Editorial: A new year and the opportunities of 2025

A new day and a new year ... how will you respond to the challenges ahead? Photo / NZME

Editorial

A new year. It’s a time of fresh hopes and an opportunity to reset and focus on new goals.

For many, 2024 was an annus horribilis, to quote a Latin phrase that Queen Elizabeth II memorably used to describe 1992.

Mass casualty conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, bitterly divided political situations in many countries, widespread economic woes and social unrest as change continues to sweep the world at a rate faster than many can cope.

New Zealand was not — is not — immune.

There is widespread political division; our economy continues to struggle and infrastructure challenges beset much of the country. Many businesses here adopted a “survive ‘til 2025″ mantra in mid-2024. By the end of the year, there was a realisation that 2025 may well be just as challenging, at least for the first half of the year.

We can expect economic growth to slow. Jobs will be lost; hopefully also new ones created.

Political tensions will continue to rise. Solutions for those infrastructure and public amenity service issues — be they hospitals or roads or schools or others — will continue to be difficult, requiring foresight and courage and determination.

And change — much of it led by technological “advances” — will continue to be a double-edged sword offering exciting new opportunities and innovations while at the same time disrupting and placing new demands on our lives.

Anyone who doesn’t recognise the difficulties ahead is perhaps guilty of living in a fantasy world. The reality is it will be a tough start to 2025.

But while it’s easy to be swept up in a negative mindset of “glass half empty”, there is also much to look forward to and appreciate.

For a start, we are fortunate — privileged even — to live in New Zealand. Anyone who has recently visited or lived overseas will recognise how lucky we are.

Our political system is stable and, for the most part, serves us well. Yes, we may disagree on priorities and approach and policies. Sometimes that leads to sharp political and social debate, but such disagreements are usually settled without undue rancour and rarely — if ever — violence. We should be grateful for that.

We are a resilient and resourceful people.

And we have natural resources and advantages for which many other countries around the world can only wish.

As we pointed out in our editorial yesterday, in even challenging years there are bright spots. The New Zealanders recognised in the New Year’s Honours list provide inspiration for what individuals can achieve. So too did the Herald’s own Our Heroes awards.

The insights of editor-at-large Shayne Currie at the conclusion of his Great New Zealand Road Trip of 2024 are also worth revisiting. There is lots of positivity and hope in this nation. There are thousands of inspiring individuals striving for the best not just for themselves but for the people and communities around them.

There is hope. As a new year dawns, it’s important not to forget that and to realise what we as individuals can do to make this country — this world — better. Let’s all do the best we can to make 2025 an annus mirabilis.