Influencer Chantelle Baker is flying into disaster-struck Hawke’s Bay today ahead of 5000 litres of water fundraised through her social media channels.
As yet, Baker and her father Leighton have yet to secure a helicopter that can get the 5-tonne load up the coast to Wairoa, where donors were told the water was headed.
It’s a case which has highlighted the national empathy and people’s desire to help - and also the need for fundraising efforts to be centralised so they can be targeted where they will do the most good.
The Bakers’ efforts come as Red Cross - in association with NZ Herald and NZME - today announced the preferred mode of public donor support - by clicking redcross.org.nz/nz-disaster-fund.
Contrary to an earlier false statement - since retracted - by Chantelle Baker, 100 per cent of the funds donated go to communities affected by these events.
Leighton Baker - a right-leaning politicians planning a tilt at this year’s election - told the Herald he and his daughter made water their focus after a phone call to Wairoa mayor Craig Little.
“He said the one thing we haven’t got is fresh drinking water.”
So Chantelle Baker put the word out on social media - that was 4.22pm on February 15. She also positioned the Bakers’ fundraising drive as superior to those operated by Red Cross, falsely claiming “their donation is diluted through people paying the staff”.
By 4pm the next day, $6000 had been raised and 5000 litres of water was on a truck north from Canterbury. As yet, there is no confirmed route into Hawke’s Bay or a confirmed way to get the water to Wairoa.
Today it is expected NZDF’s water treatment system will be operating in the town, producing thousands of litres of water daily.
A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Authority said it was important those who wanted to help co-ordinated with authorities.
“We encourage people to talk to their local Civil Defence management groups. We’re encouraging people (who want to help) to donate cash.
“Often it is not donated goods because that creates logistical demands. You need a way to transport it and a distribution network. If you’re not doing it yourself then you’re relying on others who may be really busy.”
Leighton Baker said the effort to respond was a genuine response to the disaster after speaking to a local he knew whose house was destroyed.
That led to getting in touch with Little, the mayor, who said they didn’t have drinking water.
The consignment heading north had the water being shipped in a 1000-litre bin, 1000 1.5-litre bottles and 80 20-litre bottles.
The fundraising drive took Leighton Baker back to the first Christchurch earthquake in 2010 when supplies were trucked into Canterbury.
A community effort at Rangiora - where the Bakers were living - saw family members among those working in a commercial kitchen turning food into meals that were taken into Christchurch.
A builder by trade, he described himself as someone who was “practical in nature”.
“When you see a need you want to do your best to meet it. It’s a tiny thing. It won’t change the world but it has given people who aren’t there the chance to help and be involved.”
In response to questions about transparency, he said donation information, receipts and accounts would be posted online.
The fundraising drive created instant social media controversy after a year of Chantelle Baker monetising her viral success through a shop and requests for funding to support her alt-reality journalistic efforts.
When challenged online as to why she wasn’t donating through “reputable organisations like NZ Red Cross”, she incorrectly said: “People are more than welcome to donate to the Red Cross etc… their donation is diluted through people paying the staff”.
She asked people to donate to an account previously used to fundraise to cover her conspiracy-courting journalism.
“Any excess funds raised will be given directly to the Wairoa mayor for the city.”
In an email to the Herald, Chantelle Baker - who arrived in Napier this morning on a “self-funded” flight - said family involvement in the Canterbury earthquakes meant they “understand the difficulties between an overzealous public and the local government trying to keep people safe”.
She said this was why they had spoken to the Wairoa mayor and an iwi leader “who is co-ordinating the water delivery”.
Chantelle Baker said about $6000 had been raised and any excess funds “will be distributed at instruction by the mayor”.
“At this stage we do not have the final price for the helicopter to get the water in.”
Fundraising Institute of New Zealand co-chair Jim Datson said its code of ethics and legislation governing the sector meant the public could be assured its members operated within a transparent and strict framework that governed how it raised money.
“It ultimately comes down to the donor’s choice and most people will donate money to the place where they feel it will be best used.”
Datson said the empathy shown and desire to help was a “particular Kiwi attribute”.
“When times are tough, we do tend to get around and help those in need.”
Red Cross engagement general manager Shane Chisholm said: “In a good community, everyone pitches in. We want people to contribute. That might be financially, it might be with a chainsaw helping a neighbour, it might be local fundraising”.
However, he said it was important for those contributing to make use of central authorities such as Civil Defence or the National Emergency Management Authority to make sure the right help was going in the right place.
In the case of the cyclone disaster relief, Red Cross today announced a special appeal, supported by the NZ Herald and parent company NZME.
The Red Cross has set up a special NZ disaster fund to help those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other extreme weather events.
If you can, please donate to the appeal by clicking redcross.org.nz/nz-disaster-fund. No amount is too small.
“For an event such as this we like to set up a special appeal (and) we guarantee 100 per cent of the funds raised go to the emergency response,” Chisholm said.
He said any costs not directly related to disaster relief would be met by other funding.
“We are very careful when we ask Kiwis for financial support because we want to make sure we are going to use it carefully and transparently.”
Chantelle Baker’s Operation People alt-news channel and its social media streams have a strong following among those who rejected fact-based approaches to dealing with Covid-19 and subscribe to a range of conspiracy theories.
During the protest at Parliament a year ago, Chantelle Baker’s Facebook following grew to 100,000 before Meta deleted her account - and subsequent accounts - because of false and misleading claims.
Baker has since corrected her false claim that Red Cross cyclone relief donations are “diluted” through staff funding. She has yet to apologise.
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