Kiwibuild programme

Society is rapidly approaching some crossroads that will define much of the rest of the 21st century.

The government has embarked on the Kiwibuild programme that will build a multitude of unaffordable affordable houses over the next decade. The appointment of a ‘‘General Manager of Stakeholder Engagement and Communication’’ is not going to build a house.

I suspect that it is more likely to put energy and much-needed resources into explaining why houses were not built when they could or should have been.

Meanwhile, one end of society is preparing to express Canute-like activity as the oceans swallow theirbeach front properties and the other end continue to wonder where they will lay their respective heads tonight.

The Arctic ice has taken an unexpected beating this year, which may or may not accelerate climate change.

Climate models that our politicians rely on to be able to kick the can a bit further down the road are continually having to be adjusted to cater for reality.

My personal opinion is that we should be looking at what we can do to mitigate the imminent effects of climate change – floods, droughts, temperature changes, erosion, etc – before we waste huge resources bringing buildings up to earthquake standards that seem random at best.

The next big earthquake in New Zealand may be tomorrow or 10,000 years away.

The next big weather event will almost certainly hit us within the next 10 years and with equal certainty, I will predict that we won’t be ready.

I will take my chances with that 100-year-old building, but I am not sure about the climate effects.

Just don’t get me started on the state of the world’s financial system.

Geoff Orchard, O¯ haupo