Ministerial Statements — Cyclone Gabrielle—Declaration of State of National Emergency

I wish to make a ministerial statement under Standing Order 364 in relation to the recent declaration of a state of national emergency.

On the advice of the Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management, and in consultation with the Prime Minister, I declared a state of national emergency under section 66 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 on Tuesday, 14 February 2023, at 8.43 a.m. for the following civil defence emergency management group areas: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tai Rāwhiti, and Hawke’s Bay. I also declared a state of national emergency for the Tararua district, allowing it to be included within the nationally coordinated response. This is to manage the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle across the North Island. I took this step because the impacts from Cyclone Gabrielle are of such a degree that the civil defence emergency management necessary, or desirable, is, or will likely be, beyond the resources of the impacted civil defence emergency management groups. This event also requires a significant and coordinated response by and across central and local government.

This has been an exceptionally tough time for people across Aotearoa, in our cities, towns, and rural communities. Our thoughts are with those across New Zealand who are being impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, and I particularly acknowledge those across the north and east of the North Island who are experiencing the compounding effects of multiple severe weather events over this summer.

I’m aware a member of Fire and Emergency New Zealand is still missing, and a second critically injured, from helping in the response. My thoughts are with them, their colleagues, friends, and family at this time.

I’d like to recognise the extraordinary efforts of emergency management staff, emergency services, volunteers, and iwi, community and rural leaders across the regions, and say thank you on behalf of all New Zealanders. Even though national coordination is now in place, the response has been, and continues to be, led at a local and regional level through civil defence emergency management groups.

Cyclone Gabrielle has already led to many thousands of homes being without power at times during the storm, and further outages are possible. We are also seeing evacuations in multiple regions, landslips, road closures, surface flooding, and flight and train cancellations.

We aren’t out of the woods yet. Forecasts show that the North Island will continue to experience severe weather today before easing on Wednesday and Thursday. I am heartened by the images of community members showing such great support for one another. Many evacuated residents are staying with friends or family, and marae have played a valuable role by opening their doors to those who need support.

I also want to acknowledge all members in this House, from all parties, who have worked hard on behalf of their constituents during this time. For those parties outside of Government, thank you for working constructively with agencies and Ministers on behalf of your constituents. I particularly want to acknowledge the Hon Gerry Brownlee for his support and guidance throughout this time. There’s no time for political games at times like this, and you’ve lived up to that. So thank you.

The National Emergency Management Agency’s national coordination centre has been activated since 27 January in support of the upper North Island flooding response and now Cyclone Gabrielle. Over the past week, hundreds of staff from the emergency services, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Ministry for Social Development, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Waka Kotahi, Te Puni Kōkiri, as well as the National Emergency Management Agency, and civil defence and emergency management (CDEM) groups have been on the ground across all affected areas.

In response to this event, 200 New Zealand Defence Force staff have been deployed, including 125 in Greater Auckland, 25 in Thames-Coromandel, 21 in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, 21 in Tauranga. At least 137 civil defence centres, marae, and other community centres have been stood up across the country.

Welfare and infrastructure needs are likely to increase as the full extent of the damage becomes clearer. The Government will ensure welfare services are available to help people with their needs. This is being delivered across the regions affected—and, again, local marae are supporting the delivery in multiple ways, such as providing additional shelter locations for displaced people. To date, over $14 million in civil defence payments have also been provided by the Ministry of Social Development to just under 27,000 people in need since the Auckland flooding of 27 January.

This is only the third time in New Zealand’s history that a state of national emergency has been declared under our civil defence and emergency management legislation. The first was on 23 February 2011, following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch. The second was declared on 25 March 2020, owing to the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand. The state of national emergency will be in place for a period of seven days, unless extended or terminated early. If the need for central government coordination becomes clear in other regions, these may also be brought in to the nationally coordinated response.

Under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, today’s state of national emergency declaration means the Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management may control the performance of functions, duties, and powers of civil defence emergency management groups and group controllers in those areas. While in force, it will allow the national controller—in addition to CDEM group level controllers—to conserve and supply food, fuel, and other essential supplies; close roads and public places; evacuate any premises, including a public place; requisition property, including any land, building, vehicle, animal, equipment, materials, or supplies; direct persons to stop any activity that may cause or substantially contribute to an emergency; and undertake works—for example, earthworks, required for stabilising land and property. This declaration gives us the legal authority to coordinate and prioritise resources at a national level to ensure they get where they are most needed.

Soon, the Government will begin turning its attention to how it can support the recovery. The Government is strongly committed to supporting the regions as they recover from damage caused by the cyclone. We can expect the recovery to be long and complex in many areas, and we’ll assess these needs once the full extent of damage is known. For now, our focus is on continuing to support the response as Cyclone Gabrielle passes. We will continue to work with the regions to identify needs and provide any further support needed.

Mr Speaker, I know that you and members across the House will join me in expressing our support and aroha to those impacted by this unprecedented emergency event, and gratitude to those—often personally affected themselves—who have risen to the needs of the situation to support their communities at this time. To all those caught up in the event I say: kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui hoki.

Can I thank the Minister for that very full statement of exactly what the state of national emergency means, not only for the formalities of it but, in particular, for the people who are affected by this disaster. The National Party supports the actions that have been taken by the Minister in declaring this state of emergency across the affected areas. This event is still unfolding, and so this is the right thing to do after so many people being affected.

We would like to extend our concern and our best wishes—which seems a little trite, but none the less—for those who are so badly affected by the floodwaters, by the slips, and by the other consequences of the natural disaster. We also offer our heartfelt thanks to the local and national emergency management personnel and the many volunteers who are out there, going about their job to help. We also want to extend to those first responders, who do take on those extra risks, our great admiration and thanks. For those local communities who have battled away for so long with their local states of emergency, this national state of emergency should be seen as an affirmation of the work that they are doing and the scale of the disaster that they are trying to mitigate.

Nothing will be clear about the full extent of the damage that has come from this event until it has well passed. Those assessments will come in due course. There are many questions that could be asked in the usual exchange that occurs when a ministerial statement is made, but it seems to me that while we’re in the middle of that emergency, such questions are going to only detract from the necessity to focus on the best interests of those people who are most affected. So can I simply say to the Minister, thank you for your engagement and thank you for the work that you’re doing. We will of course want to discuss further with you what might happen once the state of emergency has passed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Green Party also supports the declaration of a state of emergency in response to Cyclone Gabrielle. I do want to thank the Government and the Minister for the decisive and comprehensive course of action that they are taking in response to this crisis.

I have to say that, just when we thought we had had our worst climate-related disaster in this country only two weeks ago, we are now facing an even more significant challenge. Last week, I went up to Auckland and saw the damage and saw the work that community organisations have been doing, including visiting a house that had been lifted completely off its foundations by the force of the water and shunted across its sections.

I have to say that, as I stand here today, I struggle to find words to express what I am thinking and feeling about this particular crisis. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not, because it is clearly here now, and, if we do not act, it will get worse.

I’ve been recalling, actually, a quote from a different time about a different crisis: “The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.” And there will be people who say—just as the National Rifle Association in the United States does about shootings over there—it’s “too soon” to talk about these things, but we are standing in it right now. This is a climate change - related event. The severity of it, of course, made worse by the fact that our global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees. We need to stop making excuses for inaction. We cannot put our heads in the sand when the beach is flooding. We must act now.

I do have, and my caucus do have, some questions. Is he confident that emergency management operations can learn from these events and improve responses to future climate-related extreme weather?

I am. By virtue of process, there is always a review of each response, no matter the size. There is always lessons to be learnt. Lessons don’t always come from mistakes, but they always come from responses. We’ll be taking all lessons on board, as we always do.

Thank you. What information, if any, has he received on the impacts of these events for people who are on lower incomes and in less secure housing?

Well, I’ve seen with my own eyes—and other Ministers have reported from their engagement with communities, as have members from across the House—that there is no doubt that when these severe weather events occur, it is often lower-income communities, rural communities, and isolated communities that are impacted the hardest.

What measures are in place to ensure that support is simple to access and responsive to everyone’s needs, particularly for marginalised people, such as those with disabilities, those without current visas, or those who are not fluent in English?

I think the announcement made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Development and Employment, the Hon Carmel Sepuloni, yesterday demonstrated that there is awareness of the need for welfare provisions in particular marginalised communities. I think members will also recognise that the communication efforts throughout this response, targeting those from the disability community, have been improved substantially from the start.

Ka tukuna te aroha ki te hunga e noho pōuri ana nā te whakamōti o ngā waipuke ki Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki-makau-rau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tai Rāwhiti me te Hawke’s Bay.

[I express my sympathy for those impacted by the destruction of the floods in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, the East Coast, and Hawke’s Bay.]

What steps is the Government taking to ensure power and internet companies can safely and quickly reconnect houses currently cut off, including in remote areas of the Tai Rāwhiti, where a substation is currently underwater?

I’ve been constantly engaging with the relevant Ministers—the Minister of digital communications, in particular, but also the Minister of energy. Lines companies are experts at reconnecting communities at the earliest possible convenience—the fact being, of course, that during a severe weather event, the earliest possible convenience can be delayed substantially. We need to ensure the safety of practitioners throughout the country, but we have, in our constant engagement, received assurances that as soon as it is safe to do so, and as long as it is safe to do so, they will continue to work hard to reconnect communities.

What support will be available for people stuck without power for days, or even weeks, in these areas?

Of course, at the moment, we are assessing the impact of the power outages and continually looking at what provision could be provided. At this stage, we haven’t had an indication that it could be the longer end of the time frame that the member provided, but, if that is the case, we will ensure that welfare provision is in place and that, first and foremost, people’s safety remains a priority in the recovery.

Kia ora. And what support will be available to address the mental health impacts of all of these events?

There is no doubt that these events cause significant anxiety to people involved, to those that have family members involved, and to even those that may have experienced them previously but aren’t currently impacted by this. I know that the provision and support through mental health services is a priority; I’ve discussed this with the Minister of Health. I would encourage everyone that feels anxious, that might be impacted by this, that their mental health is being hit by this, to reach out and seek help. There is no weakness in doing so. The support is there, and we encourage everyone to access that.

Tēnā koe, Minister, and thank you for the national emergency. Just weeks after Cyclone Hale dumped tonnes of forestry slash on farmland, on crops, under bridges, in riverbeds, above people’s homes, and on beaches, Cyclone Gabrielle is doing the same again. People in the Tai Rāwhiti, East Coast area have had to cope with repeated states of emergency. What reports has he had from civil defence and emergency management teams about the issues with forestry slash in the East Coast region, and what is being done in response?

There’s no doubt that forestry slash is causing an unwelcome and unneeded additional element to the weather event—particularly in Tai Rāwhiti, but not exclusively there. I have not received a report specifically about that from emergency management other than the impact that it is causing. However, I have discussed the matter with the Minister of Forestry and I understand that he has made public statements indicating his likely work progress moving forward on that, so I refer the member to those statements.

I understand this is a split call as well—David Seymour.

Yes, well, thank you, Mr Speaker. As communicated, I’d like to make a few general comments, ask a few questions of the Minister, and have my colleague Mark Cameron—who speaks for the rural folk who’ve been differently, often more acutely, affected by recent events—say a few things as well.

First and foremost, this is a debate on the Minister’s declaration of a national state of emergency, and I want to say that ACT supports that basic action, although we have some questions around its timing, the logic behind it, and, therefore, how long it will go on, and what it allows the Government to do that it couldn’t do previously.

However, I had understood and hoped that when Parliament resumed, time would be set aside to acknowledge an earlier tragedy, one that has had this new one of Cyclone Gabrielle layered on top of it, and that is the anniversary weekend or January floods which affected Auckland. I think that they too deserve some acknowledgment because as Cyclone Gabrielle was announced and began to make its perilous way across the Tasman to New Zealand, many people in Auckland—in the Epsom electorate and beyond—who had recently had their homes flooded and lost their livelihoods, were viewing it through the lens of, “Well, I know that my place is flood-prone. I question the response around protecting it. Will it now happen again?” For the most part, Gabrielle, in Auckland at least, has been a matter of wind rather than rain, and they have been spared that.

But I think the House should also acknowledge the very treacherous journey that people have trodden over the past two weeks. First of all, having their homes flooded, their belongings soiled, struggling to get rid of belongings that were a public health hazard in many cases, having been affected by sewage backflowing out of their toilets. They’ve dealt with looting. In one case, Erin, a constituent of mine, was burgled, having already lost everything. And yet, in spite of all of this difficulty, we saw tremendous camaraderie, tremendous community spirit, and—although belatedly, some would argue—a local government that swung into action and got the drains cleared to largely ameliorate the challenges of flooding when the rains came again on Tuesday. I think that needs to be acknowledged by the House and will need to be debated more fulsomely at a later time.

Now, in a much wider area of New Zealand, from the far north of Cape Reinga right down to Hawke’s Bay, and everywhere in between it seems, people are facing devastation on an extraordinary scale. There is a lot that could be said, but I’ll keep my remarks brief as ACT and our MPs are watching, are listening, are talking to people affected, and are hearing from live reports and real reports from people every hour. Our commitment—and I say this in collaboration with two of the people who have spoken so far—is that practical measures to make sure that people are able to recover will meet with bipartisan support. We have also heard somebody attempt to politicise the issue and put it through their particular lens—very happy to do that, but not in this debate. I don’t think it’s appropriate. I think a lot of people—and we’ll just hear from rural people—in the farming community will say the idea, “If only the Government made them sacrifice a few calves, we’d be delivered from the storm.” I don’t think that helps right now, but I thought that needs to be said.

I want to ask the Minister about his decision making over the last 24 hours. In particular, I want to ask him: what was different this morning at 8.43 a.m. that led him to declare a national state of emergency, when he hadn’t done so in the previous 24 hours?

The first request for advice on a state of national emergency was made to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Sunday. Since then, the agency has been providing the Prime Minister and myself with regular assessments and advice as to whether a declaration was required. It is a high bar and we needed to assess whether local civil defence groups, with their resources and the resources that the Government had already provided, were in a position to be able to provide the response to their communities without the benefit of a national coordinated approach.

The difference between last night, when the advice was that it was not required, and this morning, when it was that it should be declared, was that a meeting was held—as it has been done every morning between NEMA and local civil defence groups. Since that stage, Hawke’s Bay declared, and it was decided from feedback that they provided NEMA that the various responses across Northland, Auckland; Bay of Plenty; Waikato, including Coromandel; Tai Rāwhiti; Hawke’s Bay then; and now the Tararua District would benefit from a nationally coordinated response.

It is worth pointing out that a declaration of a national emergency does not necessarily mean that more resources will go into those communities, because resources have been given to those communities. It is not a reflection of a lack of confidence in the local community responses. It is simply that, given the level of destruction and disruption to the communities, and the number of local emergencies, they felt, and NEMA felt, that they would benefit from national coordination here at the national coordination centre.

In light of that answer, what conditions would the Minister need to see to cease the state of national emergency? Can he tell people what to look for to know when he will end this?

Well, there are obviously two phases, at least, in a response. One is the immediate emergency response and one is the recovery phase. As I mentioned in my ministerial statement, the recovery phase of this event is likely to be long, it is likely to be expensive—and it will need to be, in order to make sure that people receive the welfare needs that they have. There are two phases in a national state of emergency: one is focused on the response, and another is the recovery. So we will be continuing to coordinate nationally with those regions as long as they feel that that is required. I’m not in a position to be able to give a direct answer to that now, but we won’t keep this in place for any longer than it needs to be—but we will keep it in place as long as they need it.

There was an incident last night where the old Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower was in danger of falling over—or judged to be. Around 50 homes were evacuated. People were re-accommodated with the community or in an emergency centre. It seemed that Auckland was able to get the job done there. What sort of things could national Government have done in that case to achieve a different outcome? Or are there other circumstances where you believe that the national state of emergency would make a difference?

Well, of course, without wanting to appear flippant, this is more than about Auckland. There are some regions in this response that have the resources and are able to do what is needed; there are others that would benefit from a national response. There was mixed feedback given to NEMA officials today when they consulted civil defence groups. Some said they needed it; some said they didn’t—but there’s a significant difference between saying that they didn’t need it, but they didn’t think that it was warranted. The clear message with engagement with civil defence groups is that the broader response across various regions, including some very rural areas that require assistance, is that they would benefit from the national coordination that comes with the declaration of a state of national emergency.

Hon Gerry Brownlee: Mr Speaker?

It’s an ACT Party call. National didn’t use all of its time, so this is their call; so once they’ve finished, if you seek leave, I’ll come to you—Mark Cameron.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Rural New Zealand has seen firsthand the extreme weather events. Sadly, these are quite routine, and quite often we’re very isolated in rural New Zealand and know firsthand what it feels like. Episodic events like Hale and Gabrielle are few and far between, but routinely they hurt us in rural New Zealand, quite often worse than our civilian urban counterparts. We’re resilient people in rural New Zealand. We’re bloody tough people, and quite often we find ourselves on our own for lengthy periods of time.

I’ve got to go home when Parliament rises to hand-milk 300 cows for probably two weeks because we won’t have power. This is the kind of ongoing reality in rural New Zealand when these episodic events happen. Central areas around New Zealand—Northland, the East Coast, potentially without power for up to a week. Significant infrastructure—bridges gone, houses gone, people’s lives destroyed. I’m here, as my own livestock—some of them have gone. Forgive me if I break down; I invested 33 years of my life into this farming career. Houses swept away, as I’ve mentioned; people’s livelihoods upturned. Gracious me—where I live, thousands of acres of water currently reside in what are normally farm paddocks. Thirty percent of Ruawai is underwater. It’ll recede, I’m sure, but will the lives be untouched? I very much doubt.

Logistical support? Sporadic. I wager anyone worth their salt—it’ll be weeks before that’s back to normal. Tankers, livestock freight, and food for animals. What about the animal welfare issues? The good Minister, I’m sure, might be able to enlighten us what that looks like. Runaway mastitis that quite often does away with livestock in rural New Zealand, and the massive somatic cell count problem we’re going to have with dairy cows, let alone the beef animals that have been swept away in low-lying areas.

I am thinking of rural New Zealand; the ACT Party is thinking of rural New Zealand. Goodness gracious me, I am still in this House representing my people, because I absolutely believe in rural people, my people—ACT people. I come here to represent rural people, talking about He Waka Eke Noa and what that looks like in their lives. Significant natural areas and the erosion of property rights, freshwater concerns, and on-farm grazing—what does that mean to rural New Zealand? Yet again, I am here as my farm is being swept away, because I absolutely love rural New Zealand and everyone in it. ACT members and myself will stand up for rural New Zealand as long as I am in this building. Thank you very much.

The National Party have 2½ minutes left, if you want to take that now.

My question for the Minister is, given some of the other questions that have come through—there was mention made of the recovery period, which is a statutory provision now in the emergency management Act. It can last for seven or more weeks, but, quite clearly, with some of the recovery that’s going to be needed, given some of the commentary that we’ve heard this afternoon, it’s going to last a heck of a lot longer than that. So, during that period, will the Government give consideration to some kind of enabling Act that might mean that the works that are necessary to recover can be done in a speedy fashion outside of the long processes that might otherwise exist?

I appreciate the opportunity to reassure the member and reassure the communities that are affected that if that’s what’s required, the Government will consider that. We can’t let barriers be presented that will stop communities being able to recover from what is clearly a very devastating event.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai.

Ka hora te marino,

Ka whakapapa pounamu te moana,

Kia tere te kārohirohi i mua i tōu huarahi.

[May the calm be widespread,

May the ocean glisten as greenstone,

May the shimmer of light ever dance across your pathway.]

I rise to send the aroha of Te Paati Māori to everyone around the country bunkering down, keeping safe, looking after their whānau, and battling rising floodwaters. My thoughts are with emergency service workers, our Māori response leaders, who are going above and beyond to serve their communities and save people from terrible situations. My heart aches when I hear news of firefighters trapped—are missing—workers stranded on roofs and towns in rural areas cut off from essential services. Ka nui te aroha.

This cyclone comes only weeks after catastrophic flooding which hammered Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki-makau-rau, Waitomo, and Hauraki, and all of those rohe have been badly hit. Te Tai Rāwhiti has been hit time and time and time again, and no effort should be spared in getting these rohe the short-term, medium-term, and long-term help that they need. We are glad that a national state of emergency has been declared and we acknowledge the Government for that.

The seriousness of this cyclone has been obvious for days and, while some don’t want to politicise today, I’ve left my community to send a very political message: the seriousness of this disruption was clear from the ground, and yet it clearly wasn’t for National, who yesterday at the Business Committee blocked Parliament being able to meet virtually, claiming this would be a one-day event, which clearly it’s not. As these extreme weather events occur more often with greater severity, we need to adjust and ensure our Parliament can still operate, even if MPs can’t make it to Wellington. As MPs, we should be focused on the ground, looking after our communities and whānau, checking on kaumātua and disabled, dropping off kai—these aren’t one-day events. We can’t just carry on like nothing has happened. It seems like some want to ignore communities and lead this nation from the comfort of their chambers. People like that aren’t fit to lead this nation, and we have to be real—real with our neighbours, real with our whānau, and real with ourselves because climate change is here, it is now, and we are seeing it before our very eyes. It is forcing us to batten down the hatches as we sandbag our homes and stock up our supplies. Government must take responsibility for their response to these disasters, and I acknowledge the Minister’s mihi.

As always, we are seeing that marae, iwi, and urban Māori organisations are the first to set up emergency response centres. They must be properly resourced, recognising they are always leading from the front. We have long known that we need much better strategies and infrastructure to respond to these extreme weather events. The Minister of Climate Change should be establishing an equity-based adaption fund to ensure we have that infrastructure, and that whānau have what they need, whether they are insured or not. He also needs to secure funding for whānau, hapū, and iwi to establish climate change adaption plans, so that we can protect marae, homes, and communities. All of this is long overdue, and communities across Aotearoa are now paying the price for Government inaction. We have not seen the transformative action that was promised. These disasters have not just exposed flaws in infrastructure but they’ve also exposed flaws in leadership. We didn’t need a new Minister for Auckland; we needed a whole-of-Government response to climate change. We needed coordinated, radical action and for climate adaption to be a top priority, not a nice-to-have. We must have the central leadership role of tangata whenua respected and acknowledged. Aotearoa deserves a better climate leadership. We must demand change.

To our whānau: it is timely to reflect on the teachings of our tūpuna, listen to our maramataka, and restore our awa, moana, and whenua. There is nothing that we can’t survive, no crisis too great, no challenge too much, as long as we stand together. Nō reira, e te iwi maranga mai. Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. We’ve got this. Kia ora rā.