"No One Came": How Māori Communities Were Abandoned During Cyclone Gabrielle

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2 days ago

Study reveals systemic failures in emergency response while documenting remarkable community resilience
Research documenting how Hauraki Māori were abandoned by authorities during Cyclone Gabrielle was presented to the Waitangi Tribunal's Climate Change Priority Inquiry last week, revealing institutional racism and systemic failure in New Zealand's disaster response.
The 95-page report "Hauraki Māori Weathering Cyclone Gabrielle," presented by Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki CEO Denise Messiter ONZM last week, was the first time the research had been made public since its completion in April.
The research, led by Director of Research at Te Whāriki Paora Moyle KSO and funded by the Health Research Council, was received with "considerable interest" by the Tribunal panel for its documentation of lived experiences and practical solutions.
"It Began Because They Did Nothing"
The study, involving 30 participants including whānau and Thames-Coromandel District Council personnel, exposes shocking failures in civil defence response.
"It began because they did nothing. I mean, seriously, absolutely nothing. We did our own emergency management planning," one participant told researchers.
Despite repeated requests for emergency equipment over several years, Māori communities received no support from local civil defence. When Cyclone Gabrielle struck, communities were cut off for up to 15 days, forcing them to establish their own emergency centres with minimal resources.
Generators for the Rich, Nothing for Marae
Most concerning is evidence of resource allocation disparities that the research describes as "21st century, well-tuned, well-willed institutional racism."
One participant recounted: "Our marae needed a generator, but when we asked for one, there were none available. Yet earlier that day, we saw a helicopter fly over us with three generators for a more well-off community."
Civil defence officials even attempted to commandeer food and resources that Māori communities had sourced themselves, to redistribute to people they deemed "more worthy."
When people living rough in tents sought help at official centres, "the council people who were there, didn't want to have a bar of them."
Generations of Knowledge Ignored
Perhaps most significant for the Climate Change Inquiry, authorities systematically ignore invaluable Māori ecological wisdom. Hauraki Māori possess deep intergenerational knowledge about weather patterns and environmental risks that could enhance climate resilience.
"We've been reading these weather patterns for generations, but no one seems to listen when we warn about potential flooding," one whānau member said.
The study found a stark disconnect between Māori ecological wisdom and regional governance, with authorities failing to integrate traditional environmental knowledge passed down through generations.
Communities Step Up Where Government Failed
Despite abandonment by authorities, Hauraki Māori demonstrated remarkable resilience. Communities reactivated COVID-19 networks, set up evacuation centres at local schools, and coordinated their own food distribution and emergency equipment.
The successful Hauraki Relocatable Housing Project, funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, provided transitional accommodation for damaged homes. One emotional account describes a wāhine who had been living in a shed with no plumbing: "She wailed. She wailed... it was like, you're at a tangi. It was, it was a real welcome home."
Constitutional Change Demanded
The research calls for the constitutional transformation that Matike Mai outlined in 2016 - where Māori exercise real decision-making power over emergency management, not just consultation:
Hapū and Iwi Emergency Response Assemblies that actually make decisions for their people
Marae recognised as critical emergency infrastructure, not afterthoughts
Emergency management laws that embed Māori governance instead of excluding it
An Emergency Management Tiriti Assembly where Māori and Crown work as equals, not the Crown telling Māori what to do
"We don't need to be saved by the Crown - we need the Crown to stop taking up 'look at me' space and just get out of our way," one participant noted.
Persistent Disadvantage Perpetuated
The study links emergency management failures to what the Productivity Commission terms "persistent disadvantage" affecting Māori communities. Many whānau described being "land-rich but cash-poor" due to historical land alienation, with bureaucratic barriers in housing recovery further compounding disadvantages.
Thames-Coromandel District Council participants acknowledged "historical trauma and mistrust" affecting Māori engagement, admitting their approach was often "process-driven and one-way instead of people-driven."
Climate Justice Implications
The research exposes how climate change impacts hit hardest on communities already facing systemic disadvantages - then authorities abandon them when disaster strikes.
"We've been reading these weather patterns for generations, but no one seems to listen when we warn about potential flooding," highlights how dismissing Māori ecological knowledge weakens the entire country's climate adaptation.
The systematic exclusion of Māori from emergency management decisions, combined with the failure to protect communities most vulnerable to climate impacts, presents compelling evidence of Crown Treaty breaches in climate policy.
The Waitangi Tribunal's findings could require fundamental changes to ensure Māori knowledge and communities are central to climate adaptation, not afterthoughts.
As the report concludes: "The time for action is now. Failure to act perpetuates injustice, while bold and principled transformation ensures a more substantial, safer, and just future for all."