Opinion 16
Ashburton Guardian
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
www.guardianonline.co.nz
OUR VIEW
Poverty a reality Coen Lammers EDITOR
I
t is hard not to feel a sense of shame this week after the devastating facts in the Child Poverty Monitor report by Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills. The cold hard facts on our most vulnerable citizens makes tough reading. According to the report, one in four children in New Zealand lives under the poverty line, which in turn equates to one in six children going to school without shoes. They are also highly likely leave home without any food in their tummy or in their lunch box. Families living in poverty are those who earn less than 60 per cent of the median New Zealand income, which is a meagre $28,500. Even though it is hard to get specific figures from Ashburton, the national average indicates that close to 2000 children in Mid Canterbury could be falling into that category. The fact that little Kiwis are not getting fed, or properly clothed or are too poor to see a doctor when they are sick, is an absolute disgrace to all of us. We hear many sad stories about groups and individuals living on struggle street, but in most cases we can ignore our social responsibility and blame the families. Indeed, many children live in poverty because their parents have made bad choices, but often those parents also grew up in environments where they were bound to fail. The Government already has several programmes to combat the poverty issue by tackling part of the problem like housing, health nutrition and income. But it is not enough. The problem is so wide and deep-seated that New Zealand needs a countrywide, cross-party, long-term approach to deal with this national disgrace. There is no silver bullet to break the cycle but all Kiwi children deserve the basic needs to get a fair start in life and a genuine chance to flourish. This used to be the Kiwi way, but somewhere along the line this country lost its way and left behind the weakest section of its society. It’s an overwhelming challenge, but we have to start somewhere.
YOUR VIEW Quake repairs We have just had our earthquake repairs completed by EQR. They chose The Finishing Company from Ashburton as the main contractor to do the job. We are thrilled with the standard of work, the pride of the workmen in the high quality of their craft and their concern to inconvenience us as little as possible while we continued to live in the house. We thank EQR, The Finishing Company and the other sub-contractors who completed the task well within the expected time. Ian & Jill Barnes, Highbank
Second bridge It is pleasing to see the expressed opinions of those appalled by the action of the mayor and some lackeys in by inference denying Mr Urquhart a vote on this bridge proposal. Foremost it is a State Highway problem for which we pay
CRUMB
taxes in many and varied forms and has no place on our rates bills. Seemingly it is yet another personal preference to be bulldozed through for reasons that are not apparent at present. Mr Anderson’s opinion is especially of value in that it is backed by an extensive knowledge and experience in honest procedures essential to good governance. Those so vigorously promoting this in the face of such well presented opposition operate within a set of values, if that be a description, that is foreign to most of us. This does not auger well for the rest of their term and although it is said the “truth will out”, in three years they can prove to be a costly mistake. M. N. Richards
Risking it all To the three incredibly idiotic male drivers who dodged the railway barriers at the Chertsey crossing near the pub just
by David Fletcher
before 9am you obviously had a meeting more important than your families and friends. I wish I had been quick enough to get your licence plate numbers but you were going too fast! My inconvenience was all of two minutes, what a shame you risked your safety for a short inconvenience.
Thank you St Paul’s Church, Ashburton, wish to thank everyone who contributed to make our recent Christmas Extravaganza an overwhelming success. We had a pipedream of raising $10,000 and we are delighted to confirm that our target was reached. We have to thank the people who generously opened their homes and gardens for viewing; businesses and private individuals for sponsorship and assistance, including ticket outlets; the people who decorated the church and hall; the stallholders and those who supplied
goods or services for our Lucky Number cakes and hamper. We have to thank the musicians who entertained throughout the weekend. Our gratitude goes to the hundreds who manned the homes, gardens, church and hall in shifts, including overnight security. The media must be mentioned for their advice and help with advertising, so we could reach as many people as possible. This was done in a very professional way. We thank all who purchased tickets in Mid Canterbury and further afield. We hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we enjoyed presenting the event to you. What started out as a local event, ended up a community affair which turned out to be a time of relaxation and fun. Many thanks to you all from the St Paul’s Church Family. May God’s blessing go with you this Christmas season. Jennifer Marks, St Paul’s Church