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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Ed Said - The equation of change I knew vaguely what it meant at secondary school but it was only applied in a mathematical way and that really wasn’t my thing. Now, years later, I see it happening in our community and it’s much easier to understand.A question was posed recently: “What shops or businesses would we like to see in Mangawhai?” Simple enough you may think but it opened up the most incredible line of discussion on Facebook’s ‘Mangawhai Locals’ page one could ever imagine, generating over 200 responses and to that point not one snide remark or word of abuse and not a mention of rates, sewage or unitary authority. Just good general discussion. Top of the list were a bank and a ‘real’ supermarket. With today’s technology a bank doesn’t need to occupy any greater space than a walk-in wardrobe, with a toilet and lunchroom. Transactions are immediately logged electronically and it’s hard to understand why this hasn’t happened. The supermarket question was not so clear cut but throw McDonalds and The Warehouse into the mix and you have a debate. Some cite corporate takeover of our wee town, some see it as progress, some as growth and others as opportunity. I’m sure any business that would bring hundreds of full or part-time jobs to Mangawhai would have to be seriously considered, like it or not. Some said ‘if you want those things, go and live where they are.’ Standing still is, in fact, going backwards. People have their reasons for moving to Mangawhai just as others have their reasons for leaving. Some commute from Mangawhai to Auckland for work and Johnsons tunnels have made that an easier trip but remember it’s also easier for Aucklanders to get to Mangawhai. We have been trumpeting ‘only one and a quarter hours to Mangawhai from the City’ and this will get shorter when highway upgrades are complete, thereby wittingly or unwittingly promoting ourselves as an outer suburb of Auckland. But we can’t do without Aucklanders can we? Think of the tens of thousands of dollars they have forked out for our various fundraising efforts. They also pay a large proportion of Mangawhai’s rates and Mangawhai as a whole relies almost entirely on the summer trade that emanates from the city. Fifteen years ago Orewa was a place for ‘newlyweds and nearly deads’ until some businessmen with foresight and enterprise gave it the proverbial kick in the pants. It’s long been said ‘if you’re not self employed or a real estate agent there’s not much for you in Mangawhai.’ This is largely true but there is a blueprint for a new Mangawhai. Comprising a whole business, commercial and industrial centre on the Causeway, it came to prominence in 2007/8 just when the world was heading into a global financial crisis. Unfortunately the companies likely to become major stakeholders have since had to consolidate rather than expand but in time the pendulum will swing back and I have no doubt that such a plan will become a reality. Maybe not in my lifetime but it will happen. It’s life, it’s growth, it’s progress, it’s the equation of change. Thanks Julie Blanchard for generating such an interesting discussion. |
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