MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Ed Said -Signs of the times for MangawhaiSocial media can be invaluable if used properly as in warning of a disaster, an accident, flooding or road closures, but too often we see the general public responding with a knee-jerk reaction which ends in abuse and character assassinations. This comes from drawing the wrong conclusions before they have sufficient information proving the old adage ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’. A case in point was the recent suggestion of testing a one-way street scenario in Wood St during the holiday period in a bid to reduce congestion. A number of Facebook responses soundly abused ‘authority’ in general or more specifically our council and councillors when the proposal was little more than a suggestion by the Mangawhai Business Association and not a council directive in any way. Many years ago I was told if you turn up to the bank with a plan and ask ‘can I borrow money?’ you’re inviting either a yes or no answer – most often a ‘no.’ But if you arrive with the plan and ask ‘how can we do this?’ you’re inviting discussion and invariably the plan may change significantly but can still be made to work. Such was the case in the Wood St meeting where several people went there with an axe to grind but when it was found generally most were keen to ease the traffic and parking problems, some great ideas flowed, a number of feasible options were put forward and after a limited time (because nobody wants meetings that go on for hours) all those present had different views on how the problem could be dealt with and a respect for opinions and options other than their own. Just the other night the Mangawhai Beach School Year 8 pupils held a problem-solving meeting to deal with stereotypes in our community. Are there sterotypes in our community? You bet your life there are. One of the glaring ones is the apathy towards Aucklanders, or Jaffas or whatever other negative or derogative term may come to mind. Why should this be specific to Aucklanders? Firstly we tend to forget that, in a growing community, we need people who have big city experience, civic and civil, professional legal minds who actually don’t want to run the ship but have a wealth of knowledge to impart that we at least should listen to. While a number are borderline retirees they are happy to become part of our volunteer force and, of course, they bring money. Let nobody deny that the dollar is still a mighty important ingredient in any growing community. Furthermore there are a goodly number of ex-Aucklanders who have been here for 20 years or more – or have they conveniently forgotten that? Another recent raft of complaints arose over the number of signs erected on the berm near the boat ramp. Via social media people are always asking where can I park, walk my dog, when is this or that open. Now that there are signs to answer such questions plus a number of council by-laws, there are complaints of too many signs. If these things don’t concern you, why even comment? Mangawhai’s growing phase, in my opinion, has really only just started. The next 20 years will see a very different Mangawhai emerge and one which will, of necessity, need to overcome stigmas and stereotypes if it is to really become the ‘Magical’ place it is purported to be. Rob |