Swarbrick ChlöeCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green—Auckland Central): E te Māngai tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou te Whare. On behalf of the Greens and as our Auckland Central MP I stand in support of the motion from the Minister for Emergency Management and I actually have a few questions for him as I understand this format allows.But firstly I just wanted to join with colleagues across the House in acknowledging the unfolding situation and the state of emergency before us particularly the young person still lost in Northland and their whānau their community and the front-line services who are responding to that unfolding situation.As other MPs have acknowledged in times like this we do see what is important. We see what it is that we care about and what we focus on and that is each other. That is our community. It is those values of compassion and care and concern for each other. To that effect I think it is really important for all who may be listening today to know that the situation is still unfolding and as my conversations with MetService and the Auckland emergency management bunker have demonstrated there is the chance that weather may turn for the worse this evening so Aucklanders and those up in Northland those in the North Island should continue to remain in a state of vigilance to minimise travel where it is possible to stay home but also to be very aware of the potential of slips.To that effect I do need to reflect on some of the statements that were put out just now by the leader of the ACT Party about how now may not necessarily be the time to reflect on climate change. As we are staring down and looking at yet another one-in-100-year weather event—the several that have occurred in just this year alone—I think that it is in fact a stark reminder of the very very important responsibility that this House has for facing the scientific reality of climate change and for responding with the emergency and urgency that it requires in mitigation and adaptation. That is our responsibility as the supposed leaders of this country.I move to those questions to the Minister. Late last night I received a call from firefighters at the front line those involved in the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union—particularly those in urban search and rescue—my guys of Pitt Street station. They informed me that with consultation and discussion with their geotechnical teams and the risk of slips and the concern about how much water had been absorbed in the ground over the first few months of this year it would make sense for those at the front line to potentially stand up their heavy rescue team but also to make capacity available for water rescue. I know that they encountered some issues in feeding that up the food chain and trying to get that response and the standing up of those services and those resources and that did not occur until after a meeting was held at approximately 10.30 this morning. So to that effect my first question to the Minister is just about whether he is confident or comfortable with the flow of communication and the decisions that are being made with regard to or not with enough regard to the needs and the points as raised by those on the front line.The second question was about his confidence with regard to the resourcing that our front-line responders particularly our firefighters but also our other community and volunteer services have. I'm aware for example that certain trucks that our firefighters are having to respond with in Northland have real limitations on their ability to enter floodwater.So those two questions if I may. The first is around the communication with the shop floor and the feeding up of that information to make critical decisions. The second is about the Minister's confidence in resourcing and the adequate equipment to respond to these supposed one-in-100-year weather events that seem to be continuing to happen.