'Affluent age over in N.Z.

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 10

'Affluent age over in N.Z.

■ The age of affluence was [Over and we would have to j educate ourselves for the I age to austerity that was ■ coming, the M.P. for Lyttel- ! ton (Miss Colleen Dewe) [told the International Night I meeting of the Christchurch 'Federated Business and Proi fessional Women’s Club on [Tuesday. I Miss Dewe was speaking on the theme for the evening: "Looking Towards the Twenty-first Century — New i Priorities in Changing Life Styles.” We must decide what sort of life we want to lead in ■the twenty-first centun. and then how we are going to achieve this way of life, she : said. I There were several issues! that were going to have a profound effect on the future' — population, climatic 'change, pollution of the en-i (vironment and. the great-' lest problem of all, the lack of energy sources. ■ The developments in birth] control and increased medi-' cal knowledge had meant that populations were in-] creasing at the ageing end] of the scale. This would! have great economic and social effects on our way of life, she said. Climatic changes in the future would affect the world’s ability to feed itself. If the world was indeed get- 1 ting colder as some sciert-! tists have said, then crop!

I yields would decrease. It I could get to the stage where i traditional food-producing ! areas would have to be changed, she said. The greatest factor affecting our survival would

s be the problem of oil shortj age, she said. ' Dependence on electricity ’ would not solve the need for ' an alternative source of pet- - roleum supply. > “Our society is geared to tjthe use of oil and natural i gas and these commodities - will never be cheap again,” i:she said. One benefit that had come ; from the oil crisis was that ■ in future we might learn not •[ter squander our remaining r | resources, she said. Miss Dewe said that the thought of social conditions t in the year 2000 terrified i her. 1] The present trends of vio- ) lence in society, the self in- ■ diligence in drugs and alco-j hoi, promiscuity, the breakU down of the family unit, the I i’delinquency problem, and “the growing attitude of expecting the Government to' ■'provide all, disturbed her a ■ great deal, she said. • The future would be what iwe planned for now and a ij start must be made in edu-: -ieating people to live with] . more thought to their future [before it was too late, she; I ] said. I