Bush Telegraph

Councillor Column

- Councillor Peter Johns

Well, Covid-19 has certainly changed the way we all live work and play.

The last two months have been unpreceden­ted in our lifetime and the after effects will continue for a long time to come.

The immediate recovery process will necessitat­e changes in priorities for some Council activity. Projects that require the input from local businesses and local labour will, where possible, take priority over others that may have been on the Annual and Long Term Plan.

Needless to say, some things which were planned will have to wait. What is important to remember is that the district’s population

does bring about increased expenditur­e in infrastruc­ture.

People won’t come to live in a district where they can’t water their gardens at all. The water problems experience­d this year in Dannevirke, Norsewood and Woodville particular­ly, bring into sharp focus one of the challenges we will have with an increased population. Hopefully Government, as part of its “recovery” process, will direct money to territoria­l infrastruc­tural projects to

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw Government­s around the world pour money into infrastruc­ture projects to create work and put money into the system. Some of the biggest water, power and roading projects ever built were built in the 30s. The ideas and promises from political parties later this year will be interestin­g. I am hopeful the next three years will see more focus on regional New Zealand, the engine room of the economy, than ever before.

“Love local” is the theme. Money spent in Tararua, whether through shops or other businesses, has a direct,

immediate and

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effect on us all.

Nga¯ mihi

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