Letters: Why investment in China?

"A recent newspaper photo of Cape Reinga, inundated with tourists, looked like it is already overstocked", writes a reader.

Re 'Council welcomes Chinese investment' (May 30).

Having lived long enough in the North to remember when the tarseal stopped at Awanui, I can only wonder at how so much progress has happened since then without Chinese investment. To progress beyond our present state apparently needs a Chinese investment of a billion dollars, which they have kindly offered.

The offer had to be taken up on the spot so it wouldn't be withdrawn though. An old trick, which still seems to work.

The Chinese are reportedly engaged in actually creating new islands in the sea. They must be over the moon that down in the South Pacific there is a country with ready-made islands and a population which is friendly and naïve, plus they seem to wear tinted sunglasses all year round.

While it is true that an extra billion dollars is always going to be a help, the Chinese are an ancient civilisation compared with ours. They are all about the long haul, regardless of the pace. So what is in all this for them?

Another relevant question is, where did we go wrong that we are now unable to proceed without such deals?

Perhaps if the money invested, for example, in the Auckland housing market, had gone into worthwhile projects instead there would be no need for foreign aid. Also given that it is early days since the Treaty settlements for the northern tribes, a lot of what is being mooted is within their interests.

Cultural tourism, for instance, would seem to be an area which should be iwi-driven and as such would be in charge of who they might seek help from.

With regard to tourism, it will be enlightening when some data emerge as to how many tourists the country can actually sustain. Not just the number of beds for them to sleep in, but a general carrying capacity, as a farmer has to calculate.

A recent newspaper photo of Cape Reinga, inundated with tourists, looked like it is already overstocked.

Plus each one of them has to go to the toilet at least once a day, and Northland is not known for having greatly successful sewerage systems anywhere. It is doubtful that the Chinese would be keen to invest in such basic infrastructure, but who knows.

Lastly, before the council goes any further with grand plans, the members should, at their own expense, take a tour to Queenstown and talk to the ordinary people. The ones who built the place and work there, many of whom cannot afford to live there now.
Then decide is that what we want for the Far North?

OBSERVER
RD4 Kaitaia