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Cyclone Gabrielle briefing: ‘Lives have been turned upside down’ – PM
Almost 30,000 homes have no power and major supply chains have been disrupted – and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is also warning that more fatalities remain possible.
Prime Minister has fronted an update on the government’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Wellington late this afternoon.
Watch the government’s latest update here.
Hipkins said it was now seven days after the cyclone passed through and the true extent of the devastation and loss was becoming clearer with every passing day.
“Lives have been turned upside down, many people have seen their homes and all their possessions completely destroyed. Countless others have been displaced, tragically so far 11 people have lost their lives, and more fatalities remain possible.”
He said 28,000 homes remained without power.
“Telecommunications have been severely disrupted, fresh water is in short supply in some areas and roads have been badly damaged, limiting access to some areas and causing significant delays in others.”
He said supply chains had been disrupted and moving goods around had been “incredibly challenging”.
“Crops have been badly damaged, many completely destroyed.”
Earlier today, police confirmed two further deaths relating to the cyclone, bringing the total to 11.
Hipkins today paid tribute to emergency services and first responders, who had done New Zealand proud.
“Many have worked themselves to utter exhaustion. The stress and strain of the last week is clearly starting to show, and particularly in places where power and communications remains disrupted, we know that tensions can be high.”
He said nobody should underestimate the psychological toll this disaster was taking on some of our fellow Kiwis.
“The past week has pushed many to their limit, even more so given it comes on top of other weather events, the disruption of a global pandemic and too many other significant and disruptive challenges to mention – our resilience is being tested like never before.
“But as we’ve repeatedly seen in recent times, adversity brings out the best in Kiwis. We rally together and we support each other. We look out for our neighbours, we go the extra mile to protect the vulnerable, we share and we care. ”
The Australian emergency responders announced on Friday they’re supporting Fire & Emergency NZ with a 27-person impact assessment team and Hipkins said 25 of them were already on the ground in the Hawke’s Bay, with two supporting the national co-ordination centre.
He said Aotearoa had also accepted an offer of support from Fiji – 10 personnel from their defence force, four fire authority crew and four national disaster management officials are preparing to leave for New Zealand in the coming days.
He added that the United States and Australia – through the New Zealand Defence Force – had provided crucial satellite imagery products of the affected areas.
“And we’re in the final stages of working to accept an offer from the Australian Defence Force who will support the New Zealand Defence Force with a C-130 transport aircraft, air load teams to rig freight on the aircraft and environmental health staff to assist in analysing health risks.
“All of this will be a great help and we thank Fiji and the United States as we thank Australia.”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ/ Nate McKinnon
Hipkins said making a monetary donation was the single most helpful thing people can do in the wake of the cyclone to support those disrupted communities, because “that enables the support organisations to [require] what is needed in those communities”.
He said there was no doubt that New Zealand had a steep mountain ahead of it.
“Our attention over the past week has been focused on the initial emergency response, rescuing those stranded, restoring lifelines and removing hazards. In some areas that still remains very much the focus, in other areas though, recovery is starting to get underway.
“As the shape of the damage and the need becomes clearer we’ll be able to shape our response accordingly.
“We know that the will come with a big price tag and we will have to once again reprioritise and refocus our efforts and our resources. We will build back better, but we will also need to build back more resilient than before.”
He said the country had underinvested in infrastructure for far too long and that had to change.
“If we’re going to build back better and if we’re going to build back quickly, some tough calls will need to be made, and I’m absolutely committed to doing that.”
SOURCE RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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