Hawke’s Bay Mayor should ask Wellington and Tauranga about woke weather warnings

Hawke’s Bay mayor says he refused state of emergency for Cyclone Vaianu, calls response ‘woke’

A Hawke’s Bay mayor claims the declaration of states of emergency for Cyclone Vaianu was “woke” decision-making, and says “there was a lot of panicking going on” over not too much.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier, Hastings, and Central Hawke’s Bay councils declared a local State of Emergency for coastal areas on Saturday at 11.56am.

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Wairoa mayor Craig Little said on Monday he was asked to join them but refused.

“We’re becoming woke as a country when it comes to states of emergency.”

RNZ

Ummmm.

Cough-cough, go tell Wellington about ‘woke weather’…

State of emergency in Wellington as more rain arrives after floods, slips

• Torrential rain has caused flooding in several Wellington suburbs and in parts of the central city
• A search and rescue operation is underway for a Karori man believed to have gone missing amid the flooding
• WREMO says Wellington residents in low lying and flood prone areas should self evacuate for the next 24 hours
• A Orange Heavy Rain Warning is in place for The Tararua Range, Wairarapa and Tararua District south of Woodville, also Wellington south of Tawa and the Hutt Valley and Kaikōura Coast
• A Strong Wind Watch is in place for Wellington and the Marlborough Sounds
• Parts of the lower North Island are cleaning up after flash flooding on Sunday.

RNZ

…the Right are playing culture war games with the catastrophic weather their climate change pollution is driving.

The Government’s climate change narrative is shifting in plain sight. During the latest storms, Ministers weren’t talking about solidarity, public support or collective response — they were praising “resilience” and “preparedness” in ways that sounded less like reassurance and more like a warning: you’re on your own.

Over the last week of storms, I’ve noticed a very different kind of messaging coming through.

I’ve heard every Government Minister fronting on the storm thanking Kiwis for being prepared and resilient without needing any Government aid.

There wasn’t praise for working together, or any mention of community. It was resilient Kiwis being thanked for self-sufficiency, like user pays climate change where worth is measured by whoever won’t cost the Government anything in civil defence support.

This narrative shift is a move by the political Right to create cultural acceptance that we can’t rely on the State for help during climate change events — events their policies are helping worsen.

It’s a move away from community and the collective, and towards cost-cutting dressed up as self-sufficiency.

What’s being normalised here matters. Because once disaster response is reframed as a test of personal resilience rather than a collective obligation, the State gets to step back while pretending it’s empowering people.

That’s the trick in this new climate change narrative. Responsibility is pushed downwards onto households and communities, while accountability is pushed upwards and out of reach.

Whero-neck Hawke’s Bay Mayor should ask Wellington and Tauranga about woke weather warnings.