TelferYoung Limited
Northland - Don't Judge It Through The Media
19 February 2007
Northland is humming, especially the coastal areas and Whangarei south.
The Ruakaka region has seen substantial development in recent years and this is continuing, it must be one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand.
Most people who live outside Northland ask 'why are we doing well?'. Many people have a preconceived idea about Northland because of negative national media coverage. Any negative aspect of Northland is always well highlighted by the national media with the result many New Zealanders believe Northland is a backwater inhabited by predominantly unemployed 'baccie smoking' drop outs. It is always extremely interesting to speak to most New Zealanders who have not previously visited Northland, after they have spent some time here. They cannot believe what they see in the way of agricultural land, towns, people, scenery and natural beauty. The margin between what they have been led to believe and reality is large and for many it takes some comprehending.
So why is Northland doing well? In fact it has in recent years been doing very nicely. Sure we suffered in the past from bad roads, and still suffer from them, but our clay soils and past history are the problems. In the late 1800's and early 1900's Northland was a major player in the New Zealand economy by virtue of timber sales and Kauri gum. Fortunately for New Zealand, but unfortunately for Northland, most Kauri was extracted by river or harbour and roads were never built to a decent standard. In effect Northland was raped and pillaged but no infrastructure was put in place by the wealth that helped sustain the rest of New Zealand. The Depression, World War II and inertia initially held Northland back but slow progress was made from the 1960's on. From the early 1990's growth has been excellent. We now have a good rounded economy with agriculture, forestry, horticulture, aquaculture, tourism, boat building, refining and many more industries. Our numbers of beneficiaries have declined in recent years and as is typical throughout New Zealand there is a shortage of skilled personnel. It is difficult to attract people to the north but once here most are loathe to leave, again a manifestation of the negative impression fed to the rest of New Zealand by people who do not reside in our area.
The future of the North is assured, particularly from Whangarei south. There are two primary reasons, there will always be a population drift north because of climate and what other region in New Zealand has in excess of one million people less that two hours drive to the south.
The negative impressions that outsiders have of Northland also relates to other serious issues such as town planning. Generally district plans are prepared by planners outside our region who it seems believe the land and people require protection from good souls such as themselves. Planners outside our region appear to adopt a very patronising attitude towards the inhabitants of Northland. There are many very capable people in Northland who unfortunately are rarely consulted in its development. The reality is that in many instances these people are so busy in their professional lives that they do not have the time to attend lengthy meetings and generally they are not consulted when they could contribute so much if approached. However as has happened in the past, we continue to battle on, we have confidence in our region and future, the only downside of our increasing popularity is an increased population which will inevitably diminish to some degree the way of life presently enjoyed by us.
Alistair Nicholls
This monthly paper reflects the views of the writer and may not represent the views of all TelferYoung staff.