Heavy rain not the best sound

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Starting the working week with yet another Orange warning from the MetService in place was hardly encouraging for the district and there is a cruel twist as only a few days ago it looked like summer had arrived.

Record September temperatures had lifted the mood after one of the most protracted wet winters for a long time but yesterday started in a depressing way.

The sound of heavy rain early in the morning was something Gisborne city residents did not want to hear and those north of Tolaga Bay had even more cause for concern.

It was not good news for Gisborne District Council facing its challenging road to recovery.

For the rural economy there is the prospect of a long dry summer after the latest storm — a complete contrast from one season to another.

Even though the Rugby World Cup is starting to get to the money games, particularly for the All Blacks next weekend, the sporting scene from the weekend offered no bright spots.

The Warriors’ glorious run in the NRL ended with a heavy defeat but the fans can look back on one of their best seasons for more than a decade and the prospect of a brighter future under the leadership of coach Andrew Webster who has been a huge success in his first season.

Things were not looking quite so good for netball’s Silver Ferns who were beaten by a second string English team. Dame Noeline Taurua has a job trying to lift the morale of the team after a disastrous World Cup.

The only bright news for sports fans was another highly promising drive for Liam Lawson in the Japanese grand prix while more churlish fans will take delight in Australia’s loss to Wales.

On the serious side of the news cycle there was a major announcement from National Party leader Christopher Luxon that he would consider including New Zealand First in a coalition government.

It is a shrewd move from Luxon who realises that this election is still a close one to call and the lead of the right wing bloc at present is slim. Is Winston Peters back yet again?

One interesting aspect of the weekend’s campaigning by the leaders of the major parties National and Labour is the way they are managing their events with greater attention to guest lists and more security in a response to the deliberate planned noisy disruption seen in some recent fixtures.

That is all background noise, however, for Tairawhiti, still waiting to catch a break from the weather gods.