IMPORTANT MESSAGE for people living in the Bay of Plenty - RENA Grounding
Community Briefings We seem to be playing the waiting game at the moment which can cause feelings of anxiety and frustration. The key right now is patience. We need to prepare ourselves for the long haul. At the moment, the oil on our coastline, our estuaries and our islands is manageable but there is no room for false optimism – our community will be affected by this oil spill for weeks. Although it may appear that nothing is happening right now, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We want you to know that we are continuing to have the very best people working on solving the complex problems that this incident poses. We are confident that Maritime New Zealand is managing the situation with the best local, national and international experience at hand.
Message from the Iwi Liaison Team Ko tä te tirohanga Mäori ki te taiao, kua kotahi atu, kia kotahi mai ki te Ao Turoa. Ko au te taiao Ko te taiao ko au
5.00pm - Community briefing Mount Maunganui College Hall, Maunganui Road
6.30pm - Todd McClay Community Briefing Pukehina Beach Community Hall, Pukehina
Matua
For those of you who don’t know, the ICC has been set up to manage and coordinate the Rena Oil Spill response. This is a huge job and as of yesterday, there was a total of 782 people who had or is continuing to work there. The ICC covers a vast range of roles and responsibilities from logistics and planning to communications and health and safety. It is a massive job and to see the commitment and dedication from all those involved is absolutely amazing.
Please do not attempt to open any of the containers as some of the containers could contain hazardous material. It is an offence to open or retrieve anything from them. If you do see a container, phone:
0800 OIL SPILL
When: Venue:
7.00pm - Simon Bridges Community Briefing Matua residents’ association Otumoetai Sports and Recreation Club at Ferguson Park, Matua
Thursday 20 October: Katikati When:
2.30pm - Community briefing
Where:
Katikati College Hall, Beach Road, Katikati
Papamoa When: Where:
6.30pm - Community briefing Papamoa College (Theatre), 151 Doncaster Drive, Papamoa
Friday 21 October: Tauranga
Care for Our Coast Care For Our Coast Fund The local councils have banded together to create a trust fund that has been set up to help community groups care for Bay of Plenty’s coast and estuaries. Any donations to the fund will be put towards Coast Care and Estuary Care work not covered by the official recovery response following the grounding of the ship Rena. You can make a donation over the counter at any National Bank or ANZ branch or via internet banking to:
Stuart Crosby, Ross Paterson and John Cronin
When: Venue:
When: Venue:
Containers
Thank you to everyone.
Wednesday 19 October (today): Mt Maunganui
Pukehina
This work is happening out in the field – on Rena itself, in the waters, on our coastline as well as in the Incident Control Centre (ICC).
The amazing work is also reflected in Operation Beach Clean. Thank you to the 6000 volunteers who have registered so far. We have had an overwhelming response from volunteers and the beach surfaces are now a lot clearer of oil. There is still a big task ahead of us so volunteers will continue to be called upon over the next few weeks - especially if Rena releases more oil. Anyone who wants to volunteer should register on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website. We welcome new volunteers but please be patient, you may not get to a beach clean up straight away.
Want to find out the latest about the Rena Oil Spill? You are invited to the following community briefings:
National Bank:
Account number: 06-0489-0094734-50
ANZ Bank:
Account number: 01-1839-0256313-00
The Fund will benefit the islands, including Mötiti, as well as mainland Bay of Plenty coast and estuaries. NB: Once charitable status is obtained donations will be tax deductible.
When: Where:
12.15pm - Community briefing Graeme Young Youth Theatre Tauranga Boys’ College, 664 Cameron Road
Important Contact Details Online Updates:
www.maritimenz.govt.nz and www.boprc.govt.nz Wildlife Response: Any sightings of wildlife with oil should be reported to:
0800 333 771 Offers of Help:
0800 OIL SPILL (0800 645 774) or iccrena@gmail.com Media Centre:
0800 774 554