IN MY VIEW

Spring might be almost upon us, but winter is all around us. The bad news shows no signs of abating.  Inflation has accelerated. Fuel costs have surged. North Dorset’s unemployment soared by a staggering 11 %.  And if that’s not enough, a new poll by the National Housing Federation confirms the deterioration of rural life. We all know that Dorset has seen a steady decline in pubs, shops, post-offices and jobcentres. But a key problem is housing, with families being priced out of rural areas as accommodation becomes less affordable.   

So our troubled economy is having a deadly domino effect. The all too familiar pattern of decline is threatening the very fabric of town and village life. Our communities’ future hangs in the balance – which is why many of us have called for Government action. Countryside campaigners are also on the offensive. The NHF’s Save Our Villages campaign links community housing to rural revival. We will not be able to sustain our communities unless young people and lower income earners can afford to live there.  But high property prices will not make that possible, so it’s time to think out of the box.

As with most local problems, the solution could be close to home.  Local Authorities have a key part to play in tackling housing needs.  This includes assessing needs for individual areas and drawing up a practical housing action plan. Answers can also be found in unlikely quarters.  One idea is that unused church land or buildings could fill a gap.  By making land available for housing, rural churches would increase their chances of survival and also help meet housing need. Money raised from land sales could be put towards church repairs or the construction of new places of worship.  It’s a solution bursting with community spirit. And it can be done.  So, join me in supporting the NHF’s campaign to Save our Villages.  Let’s put our minds - and our hearts - into rescuing village life.

A couple of months ago I described how, with the encouragement of the UK and Australian governments, thousands of young British children were taken from their homes as recently as the 1960s and subjected to a life of terrible mistreatment in Australia.   I shared my own experience taking evidence from child migrant survivors, whose harrowing tales of abuse still haunt me today. I welcomed the Australian Prime Minister’s public apology as a first small step in the long road to closure.  But I stressed that for the healing process to truly begin, we as a nation must face up to our own responsibility and role in allowing this awful crime to happen. An apology was the very least we owed the victims.

Finally we gave it.  Last week, in the presence of survivors and their supporters, the Prime Minister delivered a national apology. The culmination of years of campaigning, it was a deeply symbolic and moving moment. Nothing will ever compensate for the victims’ traumas – their loss of family, identity and childhood. Their scars are permanent. But now, I hope, we will have restored some sense of justice and belonging.  It’s only the start. Together we must work towards putting this tragic and shameful chapter in our history behind us.