…If we don’t manage to change tact and turn this nation around.

“Oh it’s not that bad, other countries have it worse than us”

It may not be that bad now. But the trajectory together with the longer term pattern isn’t looking at all favorable.

Key issues facing our nation include…

• Housing Affordability – Houses in New Zealand are ludicrously overpriced and it’s locking out many of our younger and most productive citizens who become despondent and leave New Zealand. I even say this being a landlord myself. We as a country have broken our social contract with our working population. I acutely see the negative impact this is having on our society and our economy in the longer run. I am deeply angered by our governments (past and present) for their failure and lack of willingness to tackle this issue. Sadly during the run up to last election’s I found few politicians cared despite me emphatically reaching out explaining why it’s an issue and asking what they are going to do about it

• Proliferating illicit drug use (as reported by way of wastewater analysis)

• Low productive output – As one example of many, It’s magnitudes more expensive to build the same critical infrastructure in New Zealand than it is in other countries. We regularly see the waste when we drive through road works that take for ever to complete and see no one is there working a lot of the times. Examples of this include Waikato expressway which seems to require perpetual repair and the City Rail Link that can never quite get to opening stage (to the point revenue train services can run on it)

• We don’t have a lot to export that is valuable. Our main exports are Diary and Tourism which frankly aren’t high value exports.

I fear at this stage, if we don’t tackle the above issues, all we will become is nothing more than a larger version of our Pacific Island neighbours.  We’re already seeing gradual social decline, increasing division and a slow erosion of what made New Zealand a great place to live.