Have you heard the one about the man whose house was on fire and abused the fire fighters for running their hoses across his prize roses?
Probably not, as I made it up.
This is merely to illustrate the mind set of those who walk among us, ignoring the real economic peril that we face in placing more importance on the fate of the ‘roses' than the ‘house'.
Save the snails; save the skinks, save the whales. But how about saving New Zealand?
The New Zealand Ship of State is sailing in very rough seas and to some extent, is in dire danger of floundering.
While politicians wail at the horrendous debt that is accumulating on a daily basis, a home-grown, partial remedy is at our fingertips, or to rephrase an old adage, 'We're sitting on it”. Yes. Minerals .Coal and iron sands for starters. Oh yes, the Greenies and their followers will object, but, carefully controlled extraction of some of our mineral wealth will help finance our exit from the Poor House and get our country moving.
We live in very troubled times and some statesmen-like decisions must be made
Do we have such a person, or people, with the courage to make them?
Frank Smead, Mount Maunganui.