Viewpoint – Guarding against future disruptions

Well, that will have been a very rough last week for many readers of Mahurangi Matters. The recent onslaught of ex-Cyclone Tam has starkly highlighted the vulnerabilities in our local and regional infrastructure, particularly the power supply systems that we all depend upon daily. In the wake of the storm, thousands of households across Auckland, including the rural north Auckland areas within our Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate, were plunged into darkness. At its peak, approximately 20,000 homes experienced power outages due to the severe weather conditions.

While the workers in Vector’s crews worked hard to restore electricity – in difficult and at times dangerous conditions – I’m conscious that some residents endured several days without power. In some cases, constituents were advising me of the restoration of power only for a short period of time and then the loss again.

In these situations, such as we’ve faced before, my role is to liaise with authorities and providers about what I’m hearing from people on the ground. A number of you provided helpful information that I was able to pass on. Thank you for that.

It is hugely important that going forward we have fewer instances of falling trees taking out power lines.

The emergency response at the time is one thing, but I have thought for several years that we can do much better, on the basis that “prevention is better than cure”.

The government has been working on a set of rules that will make it easier for vegetation to be maintained in a way that fewer trees will fall onto power lines. You might not think it’d be too taxing a task, but it can be complicated where the owner of the land isn’t taking responsibility for keeping the trees at a reasonable distance, given that others are adversely affected by such decisions – other power users in the area, Vector, electricity retailers and emergency responders all have to pick up the pieces when trees left unchecked are accidents waiting to happen.

We are only getting more such events, certainly not fewer, so it’s incumbent on everyone to play their part to ensure that there will be less running around needed once the winds really start to blow next time.

In the meantime, to those affected by Cyclone Tam, please don’t hesitate to let us know if there is ongoing practical support needed in the aftermath. I am committed to working towards solutions that safeguard our communities against future disruptions.