WAATEA NEWS COLUMN: Marae & RSA should be resourced as the new front line in climate change
The climate change frontline in New Zealand isn’t Wellington — it’s local. As storms intensify, the call to fund marae climate response and community hubs like RSAs is becoming impossible to ignore.
I had the unpleasant experience of listening into Sean Plunket on The Platform this week.
They were mocking the idea that climate change is impacting Māori more.
One caller’s argument was how would the rain know how to harm Māori more.
They laughed. I cringed.
The level of bigotry and gleeful ignorance about how worsening climate change hurts indigenous people more was as callous as those on social media who were critical of media focus on Marae during the latest Cyclone (Vaianu) by questioning if white people were allowed to go to them.
Why climate change hits Māori communities harder
Firstly, climate change negatively impacts indigenous people more, because many indigenous people have been harmed by generational colonialism and resource exploitation and live in the poorest parts of the infrastructure, and that infrastructure is being overwhelmed by catastrophic climate change!
Secondly, Marae around the nation always open their space to everyone in the community who needs help.
No Marae turns people away during natural disasters.
They are the frontline of civil defence efforts right now alongside local Iwi Radio in helping keep the entire Community safe during these extreme weather events.
It is outrageous that the Labour-era Emergency Management Bill was scrapped in 2024 because National, ACT and NZ First were against the co-governance language.
This is ghastly politics.
Look.
The reality, whether you like it or not, is that climate change driven by human pollution is rapidly changing our climate. The modelling tells us that this is now the ‘norm’ moving forward and that these storms are going to get more intense and more damaging.
We must reframe our thinking about how we adapt to a climate that is rapidly changing for the worse.
This Government cut $21.794 million from Civil Defence last year, that is the total opposite of where we should be going!
We have to rethink what is important to invest into if we aren’t going to be serious about cutting emissions.
Adaptation is the new reality confronting us now.
Fund the frontline, not the rhetoric
Marae and RSA should start being funded directly from Civil Defence Funds to be regional and community hubs to prepare and respond during extreme weather events.
We must resource and empower the frontline of where climate change will hit us hardest.
Marae, RSA, schools and churches need to be seen as community focus points and invest accordingly for the climate challenges that will confront us.
When it comes to extreme climate change, this is the age of consequences whether we are ready or not.
There is no excuse for ignorance and racism in NZ. If you don’t like our indigenous people – move out! Maori were here first, Don’t Forget That! We can work in unison and it makes sense for them, RSA’s et al to be funded for climate/disaster support. Maori have “always” opened their doors to all in a catastrophe and treat everyone the same so long as YOU show some RESPECT. Time to bury the horrible, insidious RACISM out there. Also time a bill was introduced making it illegal to make racist statements or lobby to disadvantage their race. You can’t pick the bones of Maoridom then sit back and think you have done them a favour. OMG the gall of these extreme, ignorant people is astounding. I imagine you are the same thickos who support this vile CoC who last year stripped $21.794m from our Civil Defense budget! Was this also for the greedy gentry? Wake up you STUPID, STUPID people.
Sean punkit is a racist divisive self opinionated swine.