South Wairarapa Rebus Club hears some good news

Martin Connelly, Mayor of South Wairarapa District Council, was guest speaker at the club’s recent  meeting, his first public engagement after a period of leave. 

In general terms he felt that Wairarapa was doing very well in comparison with other areas in NZ. Unemployment at 2.4 percent compared with a national figure of 4.0 percent and the time for the Ministry of Social Development to get workers into employment locally has fallen in recent months. He was writing letters of welcome to 20 – 30 newcoming families to the area per month, based on their purchase of accommodation as “outsiders.” He noted that Wairarapa population was growing older faster than the rest of the country because of the numbers retiring here. Wairarapa is  quite dependent on immigrants for support of older folk.

The value of the Wairarapa as a destination for visitors is increasing. 

The new Dark Skies Reserve will be a continuing attraction to the 80 percent of the world’s population who never see stars at home. He noted that the four smaller towns were doing well in comparison to Masterton on the basis of their various local functions and events that attract visitors. Classic car and cycle tours are seen regularly.

Martinborough has the Jazz Festival, Chamber Music Festival and two popular fairs; Greytown has a mid-winter festival (obstinately called the Festival of Christmas – why not Matariki?) and Apple Harvest Festival; Featherston has Booktown and Karukatea Festival that brings in 8-9.000 visitors; Carterton celebrates the summer and winter solstices and Matariki at Stonehenge and has a Yule Festival. Masterton has Wings Over Wairarapa and not much else. He omitted to mention Golden Shears! and not much else.

However, local government is “well and truly busted.” Since the 1980s, central government has passed numbers of functions to local bodies without passing on new funding. Between 1895 and 2015 central government expenditure has expanded from 9 percent to 35 percent of national income. In contrast, over the same period, local government expenditure has risen from 3 percent to 4.5 percent. 

The requirement that water quality supplied to homes must be up to scratch is expensive to meet in smaller communities, as is waste water disposal. 

SWDC has four waste treatment plants in Greytown, Featherston, Martinborough and Lake Ferry; Carterton has a fifth; the four towns south of Masterton also have five water treatment plants to supply around 20,000 people. By comparison, the Wellington/Hutt Valley/Porirua water supply caters to more than 400,000 people. They also have four waste treatment and four supply treatment plants. Mayor Connelly felt that there should some way to even out the per-head cost of drinking water.

The Rebus Club’s June meeting is a Matariki lunch at South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club.

The South Wairarapa Rebus Club https://southwairaraparebus.com meets in the South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club at 9:45 a.m. on the fourth Friday of each month. 

Anyone in the retired age group who may be interested in SW Rebus Club is welcome to come along as a visitor. Please introduce yourself at the door from the rear carpark or contact John Reeve 021 560 461.