Former CHB man Clive Bibby resident says the Ruataniwha Dam was scuppered by self-interest.Photo / file
I grew up on a farm just outside the small Central Hawke's Bay town of Waipawa.
My forebears had owned sizeable tracts of farming land that had been hacked out of the bush and scrub under the Ruahine Ranges.
I am very proud to be a descendant of such pioneering folk who understood what it means to build a business from nothing and see it grow into something that makes a reasonable contribution to the local economy.
'The only bright spot on this otherwise bleak horizon is the Government's support for the Waimea Dam proposal.'
They also built the first trading general store in CHB. I understand that one of the original buildings still houses a thriving business, although quite different to the one my great grandparents operated.
It is perhaps ironic that much of the farm land in question was in the near the catchment area for the now defunct Ruataniwha Fresh Water Dam proposal.
It breaks my heart that this magnificent concept, although poorly promoted, was destroyed by small-minded people who selfishly looked to transfer the money needed for such a worthy project to another part of the region that would better serve their own business interests.
Tragically, this form of treachery is about to be repeated in our own Tairawhiti region and others around the country facing the same difficulties providing adequate reliable fresh water supplies to meet the future requirements of their rural and urban sectors.
The only bright spot on this otherwise bleak horizon is the Government's support for the Waimea Dam proposal that has meant the difference in guaranteeing that proposal's survival.
In the meantime, those of us trying to convince our leaders that a similar project is needed here have become the subject of ridicule or even contempt when trying to engage with those who have the ability to make it happen.
They simply don't want to know and the time is fast approaching when even belated support for our proposal will be too little, too late. How could those whose number one responsibility is to keep us safe be so irresponsible.
When looking for answers to that question, we need go no further than lay the blame firmly at the feet of the new "intellectual elite" who have infiltrated local and central government to an extent that they now dominate and dictate what happens at every level of human endeavour.
It doesn't seem to matter what issue these self-appointed authorities on every topic that affects our existence are talking about — race relations, heritage, future economic development, climate change, gender balance, poverty, housing, foreign relations, education, the law or health services — the message we get is virtually the same: "Don't ring us — we'll ring you".
Actually, it is worse than that. Our left wing media are aiding and abetting the distortion of national and international news to such an extent that the public believe everything that needs to be done is in good hands. Really?
Surely, we aren't that gullible to believe such nonsense. When most of the critical decisions are being made by those who will not entertain an alternative idea simply because it doesn't come from the right source, we are in deep trouble. Didn't Orwell write about this?
It wouldn't be so bad if those intellectual snobs were prepared to allow their arguments to be challenged in the court of public opinion where all contributors of thought and reason have equal opportunity to present their point of view.
Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. Not here, not anywhere. We are being force-fed information that is dressed up as authentic at local, national and international level when in fact, most of it is being challenged by some of the world's most eminent scholars.
It is no longer a situation that we, as a nation, can afford to tolerate. We need to change direction immediately and return the people's destiny into their own hands.
Today would be a good time to start.
Clive Bibby is a fourth generation member of a CHB farming family that has been farming at Tolaga Bay on the East Coast since 1980.
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