Severe challenges in Hawke's Bay and fury in Tolaga Bay
Wairoa remains cut-off with dwindling food and water supplies, while the palpable frustration of a farmer in Tolaga Bay spotlights the long-running and deadly problem of forestry waste
In today’s edition: the price of food comes down a smidge; parliament adjourned until next week; nearly one in four young adults struggling with mental health; but first, Cyclone Gabrielle continues to severely impact Hawke’s Bay
Wairoa surveyed from the air (Image: Hawke’s Bay Region Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group - Facebook)
Flooding and evacuations continue in Hawke’s Bay
While Cyclone Gabrielle now lies to the southeast of New Zealand with more settled weather ahead, rising flood water in Hawke’s Bay is prompting fresh calls for evacuation this morning. Flooding and inundation into Te Awa Estate is escalating and Civil Defence is urging people to evacuate. "We recommend evacuations to commence in the entire Te Awa Estates area, from Kenny Drive north to Hurunui Drive," says Civil Defence. People are asked to evacuate to friends or family but if that's not possible, go to Rodney Green Centennial Events Centre in Latham Street, Napier. If you are in danger, please call 111.
Wairoa still cut-off, with limited food and water supplies
A clearer picture is also emerging of the devastation caused in the area with aerial shots of Wairoa showing the extent of the flood damage. These extraordinary images from the Air Force show the lengths gone to to rescue people from rooftops. The 8000 residents of Wairoa are still cut off, with no phone service, only one day's worth of food and enough drinking water for two days after the Wairoa River burst its banks. Power was restored to most residents last night but as the Hawkes Bay Civil Defence team explain, a post made on its Facebook page last night was only possible via Starlink, a satellite-enabled wifi connection that is only accessible to the Emergency Operations Centre.
“It’s one thing to get a cyclone and get water, it’s another when the water comes with bloody pine trees attached to it.”
North of Hawke’s Bay, in Tolaga Bay, the recurrent devastation caused by forestry waste (slash) was spotlighted again yesterday when farmer Bridget Parker spoke honestly and furiously about her family’s situation to RNZ. When asked if the government was going to do anything about the issue of forestry slash at last night’s press conference, the prime minister emphatically replied with a “Yes”. Shanti Mathias has an excellent explainer on The Spinoff this morning on what slash is, why it’s so dangerous and what can be done about a problem that was already linked to tragedy when a child died in Gisborne three weeks ago after being injured by a log floating in the water. Satellite imagery of Tolaga Bay captured between 2010 and 2016 shows the extent of the impact of forestry on the East Coast.
James Shaw decries lost decades spent bickering about climate change
The Spinoff article linked above was published in 2018 and written by Michael Smith. Smith wrote “the East Coast experience suggests that economic imperatives will always come to the fore unless the new forest gold rush is controlled by environmental rather than strictly economic imperatives.” In the House yesterday Green party co-leader James Shaw decried “the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or not”. While the focus is rightfully on the immediate response to Cyclone Gabrielle, the window of time between that and the need for expedient decisions on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts feels very small.
The wet-dry flip-flop
In this afternoon’s edition of The Spinoff’s weekly climate change and environment newsletter, Future Proof, Ellen Rykers speaks to NIWA climate scientist, Sam Dean about extreme weather and what is causing the flip-flop between drought and devastating rainfall. Future Proof is an honest but hopeful look at climate change realities, the way they are impacting our lives and our environment, and the agency we have to adapt and respond to what lies ahead. It’s a must read every week and I recommend subscribing.
The price of food eases slightly
According to the latest Stats NZ Food Price Index, our annual rate of food price inflation was 10.3% last month, down from the 32-year high of 11.3% in December 2022. Fruit and vegetable prices increased by 16% and there are already warnings the impact of the cyclone will make that worse. President of United Fresh, a non-profit organisation which represents the produce industry, Jerry Prendergast says the range of challenges facing growers meant consumers should be prepared for "continued disruption to fresh produce pricing and availability".
Parliament adjourned until next week
This is the third update on what will happen with parliament that I’ve written this week. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports on what happened in the House yesterday where there was general consensus on adjourning parliament until next Tuesday. The Act party was the sole dissenting voice. In an appropriate, but still rare display of non-partisan politics, emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty thanked his National counterpart Gerry Brownlee for his helpful advice and support over the past few days.
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Nearly one in four young adults struggling with mental health
The Salvation Army’s 2023 State of the Nation report shows nearly one in four young adults are suffering from high levels of anxiety, fatigue and depression. The report also has some positive news showing a decrease in figures used to measure child poverty rates, high levels of employment and a decrease in the waiting list for social housing. The report uses publicly available statistics and data to provide a snapshot of how New Zealand is doing.
Click and collect
In Gisborne’s blackout, the Māori response shone brightly, with Radio Ngāti Porou broadcasting 24 hours a day
Inside the beehive bunker as teams work 24/7 to keep people safe
More homes are being built than are needed to solve Queenstown and Wānaka's housing crisis, but the number of rentals is dropping
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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As people evacuate their homes across the upper North Island, Alex Casey speaks to the founder of Huha about organising the biggest emergency pet shelter in the country in less than 48 hours. Chris Schulz hears about the "unprecedented and scary times" Gabrielle brought to Piha. In an excerpt from Bushline, the new memoir by Robbie Burton, the publisher tells the story of how he met the love of his life at the Frankfurt book fair. Gareth Shute reviews TVNZ's new docuseries When Bob Came. And Andrew Chen poses a very good – if unimportant – question about orange juice.
How on earth do you conclude that "the price of food comes down a smidge" from the facts in your story?