Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Kaipara ki Mahurangi): Thank you Mr Speaker. I do on behalf of the National Party indeed join the Minister in sending our best wishes to those who are affected by the developing situation in the upper part of the North Island.Even as we acknowledge that other areas of the country continue to seek to recover and rebuild from other severe weather emergency events earlier in this year including some of the same areas indeed that have been hit again today. The updates have been coming in recently so quickly that it is difficult to keep up with them all. There is a measure of uncertainty therefore about the situation on the ground but we can say with certainty that those who have stepped up before have displayed the courage and the community spirit that I'm sure will be replicated again today. In anticipation and indeed acknowledging the works that would already have been done in this space we thank them and I'm sure that there is not a member of this House who would not join me in saying that we wish them well. We ask them to be safe for their own sake even as they put themselves in the line of fire metaphorically speaking to support and indeed to save others.We think of the first responder groups formally designated. We also think of those within the community who group together informally who step up as individuals to help out their fellow Kiwis in need and we thank them all.In addition to the threat to physical life and limb today we are cognisant as well that there will be a severe mental health toll arising from this event including and especially where that follows similar events having taken place in similar areas before and we hope that support will be provided in the days and weeks and months that follow for those who suffer trauma as a result of these repeated events.My final comment is just to muse—and I don't put this formally to the Minister today—about the possibility that this House can respond in a legislative way that will enable orders to be made quickly following such events. Of course that took place recently with the support of most of Parliament as put forward by the Government. The National Party supported those moves in urgency because we thought it was the right thing to do to enable quick action to be taken. I think I'm right in saying that these events fall outside the remit technically speaking of that legislation but it may be possible for the response that will be needed in respect of today's events to be included in that. That's a discussion for the future and I don't make a formal proposal along those lines. But it seems to me that unfortunately as a nation and indeed as a House these are matters to which we will need to give increasing attention in the years that come even as we acknowledge that the danger is very much a present one. It is ongoing and it is also expected to pose further risk today.So I join with the Minister and indeed would encourage anyone to follow the advice that he has given on the public health basis: follow official advice and do the things necessary to keep yourself and others safe. We will watch with interest and respond as best we can no doubt as a Parliament as a whole to the events of today.