We all run on autopilot when we’re driving. It’s so easy to sit there, trying to rack up as many kays as we can to meet a deadline.

Many of us get so tied up in the things happening in our own lives we don't stop and listen or talk to those around us.  Think about the last time you went into the gas station, and had a yarn with the cashier. Did you get the usual “Hi, how you going?” Did you respond, “Oh fine, thanks”? Not a lot more happened, right?

There are hundreds of people who drive past Whangarei every day, perhaps up to Kerikeri or down to Albany, and never stop to see what they are actually driving past. Your career is more important, so you race to meet deadlines or find a quiet place for a phone conference in your car.

We can all talk about the great parts of Whangarei and Northland, most of us have great memories of the beaches, the restaurants or games played on our sports fields. Yet for every person that has a memory, there are at least ten who drive on auto-pilot.

I've driven through Whangarei and I see many young people with their heads down, focused on their phones when they are walking. They so quickly miss the opportunities in life that surround them. Our Councillors work much like that too, focused on the little issues and forgetting the lifestyle we have. Council decisions sometimes seem to indicate they are focused on what is happening now, rather than what our future will be like and the wake they will leave behind.

I challenge each and every one of you to put down your technology and experience Northland. Focus on our future and where we want to be. Do we want Northland to be debt free? Do we want people visiting Northland to holiday or work? Do we want Northland to be the envy of every New Zealander?  I do!