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Ombudsman calls for ‘more trust and empowerment of iwi’ after cyclone visit
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is calling on the government and local councils to empower iwi on the back of a visit to cyclone-hit areas.
Boshier travelled to Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay this week to meet with affected communities who are still picking up the pieces from Cyclone Gabrielle.
His visit was the second such trip this year, following an April tour where he expressed disappointment at not being able to make it further up the East Coast.
Travelling north of Gisborne on Tuesday, he said it was time to rethink how things were done in the regions.
“New Zealand is a good country. There’s so much we do well … and yet I think the provinces and those on the fringes are too easily forgotten,” Boshier said.
“I really wonder whether the best model for Tai Rāwhiti East Coast is to devolve much greater responsibility to people on the ground, who know what’s needed, who can be trusted, and who are more likely to act quicker and put the money to better use than if it’s channelled through a typical bureaucratic channel.”
In a similar vein to his April visit, Boshier praised Māori for their resilience in the face of adversity.
But many people he met on the Coast felt external support had not been as visible as they had hoped.
Boshier said it was important to acknowledge the power and accountability of iwi, and that under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, “you don’t do it all from Wellington”.
“I think people on the Coast are saying ‘let us get on with it, trust us, give us the resources, empower us, and give us a co-leadership role in getting resources to work’.
“People’s lives at the moment are too much on hold.
“I’d like to see more trust and more empowerment of iwi by government and by councils.”
Boshier described the impact of the cyclone as one of “sheer devastation”, and said it was important for decision makers to consider the failing infrastructure of the region.
Communication and transport were key, he said.
“New Zealand can’t just be building super highways in other parts of the country. We’ve got to have a decent communication road on the East Coast.”
While the Ombudsman’s primary role is to investigate complaints against government agencies, Boshier said it was important to make the trip so that people knew he cared about what had happened.
The visit included a hui with Civil Defence in Tolaga Bay, a ute trip with locals over a diversion road used by the trucking industry, and a meeting with an emergency response team in Ruatōria.
During his April visit, Boshier said it was common to begin receiving complaints several months after an event, once the feeling of cohesion had worn off.
Although there had not been a spike, complaints were likely to pick up once the government began acting on the land categorisations it had announced, he said.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
VIA 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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