It became abundantly clear that some fellow had brought some youngsters into town to ride their skateboards – in this case, in the skateboard free zone around the Napier City Council and Library buildings. A parking warden was requiring them to stop and depart.

The parents’ behaviour, in front of these impressionable young kids was just appalling. He was arguing that they had “a right” to be able to skate in this prohibited area. He argued that the kids skateboards were vehicles and vehicles were not banned – the nonsense went on and on. In the end the police came.

To me, this incident epitomised everything that is wrong with society. We have brought these kids up telling them they have rights and don’t be pushed around. We have been ridiculously soft on penalties. We have encouraged them to challenge authority. Now they have kids of their own, this scary pattern is going one further. The next generation is saying to hell with authority I’m going to do exactly what I want. And you know, in this soft feely touchy climate that pervades society today, there is very little we can do about it.

The really frightening thought is that our society is clearly taking the early steps on a path that can only lead to the total breakdown of law and order. To anarchy.

Whatever happened to parents who would say to their kids, I think the bylaw is wrong, however it is a bylaw and you must obey it.

Whatever happened to parents who would say to their kids, I don’t like some of society’s rules so I am going to work hard and get myself in a position to make changes? Wouldn’t that be a better example to young kids?

Every night we hear of youths up to no good, tipping over cars, stealing, fleeing the police, attacking police. They have no respect for the rule of law.

And frankly that attitude develops when they are encouraged to skateboard where it is prohibited and then watch their father insult and abuse the officer who is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the rules.

Because tomorrow I’m MC at the opening of what I consider is a very significant addition to the service industries in Napier.

Roger Greaney, the well known proprietor of City Collision Repairs, has long had a dream of building a world class collision repair facility right here in Hawke’s Bay. And he and Linda have done it.

Now I know that the old fashion panel beaters shops are not very sexy. But this new “state of the art” facility has to be seen to be believed.

No more the dark smelly workshop down an alleyway with the air swirling with bog dust, this facility sits proudly right on the street, clean painted floors, modern dust extracting rub down booths, magnificent sealed painting booths – it is a real credit to Roger, Linda and their team.

And yet it’s more than that. It’s a symbol of the economic recovery. So many businesses have gone into their shell, refusing to spread, not employing staff. In a word, they are scared. Scared to invest capital – scared to take a risk.

And that is why I applaud Roger and Linda Greaney so loudly.

At a time when clearly we are still in recession, albeit there are signs of recovery, they have had the guts to invest in the future, to provide the high class collision repair centre Hawke’s Bay has been crying out for.

It is a symbol of confidence and confidence is what we are lacking in business right now.

Roger and Linda and their team deserve every success with this project. I’ve always said that anyone who puts their capital at risk and works hard deserves success and unquestionably Roger and Linda Greaney have put an enormous amount of capital into this project and have been working seven days a week to bring it all together.

Well done Roger, Linda, Chris and the team at City Collision Repairs.

We are told that our roads are much safer now and it is all because of the continuous flow of rules and regulations imposed on drivers – rules and regulations that are making driving a chore rather than a pleasure. The fact that the automotive industry has introduced safety glass, crumple zones, collapsible steering columns, seat belts, air-bags and other safety features seems to be completely overlooked. And now we are told that reducing the tolerance for motorists exceeding the speed limit, has reduced the Queen’s Birthday weekend road toll. I would have thought that the rotten weather that kept everyone at home would have had a far greater influence. You don’t have to be very clever to work out that it is not simply speed that is the problem on our roads, it is speed related to where the car is positioned on the road. A car doing 120 clicks on the Takapau Plains is far safer than a car doing 80 clicks around a bend that should be taken at no more than 50.

If you can come up behind a car doing say 95 kilometres per hour and you pass them because you want to do 100 kilometres an hour which is the safest manoeuvre. Pulling out into the opposing lane, accelerating to 120k’s to get past quickly and return to your own side of the road as soon as possible or, sitting on the wrong side of the road for what seems an age as you crawl past the slow vehicle? I know what I prefer to do!

And talking about rubbish in the media, I wonder if you saw list MP, Stuart Nash’s comments in the HB Today last night. Talk about the old Michael Law’s trick of associating yourself with an event or events that have got nothing to do with you.

The article was real “politician speak”. It was full of, – “I would need to see” and “I would need to be”, type statements. Nash is quoted as saying that the decision to embark on an offshore drilling programme needed to be based on solid evidence surrounding the rationale for such a project.

Nowhere did he say he was for or against the project, nowhere did he say he had or hadn’t seen the things he wanted to see.

In fact, the press release was just a lame excuse for a politician to get his name and photo in the paper.

As I said earlier – the media is often full of rubbish.

Venture Hawke’s Bays success can be partly measured in visitor numbers and we are one of the worst performing districts in the country in terms of visitor nights.

I just hope this latest restructure is not yet another re-positioning of the deckchairs on the Titanic and that at long last we might get the outcomes from Venture Hawke’s Bay that their budget demands.

Doug served his community in a way that most people would never bother to do and he was a man I admired tremendously. However his time had come and in the end his death was a happy release.

As someone who served in the Pacific in the second world war, Doug was accorded a RSA tribute as part of his service and I have to say I was shocked by the small number of ex-servicemen who were there to pay their respects – and quite a few of them were ex the Malayan and Vietnam wars. It brought home to me how we are very quickly losing a valuable link to an incredibly important chapter in our history.

It is now 65 years since VJ day and inevitably the number of living veterans of the 39-45 conflict is declining. Even a young recruit of 20 in 1945 is now 85 years of age.

I suppose what it brought home to me more than anything was the fact that I’m getting old. I grew up surrounded by people I regarded as heroes – those who went to war and fought for my future. Now sadly, most of them are no longer with us.

Recently Napier City recognised a small group of people who had made amazing contributions to their community. How some of these people have managed to find the time to serve in such a way just amazes me.

A couple of nights ago the Civil Defence Minister, John Carter, presented awards to some of our long serving civil defence personnel. Again it amazes me that so many people can find the time to serve an organisation such as civil defence on a purely voluntary basis. It really does restore your faith in your fellow man.

And we need to celebrate these people. And we need to learn to say thank you to them – to tell them that these efforts are appreciated.

On Sunday a large group of well known Napier performers put on a concert in the Municipal Theatre in aid of the Christmas Cheer appeal. It was a good little show and hopefully from these modest beginnings, it will grow into an annual charity concert that will be on everyone’s calendar. But again everyone gave their time freely, even those who would normally charge for their professional performances.

And then there are people like Ross Holden here at the Radio Network. Ross has always been incredibly community minded and has given many hours to charitable events. In the interests of community radio, Ross has put in hour after hour over and above his normal work hours to ensure local events were advertised and reported, especially in the sporting field.

At a time when everything is being centred in the main centres, when our local community paper has been sold to a major, Ross Holden has been a great voice for his community. Well done Ross.

I can tell you it makes me feel good to live in such a caring community and to know that, especially at this time of the year, those less fortunate are not forgotten. So well done Napier folk – keep up the good work.

But over the last few days I have once again, had it proven to me, that Hawke’s Bay is a wonderful place to be.

Over the weekend the Hawke’s Bay Vintage Car Club held it’s 50th Jubilee. We had a “noggin and natter night” on Friday night and then Shirl and I went on to the Napier Operatic Show at the Tabbard Theatre – a great night all round.

On the Saturday night the Vintage Car Club had an awards dinner at the Cossie Club – an excellent meal – good music – good company – what else could a man want.

On the Sunday we picked up Charlie Black who at 93 is a legend in Vintage Car circles and drove right up the Taihape Road. The old 1929 Model A went like a dream and we had morning tea at the Russell Homestead – Tunanui. We cruised off around Crownthorpe and came back to Okawa where the Lowry family hosted us at lunch time. A picnic in the magnificent grounds – walking through the rose gardens – life doesn’t get much better than that.

Then last night we attended a ceremony where six prominent locals received special awards from the Mayor of Napier.

When you heard the list of organisations that these people have served and the contribution they have made to our Society – it made you feel very humble.
So no grumbles today – just a confirmation that we are indeed fortunate to live in such a magnificent part of the world.

It was a great night – the wines were magnificent, the venue at Elephant Hill Winery was world class – it made me feel very privileged to live in this part of the world. I must say though that the last round of reds was probably unnecessary.

This afternoon the Napier City and Hastings District Councils are having a combined meeting followed by a dinner – at Councillors own expense, I hasten to add. I have to say I am really looking forward to a frank and open discussion about the future of our region and in particular a review of the collaborative projects that are already under way and an investigation of where other efficiencies can be found.

Clearly there is a completely different view of what constitutes a prudent financial structure, between Napier and Hastings Councils.

Napier, which in recent years has benefitted from strong and conservative financial management, prides itself on having just $12 million of external debt. Lawrence Yule is quoted in this morning’s Dominion as saying Hastings debt is likely to rise to $101 million over the next few years but that doesn’t matter because Hastings has got plenty of assets.

Debt is not serviced by assets and ratepayers don’t pay their rates with assets.

Debt is serviced with cash and cash comes from the ratepayers. So, great dollops of debt incurred by a Council will have a direct affect on ratepayers.

But the Councils need to talk more and today is a good start. I want to know why, at a time when amalgamation is a possibility, Hastings is blazing on incurring large amounts of debt to build new reception centres and sports parks in the middle of nowhere.

It seems to me that if Lawrence and his team are serious about amalgamation, they would be aware that debt levels are going to be a major issue.

But I’m going in with an open mind and to listen to the views of the Hastings councillors. And just to prove I am open to good argument, I watched Q & A on Sunday and found myself in full agreement with Richard Prebble.

Who would have thought?

It means we are no longer going backwards – the economy is no longer in reverse gear. But that doesn’t mean we have found first gear. Simply not going backwards is not good enough. We need to find the right gear to move forward.

Recession is an important part of the economic cycle. Companies are forced to get leaner, meaner and more efficient and therefore well positioned to participate in the worldwide recovery. But there are still some areas that really concern me. Internationally there is still an enormous amount of greed obvious at the top level in companies. The recession does not seem to have had any effect on the huge remuneration packages being demanded and paid to senior management.

In the USA the problem remains. Here in Australasia it has got worse. The head of Telstra earning $16m – the head of the CBA bank getting $11m. Think about that. Ralph Norris, who is a very good Manager admittedly, goes to work each week where he is directed by a board of directors, supported by experts in every field, and runs the bank. For that he is paid $220,000 per week. That’s right, $220,000 per week.

In New Zealand we pay the head of Telecom in excess of $7m per year. In a country that sends its front line police offers in to face armed offenders and expects those officers to be happy to earn 55 to 70 thousand dollars a year, we pay the head of Telecom $140,000 per week.

Some of you, by now will be starting to think I have been converted to socialism but that is far from the truth. I just believe there needs to be some fairness in the remuneration levels different members of society receive.

We expect our Doctors and Nurses to work their butts off – and they do – in under-funded and under-resourced institutions like the HB Hospital. The Doctors work incredible hours for a pittance considering the years of training they have done and nurses earn less per month that the head of Telecom does before smoko on a Monday.

I don’t know about you – but I think somehow, these excesses need to be addressed, if the economy is going to move forward.

This vitriolic spinster seemed to think Rugby was the root cause of all New Zealand’s ills and she stated she was sick and tired of hearing about the World Cup and the enormous cost that New Zealand was going to incur to host it.

Let me put this poor demented soul right.

The Rugby World Cup, to be held in New Zealand in 2011, is the biggest promotional opportunity that this country has ever had. It will put New Zealand on the world stage in a way no other event has ever done. The tens of millions of dollars that the government is putting in to this project is not an expense, it is an investment. It is an investment in our future and the wellbeing of generations to come.

Here in New Zealand we look around at our magnificent scenery and say of course we are a tourist destination, just look at what we have got to offer. But the fact remains that there is a very large number of people in the world who have no idea that we exist. Even in reasonably affluent countries – the United States is a good example – where interestingly Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports – in many parts of the States they have no idea where New Zealand is. Most have heard of it but many think it is part of England or by South Africa or somewhere near Australia.

The Rugby World Cup is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand to raise its profile in the world.

And don’t forget the benefits all the domestic activity around the Cup brings to your community. At a time of high unemployment, the building of new stands, replacing lighting, upgrading of the infrastructure needed for such an enormous event, all provide much needed jobs for Kiwis.

This Rugby World Cup will benefit New Zealand in direct relation to the effort each and every one of us puts into supporting it. So lets get behind those who are working so hard to bring this event to New Zealand – it is very much in the interests of all of us to do so.