An agreed Vision of Marlborough

With Marlborough at the bottom of the pile in respects of economic growth in the only country in the OECD in recessive economic growth, I put it to the MDC that they should develop an agreed Vision and growth plan for Marlborough to be used by staff and councillors for the development of Marlborough in terms of decission making around what gets budget for development (infrastructure, CBD enhancement, maintenance, environmental protection, etc). 

For far too many years there has been a town versus town attitude running through the veins of decision makers (staff & councillors) at the MDC, where budget allocation for development is concerned. This has to stop and it has to be replaced with strategic planning, thinking and implementation. Our councillors should be working together for the betterment of the region using an agreed vison and plan and not lobbying against eachother for their towns to get budget, before or over another.

When local authorities fail to work strategically, a range of negative outcomes can occur, impacting their functionality, their communities, and the broader region. The consequences often manifest as low economic growth, internal frustration and a lack of clear direction within local authorities, reactive management, time dealing with emergencies rather than proactive planning, maintenance backlogs, and an inability to accommodate population growth and community needs. 

Without a shared vision, decisions may not reflect the will or need of the region or its communities and can be influenced by "squeakiest wheels" rather than a holistic view of community and regional needs. Ultimately, non-strategic local authorities struggle to get the basics right, fail to plan for the future, and are unable to deliver sustainable well-being for their communities. 

It's time to understand what we have, what can be made better and to strategically develop our region for future growth. With an aged population, climate change knocking on our door, tarrif presures, rising costs, economic slowdowns of export based product and infrastructure challenges, Marlborough needs to adopt clear, knowledge based strategies to make sure that, year on year, we grow our region for our children and their children.

Fact: Blenheim's economic growth is higher than national average year after year but as a region, we are just about keeping our head above water and are way below narional average because our other centres and assets are regularly in recession. Many other regions in NZ understand that economic growth has to be regionally strong. Right now, we are a family with one of the family members earning well. We need to be a family where all the family earns well for our family. It's that simple!    

Richard Briggs