Cyclone Gabrielle: We need to work together and prioritise taking better care of the environment

OPINION:

The damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle can’t be understated.

Lives and livelihoods were lost, homes were destroyed and some things will never be the same again, especially along the east coast of New Zealand.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been helping Hawke’s Bay Today and its team during the response.

I managed the team of reporters and photographers from an office, never seeing the trail of destruction first-hand, but through stories and photographs, it became clear Gabrielle brought people closer together.

The response was a far cry from the divisive Parliament protest that happened about a year earlier.

The main focus of the protest was opposition to vaccination mandates the Government ordered as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but others challenged Three Waters reform, and some called for then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s resignation.

The occupation lasted 23 days and peaked in numbers of around 3000, disrupting the lives of many Wellingtonians, who had to deal with blocked-off city streets or faced abuse from protesters. Polls showed most people opposed the protest.

On March 2, the occupation reached boiling point as police began an operation to shut it down.

Hundreds of officers in riot gear and armed with batons and pepper spray clashed with protesters, who fought back by lighting fires and throwing objects such as bricks and wood.

It was tough to see, as was the destruction caused by Gabrielle.

But the response to the cyclone was completely different.

Shovelling a pile of silt in Eskdale in the week after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor

There have been tales of neighbours who had previously barely spoken to one another helping rescue each other from rising floods.

Strangers helped clean others’ houses and streets of debris and silt, while chefs and hospitality workers knuckled down to feed thousands of volunteers free of charge.

It’s the type of behaviour one would like to think would happen in such trying circumstances, but those stepping up are nonetheless awe-inspiring.

In another show of the country coming together, $13 million was raised for cyclone relief via the New Zealand Red Cross Disaster Fund.

What’s clear after Gabrielle is that society is not as divided as it might have seemed during the height of the pandemic and that people still care greatly about one another.

What’s also clear is the need to take climate change seriously.

Some argue that the climate is always changing and that climate hysteria is dangerous — both are true, but the evidence is all around us that we should take better care of the environment.

One can believe those statements and still do something.

The cyclone response has shown Kiwis have the spirit and the willingness to make the personal sacrifices to help one another out that are necessary if we want to keep enjoying life as we know it.