Image by Zest Brokers via Facebook

It is always sad to hear bad news about our beautiful Northland. Over the weekend, the media tried their best to say how unsafe Whangarei is. What they failed to appreciate is we do everything we can to stop bad things happening to good people. As soon as one jogger told her friends she felt unsafe running the Hatea Loop, her friends rallied together and a flashmob of over 1000 people came together very quickly.

Watching my city’s residents take ownership of Whangarei again made me very proud. We showed support for the victim. We demonstrated that incidents like these are not acceptable in Northland. The victim released a statement today, saying “On behalf of myself and my family a huge thank you to the Whangarei community for your outpouring of love and support and public display of solidarity reclaiming the Hatea Loop.”

“Whangarei is such a beautiful city and is still.”

It reminds me of a time in the 1970s when Whangarei, and the wider country, were having issues with gangs and crime. A group of business people one night put a stop to it. Today we have CitySafe’s network of cameras, eyes and phone calls helping to keep Northland safe. There are even selfless volunteers who come into Whangarei’s police station at unsociable hours and manually watch the security cameras so miscreants can be spotted quickly.

I think it was a significant weekend in that our under-represented city got some media coverage, there was a swell of local pride, and we hosted yet another top class cultural event: the International Rally of Whangarei. It was a huge success and once again Whangarei and Northland showed that we have the professional skills to manage great international events for NZ. It was also a good example of how cooperation and the right sponsorship can help pay to attract visitors to Whangarei. Sponsors included Mediaworks, Hirepool, WDC, FNDC and Northtec. The event had to spend money on advertising, compliance and of course the race set-up, but its professional delivery meant our motels and restaurants swelled with people bringing fresh money into our economy.

So keep up the good work Northland and keep looking out for one another. That alone is one of the best reasons to live here.