Key John: Motions — Pacific Islands—Tsunami 
Key John: Motions — Pacific Islands—Tsunami 
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Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 I seek leave to move a motion without notice relating to the recent tsunami in the Pacific. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Is there any objection to that course being followed? There is no objection. 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I move  
That this Parliament express its sympathy and concern to the people of Samoa American Samoa and Tonga following the recent Pacific tsunami and that it extend its condolences to New Zealanders who lost family members and friends in that tragedy 
. 
On Tuesday 29 September after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake the sea rose up and struck several islands in Samoa American Samoa and Tonga with overwhelming force. It destroyed villages devastated communities and tore families apart. It took the lives of approximately 190 people and changed for ever the lives of thousands more. Nine New Zealanders were killed and one is missing. On behalf of this House and all New Zealanders I express our deepest sorrow and condolences to those who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Our hearts go out to them. Our thoughts will be with them in the weeks and months ahead. 
In Samoa an estimated 4500 people had their homes destroyed or damaged. Three primary schools and one secondary school were ruined. When I visited the weekend before last with Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga I returned to some of the places that had welcomed us so warmly in July. They were almost unrecognisable. In Poutasi village which has strong links to New Zealand at least seven people were lost to the waves and every building that was not concrete was destroyed. The communities devastated by the waves have a lot of work ahead of them and I am pleased that New Zealand is helping them to recover. It has been humbling to see the huge public support for tsunami relief efforts. I thank the charitable groups and aid organisations that have leaped into action and the thousands of New Zealanders who have generously donated. I also thank Air New Zealand for its support of aid efforts since the tsunami. 
New Zealand is providing a lot of help on the ground. I thank our consular staff who juggled the difficult tasks of coordinating relief assistance while accounting for our citizens caught up in the disaster. We have deployed to Samoa over 100 Defence Force personnel including medics environmental health officers engineers air crews and navy divers; about 20 police officers; search and recovery teams; victim identification teams; about 30 doctors and nurses who are helping to treat casualties and maintain public health; and staff from NZAID and several non-governmental organisations. I thank each and every one of them for their good work. They have had a very difficult and often harrowing time. Some that I spoke to had been working for up to 20 hours straight per day yet they were in good spirits. We are all very proud of them and the help that they are providing to these communities on behalf of the people of New Zealand. 
New Zealand has also committed military assets. An Orion was stationed in Samoa for the initial search and rescue. A Hercules and Boeing 757-200 have airlifted supplies and personnel. Two Iroquois helicopters were stationed on Upolu. The HMNZS  
Canterbury 
 sailed from Auckland on Saturday loaded with aid and donated goods. She berthed this morning in Nuku’alofa and is expected to arrive in Apia on Thursday. 
New Zealand has been helping in other ways. We are working with several nations to coordinate the international response. We provided $2 million of initial emergency funding to help the Samoan and Tongan Governments Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations to deliver aid. On Sunday we announced that the Government will donate a further $6 million. This was matched with a similar donation by Australia. We are committed to helping the people of Samoa and Tonga and their economies recover over the long term. 
On behalf of this House I acknowledge other disasters that have occurred in the Pacific region recently. We send condolences to the people of Indonesia and their relatives in New Zealand following the earthquake on 30 September. We send our condolences to the people of the Philippines Vietnam and Cambodia who are recovering from Typhoon Ketsana. New Zealand has provided $1 million in aid to these countries. We have also sent a team of earthquake engineers to Indonesia. I thank the engineers who have volunteered and the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering for their contributions. 
Last week’s Pacific tsunami was a tragedy for the many people affected but from the very worst of events we often see the very best of the human spirit. We saw that spirit in the stories of great bravery that have been told over the past few weeks where people risked everything to warn others and save many lives. We have seen that spirit in the outpouring of support from New Zealanders to their Pacific friends and we saw that spirit in recent memorial services as people gathered in love in faith and in hope to help each other find peace and comfort in the midst of grief and loss. It is my hope and the goal of this Government that we will see the same spirit in the months and years ahead as New Zealand works with the people of Samoa and Tonga to help them bind up their communities rebuild their lives and rebuild their livelihoods. We look forward to working with the members of this House towards that end. May all those who lost their lives rest in peace.