McAnulty KieranHon KIERAN McANULTY (Minister for Emergency Management): Thank you Mr Speaker. I stand in support of the Prime Minister's statement and his motion—in particular the words that he shared in regards to Cyclone Gabrielle and the devastation and destruction that it has caused to many North Island regions. From the Far North down to Wairarapa there are many communities—thousands of people—whose lives have been upended because of this severe weather event. And as at 6 a.m. this morning there were 11 New Zealanders having been confirmed to have lost their lives and police continue to have grave concerns for others. It's 11 families that have lost loved ones; 11 communities that are hurting. This cyclone will be referred to as a reference point—much like Cyclone Bola was before that. And it is Cyclone Bola that many people have been comparing this event to as the Prime Minister and I have been travelling around the affected areas. I suspect they won't be speaking of Bola much anymore such is the severity of Cyclone Gabrielle. This is only the third time in New Zealand's history where a state of national emergency has been declared. It is the first time that a state of national emergency—outside of COVID covering the whole country; and the Canterbury earthquakes covering one region—has been over such a large area with many different regions many different needs and many different challenges. And as such that does present a challenge from a civil defence perspective. The issues in Northland are different to those in Auckland which in turn are different again to those in Waikato Bay of Plenty Tai Rāwhiti Hawke's Bay the Tararua district and Wairarapa. There are of course similarities and many of those surround our isolated and rural communities. For so long due to various reasons—being extreme weather communication blackouts broken roads roads covered by slips etc.—many rural communities were completely cut off from the rest of the country and in some cases for days. This is bound to cause anxiety and stress and trauma that will last for many years.We recognise the communities that have been cut off in particular. They have banded together they have supported each other and they have been innovative in order to provide the support that people need until civil defence and local authorities and first responders were able to reach them. It is pleasing that now National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) authorities and civil defence feel they have a grasp of the need in communities throughout the country now and that they know what they need to provide where until they are able to reconnect those communities either through road or through communications.At 6 a.m. this morning I received the following critical updates that I would like to share with the House. Tai Rāwhiti civil defence are confident that they've made contact with all isolated communities as of yesterday. Hawke's Bay now have an understanding of the need in each of their rural communities. Last night 663 people stayed in civil defence centres in Hawke's Bay and five were accommodated in Tai Rāwhiti. Around 50 recognised seasonal employer workers are being accommodated at marae. There were still 104 people accommodated in civil defence centres in Auckland from the floods a fortnight ago.The Ministry of Education expects that up to 70 percent of schools in the Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti regions will be able to open for on-site learning by the middle of the week subject to the availability of power water transport road access and staff. Outside of these regions around six schools or kura are closed affecting approximately 305 learners and 28 early childhood centres are closed. There are still over 200 road closures across the North Island that Waka Kotahi are working to open—that's State highways; that doesn't account for the many many local roads that remain closed. More fuel service stations have reopened. However in Hawke's Bay 19 remain closed; in Gisborne three are still closed; and there are a further four in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty that are yet to reopen.As the Prime Minister has noted across the North Island around 11000 customers remain without power. This is down from 22000 yesterday which is down from its peak of 225000 at the start of this weather event. Full telecommunications have been restored to Wairoa and Central Gisborne. However 7 percent of cell sites in Hawke's Bay and 20 percent in Tai Rāwhiti are yet to be operational. The National Emergency Management Agency has procured 82 Starlink units of which 66 have been deployed. We've also reserved an additional 35 high-calibre units that will be available to deploy from Auckland in short order. Water supply remains fragile in Wairoa and rural Hastings. Supplies in Napier and Gisborne have been secured and I'm advised that water services networks in the Tararua district remain under pressure.In order to get to that point it has required considerable commitment and effort from thousands of New Zealanders. To get those worst-affected communities reconnected has been their objective and they have worked day and night in order to get there. I just want to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone involved be they line workers be they first responders volunteers iwi and marae individuals groups committees—the lot. Everyone has stood up in these affected communities. They've worked tirelessly not for themselves but for those that they live with.I want to particularly acknowledge Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) who have lost two of their own in this emergency response: Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens. These are fatalities that hit hard. Everyone in Fire and Emergency New Zealand is feeling this loss in addition to the Muriwai community. But anyone that has had any involvement with Fire and Emergency New Zealand is hurting. There isn't a single community in this country that doesn't have a FENZ presence and in rural and provincial New Zealanders there wouldn't be many families that don't have someone within their own that volunteers for Fire and Emergency. It's instinctive when a tragedy strikes to look after those we love. Volunteers for Fire and Emergency in the first instance make sure their loved ones are safe then they leave to go and make sure the community is safe. That requires considerable courage and selflessness. And as I was listening to the other contributions today I was reflecting on the fact that this debating chamber is a war memorial and we have plaques to commemorate the sacrifice and service of New Zealanders in every battle that New Zealand has taken part in including the New Zealand Wars. It is my personal view that these two men are equal heroes to this country because they served this country and they served their communities on behalf of everyone to make sure that people are safe. I also want to acknowledge police. In addition to being on the front lines of our emergency response they are now having to go above and beyond to maintain law and order in very stressed communities—many of whom still do not have power after many days and whose only lifelines are reliant on people flying things in or giving to them causing unimaginable stress. The New Zealand Defence Force has deployed at scale to respond to this disaster with over 950 personnel and I've seen first hand the lift that it gives communities when our defence force personnel turn up. It gives people confidence; it gives them reassurance. They have played a crucial role in giving people their essential needs be it helicoptering in water to Wairoa or using the navy ships to call into isolated coastal communities along the East Cape and Tai Rāwhiti region calling in giving them food and giving them generators. They're also going to be playing a critical role in re-establishing bridges that have been knocked out in crucial links reconnecting small communities to the larger towns in their area. It would also be remiss of me not to acknowledge our NEMA staff and civil defence staff. Many of them dropped tools came together and have been working roughly 25 days straight in the bunker underneath the Beehive. Their contribution collectively is what's making this response so effective. Their commitment is commended.