Governor-General’s message

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32494, 2 January 1971, Page 14

Governor-General ’s message

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Jan. 1.

The following is the text of the New Year message from the Governor-General (Sir Arthur Porritt): “Once again we find ourselves standing at the gate of a New Year. Before we go through and shut it, it might be a worth-while exercise to glance back over our shoulders at the old year we are leaving behind us—for two purposes: to make sure that we have really appreciated all the good things that have happened to us as individuals and as a country; and secondly, to think where we have gone astray, and what practical and constructive steps we can take to avoid in the future the errors we have made or the difficulties we have encountered this past year. “This really amounts to drawing up a national balance sheet —to which task neither the time available nor my qualifications allow me to do justice. “But having now seen and visited almost every comer of this country of ours, my views—and they are of course, entirely personal—are at least comprehensive, even if the knowledge behind them may perhaps of necessity be superficial, “It does help to see things in perspective. “I am sure all of you will agree that the most meaningful event of the year was the Royal visit and Her Majesty’s heart-warming innovation of direct mixing with her people. Her unique ability to combine dignity and ceremonial with informality and friendliness was surely an example to us all. “I think, too, you will feel as I do that New Zealand’s stature as a national entity is steadily increasing, and that our contacts —political, commercial, defensive and social—become ever more im-

portant, particularly in the Pacific Basin. “Add to this the exciting possibilities opened up by oil and mineral discoveries, the quite dramatic increase in industrial exports, the gold mine of our forests, the rapid development of tourism, the production of our own steel and of our own wines—all this and many other aspects of New Zealand life present a stimulating prospect. “UNIQUE ASSETS” “I wonder if enough of us really appreciate, or even think about, the unique assets we possess in a fair and productive country: ample food, a good climate, good health, good homes and gardens, good schools and hospitals, spectacular scenery, and unrivalled recreational facilities.

“A trip abroad will soon convince you that other countries may have—and do have —some of these things; but few, if any, have them all. “So the credit side of our balance sheet seems heavily weighted. We have many reasons for satisfaction; but I would suggest, not very many for self-satisfaction. There is, unfortunately, a debit side to the balance, as we see only too well at the moment. "Like so many other countries, we are suffering from that uncomfortable affliction, inflation; we are giddy from a wage-price ’spiral’; we are pestered with various manifestations of industrial discontent

"We are in the midst of a negative phase, one hopes only temporary, in primary production; we are facing up to increased taxation of one sort and another; we have discovered that we are not immune to two othfcr global social troubles—student unrest and the drug problem; and we continue to slaughter our population—and largely our young population—by accidents of various sorts, most of which are avoidable. “In this last connection, I had intended to speak in some detail, but the fearsome figures of the last year have produced so much writing and speaking on the subject that there is little I can add. The bare facts are enough. “We have more than 620 killed and getting on for 20,000 injured in road accidents. “Add to this well over 100 drowning fatalities and twice that number killed in accidents in the home, and you will see that this is a national epidemic of major proportions. APPEAL TO DRIVERS “As I am now closing my new year gate on 1970, and looking into the immediate future, might I suggest that every parent makes sure that every child is taught to swim

—and to the motorists may I put a practical proposition. “Will you actively and consciously decide every time you get into a car to drive not only with care, but with courtesy, and positively damp down that aggressive and impatient flamboyant tendency that seems to be the cause of most accidents. “Accidents are essentially due to people—not cars or roads. “The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in the United Kingdom has a good slogan—fit’s a grand life: don’t throw it away.’ “And in New Zealand it is a grand life. Let us nurture it. “Each and every one of us had a set of values, individual and varied though they may be They stem essentially from that happy mixture of affection and discipline I which makes —or should;, make—home life. Can we, not consciously improve home life?

“I believe that all of us, whoever we are or whatever we are doing, can achieve

just that little bit more in all the many and varied aspects of our lives if only we will make a positive effort.” “This applies equally to businesses and institutes as it does to individuals, be they executives or housewives, farmers or factory workers, students or pensioners. “Apathy, complacency and lack of interest in what is going on round us are attitudes we can ill afford to condone. “We are a young people: see to it that our approach to life —in the home, at work and at play—is active, fresh and forward looking. “The incentive is the increased well-being of this our most favoured, but stimulating and still relatively underdeveloped, country. “The dividends are peace, (health and happiness. Their ■achievement and their value depend upon people, not upon things. There is ample scope for both thought and action in the year ahead. “Good luck, and best wishes to you all."