Clouds without silver linings

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Yet another in what seems like an endless succession of wet weekends could have left the people of Tairāwhiti as prime victims of the seasonal affective disorder SAD.

Every time it seems we might be getting a break from the wettest winter in most people’s memory, the rain unleashes again on our already sodden district.

GDC director of community lifelines David Wilson warned last week that some sites in our storm-ravaged roading network could not be accessed for repair because they were still moving and dangerous.

The land was certainly moving again this weekend, with road closures back up to 84 yesterday from 50 last week, and 240 with restricted access.

Less than 100 days from the general election, there are signs that the country as a whole is not in a good place — which is always bad news for the sitting government.

Mounting economic pressure is forcing many retailers to weigh up their future, with the majority of firms that contributed data for a Retail NZ report missing their sales targets. More than a third of retailers were not confident they could survive the next 12 months, the report said.

Retail NZ CEO Greg Harford said the sector had felt the effect of high inflation and high interest rates, as consumers curtailed their spending.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is on the road again signing a valuable trade agreement with the European Union and then attending a meeting of Nato leaders in Lithuania.

He will be hoping that this time he won’t have to face questioning about another of his ministers defecting or facing allegations while he is away.

All Black captain Sam Cane faced a backlash after his instinctive decision to trip a pitch invader who ran on to the field after the test against Argentina in Mendoza. Cane contacted the young person and apologised but that will probably not be enough to satisfy some, judging by the howls of outrage on social media.

There is no relief from SAD on the world scene, with the controversial United States’ decision to supply Ukraine with cluster weapons.

These are banned by a number of countries including the UK and New Zealand because they are indiscriminate in whom they harm and can remain a risk to innocent people for a long time.

The war has been grinding on for more than 500 days and the Ukrainians are making slow progress against well prepared Russian defences. The Russians themselves use cluster weapons and launch rockets at civilian targets, but that will not overcome the concerns of many people at this latest development.

It is a long, sad winter in a sad world.