Prime Minister Weekly Column
At just after midnight on Monday 14 November 2016, New Zealand was struck by another severe earthquake. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, one of New Zealand’s largest ever, was centred near Culverden in the South Island. It was felt throughout much of the country and subsequent aftershocks keep many New Zealanders on edge. It has caused serious damage to the north-east of the South Island, including our main arterial route of State Highway 1 and the well-known tourist town of Kaikoura, and claimed the lives of two people. My thoughts are with their family and friends and with all those who have been seriously affected. The response to the earthquake was swift. Within hours supplies and expertise were arriving in affected areas. The emergency services and support staff have done an extraordinary job and local communities have banded together to help each other out.
Kaikoura, a popular tourist destination famous for its whale watching activities, was one of the worst-affected areas. Landslips cut the town off from the rest of the South Island and stranded hundreds of tourists. We quickly deployed the New Zealand Defence Force and by the end…… of Wednesday nearly all the tourists who were stuck in Kaikoura had been evacuated. Vital services such as power and water are also being restored and we are also gaining a better understanding of the damage. I’ve visited the region twice this week and met with lots of locals and tourists on the ground. Those tourists couldn’t speak highly enough of the New Zealand community and of the local people giving them support and helping them out.
My message to the affected communities is the rest of New Zealand is standing alongside you to provide whatever support you need in the coming days, weeks and months. Yesterday, the Government confirmed a support package for small businesses in the region worst affected by the earthquakes. We are also working quickly to restore road access to Kaikoura as soon as we can. The Government Helpline has been activated to assist people needing financial and other support following the earthquake – it’s 0800 779 997 and will operate seven days a week from 7am to 9pm.
I would also like to reassure those overseas tourists planning holidays or visits to New Zealand that we are open for businesses. Only a small part of the country is affected. All our major international airports are open and our most popular tourist destinations of Queenstown and Rotorua have not been affected at all. A very small number of buildings have been damaged in our capital of Wellington but the city centre is pretty much back to business as usual. Even though the damage from the earthquake is serious, New Zealand is well placed to respond. The financial cost will be significant but we will bear that. Our books are in order and our debt levels low so we have the financial capacity to fix our broken infrastructure and to support our affected businesses and communities. We will rise to the challenge and we will rebuild.
