Treasures

July slipped by with the usual cold grey days and drizzly periods .Enough to make you hibernate like a bear.

I think that's what everyone did.

Nearing the end of August and the days a little bit longer , a few people are popping out of the woodwork and testing the ground for an assault on spring. Not quite there yet but  there is something in the air.

It was notable to be contacted by my very special and treasured friends that helped me over the last year with toil and items for the house that have made life more 'livable'.

M and M returned to see me and arranged a whole team to turn up and wreak havoc on weeds , straggly looking trees and silt bound gardens. Jobs that I have put on the backburner with so much else to catch up on.

Not only did the team do a massive job with the garden area but they had a painter hiding in their midst who made a couple of rooms look amazing in a few hours.

Like magic, these treasured people lifted a small burden off my mind and by days end, although pretty exhausted , I felt immense relief amid a presence of love and fulfillness.

Thankyou  a thousand times to these wonderful giving people .

I will never forget you.

    

 Kick Us While We Are Down

Sometimes one wonders why one bashes their head against a brick wall.

The saying must have a solid origin.

After a time of devastation and life changing circumstances we learn for sure that Councils are deaf ,blind and incapable of rational thought.

My many local friends and colleagues have received the latest rates notice .The Hastings Council recognised the situation of ratepayers and flagged rates for two years ,I acknowledge that ,but the Regional Council , the Council responsible for Flood protection , kicks us fairly and squarely in the guts.

It is beyond comprehension, beyond reason beyond all one can believe.

The first kick was to change the basis for the rating system while there was a state of turmoil .They changed from capital value to land value. It was contemplated in the past but rejected because of the huge impact it would have on producers. But they changed in the face of massive submissions in opposition and at a time when any such change would impact especially unfairly on those who had been impacted by Gabrielle.

Another kick is basing the rates on valuations that were calculated just before the flood. Valuations have been turned upside down and ramifications on a rating base are significant now as so many houses have been demolished .the whole area has been decimated and they think they can use valuations that are no longer applicable to the current situation.

  There is a small after kick with a charge for public transport.

It is not an insignificant component .In actual fact it is a joke.

Why charge rural people with no bus access , no bus service , a totally irrelevant fee .

So here are with a massive rates rise after a major flood event and a council who has their fingers in their ears singing la,la,la.

See nothing ,hear nothing.

It is a totally unacceptable situation.

 

   

   

 Kneejerk Reactions.

I have had correspondence about progress with building stopbank infrastructure in the local area.

Since Gabrielle authorities have most likely had sleepless nights after a barrage of criticism .An understandable response following a major weather event. People  have lost everything and emotions are high. It is easy to target those who at first front up (sort of) to take the flack and roll off to the office to work out a considered response.

We go through this process.

I guess what has surprised me has been the arrogance displayed by the decision makers and the total lack of serious consideration given to constructive criticism offered by those "who know".

With the passing of time it has been possible to understand this reaction and it is indeed a worry.

Back to 'progress'.

The lack of  rational thinking , lack of understanding, lack of commonsense has seen some kneejerk responses that are costing ratepayers many thousands of unnecessary  dollars.

A stopbank is being built along a stream , yes a stream, that is largely spring fed ,does not flood naturally and has flowed merrily for many years.

There used to be stopbanks along part of the stream but at some stage it was considered that the likelihood of breach was minimal and the stopbanks were left and in places removed by landowners.

This assessment was correct but now there is panic in the ranks and stopbanks are being built 'just in case ' and they are ' a secondary defence " according to the grapevine.

This idea of a 'secondary defence ' is a kneejerk reaction. An over reaction. 

What needs to be sorted are the stopbanks that breached. What needs to be sorted is the bridges that had structures that allowed dams to form behind them. What needs to be sorted is the configuration of some stopbanks that formed a dam during the flood . What needs to be sorted is why the likes of the Puketapu Bridge had so much debris build up behind it.

Kneejerk reeactions are not ideal but I guess models rule.  

  

 Historical Evidence

There has been a to and fro in some media about NIWA not providing the correct information to councils at times of extreme weather events .Especially in the case of Gabrielle.

We have Ian Wishart with an analysis  that includes information gathered from old newspapers that are available to us all and is likely a fairly accurate representation  of historical events , especially given that in past times news was covered without the bias and misinformation we may now see.

What has surprised me has been the response from NIWA and now the Minister , on the Wishart claims. The immediate rejection or scoffing about the fact that may be lessons were not learnt from history.

I mentioned in a previous post about the loss of institutional knowledge throughout  our Councils and even in private enterprise.

It is astounding that an experienced cabinet Minister appears to lack knowledge about the history of our councils and how the changes that were made in the eighties seem to have been forgotten.

It would be fair to speculate that some people involved in Catchment Boards would have suggested that it the important work they carried out would be diminished in importance as time passed and other more fancy projects would receive dollars and attention.

Many of the staff involved in historical catchment operations are still around today and carry the  detail of so many responses and development of infrastructure that was required to deal with many historical events.

I have talked to some of these people and have to say that I myself was here to experience Bola and other storms such as 1966 and I had the opportunity to discuss the 1938 flood with my neighbor before he passed on.

Collectively there is a huge amount of knowledge in the community and there was a huge amount of knowledge within Councils.

There has been a move over the last twenty years to upend the makeup of councils and replace experience with a new brigade of computer bandits .The old and tried method of slowly replacing people as they retired, so to allow knowledge to be passed on to the next generation , has been extinguished .Zapped. 

Thus we find ourselves with an argument.

He said ,she said and no answers.

No responsibility.

Oh. 

For Minister Collins to indicate  today that NIWA were the font of all knowledge re the weather let me aghast.        

 Modelling vs Reality

It's always valuable discussing issues with a variety of people .It is especially useful when people have a wealth of experience from a long period of involvement in a particular area of expertise.

You cannot compare practical experience with  sitting behind a computer and speculating.

Recently I have had discussions with a number of friends like engineers, landscapers, valuers , mechanics , growers and  small business owners .

One thing coming through has been the observation that over the last twenty or so years there has been a gradual replacement of people with a wealth of knowledge , with a cohort of younger ,mobile, qualified, green behind the ears , know alls.

The institutional knowledge so valuable in many areas has been lost. Almost with an up you from the replacements 

My friends make the observation that experienced people who at one time passed on years of accumulated and invaluable knowledge are scoffed at, ignored and passed off as irrelevant by the new breed of arrogant deaf , overpaid dreamers.

One of the most annoying and maybe faulty approaches to understanding problems and solving a range of issues relating to our future , is the use of modelling.

I guess we can't blame the new breed for the use of modelling and indeed there is a place for it but there is almost a blind adherence to modelling and a total lack of ability to factor in fact, reality and historical evidence.

Modelling will never be the whole answer. Modelling could in fact be dangerous and costly to the masses as bureaucrats adopt solutions without due regard to economic  realities .

It is heartening  to talk to friends that share the observation about modelling so that it confirms in my mind  I am not losing the plot.

I will be exploring some key background issues re Gabrielle with some other experienced colleagues  before  compiling further comment .    

  

  

 Reports

As the houses fall around us the amazing gurus wile away behind their screens and think up ways to explain in no more than 50,000 words , what happened and how to avoid responsibility.

It appears to be a common trait at the current time .There are all types of 'events ' happening and anyone in supposed authority is running for cover.

Not responsible. It's an infection. Look over there!

Well a report has materialised in our inboxes. I haven't read it yet as the initial response is ho hum. No one has listened so far so why bother reading a report that cost another dollap of ratepayers money for little or no return.

 The wreckers left nothing behind and liquidated the memories of a hundred years or a dream of a new settler. There is but a bare square of earth with the odd dock, rye and rampant fleabain.

This once living community does not figure in the 'report'

It does not matter any more. People can move, people can move on, people can consume the turmoil of the day and secret their feelings in to nights , dark, away from pesky prying  nine to fivers.

I will return to illucidate in due course.