In a way when I heard him on the radio the other day I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him - he's just a doddery old bloke who with every passing year becomes even more out of touch with the modern world. He doesn't see how by not looking at the big picture and blocking change mainly for the sake of implementing his own outdated ideology (which, when it comes down to it, is about nothing more than keeping his own little upper-middle class bubble intact) he is just adding to the chains that have been holding Adelaide back for the past few decades as the world has moved on but Adelaide hasn’t kept up.
I appreciate that change must be difficult to accept as you get older – changes in technology, mobility and social attitudes/trends are generally sparked and championed by younger generations. Yes, we need to balance the needs and requirements of every generation but, let’s face it, Adelaide hasn’t done the very best job of keeping up with change since the 1970s – hence the seemingly sharp correction that is occurring now that most likely seems so threatening to Mark and his kind.
Like it or lump it things are different to the 1950s – people nowadays are quite happy to extend and enjoy their youth by ten years longer than their parents and grandparents did. Settling down with a family and a mortgage is more likely to occur in your 30s than your 20s. Hell, who can blame them - we’re living longer and working longer than ever so they might as well make the most of their knees and liver whilst they're in good working order. Obviously there are many exceptions but the trend nowadays seems to be for the younger generations to use bikes and public transport as opposed to cars, to live centrally within a city rather than the suburbs, to demand a *very* wide range of social options – pubs, cafes, restaurants, live music etc – both on weeknights and weekends - and to seek (and create) employment in digital-based enterprises rather than the traditional office, manual and servicing industries.
If they don’t find it here in Adelaide then they’ll find it in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, London, Berlin, Madrid, New York or any number of progressive and exciting cities around the world. We can create all of the jobs and industry we like here in SA but if they can’t have a good and relatively care-free time in their 20s the youth will bugger off anyway and find a job and a more attractive lifestyle elsewhere. Some of them will come back but many of them won’t.
Something exciting has happened in Adelaide over the last few years – there are more young people around. Not just the ones who would have stayed in Adelaide anyway but the ones who look more in-place in Melbourne. You know the sort – the ones who ride their vintage bikes along Rundle Street and buy their music on vinyl. These are the type of people Adelaide needs to retain in order to revitalise the city, to start new digital enterprises and spend a good percentage of their disposable mortgage-free income in shops, cafes, bars, events, food stalls and the like. When Mark’s finally too old to leave his house or drive his precious car these are the people who will be driving Adelaide’s economy. They are its future.
For the sake of the city, Hamilton and the anti-change brigade should think very carefully about their agendas and step aside to allow Adelaide to continue its growth and sorely needed revitalisation. I genuinely believe that they mean well enough – but haven’t fully considered the long-term damage they would happily inflict upon Adelaide out of sheer blinkered naivety and outdated thinking.
Anyway, I digress. Go Yarwood!
