Waitomo mayor, John Robertson
Last week Sir William Birch passed away. He was a Member of Parliament for 27 years. An influential Minister in National Governments, his portfolios included Energy and National Development under Prime Minister Muldoon, and Finance under Jim Bolger.
In the Muldoon days, he was known for his promotion of “think big” projects. NZ Steel, Taranaki energy projects. In the Bolger era, he was called the “Minister of Everything”.
In the late 1980’s, think big – investment in industry by the state – was replaced by free market ideologies. It was argued that the state was a poor judge of what needed to be invested in and that it should keep out of commerce.
Thirty five years on from the height of this “Rogernomics” era, the tide is turning. Political parties are focussing on how to get investment back into infrastructure. An Infrastructure Commission has been established to consider long term infrastructure strategy, in the words of the Commission “… to help lift the country’s performance and improve the wellbeing of all New Zealanders.”
There is some good work being done. It is much needed. Our country has fallen behind others in terms of economic performance over the past three decades. We have also borrowed heavily over the past decade. We cannot afford to make poor choices around public investment.
There are some big infrastructure challenges before the Crown. Energy dependency and diversification is front of mind. Climate change. The state of the transport network. How to speed up project delivery.
On the ground in the King Country we know the issues. High energy prices. State Highways in poor shape. Our local roads suffering from storm events. Planning and resource consenting processes that seem overly cumbersome.
That the Crown has its mind on these issues is good. But as it shapes the new world, I hope it listens to those of us on the ground. Grassroots advice is important.
Sadly, my experience as mayor is that the Wellington bureaucracy is not always good at listening. That is why I am so concerned to see a local King Country council survive the machinations of local government reform. We need to retain a local voice, not lost in one Waikato-wide “supercity” Council.
I knew Bill Birch. He was a Minister while I was a backbench MP. He listened to his local constituents, he listened to backbenchers, and he listened to the advice of Wellington based officials.
This is how it should be. Enabling and respectful relationships.
