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Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Editorial: Flood of ideas on a better image

Simon Waters
By Simon Waters
News Director - Digital·Whanganui Chronicle·
9 Jul, 2017 10:00 PM2 mins to read

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Simon Waters
Simon Waters

Simon Waters

We were once known as a bit of a saucy town (wink, wink).

Then as a prison city.

And for gangs.

Now, according to a perception survey out this week, we are known for our "H" and our floods.

An improvement, one might argue, but nonetheless far from being known for something positive.

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So here's an idea, actually three:

1. Turn every public car parking meter into an electric vehicle recharging station. Provide cheap, plentiful charging, turn a profit, announce to the world that Whanganui is leading-edge -- and not just with fibre.

2. Insist (through bylaws) all new housing must have a solar roof, and provide incentives to retro-fit others.

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Build a wave station at Castlecliff, wind turbines on the hills, lay solar-collecting footpaths in public areas, and connect everyone to a series of suburban battery banks which are load-balancing, meaning you put in what you don't use and draw from when you need a top-up.

These will provide cheap energy, make a tidy income for ratepayers, and return ownership of key infrastructure to the people.

3. Don't charge people to live here -- pay them instead.

Okay, so I'm no accountant, and this may be tricky.

But with a bit of creative thinking, this may not be as ridiculous as it sounds.

We've got big monies flowing in from our city power scheme, right? What better way to make a prosperous city even more so? Give people money to spend.

Start by committing to a staggered rates reduction over something like 20-30 years.

That will bring more than campervans here.

Maybe one day we will pay ratepayers (we'll need another word for that) a dividend, instead of mailing them a bill.

A bit far-fetched? Maybe.

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But well done, Whanganui, for being thought of a little less negatively than we used to be.

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