Welcome Message - SCMT Chair Dick Hubbard

However being inaugural Chair of the Southern Communities Media Trust ( SCMT ) is a particular and special pleasure for me and  indeed I consider it an honour to be in this position.

 

I am passionate about strong and resilient community development of a type that benefits all sectors of a community and not just the articulate and empowered few. The core to a strong community in my opinion is to have a thinking community.

In my opinion this project is very much the case of the right development  at the right time and in the right place. We do need well developed and well researched analysis of local issues if we are to come up with the best local solutions and we do need informed feedback form the community on local issues. This can only help both our local body and national politicians. This project delivers on both of these counts and furthermore reflects the type of communication that will prevail in the the future.

But at the same time we must acknowledge it also draws on a vast pool of journalistic experience from Peter Newport and his team of highly professional and highly experienced journalists. We are fortunate to have access to such a deep pool of journalistic talent. 

I therefore commend this initiative to you and I am excited about its launch today. May we be able to look back from sometime in the future and say that today was a significant milestone for the community that we love and cherish so much down here in the Southern Alps.

Dick Hubbard