We need to be prepared for the influx of refugees wanting to escape storms like this one in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
We need to be prepared for the influx of refugees wanting to escape storms like this one in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
OPINION:
Warning - no scientific research has gone into the writing of this article. In fact, it could quite possibly be put in the same file as all the other "fake news" that your "friend" on Facebook has been sharing too much of lately.
Have you noticed how many "once-in-100-years"weather events have occurred to our neighbours in the past few years? Floods in Wellington, storms in Taranaki and Wairarapa, cyclones in Levin, droughts in Hawke's Bay? Even closer to home, Feilding gets nailed with its twice-yearly floods, but here in the eye of the hurricane, little old Palmy is a sea of calm while the world around us falls apart.
Through no actual scholarly endeavours other than gut instinct (or maybe it was that kebab I ate last night), I now declare that Palmy is an Official Climate Change Sanctuary City. What is an OCCSC you may ask? It's a place where refugees from the deserts of Hawke's Bay, the below-sea-level suburbs of Porirua, Petone and Plimmerton, or the hailstone-destroyed city of New Plymouth can come and drink our clean, cool water without worrying about the roof being ripped by a typhoon or a forest fire!
One thing Palmy does seem to continue to have is water in the right amount. Sure, every February we put away the sprinklers and hydrate our hydrangeas with a hand-held hose but it's usually only for a few weeks, until the rain in Manawatū falls mainly on the plains.
I'm not denying that climate change is happening and it's not bad news for the entire population of this planet we share. What I am saying is that Palmy is maybe the best place in the world to ride it out, so we better be prepared for the influx of refugees trying to swim across the Rangitīkei and Ōhau rivers to bypass the Palmerston North border patrol.
The people of Kelvin Grove should start planting pineapples and bananas, while those in seaside Awapuni and Cloverlea should start planning where they are going to store their surfboards!
In all seriousness, a consistent supply of clean water is one of our greatest assets in this region. It's important we continue to preserve our taonga by investing in people, infrastructure and plantings to ensure our mokopuna have the best chance to face the challenges we have left for them.
Before you start protesting the Three Waters Reform, do your research into what we have been doing right and what we have been doing wrong that has led us to the point where, for many parts of our motu, water is no longer an asset but a liability.
Dave Mollard is a Palmerston North community worker and social commentator.
