National’s Christopher Luxon claims lack of action in orchard cyclone recovery

Christopher Luxon (third from right), during the National Party leader's visit to Puketapu on Friday. Photo / Paul Taylor

National Party leader Chris Luxon is fast becoming the disgruntled frequent-flyer of post-cyclone Hawke’s Bay, saying he’ll keep coming, but he doesn’t want to keep having the same conversations.

“Not enough real action is happening,” he said on Friday during his ninth visit as party leader to Hawke’s Bay in the 13 weeks since Cyclone Gabrielle. It was his fourth to the horticulturalists of the Puketapu area, one of numerous parts of Hawke’s Bay devastated in the tempest, which also claimed eight lives in the region.

His visit came two days ahead of a ministerial visit, of which he conceded he knew no details beyond expecting it will be more “announcements of announcements”.

“It’s really important to get out of Wellington and really actually hear it straight from the people,” he said after meeting victims. Lives and businesses were turned upside-down in the cyclone, one of the most widespread disasters in 19th-21st century New Zealand history.

“The message is pretty clear that, actually, not enough real action is happening,” he said. “People need massive amounts of clarity about whether they can rebuild, whether they can mitigate or whether they are actually going to have their [homes and businesses] red-stickered. It’s taking too long.”

“I just keep coming because I want to,” the Opposition leader said, but, having discussed with victims the plights and struggles they had faced, he added he doesn’t want to be having the “same conversation” in six months’ time.

“Nothing’s changed, and we haven’t got six months,” he said. “It has to happen now, because we’re already months late. It has been three months, and nothing has meaningfully changed in terms of clarity of land use and money flowing to people who desperately need it”, Luxon said.