Annual General Meeting 2023 Post-poned

Cyclone Gabrielle approaches NZ ( +25 Maps) | Weather Watch

Currently, there are two slips on State Highway 31 into Kāwhia with the possibility of more in the next three days, as the full impact of Cyclone Gabrielle hits.  The road remains open to traffic, but Waka Kotahi is calling for extreme caution when navigating the slips.

However, Trust chair, Cath Holland says, the New Zealand Government declared a 7-day National State of Emergency for only the third time in our history to assist in the response to Cyclone Gabrielle after it swept across the north island bringing widespread flooding, major slips and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. So the Waipapa Marae Trust has postponed the AGM 2023 until the following weekend, Sunday, 26 February 2023.  

Cath highlights the importance of the national emergency saying the Minister for Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty, signed the declaration this morning at 8.43 am.

"They are reserved only for huge emergencies, when a situation meets several legal tests, including overwhelmed emergency services and the real threat of danger to people's lives.  The last national emergency was the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and before that, the Canterbury earthquakes. The declaration applies to 6 regions including Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and Hawkes Bay," says the Trust chair.   

Cath says the trust has no yardstick to measure the extent to which our marae beneficiaries have been affected as Cyclone Gabrielle whips across the North Island causing flooding, damage and evacuations in many places.  She says it would be irresponsible of us to even consider encouraging beneficiaries to travel to Kāwhia in these weather conditions.

"Our message to everyone affected is safety first, look after each other, your whānau and your tamariki mokopuna. Please follow local Civil Defence advice and please minimise travel in affected areas.  If we had the ability to convene the AGM remotely, then we would consider this as an option.  However, we have neither a mandate nor the technology to do this," says Cath.

Now that a National State of Emergency has been declared,  she concludes this is a national disaster with a real threat to Aotearoa whānui.