Working together to get through

It’s been a really tough few weeks for communities across the region. Cyclone Gabrielle is the most significant weather event New Zealand has seen this century. The severity and the breadth of the damage hasn’t been experienced in a generation, and I know the events have taken a huge toll on many New Zealanders.

Over the past weeks I connected and worked with the local Civil Defence and Community organised Emergency centres across the region and was impressed with the way people from all walks of life came together and pitched in to help clear properties inundated by the floods. The flooding experienced in many of our communities (some for the second time in 18 months), means that a lot of work and assistance will be needed to rebuild local businesses, to help families that have had their homes damaged and to restore businesses and livelihoods. We’ve seen whānau, friends and neighbours pulling together to keep each other safe, warm and fed. The resilience and community spirit shown by everyone has been remarkable, but I know there’s still a long road ahead for many, especially those who live in Muriwai.

My thoughts go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the volunteer firefighters who lost their lives in Muriwai during Cyclone Gabrielle. They were protecting their community and the lives of others, leaving their own homes and loved ones to do so.

Our volunteer firefighters play an incredibly vital role in our communities. They provide critical frontline response and support to us through some of our hardest times, as we have seen first-hand during this devastating cyclone.

My aroha goes to all who have been impacted by the cyclone. The loss of life and destruction is heartbreaking.

As we recover from the cyclone and flooding, it is obvious that Auckland needs to review its ability to respond to such serious disasters and climate events and recognise the impact of climate change as well as the need to build and maintain our water infrastructure to cope with the demands such changes cause. This was only the third time in our history, that the Government declared a National State of Emergency. This enabled us to support the affected regions, provide additional resources as they are needed, and help set the priorities across the country for the response. Government has provided a $11.5 million community support package to provide immediate relief for individuals, families and households as well as putting in place funding to help farmers, growers and rural communities mobilise and co-ordinate recovery efforts from the cyclone. The Prime Minister also announced other major steps towards recovery from the cyclone, with a further $50m support for business and farming sectors, a quarter of a billion dollars towards road repairs and new structures that will direct and coordinate the recovery. While emergency response teams worked as hard as they could to get communications back online, it has been an anxious time for a lot of us. I experienced it first-hand too, as my family were 11 days without power, water and phone coverage before we got reconnected. I’m grateful to all who have worked tirelessly to help out and, seeing the great community spirit and co-operation, I know we will get through this.

we all see it differently.

Familiar rooftops and green hills, the sparkle of the ocean or the warmth of the sun streaming in; the window of our Hibiscus Coast chapel offers many different views.

At Dils, we realise that people all see funerals differently too. That’s why we go to great lengths to realise your vision.

Come by for a chat and discover the Dil’s difference.

More wild places

A letter in Hibiscus Matters’ January 23 edition bemoaned the unkempt appearance of two Ōrewa roundabouts. Around the world we are seeing the rapid collapse of populations of insects, birds and wildlife; the combined effect of insecticides and habitat loss due to intensive farming, wetlands reclamation and urban development. Insects pollinate 40 percent of our food and assist the nitrogen cycle which allows crops to grow. As Sir David Attenborough pointed out, if the insects go, we will soon follow them. In response to these threats, we are seeing growing interest in rewilding, and Auckland Council has decided to mow motorway berms less often, allowing wild flowers to provide food for insects and birds. This also saves ratepayers’ money. Town gardens now harbour more biodiversity than farmland. We can further increase this by planting natives and by letting part of our garden grow wild. Your reward will be more birds and butterflies to decorate your day.

Andrew Westaway, Ōrewa

Don’t stop here

We are confused about two new bus stops in Aaron Drive, Ōrewa. Are they usable? Some bus drivers are not stopping there, and others are telling people who try to board buses at this stop that they are “for schools and elderly people only”. Sometimes they are letting people on board, other times not. These are the nearest stops to our home and we would like to use them on a regular basis. What is going on?

Stephen Hammond and Jane Atherton, Ōrewa

An Auckland Transport spokesperson responds: The new stops on Arran Road, Ōrewa are scheduled to become operational on May 13. As these stops were installed by a developer, rather than directly by AT, they were put in place early. We will cover up the stops until they are operational, and we apologise to those customers for the inconvenience. On May 13 they will be up and running for everybody to use. Generally, when a new stop is added, it takes some time for our routes and/or timetables to be amended, drivers to be trained and IT systems such as the AT app and the tech the drivers use on the buses to be updated. With regards to who can use bus stops, while we do have some special school bus stops, they are marked as such. We do not have stops specifically for any particular age group or other demographic. Public bus stops are for everyone. We will pass your feedback to our drivers and reiterate this.

Nothing done

When Cyclone Gabrielle rain passed over our area, the point I would like to make first is we were very, very lucky unlike many others. We may not be so lucky next time and our luck had nothing to do with Auckland Council who have ignored our area since Rodney became greater Auckland, but rather the fact that when the rain hit we were at low tide. Had the tide been high I hate to think what may have happened. We back onto Red Beach estuary behind Red Beach Surf Club and Pine Woods Camp. There had been erosion at the end of our sections by the Red Beach Estuary caused by heavy rain on high outgoing tide – the sections are on the outside of the bend in the estuary, with weed grown out from the inside of the bend, plus of course a build-up in silt as the estuary is never dredged, even with the massive build up in housing. When we were under Rodney District Council, Mayor Penny Webster came around to see our problems. She agreed a retaining wall needed to be built at the end of the sections and also agreed weed needed clearing plus a good regular dredging to help with the free flow of water. Then Auckland Council takes over – it has had years to continue with this work but has totally ignored our area. If the next downpour comes the same as the one before and on a high tide, I hate to think what the outcome is likely to be unless Council get working on what Rodney Council had started and agreed needed doing.

Arthur Amis, Red Beach (abridged)

Rocks work

We certainly have much to be thankful for here on the Hibiscus Coast after the recent weather events and the destructive impact they have had on other parts of the country. But once again we can all see Auckland ratepayer money being wasted on our local Ōrewa Beach on yet another ‘sand replenishment’ project. Residents who have lived on the Hibiscus Coast for any length of time know that this activity by contractors occurs on a regular basis throughout every year to replace the shifting sands that are moved by both wind and tide. The effectiveness of this activity can be seen by all and can be compared to pushing water uphill with a rake. In the cases of Red Beach, Waiwera Beach and Stanmore Bay (public toilets next to the boat ramp), the most effective solution was deemed to be the placement of rocks to reduce coastal erosion. Why has the same solution not been implemented in the case of Ōrewa Beach? For anyone with two eyes it is obvious that the sections of Ōrewa Beach that have a decent rock wall are well protected. And those sections without a decent rock wall are where there has been the most erosion. I am aware that there are plans to build a permanent solution for one section of the beach in front of a number of private residences, but that is only a band aid over a gaping wound. The plan needs to be for the beach as a whole. And the solution is basic and obvious.

Roger White, Ōrewa Auckland Council area operations manager, Kris Bird, responds: “Placing rocks and creating a rock revetment on Ōrewa Beach is one management option to protect Ōrewa Reserve. However, this approach will compromise how people currently use and enjoy Ōrewa Beach. In 2021 the Auckland Council Parks Services team carried out research on the way the community used Ōrewa Reserve. We wanted to understand what experiences were most valued to inform how the reserve can be managed in the future. One of the main findings from the research was that the experiences provided by the interface between Ōrewa Beach and Ōrewa Reserve are key to the community choosing to recreate at this location. People also placed a high value on being able to sit on the beach during high tides. Placing rocks in this location would obstruct access onto the beach from the reserve and would occupy and impact upon the dry high tide beach space. A long-term management approach for Ōrewa is currently underway. Three concept options are being developed which are adaptive, cost-effective, sustainable, and adhere to guidance provided in the National Coastal Policy Statement. These options will be consulted on with mana whenua and the public in due course. Whilst the long-term management approach for Ōrewa Recreation Reserve and the beach is being worked through, council will continue to replenish sand to protect the reserve, trees, maintain access and to retain the dry high tide beach. Detailed design is progressing for the walkway and seawall between Kohu Street and Marine View. This proposed seawall will protect what is left of the thin esplanade reserve along the coastline to provide an all-tide walkway along the northern part of the beach. This project aligns with another key finding of our 2021 research which confirmed that the community value a connected up ‘northsouth’ pedestrian and cycling experience.” Editor’s note: Also see story on this issue, p3 small group of people who are unelected and unaccountable and cannot be removed at the polling booth. will inherit.

Co-governance replaces democracy by a system which redistributes political rights and powers of 99.5% of our population and gives those rights to a

40 Orewa Square, Orewa.