Editorial: Higher rates health tonic town needs

We need to get the basics right first - like cleaning up Whangarei Harbour.

No one likes it when something goes up.

Whangarei has one of the lowest rate takes in the country. It also has one of the slowest rates of progress.

In recent years, there have been zero rate increases.

At times, they have been trumpeted as an achievement, along the lines of "ratepayers will be delighted to know that rates aren't going up".

I wonder, would ratepayers be delighted to know that maintenance had to be deferred on key infrastructure, like our water treatment plant?

I can understand the frustration of ratepayers who have watched the debate over the Hundertwasser Art Centre, and considered it irresponsible spending when we need to get the basics right first.

Like Whangarei Harbour pollution, which was down the list, below Hundertwasser at one point. Until ratepayers decided that annually issuing a permit allowing 23,000 cubic metres of sewage to flow into the harbour was not the best option for dealing with sewage spills. The council invested in repair work and new plant and infrastructure, and the sewage spills have all but stopped.

The Hundertwasser project should proceed, with private funding I believe.

And local spending should also proceed, on things like a new water plant. Or a new conference centre. Some may ask why?

Because times change, and a sack of flour to sling over the back of your horse is not a reason to visit Whangarei any more.

But we are an attractive destination for the lucrative conference market which provides jobs and wages in our hospitality industry. Only though, if we have a decent conference centre to host people in. None of this can be achieved without a dose of medicine via rate increases.

The reality is we need to catch up - we need investment in our town's basic needs and our rates need to go up. If your inclination is to complain, consider how much more palatable this wallop of medicine would have been if it had been administered in small doses over the years.

Regardless, I, for one, am now looking forward to a healthier town.