Cyclone Gabrielle: Chief Ombudsman to visit weather-stricken regions next week

Peter Boshier.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier will be engaging with regions that were affected the most by severe weather events, beginning with Te Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay next week.

Having taken his education as a former student of Gisborne Boys’ High School and his parents having connections to Napier and Hastings, Boshier says the engagements with the regions will be to understand the issues facing them currently.

Across four days for his travels, the Ombudsman will consult with iwi and council leaders across Gisborne, Wairoa, Hastings and Napier.

“I am particularly keen to meet with iwi leaders next week because of the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the work that I do,” he says.

“In any natural disaster, both central and local government need to make a series of rapid decisions to respond to the immediate crisis and to help communities recover.

“As communities move from the immediate emergency response to the recovery phase, people are likely to have questions about these actions and decisions.

“My primary role is to investigate complaints about the actions and decisions made by central and local government agencies that affect people in New Zealand, to ensure they are being treated fairly and with honour. I know from past experience that the number of complaints my office receives goes up in the months after civil defence emergencies.”

Boshier will also visit Auckland, Northland and Coromandel in the next few months.

It comes as recovery continues for the affected regions, with some roads either cleared or fixed. But the damages are still being tended to, in particular the sheer amount of silt plaguing the lands.

Now, the Silt Recovery Taskforce has been set up by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Hastings District Council to help get rid of the millions of cubic metres of silt that washed down Hawke’s Bay’s rivers from the hills, devastating homes and properties.

Meanwhile, MetService has issued heavy rain warnings once again for Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay north of Napier, and a heavy rain watch south of Napier. The heavy rain warnings rain watch are expected to end early morning on Easter Sunday.