Shepparton is trapped in a vacuum of imagination.
Worse than that, we have so enthusiastically pursued what it
is we already understand and are comfortable with, that we now find ourselves
stumbling about in a blind canyon.
What the Goulburn Valley needs is imaginative leaders; those
who understand the choices that confront not just people here, but society
generally.
The history of conflict; conflicts whose costs are measured
in millions of lives, serious disruption to many of those left alive and a
financial cost beyond measurement, is simply a matter of poor choice and the
failure to imagine that there was, and is, a better way.
Shepparton faces challenges which are simply a microcosm of
the malign difficulties presently facing the world and the challenges they
present can be eased, or avoided completely, by making the right choices.
The City of Greater Shepparton council has set out to “Make
Shepparton Greater” listing commerce, health, justice and transport, both road
and rail, projects as priorities on which both it and the community should
focus.
The enthusiasm and excitement about this idea is to be
applauded, but with restraint for although the projects are of themselves
worthy they contribute little to building a Shepparton that will endure the unfolding
differences ahead.
Rather than building on what exists, all of us, from the
council down, should be stepping back, learning about how the world is going to
unfold and understanding that the creation of a resilient Greater Shepparton,
one able to withstand the inevitable shocks spinning off from energy depletion,
and food and water shortages arising from a damaged climate, demands
imagination.
What do we do?
Rather than constantly expanding our boundaries, we should
imagine ways of moving people toward the centre of the city, making walking and
cycling nor only easier, but preferable because it is both quicker and cheaper;
we need to develop a public transit system, not only within the city itself,
but one that links-up all the towns and villages that make up the Greater City;
we need a complex mosaic of community vegetable gardens throughout the city; frequent
(monthly?) programs should be aimed at helping people understand why we need to
embrace resilience and within that begin to talk about the importance of
sharing.
We don’t forget, however, about the health or justice
aspects of Making Shepparton Greater, but we make them part of city whose
maintenance is less energy-intensive.
We have a choice – we can follow the energy-intensive
business as usual trajectory or we can use imaginative thoughtful ways of
living that will see us break the business as usual mould; consider and
implement renewable energy and in contemplating sustainability, build a
resilient community and, in doing so, “Make Shepparton Greater”.
