2016 a year of seismic change
wished for an end to terrorism in 2016. Instead, we saw a continuation of deadly attacks across the world and a disturbing new development – large trucks being driven deliberately into festive crowds in France and Germany.
The editorial wished for better treatment of refugees. What we saw instead was the resurgence of the far Right in the democracies struggling with the burden of asylum-seekers making the perilous and often fatal journey to flee violence and persecution, and – closer to home – more disturbing reports of the treatment of people in Australia’s offshore detention centres.
We wished that Isis would be defeated in 2016; it was probably a forlorn hope, and although the selfstyled caliphate has been in retreat for months, the hard-fought battle for Mosul demonstrates that it will be defeated only at great cost. Meanwhile, the plight of the innocents in the midst of Syria’s civil war, especially in Aleppo, will in itself mark 2016 as a shameful year for humanity.
New Zealand is a socially progressive country but one which has systemic problems with inequality and inadequate housing, together with a large number of non-voting, disengaged citizens.
Will Kiwis face a similar political reckoning in the coming election year? It seems unlikely, but then, so did Brexit and Trump.
Adding to the sadness for many has been the seemingly disproportionate number of celebrity deaths; an A to Z of obituaries from Alan Rickman to Zsa Zsa Gabor.
The deaths of George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds in the past week adds to the sense that 2016 needs to end and 2017 might bring some relief.
In New Zealand, a sense of uncertainty has been heightened by November’s Kaikoura earthquake.
It changed the lives of the people there in ways in which Canterbury people are only too familiar, but also exposed the vulnerability of Wellington city, where buildings have been demolished, condemned or compromised.
Today, however, we congratulate all those who appear in the New Year’s Honours List, and celebrate the hope of renewal that the close of 2016 brings. We wish all our readers a happy and prosperous New Year 2017.