Alliance Party: East Coast Devastation Is A Political Failure, Not Just “Weather”

The Alliance Party says the devastation hitting the East Coast and Bay of Plenty this summer is the direct result of decades of political negligence and pandering to big business, rejecting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s claim that “we have always had extreme weather.”

Alliance spokesperson Victor Billot says yet again, a Kiwi summer has been marred by tragedy. He says while the rain is natural, the scale of the disaster, including the horrific loss of life at Mount Maunganui, is a human-made failure driven by morally bankrupt political decisions.

“The Prime Minister’s attempt to dismiss this as business-as-usual is an insult to the families mourning loved ones and the communities currently shovelling silt from their homes,” says Billot.

“For the Prime Minister to suggest we focus on ‘accountability, not ideology’ ignores the reality that it is his government’s ideology, slashing climate funding and resilience planning to pay for tax cuts for their rich mates, that is making these crises worse.”

Billot says the statistics are undeniable as Tauranga recorded its wettest day on record during the recent storm, with 274mm falling in 24 hours. Climate scientists warn that such events will destroy the economy if left unchecked.

“There was nothing inevitable about the scale of this loss. Damage can be mitigated through infrastructure investment and planning, but successive governments have chosen short-term self-interest over safety.”

The Alliance says the recurring scourge of forestry slash on the East Coast is an ongoing consequence of industry deregulation and free-market economics.

“Local people are under assault by slash washing through their valleys. Many of these same community members work in forestry, the industry with the highest workplace fatality rate in New Zealand. Lax regulation, driven by insider lobbying, has left us with both dangerous workplaces and environmental time bombs.”

Billot says the problem is systemic.

“Under the previous Labour government, we saw ministers far too cosy with the forestry industry, accepting donations and dragging their feet on inquiries into environmental damage. For the last generation, Government after Government has kicked the can down the road on climate action to protect corporate profits.”

The Alliance is calling for an immediate move toward a State-led “Just Transition” strategy.

“We cannot leave our future to the whims of the ‘free market’ that caused this mess. The Alliance calls for a National Strategic Plan backed by State investment to move us away from fossil fuels and high-risk monoculture forestry.”

“A just transition must be led by public works. We want to see the State directly employing workers in new, sustainable industries with guaranteed incomes, ensuring that the burden of climate change does not fall on the shoulders of the working class.”