Grigg NicolaNICOLA GRIGG (National—Selwyn): Mr Speaker yesterday you noted to the House that I had a lot of questions to ask and by goodness I certainly do. My questions are to this Government particularly the Minister for primary industries who's clearly not listening. But I would like to start with talking about the floods that occurred in Canterbury during the week. Firstly before I get into what I was about to say I want to acknowledge and send out a huge big thankyou to the emergency responders who I have met over the past week or so. Last Sunday the district mayors announced a state of emergency. Very quickly we got up our emergency operation centres because everybody could see what a significant event was about to come at us. And again I want to acknowledge those people who worked around the clock tirelessly for the safety of our people. A number of residents around my electorate in Selwyn were evacuated out in the Selwyn Huts at the bottom of the Selwyn River and further upstream into the hinterland and Springfield. Houses have been badly affected and red-stickered. Roads across the region were shut in their hundreds due to wash-outs surface flooding broken bridges and general danger. But what of the Government's response? It was woeful. The Government's response has left we Cantabrians asking: what does it take for the Minister to declare a large-scale adverse event? On day one I asked him to declare it. It took him a few days. Even then it was only a medium-scale adverse event. There are areas in Canterbury where flood damage is as bad as it gets. There is literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage per property much of which is uninsurable. But the Government—what did it turn up with? A pitiful $500000 for New Zealand's most productive sector and our most productive region. There is a playground outside this House that the Government spent more money on; $530000 on a playground. What message does that send to our farmers who are flogging their guts out in pouring rain up to their knees in mud? What sort of message does it send to them? Within a day of making that announcement what does the Government then go out and say? I'll tell you what it said. It's going to spend $800 million on a cycleway across the Auckland Harbour Bridge right at the time the Ashburton Bridge is buckling and down to one-way and light traffic only. Talk about being tone deaf and out of touch.When the Prime Minister formed this Government she said it was going to be a Government for all New Zealanders. Well we in Canterbury feel it is a Government for Auckland and Auckland alone. So in case anyone's listening I'll tell you what is going down in Canterbury. Rural Canterbury is exhausted. It has been a long hard 10 days of clear-up and stress and anxiety. Houses are red-stickered people have had to move in a hurry. They're now dealing with complex insurance claims. Boil water notices remain in place across much of the region. But let's get back to the farmers. Yes they are usually a pretty self-sufficient bunch but they need some surety from this Government. What they are not looking for is counselling sessions and welfare cheques. What they need is cash flow to get support through to them for heavy machinery and manpower. They need skilled labour and they need it now. I called for Taskforce Green to be activated 10 days ago. The Minister has come through today 10 days late. Anyone can clean a fence; I myself have been doing it over the weekend. I have spent much of this last week visiting farms and what I saw is as devastating as it is infuriating because so much of the damage could be prevented if only the Resource Management Act (RMA) could get sorted out with urgency. Environment Canterbury is operating to a piece of legislation that is utterly useless. Farmers have spent 10 years being prevented from clearing out their rivers. They are 2 metres deep in shingle that could have been dug out had they been allowed to. Many of them have dutifully gone and planted out their riparian fences; they've been swept away. I hope the Minister for the Environment as he redevelops the new RMA legislation takes into account that people have been asked to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on fencing along flood-prone waterways.But as always in the face of adversity there are those who step up so I would like to acknowledge the Rural Support Trust; Federated Farmers particularly my friends and neighbours Chris Allen and David Clark down the road; and the newly minted president of the North Canterbury Federated Farmers Caroline Amyes who has had a baptism of fire; also Student Volunteer Army Lincoln University volunteers and the Farmy Army who as usual have stepped up.Finally and slightly off tangent but the members of the National Party in Selwyn two weeks ago lost a very long-time member George Logan. I would like to acknowledge his passing and to send our love and condolences to his wife Dawn and family and we wish them well.