0 The good news is happening here too

We've just got back from a quick trip to the supermarket. But the front page of this morning's Wanganui Chronicle caught our eye so much that we actually bought a copy!

The banner headline that took our attention read like this; Jobs surge thanks to building boom. And the story that accompanied it reads like this:

Job listings in Wanganui are up more than 25 per cent, with growth in the building sector, agriculture, healthcare and transport leading the way.
The TradeMe employment survey for the past three months saw Wanganui vacancies jump 27 per cent to 223, compared with the same period last year. The survey said the trades and healthcare were driving a large part of the region's growth.
Graeme Musson, branch manager at Allied Workforce Labour in Wanganui, said the development of several large buildings and retail centres had helped fuel the jobs' boost.
"There's a lot of positivity in Wanganui at the moment. I've haven't seen this number of cranes along the skyline in a long time."
One building under construction is the Victoria retail centre, including Farmers, which will boast seven specialty shops in the front. A retail development in Bulls has seen a new BP service station open with a Four Square due soon.

"The money's always been there but the confidence has always lacked," Mr Musson said.
"These are buildings being built by owners who live out of town and are investing here."
While the developments ensured a higher number of construction jobs, the retail sector would also benefit from more opportunities once the centres were up and running, he said.

This is fantastic news for the city of Wanganui and for the wider region. The Farmers development between Victoria Avenue and St Hill Street will turn an area that has been a wasteland and an eyesore for several years into a vibrant shopping precinct.

Further up Victoria Avenue the AA has just moved in to brand new premises, and a block further up there's a major development being built for Briscoes and Rebel Sports. And we heard whispers yesterday of a significant development in one of Wanganui's largest export businesses which is also going to have positive spin-offs for the company's suppliers and contractors.

As we have mentioned before, friends own a business which supplies to the building trade. This year has been their busiest ever, by some margin. Residential construction is also booming, as well as the commercial side of the industry.

After a number of years of lagging behind our Manawatu and Taranaki neighbours, the Wanganui region and the city itself deserve good news. The best news they could get on September 20th is to have a National-led government returned to office, and Chester Borrows elected for a fourth term as MP for Whanganui.

0 The good news continues...

After all the political drama this week, it's nice to know that the economy is ticking along at a good, strong pace; the Herald reports:

Propelled by the construction sector, the economy kept expanding at a brisk clip in the March quarter.
Output grew 1 per cent to be 3.8 per cent up on March last year, up from a 3.3 per cent annual pace in December.
It is the third quarter in a row that gross domestic product has grown 1 per cent or better.
Although it is slightly softer than the 1.1 per cent the Reserve Bank (and the market consensus) had forecast, revisions to previous quarters meant annual growth was stronger than expected, leaving less spare capacity in the economy.
Growth was heavily concentrated in the construction sector, whose 12.5 per cent increase (the strongest for 14 years) accounted for two-thirds of the rise in quarterly GDP.

Quarterly growth of 1% and an annual GDP growth rate of 3.8% for the year to March is a very good result. The fact that the construction industry is leading the way is not surprising, but it is pleasing to know that growth in construction is taking place right across the country, not just in Christchurch.

Wanganui is often regarded as a real estate backwater. But as we have mentioned in the past, friends own a business supplying the building trade. They are as busy at the moment as they have ever been. Residential constriction is vibrant, and there are at least three major commercial projects underway in Victoria Avenue alone.

That is a sign of confidence in the economy going forward. Businesses like Farmers, Briscoes and Rebel Sport would not be committing to long-term leases in new premises such as those being built in the city if they were not optimistic about the country's economic outlook.

And the Government has been quick to compare our economy to those of a range of other developed countries or groups of countries:

The New Zealand economy is doing very well as the country recovers from a recession brought on by the Global Financial Crisis. Bill English's conservative economic policy mix has been shown to have been the right recipe for the times, and the economy is now reaping the benefits of his pragmatism.

It is certainly a good platform for any government to go to an election on.

0 The "David goes to Wanganui" Caption Contest

David Cunliffe visited Whanganui yesterday; both the city and the electorate, hence the h! 

And the Wanganui Chronicle (without the h) features this photo of him in Victoria Avenue (just across the road from Hon Chestser Borrows MP's office) on a walkabout with local candidate Hamish McDouall.

You know the rules; keep 'em short, pithy, amusing and to the point, and don't get unnecessarily personal. Beyond that, you're limited only by your imagination.

We'll get things started:

Baby: Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to point? Blimmin' Auckland latte drinkers...

We're sure you can do better; the floor is yours...