OPINION

Last weekend in Whangārei we had a welcome reprieve from the horrors of the past month with sunshine for three wonderful events: Art Beat, Pasifika on Saturday, and Children’s Day on Sunday.

We have had to cope with much over the past three years. March 25 marks the third anniversary of going into lockdown, swept up by the global pandemic and surviving by a collective self-sacrifice few of us have experienced before.

Then, just as we were hoping for some back to normal, the new year ushered in a series of storms that gave frightening proof that “normal” is fast retreating. Global warming announced itself with a surge of flooding that has wiped out lives and livelihoods and put the future of many coastal communities into real doubt — something our Pasifika community already knows all too well.

For many of those I meet, the stress is huge. Growers, farmers, business leaders, flood victims, and the principals dealing with their children, all show stark signs of strain. Stress shows itself in many ways. Some people weather it, others struggle. Still, others resort to an angry denial that anything is wrong, or insist the blame lies with someone else.

The fact is the blame lies with everyone old enough to read these words and in a position to vote and influence their community: almost all of us (me included) ignored the warnings on global warming.

The fact is also that as the inhabitants of one of the most blessed places on Earth, growing up in times of peace and plenty, we aren’t a generation much used to sacrifice on this level. But going forward, I believe the worst blame of future generations will be reserved for those who push denial and delay change.

While we can stick our heads in the sand, the future of those children whose whānau gathered to celebrate them on Sunday requires us to be braver and bolder than that.

We have huge, painful decisions ahead, about where we live, how we live and what we fund from resources that are painfully limited. The good news is there are already solutions within our grasp as ordinary Kiwis.

Some require individual action, others change from corporations and industry, and, yes, we will need to elect governments (local and central) who are prepared to redirect resources and take the big, unpopular decisions that will require change and sacrifice from us all.

If we are brave, it will lead us to some hard and challenging places, requiring yet more courage. We are going to have to tolerate new ways of operating and upend old certainties. If we are not brave, however, our children will face a future bleaker than I personally can tolerate. What I know of Whangārei is that we are brave enough, and we can do it if we put our minds to it.

As the proverb goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best is today.