Looking back over the past year, Invercargill has plenty to
celebrate.
Oil exploration is continuing for another year in the Great
South Basin; the Southern Institute of Technology's Zero Fees
Scheme has become a major brand for the city and we struggled
through yet another Burt Munro Rally.
We've also had several highly successful international hockey
and cycling tournaments; my Auckland Island pigs' project is
undertaking human trials on diabetes sufferers and - most
important of all - we've won the Ranfurly Shield.
However, we've got to be honest. The city will be facing some
major challenges in the New Year and top of the list is
drinking and driving.
The number of people that are being killed on our roads is
absolutely tragic, and the festive season has yet to begin.
Families are often torn apart when these accidents occur, and
even in local government splits on Council often erupt after
a drink-driving incident.
Norway has the same population as New Zealand but only 200
people are killed per year, yet here we accept 500-700 a year
as normal.
Nonetheless, I'm a born-again optimist, and I believe we can
resolve any issue that's thrown at us. As long as we engage
in honest, open debate and face the facts, there is a lot of
strength and intelligence out there in the community.
This week I helped organise a concrete project to try and
pass on some skills to teenagers in the city.
After a stressful month, it was great to get involved in
hard, physical labour.
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