Fox Marama: Motions — Cyclone Pam—Expression of Support for Vanuatu and Other Pacific CountriesText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Motions — Cyclone Pam—Expression of Support for Vanuatu and Other Pacific Countries[Sitting date: 17 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2258. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): Kia ora e te Mana Whakawā nei rā te mihi atu ki a koe otirā te Whare. Tēnei mātou o te Pāti Māori e tū nei ki te tautoko i ngā mihi kua mihia ki a Vanuatu tērā o ngā tangata whenua o tērā o ngā motu otirā ngā motu katoa o te rohe.[Thank you Mr Speaker. I really acknowledge you and the House at the same time. We of the Māori Party stand to endorse the tributes accorded to Vanuatu that one of the indigenous people of those islands and all the islands of the region.]We would like to congratulate the Government on its speedy response in sending aid to Vanuatu. In 2008 I had a missionary’s son who served in the Vanuatu islands for 2 years. When I spoke to him this morning he conveyed a sense of loss and a sense of regret for his friends whom he has been unable to contact. We understand that on the outlying islands Tanna has been the worst hit and has almost 98 percent of all its dwellings completely obliterated. An aeroplane that was able to fly over the island could not see one structure that was still standing.The crops have been destroyed the peoples’ livelihood and income have been lost but these are a people who are resilient by nature. They are friendly people. They have lived in what some would consider abject poverty for most of their lifetimes. They are subsistence livers and growers and farmers. With their crops being destroyed there is no hope of being able to feed this community and so the support that the Government has been able to send to Vanuatu will absolutely be necessary now and for the future in restoring the crops to those families. It is not an understatement to say that these people face starvation in the coming weeks if we are not able to get support to them. The aid efforts that have come from New Zealand include temporary housing water purification and just hands on the ground.The people in Vanuatu have not all been able to be contacted; some in the outlying areas remain unaccounted for at this time. We understand that 24 is the current number of those who have been lost but that number may climb yet. Our thoughts and our aroha go to those people in the island of Vanuatu specifically. Last night as I lay in Wellington for one of the first times that I have slept here with the wind blowing I thought to myself “This is nothing but a stiff wind and a small gale.” and Cyclone Pam was 400 kilometres offshore when our city was struck with rain and wind. I could not imagine the terror that would have been on the faces of the families who were cowering under the intense category 5 cyclone that hit their island.I want to commend to the House the motion that the Prime Minister has moved and I look forward to hearing of further support that may come to the Vanuatu the ni-Vanuatu people for the future for restoring their crops their livelihood their food and their sustenance. Kia ora.