Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro was welcomed on to Waipatu Marae in Ngāti Kahungunu yesterday as a part of an East Coast tour assessing the damage from the deadly Cyclone Gabrielle.
It marks the first time Dame Cindy has visited the marae as the representative of the Crown.
In February 2023, Waipatu Marae served as an evacuation centre in the Hastings township, offering shelter for displaced whānau from Waiohiki who lost their homes to the cyclone.
Ngāti Kahungunu iwi chair Bayden Barber says 16 months on from the devastation, the work is not yet done.
Waipatu Marae served as an evacuation centre in the Hastings township during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Hawke’s Bay has seen nearly $5 billion poured into its revival. But the Governor-General heard there was still much to be repaired including roads between Napier and Taupō, and Napier and Wairoa, and rebuilding category 2C housing.
Waipatu Marae served as an evacuation centre in the Hastings township after the cyclone.
Joe Harawira, representative for the Governor-General, said he believed people wanted her to gather ideas to give to the Government and reframe its thinking to focus on people in need.
“Ko te hiahia a te iwi kia kohikohingia e te kāwanatianara ngā kōrero me ngā whakaaro kia hoatu ki te kāwanatanga, ka taea rānei e ia te takahuri i ngā whakaaro a te kāwanatanga kia aro mai ki tēnei iwi, noho pōkaikaha tonu nei.”
(“The people want the Governor to gather information and ideas to give to the Government, to make them pay attention to this people, who are still in trouble.”)
Today, the Governor-General’s entourage will travel to Takitimu Marae in Te Wairoa, to hear the pain and despair of whānau in the region.
