Dunne Peter: Motions — Pacific Islands—Tsunami 
Dunne Peter: Motions — Pacific Islands—Tsunami 
[Volume:658;Page:6912] 
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 From time to time in this House we pass a resolution to pay tribute to someone who has passed on to lament some tragic event or to note some extraordinary achievement. But it is a very rare occasion to pass a resolution that deals with an issue so tragic and so close to home. In the aftermath of the tsunami that struck Samoa American Samoa and Tonga on 30 September many of us checked with our friends and colleagues who come from those countries whether their families had been affected how they were feeling and what the impact on them was. It had a very immediate and powerful influence on all of us and our hearts go out to all those who have suffered loss to all those who are now looking in the middle of the debris and wondering how on earth they can put life back together again. 
When the first reports started to come through that there had been a powerful earthquake in the Pacific and that the emergency centre in Hawaii was predicting some form of tsunami I do not think any of us could have imagined what was about to unfold. The messages were confused and chaotic which raises some issues that I know the Minister of Civil Defence has under review but as the day went on and the scope of the tragedy unfolded and we started to realise what devastation had been wreaked upon those islands we too started to realise our vulnerability—not just as a nation and not just as a people but our individual vulnerability in such circumstances. 
I suppose it is natural—and it is a good thing about this country—that New Zealand has responded the way it has: the emergency programmes that the Prime Minister referred to in his address the individual acts of generosity and the kindnesses and support that have been shown by so many to those who have been affected. We do it because it is instinctive. We do it because although we do not understand precisely the scale of the tragedy we know it is beyond immediate comprehension. We know that it will not simply be put right tomorrow. It will take many many years of effort and hardship to overcome that tragedy and all the while the threat is there of another one tomorrow. 
An occasion like this is an opportunity for this Parliament to express its support for those who are suffering its confidence in those who are working to provide for their relief and its unity in terms of generally reflecting the overall human condition at a time like this. This is a time of great sadness and it is a time of great learning not just for the people who have been affected but also for countries like ours which have their own vulnerabilities. But even with the best preparation in the world there comes a time when forces far greater will have their say and that will be the real test of the human spirit. I believe that in this country and in Samoa American Samoa Tonga and the other parts of the Pacific that have been affected by similar tragedies in recent times the human spirit has shone through strongly. Long may it continue to do so because that is our ultimate strength and our ultimate capacity to survive.