A need now to mend relationships

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

Opinion

Coordinated regional leadership on the big issues is something the Tairāwhiti has done well in recent years — getting the leaders of key organisations around the table, including government agency representatives, and pooling resources efficiently to develop fit-for-purpose local solutions.

Manaaki Tairāwhiti is a great example of this in the social sector that is held up nationally as a way for regions to be innovative and make the most of local and centrally-funded resources. There is also a wide group around the table developing and implementing the Tairāwhiti Economic Action Plan. Inter-related work includes the Tairāwhiti Regional Housing Strategy and two regional workforce plans.

In 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic threatening the lives of our most vulnerable people and communities, a new group was formed to lead the regional response and recovery — Rau Tipu Rau Ora. It brought together the council, the leaders of the district’s four iwi, Hauora Tairāwhiti, Trust Tairāwhiti and Eastland Group.

The work of Rau Tipu Rau Ora and the regional partnerships between iwi, iwi health providers, Hauora Tairāwhiti and central government helped this region achieve some of the highest Māori and Pacific Island vaccination rates and lowest hospitalisation rates in the country.

The potential for Rau Tipu Rau Ora to have a wider remit for emergency response and recovery planning and implementation was clearly being developed, but needed the backing of the party most accountable for this critical work region-wide — Gisborne District Council.

It would also need more resourcing, and this will likely be another reason the council has withdrawn from it — not wanting a new operational structure for the region that duplicates what organisations already have. Other reasons will be a muddying of lines of accountability, and maybe unwillingness to give up some control and itself be accountable to such a group.

There must have been signs all was not well for the effort to expand the role of Rau Tipu Rau Ora when one of the district’s four iwi chairs withdrew last year, as did the council chief executive.

It seems unfortunate that there was not clear communication and understanding among the parties, which could have avoided this messy divorce. It is essential that there is relationship mending now, as there is so much at stake. Our regional leaders need to work well together to have the best possible outcomes for the many challenges we face.