Estimates Debate — Vote Emergency Management

Members will be aware that civil defence emergencies are times when, in stressful, tragic, and often dangerous circumstances, ordinary people who have had their lives turned upside down perform amazing acts of kindness and bravery for the benefit of others. Officials charged with the task of organising relief and providing leadership work outrageous hours. Voluntary agencies work round the clock to provide comfort and support. It was a privilege to be part of that activity in the Whakatāne area last week. I want to take some time to mention very key organisations: the Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, and Kawerau District Councils and their staff, for the work they did; Environment Bay of Plenty; the New Zealand Fire Service; Street John Ambulance; the citizens advice bureau; Victim Support; Ngāti Awa Social Services; church groups; the police; the New Zealand Army; Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa; Federated Farmers; and Radio 1XX; and, of course, our civil defence people. All those people contributed to the crisis and recovery phases of this emergency.

It is important, because of the millions of dollars that will be required to restore the area, that members are made aware of what it was like to be on the ground in Whakatāne over the last while. It began with days of heavy rain, and with a busload of people in transit attempting to pass through Whakatāne but being unable to because of slips on the roads. They were blocked and had to stay overnight in the local Salvation Army hall. The following night, residents in the suburb of Awatapu were woken in the middle of the night by police and army personnel, and told to grab some things and to leave immediately. They waded or were carried through flood water to army trucks, leaving behind their own vehicles, which often had, by that time, been swamped. They were taken to the local war memorial hall. Within hours, systems were being set up to register evacuees and to attempt to track their whereabouts. At the hall, people—some still in wet clothing—were sitting in plastic chairs around trestle tables. There was no heating in the hall. Children, bored and poorly supervised by tired and stunned parents, ran around, getting on the nerves of elderly evacuees. The Salvation Army set up some tea and coffee. The citizens advice bureau continued to register a steady stream of people as the evacuations continued, hour after hour.

There were some queries: “Where are the new forms we’re meant to be registering people on, and why are we using the old ones?”. I challenge the Minister, with the emergencies we have had this year, that as well as money being spent on the restoration of those areas, it is also time for the civil defence organisation to look very closely at some of its systems and to check that everybody has everything that is required for those emergencies.

Kitchens sprung into action as the early food donations started to come in. There was no radio at the centre, so it was very difficult to track what was happening outside the hall. District councillors donned civil defence identification and became great sources of reference, and worked extremely well. Friends and relatives from unaffected areas arrived and took people home. Others opened their homes to complete strangers. Additional accommodation was needed. Te whare wānanga and the Salvation Army set up warmer and more comfortable facilities, and the elderly and families with small children had to be relocated to those points. People were anxious. They had left their pets behind, and they wanted to go home and attend to that. They wanted to go back and get some more clothes. Some could; many were not allowed.

The water treatment station was shut down. There were reports of raw sewage on the streets. Tar-seal was lifting as water bubbled up from below. And then we had swarms of earthquakes, which set everybody’s nerves on edge. The report of the death of Bev Freeman came as a real shock to people; her death was the consequence of an awful landslide. Roads were blocked. There was a serious breach in the stopbanks that resulted in the flooding of huge areas of farmland. The engineers were trying to manage a full dam, and tidal changes had to be balanced as water was released from that dam. Te Teko was evacuated. Edgecumbe was evacuated. Awatapu was evacuated. Landslides threatened homes at Ōhope beach.

I would like to thank the Minister and the Prime Minister for responding so quickly to the invitation to come into the area, and for taking the opportunity to go up in helicopters to see the very big picture. It was very important to local people that those people saw the full picture.

May I start off by thanking Judy Turner for the work that she was doing when I arrived down on the Sunday. I have been there four times, of course, and I have seen the progress of the emergency. One thing I really want to say about civil defence emergencies is that it brings out the best in the Kiwi spirit, where people set aside any differences and lend a hand to each other. That is really very important. I also congratulate the civil defence organisations—people working, concerned about their fellow citizens—and the mayors of the two districts, John Forbes from Ōpōtiki and Colin Hammond from Whakatāne.

The Government has responded very quickly. Task Force Green is up and running. We have the one-stop shop up and running. We have rural advisers in there. We have had people from the Earthquake Commission there, as well. We are looking at how we can help a number of farmers. The situation is at the stage where the total damage cannot be estimated, because the water has not cleared, as yet, and unfortunately today they are expecting more rain. There will be more rain on top of the huge falls of rain in the weekend before last, and earthquakes. So there are a lot of people who are really worried.

I also have to say that it is good to have the buy-in from the local radio station 1XX. Its work in this emergency has been tremendous and I want to compare that with places like Tūrangi that got caught up in the floods in February. The Tūrangi radio station goes on to a network over the weekend, and people could not get local messages. Here, 1XX was able to do that.

This Government has always treated people in emergency situations with generosity—with a real human hand. That is what is going to happen this time. That is what has already been started and it will continue to happen. I thank the local members—Mita Ririnui, who was there on the ground, day after day. I thank my colleague Parekura Horomia. He was up there giving comfort to his people. I thank Damien O’Connor, who was getting a fix on the rural, agricultural problems that people are facing.

💬 Brian Connell: I think you will find it was water.

Well that person can yell and shout. That is all he does—hollow words—he has not got the Kiwi spirit that everyone else has. I think his snide remarks are cheap. I say to Mr Connell that he can do better than that. When I went to a sports hall, to see the people in there; people, possibly some very—

💬 Brian Connell: Wet people.

Well, very wet people—not as wet as that member, who is giggling at the plight of other people. Mr Connell does himself no good and he should shut up. These people have been cooking for one another and arranging entertainment for kids who have been there for days. They have been supporting one another. It has been about people saying: “There is always someone worse off than me.” When we went to Bryans Beach, where Mrs Freeman died, to see the neighbours there with their shovels, trying to clear water away, after they had suffered that big tragedy, that showed how people really do care.

💬 Brian Connell: Where were you when we had the droughts in Canterbury? You weren’t seen.

I get to see and do more in Canterbury than that member ever will. He is just a big bag of wind.

I also want to mention Janet Mackey, who was stuck on the other side of Ōpōtiki. She was there lending her help. The MPs, including Tony Ryall, worked in the area. I acknowledge the work of all the MPs, across party lines, who have given generously and who have not been demeaning, as Mr Connell wants to be.

Vote agreed to.

Vote Internal Affairs agreed to.

Vote Police