Turner Judy: Estimates Debate — In Committee Procedure 
Turner Judy: Estimates Debate — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:618;Page:14414] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 Members will be aware that civil defence emergencies are times when in stressful tragic and often dangerous circumstances ordinary people who have had their lives turned upside down perform amazing acts of kindness and bravery for the benefit of others. Officials charged with the task of organising relief and providing leadership work outrageous hours. Voluntary agencies work round the clock to provide comfort and support. It was a privilege to be part of that activity in the Whakatane area last week. I want to take some time to mention very key organisations: the Whakatane Opotiki and Kawerau District Councils and their staff for the work they did; Environment Bay of Plenty; the New Zealand Fire Service; Street John Ambulance; the citizens advice bureau; Victim Support; Ngati Awa Social Services; church groups; the police; the New Zealand Army; Te Whare Wananga o Aotearoa; Federated Farmers; and Radio 1XX; and of course our civil defence people. All those people contributed to the crisis and recovery phases of this emergency. 
It is important because of the millions of dollars that will be required to restore the area that members are made aware of what it was like to be on the ground in Whakatane over the last while. It began with days of heavy rain and with a busload of people in transit attempting to pass through Whakatane but being unable to because of slips on the roads. They were blocked and had to stay overnight in the local Salvation Army hall. The following night residents in the suburb of Awatapu were woken in the middle of the night by police and army personnel and told to grab some things and to leave immediately. They waded or were carried through flood water to army trucks leaving behind their own vehicles which often had by that time been swamped. They were taken to the local war memorial hall. Within hours systems were being set up to register evacuees and to attempt to track their whereabouts. At the hall people—some still in wet clothing—were sitting in plastic chairs around trestle tables. There was no heating in the hall. Children bored and poorly supervised by tired and stunned parents ran around getting on the nerves of elderly evacuees. The Salvation Army set up some tea and coffee. The citizens advice bureau continued to register a steady stream of people as the evacuations continued hour after hour. 
There were some queries: “Where are the new forms we’re meant to be registering people on and why are we using the old ones?”. I challenge the Minister with the emergencies we have had this year that as well as money being spent on the restoration of those areas it is also time for the civil defence organisation to look very closely at some of its systems and to check that everybody has everything that is required for those emergencies. 
Kitchens sprung into action as the early food donations started to come in. There was no radio at the centre so it was very difficult to track what was happening outside the hall. District councillors donned civil defence identification and became great sources of reference and worked extremely well. Friends and relatives from unaffected areas arrived and took people home. Others opened their homes to complete strangers. Additional accommodation was needed. Te whare wananga and the Salvation Army set up warmer and more comfortable facilities and the elderly and families with small children had to be relocated to those points. People were anxious. They had left their pets behind and they wanted to go home and attend to that. They wanted to go back and get some more clothes. Some could; many were not allowed. 
The water treatment station was shut down. There were reports of raw sewage on the streets. Tar-seal was lifting as water bubbled up from below. And then we had swarms of earthquakes which set everybody’s nerves on edge. The report of the death of Bev Freeman came as a real shock to people; her death was the consequence of an awful landslide. Roads were blocked. There was a serious breach in the stopbanks that resulted in the flooding of huge areas of farmland. The engineers were trying to manage a full dam and tidal changes had to be balanced as water was released from that dam. Te Teko was evacuated. Edgecumbe was evacuated. Awatapu was evacuated. Landslides threatened homes at Ohope beach. 
I would like to thank the Minister and the Prime Minister for responding so quickly to the invitation to come into the area and for taking the opportunity to go up in helicopters to see the very big picture. It was very important to local people that those people saw the full picture.