Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Against a backdrop of international political and financial turmoil and many natural disasters, New Zealand has also faced significant challenges this year.

Our economy is sluggish and has been further challenged by the Pike River mine collapse and the earthquakes in Canterbury which have huge economic, environmental and social impacts. Christchurch's recovery will take a long time and a lot of resources.

In the Bay of Plenty, we have had severe floods, the Rena grounding and Psa to deal with, and the impacts will take a lot of effort, resources and time to mitigate. Looking back, I am really proud of how we kiwis respond to challenges and change.

Most of us give willingly to help others less fortunate. The public response to the Christchurch earthquake was amazing. The nearly 8,000 volunteers who gave of their time to help clear up our beaches following the Rena oils spill have set a precedent for community oil-spill response. There were hundreds who helped clean-up the oiled wild-life and others gave generously to funds that were established.

Many people responded to our disasters as part of their jobs, and this response across the Bay of Plenty (and nationally) has been over and above the call of duty. We had people from the Bay of Plenty who went down to help in the Christchurch earthquake recovery. In the initial stages of the Rena disaster, staff from local and regional councils, Maritime NZ, and many other agencies worked around the clock to gear up the response. The salvors are doing incredible work in very difficult circumstances. With Psa, industry, central and local government, business support agencies and community groups are looking at working together to find solutions and help those in need.

I find this all very humbling and I am proud of our ability and willingness to do what is required to help those in need. It gives me the confidence that we can handle whatever fate throws at us and that we will bounce back. Bring on 2012!

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579-5150. Or you can check out my website at www.janenees.co.nz