
King's Birthday Honours 2025: 7 from Hawke's Bay get gongs
The King's Birthday Honours announced today include seven Hawke's Bay people.
They are headed by officers of the Order of New Zealand (ONZM), John Daniel O'Sullivan, of Havelock North, for services to business and education; and Napier women Gail Patricia Spence, for services to language

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5 days ago
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'No One Came': How Māori Communities Were Abandoned During Cyclone Gabrielle
Press Release – Te Whariki Manawahine o Hauraki The 95-page report 'Hauraki Mori Weathering Cyclone Gabrielle,' presented by Te Whriki Manawhine O Hauraki CEO Denise Messiter ONZM last week, was the first time the research had been made public since its completion in April. 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. 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NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
King's Birthday Honours 2025: 7 from Hawke's Bay get gongs
The King's Birthday Honours announced today include seven Hawke's Bay people. They are headed by officers of the Order of New Zealand (ONZM), John Daniel O'Sullivan, of Havelock North, for services to business and education; and Napier women Gail Patricia Spence, for services to language


Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Concerns raised about Cave Rock cross lights
Concerns have been raised by some residents about the schedule, frequency, brightness and configuration of the Tuawera Cave Rock lights. Photo: Christchurch City Council Consultation has opened on Sumner's Cave Rock cross lights after residents raised concerns about their brightness, configuration and frequency. The Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote Community Board is now seeking public feedback on the issues created by the lights, which were installed on the former Christchurch signal station mast in December 2021. The board wants the community to tell it how the daily lighting hours should be managed and how frequently they should be lit. The lights are currently turned on between dusk and 11pm each day, except during Matariki or when a request is made for them to be switched off temporarily. The mast was lit for the first time to mark the coronation of King George VI in May 1937. More than 500 bulbs were lit, including those along the foreshore and pier. Photo: Supplied via Christchurch City Council The mast was erected in 1864 to signal the state of the bar to coastal ships entering or leaving the Ihutai Avon Heathcote Estuary. Black, ball-shaped markers were used to indicate the conditions. It was lit for the first time in May 1937 to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1953, and later as a community tradition for Easter, Anzac Day, Christmas and other significant national events such as VE Day. In 1961 the Sumner Lifeboat Institute took over the signal station as a lifeboat control tower and operated the lights intermittently for more than 30 years. After the signal house was damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes and repaired in 2016, a new deed was established in 2020 with Breakfree Foundation, allowing them to install, own and operate the lights. Funds were raised by the community and the solar powered lights were installed in 2021.