small aircraft coming in closer together than normal).
WINSTON PETERS
"He will serve his three years, but I don't see Mr Peters seeking re-election - he is ready to retire, but will stay involved with New Zealand First. He will continue to play-fight with Mr Clarkson. I see him and Helen Clark squabbling, but he has not bitten off more than he can chew. He can do the job (Minister of Foreign Affairs) with his eyes closed."
BOB CLARKSON
"There will be no by-election. Mr Clarkson will find himself unable to resist going back to his old job (property developer). He will realise you can't do two jobs at once. You will only hear from him when Winston takes a swipe at him for comedy."
MURDER
"There will be two murders. There will be a drug-related murder out Papamoa-Te Puke way. It will be an on-your-knees, pistol-at-throat, gangland-styled murder."
NEW INFLUX OF MIGRANTS
"No. The streets are not paved with gold for migrants. Some will end up going to Australia." (He commented that his own experience with Indian migrants was that a lot were unable to get jobs that matched their qualifications and ended up picking kiwifruit.)
SPORT
Q: Will Bradley Iles became an international golfing celebrity?
"No."
Q: Will Moss Burmester win gold at the Commonwealth Games?
"No. He will win bronze. He will win two medals."
Q: Will the BOP Steamers win the Ranfurly Shield or reach NPC quarter finals?
"No, and no."
Q: The new artificial surf reef?
"The reef at Mount Maunganui fails."
RELIGION
Q: Tauranga is called the Bible belt of New Zealand. Will there be any groundswell changes?
"The self-appointed Bishop Tamaki (Destiny Church) does not get a foot in the door. Tauranga squeezes him out. The existing traditional churches will come together and squeeze Tamaki out."
CITY HERITAGE
"Heritage is dead. It is a young city looking to the future and the old is not preserved. We will not even attempt to save the old. Our heartbeat looks to the future.
"Mr Crosby (Tauranga Mayor) is modern, with a new way of thinking. He is objective driven, but prudent - not full of puff and wind.
"Heritage is the loser big time. We will give our treasures to the highest bidder."
HEALTH
Q: Will bird flu strike Tauranga?
"No - get real. (He compared the bird flu hysteria with the Millennium Bug in 2000 when the world's computer systems were meant to crash - "the world continued without a flicker").
Q: Will we reverse the trend to flabbier children and adults?
"You can take a horse to water but you can't make them drink. There will be more places for people to enjoy the sea breezes."
MUSIC AND CONCERTS
"Tauranga is off the circuit. Nothing much changes... New Zealand Ballet comes to Tauranga in 2006, June or July. There will be sell-out crowds and an extra night."
BOY RACERS
Q: Will a solution be found to the conflict between boy racers and those living and holidaying along Marine Parade?
"No. I see it getting worse. The wedge is growing between boy racers and the police and community. People will be needlessly stubborn - it will be a 'don't tell us what to do' attitude. It will be like a couple splitting up because they roll the toothpaste the wrong way."
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
Q: Will there be major business failures because Tauranga is becoming over-shopped from new retail developments?
"No. I see it improving. I see New Zealand's first super-duper theme park and shopping centre being announced for out Tauriko way, for completion in 2009."
Q: Will anything threaten the city's economic lifelines of the port and horticulture?
"No, but I see another change in leadership at the port. Kiwifruit shares will take off. There will be a mini boom for kiwifruit investors."
Q: Will a big new industry creating lots of jobs come to town?
"No. It is felt that Tauranga is not the right place for this to happen."
Q: Will anything impact on Tauranga's prosperity?
"Steady as she goes is the key word. I see a steady and controlled increase. While the rest of New Zealand is on a slowdown, our's will be at a steady, controlled and prudent pace.
Q: So house prices won't slump?
"They will come to a standstill, but not roll backwards. They will be stuck in a rut for 2006."
THE DOWNTOWN SKYLINE
(He struggled a little with this question, thinking at first that he saw something happening with the reflective glass Westpac building, but then settled on the Trinity Wharf development at the end of Dive Crescent.)
"They are not going to rush to complete it. It will continue in fits and starts."
CIVIC ISSUES
Q: Will Mayor Stuart Crosby's leadership come under pressure?
"No, but there will be a little scandal. He has worked too hard to get to where he is - he will not let it go."
Q: What will win the battle of civic amenities - the arts, or sport & recreation?
"Sport and recreation."
Q: Will ratepayers rebel from pressures imposed by growth?
"No. Those that do care are getting older and dying off. Ratepayers will give the council carte blanche."
Q: Will the public mood support the continued transformation of Tauranga, or will patience run out?
"People will continue to support the prudent and quality transformation of this city."
Q: Will Tauranga's planned museum be built out over The Strand waterfront?
"No, no, not ever."
Q: Will the planned sport and exhibition centre be built at Baypark?
"Yes, but not until 2008/09."
OTHER ISSUES
Q: Will Don Brash be dumped as National's leader?
"No, because there is no one to replace him."
Q: Will be drinking age be raised back to 20?
"No."