John Carter: Moving forward together

Mayor John Carter

Recently mayors Meng Foon, Steve Chadwick and I called on the government to change the way the nation deals with the entrenched problems that many of our communities face.

We said local communities should be helped to deal with inter-generational unemployment, poor education, family dysfunction, crime and much more. We're keen to trial such a proposal, and are in in talks with central government about how, where and when we can do this.

This is an initiative we are taking as leaders of our districts - it is not council policy for the Far North, Gisborne or Rotorua districts.

I'm confident that with the right support, the people of the Far North can rise to this challenge and make a real difference to how social and economic problems are resolved.

What makes me so confident? Because I see our communities do this each and every day, and we always have. Mums and dads have always mucked in to help with the school gala, the sports team, the A&P show.

Church groups, Lions and Rotary clubs raise money to help those less fortunate here and overseas. Every day individuals give up their spare time to help others.

Academics call this a Civil Society, where people outside government get together to provide services or advance ideas because they want to, not because they are being paid to. We're better at this than many other countries.

We have a high rate of volunteering in New Zealand, and we have some great examples of this up here in the Far North. In Opua there's the very well-organised Love Opua. This group has several projects around Opua, but one of the most visible has been the transformation of the space at the top of the hill on the road to Paihia.

You can now stop and take in the wonderful view of the Bay of Islands from the intersection because of the landscaping work these people did together.

I'm confident that with the right support, the people of the Far North can rise to this challenge and make a real difference to how social and economic problems are resolved.

In Kaitaia the ANT Trust launched its Open the Curtains initiative last year to work one-on-one with people to identify their strengths and their needs. Trust staff plan to visit every at-risk Maori home in the area, taking kai first to break the ice and then following up by helping whanau access what they need, whether it be food, furniture or clothes for children.

He Korowai Trust is another example of communities helping themselves.

This consortium of Maori organisations has joined with government and businesses to help whanau improve their lives through budgeting, housing, health services and much more. The underlying principle is helping others to help themselves, which neatly describes the role I think all our communities can aspire to.

I don't want to let central government off the hook, or shift the burden to under-resourced communities. This is about acknowledging that the state does not have all the answers, but it can help find solutions that work for us.