Motions — Earthquake, Kaikōura—First Anniversary

I seek leave to move a motion without notice regarding the anniversary of the Kaikōura earthquakes.

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

I move, That this House mark the first anniversary of the Kaikōura earthquakes, acknowledge the resilience of the people of the region, and commit to continue our support for the repair and recovery process.

I tēnei rā kotahi tau i mua kua rū te whenua, kua wiriwiri te whenua, kua korikori te whenua. I taua wā anō e tokorua ngā tangata kua mate. Nā reira, tuatahi māku, e mihi kau ana ki a rāua. Nā rāua i takahi atu te ara ki Te Rerenga Wairua i tāua wā anō. Nā reira, e ngā mate huhua, ko taua tokorua me ngā mate nā mātou i pīkaungia mai i tēnei rangi, ka mihi atu: haere atu rā koutou, haere atu rā, haere atu rā. Ki ō rāua whānau hoki, kei te mihi ki a rātou.

Ki te hunga ora, rātou e noho tonu ana kei terā takiwā, kei te tuku hoki i ngā mihi ki a rātou i tēnei wā anō. E manakohia ana e whiwhi ana i te ora o aua hapori. Nā reira, tēnā rā koutou.

[On this day a year ago, the land shook, trembled, and moved. At that time, two people died as well. Therefore, the first thing for me is to pay a tribute to both of them. At the same time, they have walked the path to Te Rerenga Wairua. Therefore, to the numerous deaths, those two and the ones we carry on our backs today and acknowledge: go forth, depart, and farewell. Indeed, condolences to their families as well.

To the living ones, to them living over there, I extend my sympathies to them at this point in time, as well. Hopefully, they are being treated well by those communities. Therefore, my appreciation to you collectively.]

Today marks one year since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which ruptured 21 fault lines, generated a tsunami, and devastated a number of communities. Today is a time to reflect on the enormous impact this earthquake has had on many people, whānau, and communities and businesses across Kaikōura, Hurunui, Marlborough, and Wellington. In the year since the quake, we have seen communities, local rūnanga and the volunteer sector, businesses, and local and central government all make a huge contribution to the response, pulling together to help and support each other.

The Kaikōura harbour opening today is a major milestone in the rebuild and recovery journey. The harbour was badly damaged in the quake. This was a hard blow, as the harbour is critical for the marine tourism industry, which is one of the largest sources of income for the region. An expanded harbour will be the catalyst for longer-term regional economic development of Kaikōura and the surrounding region. We can also look forward to the reopening of State Highway 1, north of Kaikōura, for traffic on Friday, 15 December, restoring the coastal highway link between Picton and Christchurch.

While there is much to celebrate in terms of how much progress we have made—and I have to acknowledge the previous Government for their efforts as well—the Government recognises that it is still tough going for many people and there is still work to do. The psychosocial impacts of an event like this are long lasting. Some businesses are still suffering from the isolation of the road being closed and the impact of the quake itself. This Government will continue to support the recovery, both through our commitment to completing the existing programme and by working closely with communities, organisations, and sectors affected. This Government is committed to doing everything we can to support communities, organisations, and sectors affected to ensure a full recovery.

I would like to recognise the remarkable efforts of everyone who has contributed to this recovery. We can be truly proud of how New Zealanders band together in times of disaster and look after each other. I would also like to recognise the efforts of the previous Government, as I have said, towards this recovery, and the commitment across this House to passing the recovery legislation that was pivotal to these efforts.

Today, I ask the House to join with me in reflecting on the devastating effects of 14 November 2016. This will be a difficult day for many people, but it is also a day to recognise how far we have come, together as a nation. I ask New Zealanders to join with the people of Kaikōura, Hurunui, Marlborough, and Wellington as we take time to remember what happened one year ago to this day.

I rise to support the motion by the Government and, in particular, to note the resilience of the community in Kaikōura in adapting to what were very demanding circumstances. I want to particularly acknowledge all of those workers who spent time away from their families, clearing possibly the largest slips that we’ve seen in New Zealand—a huge task that just one year ago looked almost impossible, and now it seems likely that they will hit the deadline, set back then, to have it open by Christmas. That has been a mighty effort—not without its tensions, but it is moving to a successful conclusion.

Can I also just note the resilience with which the people of the area, but also the New Zealand economy, adapted to the shutdown of the main arterial route from Blenheim through to Christchurch. It’s amazing how the South Island continued to be served by a transport system that adapted almost immediately, again handling the pressures that went with that, on the inland route.

Finally, on the point of resilience, it’s great to be in a country that could write out a cheque for somewhere between $2 billion to $3 billion because the Government’s balance sheet was in such good shape, which meant that everyone applying their resources to repairing after the earthquake was able to get on and do it without so much concern about whether it could be afforded. Also, this one-year anniversary is a time to acknowledge the local mayors there, who showed outstanding leadership, and also former Ministers Gerry Brownlee and Simon Bridges, and local MP Stuart Smith, who worked assiduously to support the community in achieving the turn-round they have.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to join with the Acting Prime Minister in sending our best wishes and support to the people of Kaikōura on this, the first anniversary of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that caused such devastating damage in the region. Can I pass on our deepest condolences to the families of the two Kaikōura people who died in the quake and to the dozens who were injured and who lost their homes or had their homes severely damaged. The shock of losing a loved one living in their home is an unimaginable tragedy that none of us would ever want visited on ourselves—our deepest, deepest condolences.

Also, I’d particularly like to send a tribute to all the first responders and emergency service personnel who were on the ground so rapidly, and the countless volunteers who put their backs into assisting in whatever way they could, and I especially want to mention the hundreds of volunteers that flooded into the marae to help support those people who were caught and stranded there until they could be evacuated. As the Minister of Defence, I take particular pride in and wish to thank our soldiers, sailors, and airmen who assisted in the response, and particularly those of our close military partners whose naval forces just happened to be in New Zealand to assist with the commemoration of our 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy—how they responded and sailed south to lend assistance to the responders in situ.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank and pay tribute to people like David and Carol Mullany, who, along with their foster daughter Emily, went to huge lengths to gather up hundreds and hundreds of soft toys, which they then parcelled up and which we—various members of Parliament—enabled to get down to children to in some way offer some comfort to children who were distressed in a very uncertain time.

The people of Kaikōura are the people who deserve all the credit in the world for their resilience, their spirit, and the doggedness in which they went about assisting each other and trying to rebuild and re-establish themselves. As I mentioned at the time, unfortunately—well, fortunately—disasters like this bring out the very best in people, and we’ve just spoken of some of those people. But, sadly, it can also bring out the very worst, and it was with great sadness—and I thank the former Government for organising the opportunity for Clayton Mitchell and myself to go down to Kaikōura and witness what was happening on the ground, but we were saddened and disappointed to learn that there were people who were opportunists who took advantage of others’ misery. We would simply, from New Zealand First, remind the House that there is some legislation that needs to be passed to deal with those people who seem to think that—looting people’s homes and other people’s properties at a time such as this is thoroughly unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of all New Zealanders.

Motion agreed to.