GUNDRY'S GRUMBLES with Simon Gundry
Well Done Auckland, Well Done New Zealand
First up, well done to all of New Zealand for a wonderful Rugby World Cup – thanks to everyone for their efforts during this event, the tournament was a huge success for the whole of our country. It was fun, it was vibrant, it was colourful, and it was great. Full of the ups and downs of life. We may have matured as a nation slightly over those days; even the weather played its part.
It’s been quite incredible, there were people hardly interested in rugby who have been following the tournament all the way through and got so much enjoyment out of it.
The North Shore looked wonderful, town was tidy, the city was tidy, and people were friendly. Straight after the tournament I travelled to take part in a Yachting Regatta in Spain, and I spoke to a lot of people travelling out of New Zealand back to Europe after the World Cup. Everyone I spoke to was in awe of our country, its’ natural beauty, our friendliness, and our food. Pat yourselves on the back, it was job well done.
I wonder why every time there is a problem in this country, everyone goes running to the Government? Last month, when the container ship Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef just out of Tauranga, the first thing the locals did was go running to the Government - was it really the Government’s fault they were steering this ship on the wrong course in the middle of the night, to land itself on this reef at 17 knots? Was it really the Government’s fault that it happened that a nasty little weather front came through for a few days and made the situation a lot worse? It’s all very well for the locals to get angry and start crying about the loss of their environment, but these things happen – all these stupid people who think we have ocean going tugs with the capability of towing these huge ships off reefs immediately, lying at our disposal, should have a good look at themselves. It’s really not that easy or simple. These people who think that oil booms are readily accessible for any part of our coast, it just doesn’t happen, these things are so expensive and cost so much to maintain, we can’t afford to have them waiting, in the event of a one in a million chance of a container ship hitting a reef. We have such a vast coastline when you take in the areas around New Zealand down to the Auckland and Campbell Islands and over the Chatham Islands, we couldn’t possibly have that much equipment sitting round, waiting. It hasn’t happened before and it won’t happen again in a long, long time. Some people get so hysterical.
Personally, I think we are really lucky to have a leader in this country like John Key. He has had to work through the global meltdown, the earthquakes, Pike River and now the Rena. I believe this country needs the firm, steady leadership he portrays. I get so sick of Phil Goff and the rest of his cohorts down crying the Government at every opportunity. I do realise that it is the Opposition’s job to do this, but sometimes there would be more kudos for the Leader of Opposition to agree that what the Government is doing is the right thing, especially at times of tragedy, instead of constantly bagging it. It becomes tedious and boring. I firmly believe people are turning away from Labour with their negative and nasty politics. A classic example was when Darien Fenton badmouthed Sir Peter Leitch, our beloved “Mad Butcher” last month, that really upset me and it really upset more people than she would ever realise. As we all know, Sir Peter has contributed more to the people of New Zealand than the whole of that Labour outfit has put together.
On a brighter note, summer is coming. After travelling to Europe recently, it again reinforces where I love to live, here on the North Shore of Auckland in New Zealand. Europe is wonderful to visit, but goodness me, the number of people in London is stifling. I don’t know how people can live and work in such close proximity to each other. I guess it’s just what people are used to.
Summer is coming, and before we know it, it will be Christmas time again, and holidays, pohutukawa blossoms, barbecues, yachting and everything that we love about this country. As we talked about this time last year, use this time as an opportunity to embrace family and friends, walk the beaches, explore our rivers and mountains. A time to barbecue some of our wonderful food and invite friends and family round. We have a natural lifestyle that many millions of people around the world can only dream about.
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