After inquiry, restructure will be required

Clive Bibby

Opinion

The Parata report covering the East Coast Land Use Inquiry is due on May 12 now after a 12-day extension “due to the number and substance of submissions”.

The findings will no doubt make some people feel very uncomfortable. And so they should.

Yet in spite of likely recommendations for change to the way we do things, our council will probably ignore the opportunity to restructure our whole “modus operandi”.

You don’t have to be someone who lives at the coalface of the recent cyclone destruction to realise what needs to happen in order to avoid the consequences of these destructive weather events in the future.

And as one of those capable of pointing to the reasons why this latest carnage occurred, who or what is responsible and what we need to do in mitigation, it isn’t hard to predict the findings of the inquiry — that is, of course, if it has the courage to seek information from those who the Government obviously doesn’t want it to talk to.

I have asked many times in the columns of this newspaper for this community to demand our council takes advantage of the opportunity to not only find out what caused the destruction but, in response, use the findings to develop a long overdue, sustainable Long-Term Plan for restructuring our economy.

Given the council’s recent comments, that opportunity is likely to be rejected in favour of a less rewarding alternative — the historically disastrous “safe” option.

Repetition of the old formula, which is partially responsible for this region being vulnerable to just about every weather and economic event that comes our way, is something we simply can’t afford — and as such, shouldn’t allow to happen.

It doesn’t need to be that way and it sure as hell can be avoided if we pull our head out of the sand and adopt a vision of what we can become.

It is no secret that our livestock and forestry industries, particularly those on the Coast, will need to be restructured in order to bring them both back into balance with climate change, the environment and current limiting operational strategies.

That will probably be a major recommendation of the Parata Inquiry, which should be acknowledged by all affected parties as a necessary change. However, it will need to be handled with sensitivity so the communities that rely on these industries are not short-changed in the process.

And while we are about it, we should be changing the way we use our other natural resources to build a new economy less dependent on the old, but more on the new opportunities that have capacity to support a more economically sustainable future.

Obviously, a major part of that redevelopment will be to plan for new, reliable sites providing the bulk of our fresh water requirements — both domestic and agricultural.

This vision is one that can be realised with little negative effect on the populace as we make the changes.

Yes, it will be very expensive but, given that it should receive overwhelming public support, there is no reason why it will not eventually happen.

Let’s be brave and do it. Actually, we have little choice.