Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Gisborne may soon get a lifeline, as it continues to navigate patchy internet and phone connections and flooded out highways. The region hasn't had local Wi-Fi for three days and is prioritising connecting people within the community and to the outside world. The Defence Force has come in to assist, and the Prime Minister will visit Tairawhiti today to assess the damage. Local Civil Defence controller Ben Green told Kerre Woodham on Newstalk ZB they can now get into the region from Ōpōtiki. He says it's a major advance that will relieve the pressure and build more capability. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parts of the Hawke’s Bay region remain cut off today without water, power, or cell coverage, with officials scrambling to find out more about the devastation in the cold light of day. Two people are confirmed dead, others are still trapped or awaiting supplies, and officials have “big gaps of knowledge” as to the state of isolated areas. One woman died after a landslip on her property in northern Hawke’s Bay and another person’s body has been found on a storm-ravaged beach. Central Hawke’s Bay District Council chief executive Doug Tate said it was “pretty brutal out there” and said council’s thoughts went out to everybody affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. “The scale of it is just incredible, really,” he said. Council still was not sure of the state of some areas in the region due to the breakdown in communications - caused by damage to fibre lines providing mobile coverage to the area.  “Out toward the coast we’ve got big gaps of knowledge. It’s sort of funny, in a normal day losing a bridge is a really big deal and pretty much by the end of yesterday it was just another bridge that we’re just adding to the list.” There are about 150 houses in lower Waipawa that are underwater, he said. “You know, people kind of laughed at us when we said ‘look guys, you need to get out’, and in the space of an hour and a half, not even half an hour, we had nearly a metre and a half of water through some properties.” Damage to farm areas was a big focus for council, “trying to get some reconnaissance over that wider area”. He also said parts of the region had no water supply and could expect not to have any for several days. “Both of our treatment plants have been submerged quite significantly,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty hard going for those urban areas in that context as well.” Tate said his was one of the first homes in Waipukurau to be flooded. There was “so much still do to” and “still a lot we don’t know”, he said. “You will have heard the messages from everybody else: absolute caution, stay home . . . listen out to the key messaging, that’s kind of a really big thing for us that we’re continuing to promote. “If people were safe at home and didn’t need to go anywhere, the ‘best thing to do is just stay there’, he said. He called on people to check on their neighbours if able. Rescues continuing Posts on social media said a group of 42 people were trapped on a hill on Korokipo Rd in Omahu. “The rescue helicopter will be taking them food and water this morning, I’m not sure of a rescue plan at this stage but the water has started to recede around them,” the post said. The New Zealand Defence Force regular and reserve forces have helped rescue about 200 people in Esk Valley, Napier, and wider Hawke’s Bay. As of 8.40am the NZ Army teams overall have rescued about 200 people, with the number still climbing. An Esk Valley, Hawke's Bay, resident is plucked to safety by Defence Force personnel in an NH90 helicopter. Photo / Defence Force Three NH90 helicopters responded to the Hawke’s Bay area as part of a multi-agency response, with one of the tasks involving recovering people from the rooftops of their homes in Esk Valley. Other tasks have involved moving about 60 to 100 people from Hastings, as well as moving medical supplies around the region. NZDF released photos of people being plucked from rooftops in the region as floodwaters raged below, and carrying locals through swamped streets in boats. Wairoa cut off Wairoa is cut off on all sides today, with dramatic photos from Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence revealing the inundation of the town and the challenges facing its embattled residents. Word came out via the Starlink system, a standalone wi-fi connection that is only accessible to the Emergency Operations Centre. Civil Defence says the rest of the Wairoa District is still without access to mobile and wi-fi connections. Due to being completely cut off, Wairoa has only one day’s worth of food and enough drinking water for two days, Civil Defence said. The Wairoa River has flooded up to a quarter of the town. An RNZAF reconnaissance flight was to be sent, and Emergency Response minister Kieran McAnulty said Wairoa was particularly of concern. Aerial view of flooding in Wairoa. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Power, internet, phone coverage out Thousands were left without power yesterday when a Transpower substation in Redclyffe was flooded. The company warned it could be days or even weeks before power was restored. Yesterday afternoon they were able to restore some power to about 27,000 households across Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, but it is insufficient to provide power to the rest. Napier mayor Kirstin Wise said the latest information they’d received from Transpower was that electricity was “likely to be a number of days away. “We’re communicating with them constantly to try and get some clarity around what that means,” she said. Meanwhile communications were “incredibly patchy” and Wise said the primary source of information is the radio. “Cellphone coverage and internet coverage is pretty much non-existent,” she said. “That lack of communication is really dire and it does elevate everybody’s feelings of anxiousness. “If I’m completely honest we’re actually feeling pretty isolated at the moment and yeah I have been discussing that with the team this morning about how we can start accessing these [state of national emergency] resources at a national level because we don’t have the resources on hand here to be able to do it alone.” Spark said they had satellite units en route to Napier via helicopter and were dispatching an additional 10 generators. “Communication will be limited to voice and text and congestion will occur – however the priority is to reconnect the region as quickly as possible,” Spark said. Level five water restrictions in place The “critical thing” about the power outage was that it affected water supplies and water treatment, meaning people are being asked to follow “level five water restrictions”. Wise said this meant people should be having sponge baths instead of showers and only flush the toilet if absolutely necessary. Level five is defined as water only being used for consumption or sanitary purposes. Council warned on Facebook its water plants in Waipawa and Waipukurau would run out of water from 10pm yesterday and it could be several days before supply is restored.  “This means you are going to need to collect bottled water and water for household activities like drinking, cooking and washing. This is going to be particularly challenging over the next few days for sanitary services,” the post said. People can access water at: Waipawa Municipal Theatre on Kenilworth St Otane Hall Racecourse Road Waipukurau, opposite GM Panelbeaters Council has also issued a boil water notice for Otane, Waipawa and Waipukurau, which will continue for the foreseeable future. Evacuations and where to go Council issued an evacuation order this morning for Te Awa, Napier and expected to issue more for the surrounding suburbs. Multiple suburbs were evacuated yesterday as flooded rivers poured over stopbanks and on to floodplains. The suburb of Esk Valley suffered widespread flooding and required multiple rescues as people sought refuge on the roofs of their homes, with the water lapping barely centimetres below. Many evacuation orders were lifted last night as floodwaters receded. The Waikare River Bridge near Putorino collapsed in wild floodwaters caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Rosie Tong Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said it was hard to believe the devastation to property and the roading network, including bridges. The council is dealing with an influx of people from flooded homes. “We’ve got so many people displaced, so many people in our emergency centres and shelters. We are setting out two more emergency centres, people are flocking in from across our district.” Evacuations centres can be found at: Hastings Flaxmere Community Centre Te Aranga Marae, Flaxmere EFKS Church, Flaxmere Cook Islands Centre, Flaxmere Hawke’s Bay Environment Centre, Hastings Waipatu Marae Hastings Sports Centre (at capacity) Ascend Global Church, Omahu (at capacity) Napier Rodney Green Events Centre, Latham St St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College (at capacity) Pukemokimoki Marae (at capacity) Central Hawke’s Bay Centralines Stadium Waipawa Municipal Theatre Pōrangahau Hall Tikokino Community Hall Takapau Hall Wairoa Taiho Marae Ruakituri Resident Hall Wall Memorial Hall Kahungunu Marae (Nuhaka) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sun might be out but the job isn’t done in the Coromandel, according to Coromandel-Thames Civil Defence controller Gary Towler. The region has experienced massive slips and land instability, compromising its entire roading network. ”Every time our land guys clear a slip, another one comes down right behind them,” Towler told Kerre Woodham Mornings on Newstalk ZB today. A number of houses in the Coromandel have already been red-stickered, Towler confirmed, as staff worked their way through affected areas to check the condition of housing. The other focus is power, which most of the area is still without. Powerco said it had 7462 customers without power in the Coromandel as of 8am today. ”We have the luxury of the New Zealand Defence Force, which we’re deploying on to the east coast today to do a lot of review work and drone work to get a good picture of what carnage was created,” Towler said. Meanwhile, critical assets such as generators and wastewater plants in the Coromandel are running out of diesel, which helicopters are bringing in for stock-ups as they can’t be accessed by road. If people are wanting to visit their homes and baches, Towler has told residents to “take a breath” and check the NZTA website and affiliated social media pages for information on road conditions. ”People need to have a go-bag and Plan B in case a slip blocks their path. That will be the case for the next five or six days,” he said. ”But people should check their properties as quickly as possible so we know if we’re dealing with any other stretches. Coromandel road information STATE HIGHWAYS SH25 Thames to Coromandel Town is CLOSED. SH25 Coromandel Town to Te Rerenga: Essential travel only. Drive with extra care. SH25 Te Rerenga to Kūaotunu is CLOSED. SH25 Kūaotunu to Whitianga: Essential travel only. Drive with extra care. SH25 Whitianga to Tairua. SH25 Hikuai to Onemana is CLOSED. SH25 Whangamatā to Waihī: Essential travel only. Drive with extra care. SH2 Paeroa to Waihī (Karangahake Gorge) is CLOSED. SH26 between SH2 and Paeroa-Tauhuna Rd is CLOSED. SH25A Kopu to Hikuai is CLOSED. Waikawau Beach Rd is CLOSED due to tree fall. Purangi Rd is OPEN to one lane. Hikuai Settlement Rd is OPEN. Sailors Grave Rd is OPEN to one lane. Pumpkin Hill Rd is OPEN to one lane. Koputauaki Bridge, Colville Road – No further monitoring required. ONGOING CLOSURES Coromandel/Colville: Colville Rd is CLOSED in several places due to overslips and dropouts. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Coromandel to Oamaru Bay CLOSED. Oamaru Bay to Amodeo Bay CLOSED. Amodeo Bay to Colville CLOSED. Colville to Port Jackson Road CLOSED. Te Kouma Road is CLOSED due to a large tree/slip blocking the road. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Port Jackson Rd is CLOSED due to multiple very large slips and dropouts. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Port Charles Rd is CLOSED due to an overslip 10.7km from the start of the road. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Puriri Rd is CLOSED due to a treefall and large slip Road will have to remain closed overnight. 309 Road is OPEN. Mercury Bay: Hot Water Beach Rd is CLOSED Between SH 25 and Parangi Road due to flooding. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Matarangi Rd is CLOSED due to a large slip. A crew will establish today. Road will have to remain closed overnight. Whangapoua Rd is CLOSED due to a slip. Tairua-Pāuanui: Puketui Valley Rd is CLOSED due to a slip Road will have to remain closed overnight. Whangamatā: Wentworth Valley Rd is CLOSED due to flooding. Thames: Tapu Coroglen Rd is CLOSED and impassable for the foreseeable future. Location is 10km from Tapu. Additional slips have been cleared for resident access. Kauaeranga Valley Rd is CLOSED due to flooding and large slips Road will have to remain closed overnight. Victoria St, Thames is CLOSED due to flooding and a large slip Road will have to remain closed overnight. Other: Blackjack Road is closed to all traffic except those requiring residential access. An area of road subject to previous damage has suffered significant movement overnight, and while passable with care, should not be used unless access is needed. Council geotechnical staff will inspect the area as soon as possible. Hauraki state of emergency Meanwhile, Hauraki District Council has issued an update on Cyclone Gabrielle. Residents are being asked to conserve water. “Due to river conditions with high levels of dirt and debris, we are struggling to produce as much water as we would like in Paeroa and Waihi. Please conserve water. If you noticed a drop in pressure around Waitakaruru, the Water Treatment Plant is now back up and running.” The council says it is continuing to support the clean-up effort around the district and evaluating damage. It is compiling a list of affected properties and completing a welfare needs assessment. “Please call our team on 07 862 8609 or 0800 734 834. Our team will then pass the information onto our Civil Defence Welfare team.” Building inspectors will be out checking damaged properties today. They will have their council identification with them. “They are there to help, so please let them into your properties to do this important work.” “Please call us if your house has been inundated with flood waters and our team will create a service request so our teams know to visit.” Local roads: Road between Whiritoa and Waihi – OPEN drive with extreme caution Ford Road, Waihi – CLOSED due to flooding Baxter Road, Waihi – CLOSED due to flooding Komata Reef Road, Komata – CLOSED due to multiple slips Bradshaw Road Bridge, Komata – WATCH FOR surface flooding Franklin Road, Waitawheta - CLOSED under slip Maratoto Road Bridge – Assessment ongoing - tree down blocking upstream East Coast Rd north and south OPEN but surface flooding Miranda/Findlay Rd – OPEN Kaiaua Rd – OPEN with flooding in patches State Highways SH2 Karangahake Gorge CLOSED - Paeroa to Waihi SH26 Criterion Bridge OPEN SH25 Between Whiritoa and Whangamata OPENSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Submissions on the Arms Regulations Review of Fees discussion document are currently being taken. Essentially, the submissions are based around the administering of gun licenses and other regulations surrounding the ownership of use and firearms. In many cases, police are proposing to raise fees from a few $100 to over $1000, and also apply fees to activities that have required no charges previously. Police are now proposing that collectors pay a fee of $1,100 for permission to remove a restricted firearm from their home to display at a public show or club event. That would mean, according to some, the end of public displays or military re-enactments by private collectors with their heritage firearms. One of those affected would be the annual Cambridge Armistice Day celebrations, which involves battle re-enactments. Organiser Paul Watkins joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Head analyst at WeatherWatch, Phillip Duncan, told Kerre Woodham it is remarkable how accurate computer modelling of Cyclone Gabrielle was, even as far as eight or nine days ago. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No wonder parents have trouble getting their kids to school. I've had parents who have phoned me, particularly in the last few months, saying they have real trouble getting their teenagers to school when the teenagers simply don't feel like going. And you can understand why. Schooling has been so disrupted over the years. The parents try to tell their kids that school's important, and the kids point to Covid being a time when they were told to stay at home and that they could learn just as well at home. Remember all the promises? Schooling wouldn't be disrupted, that there were plenty of programs that enabled students to learn as well at home as they did in the classroom, in fact, some children would learn better at home than in the classroom.   Now for the second Monday running, in Auckland kids have been told to stay at home again. Even when schools weren't affected by the flooding. Even when. With Cyclone Gabrielle nothing has happened really yet. As a precaution, kids are being told it's more important that they stay at home than they go to school. Some schools have opted to remain open, but they have been told that it would be a good idea for children to stay at home. I get why emergency services want this to happen.  But what message does this send to our children? Yet again, their education must be sacrificed for the greater good, be it Covid, be it floods, be it cyclones, there are greater priorities than education. And we've seen the result of that.  School attendance has been steadily declining since 2015 and was made worse by Covid. The fall has been across every decile, every year level, every ethnicity and every region. The biggest drop is among our primary and intermediate kids, and that is the very time that they should be building the foundations of their education.  Now many factors have been blamed for this: poverty, family violence, uninspiring curriculum, bullying at school. But the blame can also be laid at the feet of the authorities as well, from the Government through to regional authorities. If children are constantly being told that there are far more important things in the world than going to school, than getting an education, no wonder so many parents are having real trouble convincing their children that education is vital. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cyclone has given the battered Coromandel Peninsula another whack — with more on the way. Crews are working to clear widespread damage to the roads, with a lot of land unstable. There have also been power outages. Coromandel-Thames Civil Defence Gary Towler says that the region probably has up to 36 hours left of the storm to ride out. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

49 percent of New Zealanders believe the country is on the wrong track. 42 percent believe it's going in the right direction. 77 percent of people feel poorly or not so good about the economy. 22 percent think it's good or excellent, and this is one of the largest gaps since the pandemic. And yet, National is only slightly ahead of Labour in the latest polls from Talbot Mills, they also run Labour's private political polling. In the results, Te Pāti Māori would hold the balance of power when it came to forming a government. Get ready for another three years of a Labour/Greens government people. That is the joy of living in a democracy. How is it that when even Labour knows they're stuffing things up and getting things wrong, (hence the change of leader, hence the policy reset), there is still the potential for them to get another three years. I know at Newstalk ZB and this particular show, we're in our own little echo chamber here, but it can't be that Labour are doing things right. Even they know they're not doing things right. The poll says people are dissatisfied and worried about the economy, but voters don't feel that National is the overwhelming answer. Matthew Hooton, writing in the NZ Herald this morning, says National’s' nonchalance stems first from it not understanding just how badly Hipkins, Sepuloni, Robertson, Woods and Wood, want to win a third term. They don't appreciate their hunger, their desperate desire to see things through to get the policies they care about pushed through. Matthew Hooton says too, that National doesn't understand David Seymour's ACT party more than the Nats' only credible coalition partner. It seems likely that Christopher Luxon can't get National above 40 percent. I've spent time with Christopher Luxon. He's got all the figures; he's got an impressive grasp of detail. He's perfectly personable, but he's just not getting any cut through. I don't know what more he can do. He can't be somebody else. Somebody else could be the leader of the National Party, but I don't think that would work right now, especially after Labour has replaced its leader. It would look desperate and it would be desperate. I think Hooton is right, though. The best opportunity to gain traction on Labour would be for National to form a working alliance with ACT. Christopher Luxon and David Seymour need to show voters what a central right New Zealand would look like. We don't want any more empty rhetoric. We've had five years of sloganeering and empty rhetoric; we want good meaty policy. We want to see what New Zealand looks like with a centre-right influence and then we can decide. Winston Peters was right, that the only poll that matters is the one on voting day, but for National to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory would be one hell of an achievement, and certainly not one to be proud of.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sensible or cynical? Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the first of the Government's policies it will be scrapping in a bid to win back the support of those who have become disillusioned by Labour's lack of action and incoherent messaging. The TVNZ/RNZ merger has been scrapped for now. The hate speech reforms have gone back to the Law Commission. The Workplace Insurance scheme has gone, and in music to the ears of the unions and the lowly paid, the minimum wage has gone up again. Now that will delight those who are struggling. Really though, who isn't struggling with the rising cost of everything? But that money to pay the workers has to come from somewhere. Have businesses become that much more productive that wages can rise? Some may have, but as the Employers and Manufacturers Association says, an increase of $1.50 an hour to $22.70 is much more than was expected, and for the majority of businesses, it's problematic. Inevitably, in many cases it will be passed on to consumers through increased prices.  But is simply raising the minimum wage the way to create a productive first world country where everyone doesn't just survive, but thrives? I don't know. Like so much this Government has done, it looks way too simplistic to me. Can your business sustain this increase? And has Labour made these changes to the policies and raised the minimum wage because these are sensible decisions and the right thing to do?  Or is this a cynical ploy from an under pressure party who wants to ensure that they don't have to go looking for a real job a few months from now? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A storm system creeping towards New Zealand has similarities to Cyclone Gita, which hit several years ago. Cyclone Gabrielle is now sitting off Queensland's coast in the Coral Sea, and is on track to hit the North Island at the end of this week. WeatherWatch’s Philip Duncan joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.