The outgoing Buller mayor has made an impassioned plea for future leaders to continue climate adaptation work to help protect his flood-prone town of Westport.
Jamie Cleine cried as he told the Adaptation Futures Conference about the risk facing his townfrom multiple and increasingly damaging floods.
Westport has been repeatedly inundated by flooding since European settlement but that had escalated in recent years. The Buller River spilled through the town regularly, and July 2021’s flood left more than 100 homes uninhabitable.
“For those of us who live here, it often feels as though the question really isn’t ‘if’ something will happen but ‘when’,” Cleine told the climate conference on Monday.
“Right now, too many people have got no options when disaster strikes again. That’s what drives me to push for change, because we can and we must do better.”
Cleine had led the charge on climate adaptation work since becoming mayor in 2019.
In March, his council endorsed a plan which could see Westport eventually relocated to higher ground away from the Buller River.
He believed the public outcry from some contributed to him losing the mayoralty in this month’s election.
“I think long-term planning, this is a multi-decade strategy, is always difficult for people to see themselves in. Local government is under so much pressure at the moment and our community is under a lot of pressure with affordability and things,” he said.
Cleine said the next step for the Westport plan was getting it to a further design stage and then ready for investment.
“We are already working with the underlying landowner of target area Pāmu Farms, so work on that ultimately leading to some plan changes hopefully in the future then into civil design,” he said.
He had a clear message for the councils of tomorrow.
“Don’t leave it on a shelf somewhere. It is an insurance policy if you like for the community of Westport. I’d just implore leadership whatever guise that is and whoever is doing it to keep chipping away at it and just take those next incremental and brave steps I think to start solving some of these problems,” he said.
An aerial view of the eastern end of Westport during the July 2021 flood. Photo / Defence Force
Buller High School students told the climate conference of their fears for the town’s future.
Toroa Charteris said urgent action was needed.
“I was only 10 when Cyclone Fehi tore through my home. I lost everything, my childhood toys, my family photos and the walls that held all my memories. But what really stuck with me wasn’t just the loss of these physical things, it was the moment I realised how fragile life becomes when climate change [comes] crashing through your door,” she said.
High schooler Zabeel Scanlon said she had grown up in Westport and felt a sense of belonging there.
“But Westport is also where I’ve seen streets underwater, where I’ve watched families being displaced, and where I’ve realised, far too young, the decisions of today echo loudly into tomorrow,” she said.
The Adaptation Futures conference is running from October 13-16 at Te Pae Convention Centre in Christchurch. A key focus is how the world could adapt to climate change.
It is the largest ever climate event to be held in New Zealand, and more than 1800 scientists and public figures from around the world are participating in-person and online.
