Focus is on successful recovery

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

Opinion

Jack Tame regularly Skypes his 93-year-old grandmother. On his last chat she berated him that he was not “Zooming” her. She felt she was missing out. Such is the impact in this current environment. Daily Zoom usage has gone from 10 million to almost 300 million — not all businesses are in downturn.

Zoom is the current reality of council business. It's not totally transferable as best practice but it allows business continuation. “Unmute your mic,” is the phrase most used, and facial distortion and counting nose hairs can be distracting, but life can go on.

It's a very important time to stay informed. The talk is very much about what successful recovery will look like. The focus is on planning and strategising how any inevitable pain can be avoided or minimised.

While we are destined for hard times, the feedback is that we are grateful to be Kiwis and grateful to be of Te Tairawhiti. But there is going to be pain and we will all need each other to navigate through these trying times.

There is hardship and the council's Emergency Co-ordination Centre continues to assist with the provision of welfare support parcels. We also have the rates remissions for hardship. Now is not the time to be whakama (embarrassed). If the need is there, council wants to hear about it.

A crucial element of our recovery will be based around two important pieces of work — the TEAP (Tairawhiti Economic Action Plan) and the Spatial Plan. Both of these planning documents are future-focused. These are relatively fresh plans but we will be meeting on Thursday to revisit the Spatial Plan, to determine if there are appropriate changes to reflect the current reality.

We are in limbo at the moment awaiting the outcome of our applications to Government for shovel-ready projects. We were fortunate to have made progress on many projects, to have them sitting within guidelines. It is currently an unknown as to which way the funding will fall. The inbox is overflowing. Our projects put forward are Olympic pool redevelopment, wastewater treatment plant upgrade, 1000-year walkway bridge, the three waters healthy homes project, Waipaoa River flood control, managed aquifer recharge, Tairawhiti wharves restoration, township upgrades and the Turanga to Wairoa rail (in a support role). These projects have had a long gestation. Funding is the handbrake and any assistance is going to be hugely impactful to our ability to undertake these projects. They are all important for different but relevant reasons.

We don't know how the Government is going to react and prioritise. Staff have worked very hard and put forward strong cases. There is no priority or favouritism put forward on our part, and the outcome will have an element of luck. Notice has been given that decisions around this funding will be made this month, so it's fingers crossed.

While some sectors are picking up we are acutely aware of the extreme difficulty other sectors are under and the high level of uncertainty which must be keeping many awake at night. Through no fault of their own, the CBD businesses are perhaps the most exposed. As a community there will never be a more crucial time to shop local and support local businesses. We have entered a time where every dollar is going to count and maintaining those dollars regionally will be a survival tool we need to recognise and support.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of ex-councillor Atareta Poananga. Her time was too short. She was a true wahine toa and will be missed.