Ian McLean Spokesperson for the Green Party

The south Waikato is undergoing a sea change right now. Amid all the angst over water quality, industry failure, forest-dairy conversions, and depressed townships, there is a bright light.

That light is cycling. There are fantastic amenity opportunities alongside the Waikato River, and locals are embracing the opportunity to build cycleways and support local tourism.

In the greater Tauranga area we have several proposed cycle/walkways, including a boardwalk for Pilot Bay and an ambitious scheme to link Waihi and Te Puke. All would contribute to tourism in a variety of ways, along with improving amenity value for locals and creating user-friendly access through our communities.

In contrast to south Waikato, our proposals are encountering community resistance.

Some of the perceived threats (such as graffiti and disruptive behaviour) will need managing. But that can be achieved and should not be used to block the development of assets with obvious economic, social and environmental benefits.

It is great to see initiatives that promote such outcomes. This is the green economy in action.

Postscript

The Sun attached Simon Bridges' comments on the crime rate to Green Scene last week. Some readers were a little surprised at the apparent support given to National in that column. However, we support Simon's conclusion that evidence of a declining crime rate is good news.

Ian McLean is a spokesperson for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Contact Ian G. McLean on 021 547 556 or 07 579 4670 or email: ian.mclean@greens.org.nz