Motions — Earthquake—Chile

I seek leave to move a motion without notice relating to the recent Chilean earthquake.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That this Parliament expresses its sympathy and concerns to the people of Chile following the recent earthquake. On 27 February Chile was hit by a devastating earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale that killed hundreds of people, damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, and affected an estimated 2 million people. Chile continues to suffer significant aftershocks. New Zealand’s deepest sympathy goes out to the Government and the people of Chile as they face the enormous losses and damage caused by this earthquake.

Our Government has announced a contribution of NZ$500,000 to international efforts to support Chile. These efforts have been channelled through the Red Cross, which is best placed to purchase the necessary supplies required by Chile from within the region. Although Chile has well-established disaster response systems, this earthquake is a major catastrophe for our close friend and partner. New Zealand officials are in touch with Chilean authorities, and will look for ways to provide further support to Chile as it focuses on reconstruction. The rebuilding and reparation of damaged homes and infrastructure will be a major focus for President Sebastian Pinera as he begins his presidential term. I wrote to President Pinera, as well as to the previous President, Michelle Bachelet, following the earthquake to express my shock and sadness at this disaster. I also made it clear that New Zealand stood ready to contribute to the international effort to assist Chile. Both of them have expressed their thanks.

As New Zealanders we know only too well the threat a major earthquake can pose, and as New Zealanders we extend our heartfelt sympathy to those Chileans who have made their home in this country. We stand alongside our close friend and partner Chile as it looks to recover from this natural disaster.

On behalf of the New Zealand Labour Party can I add our concern, our support, our sympathy, and our condolences to the people and to the Government of Chile following the massive, 8.8 on the Richter scale earthquake on 27 February. That earthquake left an estimated 700 people dead, over half a million homes destroyed, and 2 million people affected, as well as doing enormous damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges, and hospitals. In cities like Concepción and Constitución the devastation was overwhelming, and the overall cost of the damage is something approaching US$30 billion. To put that in context, it is about 15 percent of the annual GDP of Chile.

Chile, of course, is our nearest neighbour to the east, albeit 11 hours’ flight from New Zealand. Over recent years our friendship and our links, our working together on the trade front, and our people-to-people arrangements, like working holidays schemes—all of those things—have increased and strengthened our relationship with Chile. I welcome the assistance that New Zealand has been able to give—half a million dollars to the international efforts to help Chile—but I wonder whether we might have been able to extend other assistance to Chile, given the strong relationship that we have with the people of that country.

After Haiti and the Samoan tsunami there is, again, a question of whether we might develop a ready-reaction force, utilising the skills of our defence force, our police, and our civil defence personnel to help with search, rescue, and recovery. New Zealand’s own vulnerability to earthquakes is well known, and the practical experience that our people would get on the ground by assisting in that way, as well as the actual assistance that we gave to the country that we were helping, would, I believe, be invaluable.

Once again, to the people of Chile affected by that disaster, I add Labour’s voice to the expressions of concern and support from our Parliament today.

The Green Party joins with others in expressing condolences to the people of Chile in their time of tragedy. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy are with all those families who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and its aftermath. For those of us in New Zealand it is difficult to understand the damage and the human tragedy that Chile has been through. We too have had our disasters, but we have had nothing on that scale for a long time. Our geologically young country is also prone to earthquakes, and we share in the very human feeling of a common vulnerability to a disaster that is beyond our control. So we extend our deepest sympathy to those in Chile who have suffered loss and are struggling to return to their normal lives. We commend the support that the Government and New Zealanders have given to Chile in its time of need, and we wish the Chilean people all the best in recovering from this disaster.

On behalf of the ACT Party, I join with the rest of Parliament in this time of sorrow for the Chilean people. We remind ourselves of what a wonderful, wonderful people the people of Chile are, across the water from New Zealand, of what great friends they are to the people of New Zealand, and of how close we feel as a country, particularly in this time of trouble for Chile. Like other parties, ACT too supports the Prime Minister and the Government in the efforts they have made to provide assistance.

Mr Speaker, tēnā koe, tēnā tātau katoa o te Whare. Kai te tū ake au ki te tautoko i ngā kōrero o ērā i tū i mua i a au. Ko tā te Pāti Māori he tautoko ake i ngā kōrero kua kōrerohia. Inā tatanei i pā mai a aituā, otirā, i haere a mate i tōna haere, ka pā anō rā ki te tangata. Ko Rūāmoko tērā i mahi i tāna mahi. He aha tōna mutunga mai, ko mate i ōna āhuatanga katoa. Nā reira, ko tā mātau ko te tautoko ake i te tangi o te ngākau mō te hunga kua ngaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi ka mutu, kai reira tonu ētahi mea, hai mea akoako mā te ao katoa, kaua o roto o Chile i tōna kotahi engari, te ao whānui tonu. I puta mai a mataku i roto i te tangata nā runga i te āhuatanga o ngā mahi a Rūāumoko ka mutu, ko tēnei āhuatanga o mataku, ka pā mai ki te tangata, tāne mai, wahine mai, kōtiro mai, tamaiti mai. Ahakoa pēhea, ko mataku ka pā mai ki a tātau.

Nō reira, kai reira tonu ētahi mea hei akoako mā Aotearoa anō hoki, ahakoa kāre tātau i tino rongo nei i te ngau kino pēnei i a Chile, ā, i puta mai te kōrero, tērā pea ka pā mai a ngaru nui ki a Aotearoa nei. Ā, i whakatikatika a Aotearoa mō tērā āhuatanga. Nō reira, kai te tū ake me te aroha anō ki tērā hunga i rongo nei i te āhuatanga o mate. Ka mutu, e ai ki tā te Kaiwhakahaere, te Tumuaki o tērā whenua, a Michelle Bachelet, ko tana kōrero i runga i te pouaka whakaata i roto i te reo Pākehā: “The forces of nature have hurt our country greatly. We are now having to face adversity and stand again.”

Nā, ko te wā tuarua pea tēnei i pā mai tēnei āhuatanga ki a Chile. Koi nei te aroha atu ki a rātau, otirā, ki te ao whānui tonu i te mea, ehara ko rātau anake i rongo nei i te mataku, i te mamae engari, ko te ao whānui tonu. Nā runga i tērā whakaaro, e mihi atu ana ki a rātau me te kī atu, Chile, kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui. Ahakoa tēnei taumahatanga, me kaha nei koutou, kia puta, kia puta, kia puta ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. Kia ora tātau.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker, and to the House. I rise on behalf of the Māori Party to endorse the speeches of previous speakers. We support all that has been stated. Recently a tragedy occurred that left a nation in a state of catastrophe that impacted on mankind. That was the earthquake god at work, and the ultimate result of his actions was death and total devastation. We support the heartfelt sympathies expressed in respect of those who perished. There are some things to learn from that tragedy for the whole world, not just for Chile alone. Terror emerged within the people because of what the earthquake did. Terror of this nature impacts on everyone: men, women, and children. Regardless of circumstances, fear will affect us.

There are things for New Zealand to learn as well, even though we did not experience real fear as Chile did. When word came of the likelihood of a tsunami striking New Zealand, the country prepared itself for it. I stand here, sad at the same time for those who experienced death like that. As well, the President of that nation, Michelle Bachelet, said this in English on television: “The forces of nature have hurt our country greatly. We are now having to face adversity and stand again.”

This is perhaps the second time that Chile has experienced an earthquake of this size, and it is why our compassion goes out to Chile, and indeed to the world at large, as Chile did not experience the fear and pain on its own. The whole world did. With that in mind, we commend and urge Chile to be strong, brave, and stout of heart. And despite this adversity, Chile must be resolute in order to emerge into a brighter and more enlightened world. Thank you all.]

On behalf of United Future I join with others who have expressed sympathy to the Government and people of Chile for the sad loss of life and destruction of infrastructure that occurred in the wake of the Concepción earthquake on 27 February. It was a timely reminder to all of us in this earthquake-prone country of the devastation that natural forces can wreak, and of the consequences of those events for affected populations. The way in which the world responded to those situations reinforced not only our commitment to be a good international citizen and play our part, but also the reality that when the time comes and this country is on the receiving end of the disaster—should we ever be so afflicted—we will be similarly grateful for the level of international aid to help our country recover that has been provided in the case of Chile.

I acknowledge, too, the work of the New Zealand civil defence authorities in the wake of the tsunami warning. I acknowledge the work of Radio New Zealand, which demonstrated the value and worth of having a quality public broadcaster through the work it did in keeping New Zealanders informed of the threat and risks of the tsunami, and the steps that needed to be taken to make sure we were well prepared. Although Chile is 11 hours’ flight and many thousands of kilometres of ocean away from New Zealand, the fact that the tsunami spread so quickly, even though it was not of a great height when it got here, reinforced our vulnerability and our link to those people.

I join with others in expressing condolence and sympathy to those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy, but also I acknowledge the work of our emergency services in helping make sure that this country would be able to respond in the event that disaster struck here as well.

Motion agreed to.