Te Puni Kōkiri

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 17

29/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri currently has 10 staff on the ground in Otaūtahi. TPK's Te Waipounamu staff resumed 'normal' working hours today.

Late last week TPK staff attended the "Immediate Welfare Needs" meeting at the EOC. Key issues included:

Development of Red Cross support plans post 11 April (when emergency grants are discontinued);
Increase in stress levels and requests for counselling;
Over-supply of food in eastern suburbs causing some concern;
Expected spike in unemployment in 6-8 weeks;
High levels of patronage at suburban bars raising questions about alcohol abuse and violence.

TPK staff worked with Whanganui River Trust Board to visit Whanganui whanau. These visits highlighted particular issues that were reflective of wider trends. In particular, the whanau were concerned about the potential for steep rent increases in private rental accommodation.

Last Friday TPK staff met with Rt Hon Kevin Rudd at Rehua Marae, together with Ngāi Tahu, NGO's and other Maori Stakeholders.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

Approximately 244 enquiries were processed over 23 - 25 March. Queries were mainly for WINZ and Red Cross and there was increased demand for Relationship Services.

Tenancy Protections and He Waka Tapu have completed their presence at Ngā Hau e Whā, and have resumed normal services at their respective bases.

TPK has reduced its presence at Ngā Hau e Whā to one Kaiwhakarite.

The Māori Land Court have had a presence at this RAC since last Thursday.

TPK continue to link clients up with the most appropriate counselling service which improves outcomes for clients. TPK are increasing our engagement with visitors to also ensure they are receiving the relevant and enough support at the RAC.

The Salvation Army has withdrawn indicated that it will provide services from their Linwood and Aranui headquarters, and that this is focused on 'last resort' financial support.

Māori Wardens

Wardens have relocated their operating base to 290 Ferry Road. They are continuing their door-to-door activities.

NGO Rebuild

The MSD convened meeting of NGO's last Wednesday addressed housing and environmental issues:

The rebuilding Kaiapoi plan has been released to the public and land remediation is underway. MSD is engaging Community Law to support landowners in settling with insurance companies. The availability of different types of temporary accommodation support was also discussed.
EQC is providing data for temporary housing modelling, they believe the final number of home needing a complete rebuild will be around 12,500.
Sewerage Treatment Plant is operating at 65% capacity. Sewerage and waste water pipes in eastern Christchurch are largely not working. This creates potential health issues. Industrial Plants are starting to reopen and this will put more pressure on the infrastructure.

Tribal Support Packages

Te Puni Kōkiri staff in Christchurch are still trying to gather all information on Tribal Support Packages in one place. If you are aware that your iwi have support packages in place, please could you email the details and the contact persons for this support to me, by return email?

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 16

23/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri currently has 14 staff on the ground in Otaūtahi.

Staff visited five schools with significant Māori student populations and/or Māori language programmes. All schools reported significant decline in student numbers (especially Māori students), although all students have been located. Also, some teachers have left Christchurch and their future plans are unclear. All schools reported concerns about low Māori enrolments, and the impact this would have on funding and staffing in 2012. Schools identified need for support for pastoral care for children and their families.

97% of all schools are now open. KKM o Te Whanau Tahi has high level of student attendance. A number of kohanga remain closed. The Kohanga Coordination Centre reported concern about forthcoming funding cycle (for four month period from April) because of low student numbers.

TPK staff attended two community information meetings. These meetings were chaired by Bob Parker, and CD, MSD, Police, Fire, EQC presented information. They also fielded questions (on a 1-1 basis). There was a low Māori attendance at these meetings.

Staff visited Lytlleton RAC and reported low visitor numbers. Rapaki marae has sustained minor damage from the 5.1 earthquale on 20th March.

Details of Te Kahui Manga website provided to field staff, so that they can support people to contact their iwi organizations.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

Approximately 159 enquiries processed over the last 2 days (21 & 22 March). Queries include: WINZ (47), Red Cross (48), HNZ (13), Salvation Army (28) and Christchurch CC (18). Approximately 4 sought counselling services. (NB, some clients may have visited more than one service provider).

The Salvation Army has withdrawn from this RAC after a very short attendance (1 day).

Report of particular case of unsanitary water (even after boiling), directed to Chch CC.

Māori Wardens

Wardens continued door-to-door activities. They reported ongoing demand for food, water, supplies for young and chemical toilets. There was on-going concerns that mains water was still not drinkable after extensive boiling. They are starting to encounter a number of people with serious addictions.

NGO Rebuild

At the MSD convened meeting of NGO's on Monday morning there was general discussion followed by a number of break-out groups. The general discussion highlighted the importance of: effective communications between parties; collaboration of effort; importance of clarifying funding arrangements for services. In the Māori sub-group, there was a particular focus on: Kanohi ki te kanohi engagement; community directed responses; support for high needs in the eastern suburbs; the value of locating agencies in communities; security issues(i.e. protection of property and safety of residents). Further meetings will be convened on a three weekly cycle.

Welfare Planning Group

A Welfare Planning Group meeting was held yesterday (including sub-groups). An initial report from Operation Suburbs has been prepared. A further version will be developed that will include ethnicity data. A data map will be presented on Friday as the basis for needs assessment.

TPK has been asked for details of addresses that were visited by Ngāi Tahu and Māori Wardens, as well as Red Cross data that we have. The CD National Controller has stressed the importance of data sharing among welfare agencies. [note: the Privacy Commissioner has prepared an interim code to enable data sharing to support earthquake victims, which will remain in place until 24May].

A 'mood switch' has been noted generally among the community, with more people seeking counselling support.

Education

This meeting reported 7000 displaced students, and identified difficulties in tracking these children. [note: schools visited by TPK reported good tracking of, and connections with, Māori students]. There was some concern about the 'split shift' system from schools (with a morning shift and an afternoon shift for some schools at education hubs). This creates logistical issues in terms of (a) bus transport and (b) parental supervision. There was also some concern about the potential for truancy. It was also suggested that social service provision hubs could be located at schools. MoE will investigate availability of classrooms (either existing or pre-fabs) for this. Will be important to ensure services for Māori are fitted to the target population.

Psycho-Social

Focus on community resilience. MSD looking to provide training for NGOs generally. TPK has been asked to identify people with a background in community development to brief a meeting on community development and resilience.

He Oranga Pounamu (HOP)

HOP has assumed responsibility for planning and coordination of social services, across Ngai Tahu, Māori NGOs, Wardens, and other stakeholders. TPK met with CE of HOP to discuss development of a draft action plan. A meeting with NGOs is scheduled for 28 March to confirm the plan. Its key focus will be the establishment of multidisciplinary kaiarahi teams, based on the kaitoko whanau approach.

Tribal Support Packages

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 15

21/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri had 10 staff on the ground over the weekend.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

Approximately 60 enquiries processed in total (18, 19 & 20 March). Queries include: WINZ (22), Red Cross (12), HNZ (6), Victim support (2), Ngāi Tahu (2) and Christchurch CC (2). Approximately 11 sought counselling services.

A hui was held on Friday between TPK, TAC manager, marae manager and MSD General Manager. The role of the RAC was clarified and it was communicated that the RAC will remain open for at least the next 3-6 months.

Throughput at the RAC will be monitored over the next 48 to ascertain future TPK staffing requirements (external to Chch based staff).

A community barbeque was held at the marae on Saturday.

Māori Wardens

The Wardens attended the Canterbury Memorial Service on Friday. They continue their door-to-door activities.

Rehua Marae

Activities have slowed at the marae. TPK are no longer based in the wharekai and are now operating in a separate building at Rehua. Rehua Marae hosted a whanau day yesterday. A community event is also being planned at Rapaki marae in the near future – more details to come.

TPK Emergency Operation Centre response efforts yesterday:

Issue	TPK Action	Response	TPK Follow up
Welfare planning	Making contact with key people	TPK seeking confirmation of key contacts to be included in email distribution lists and to attend various planning meetings	Follow up emails if required

Tribal Support Packages

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 14

18/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri has 12 staff on the ground, two of whom were lucky enough to meet HRH Prince William at the Civil Defence HQ in the city.

Ngai Tuahuriri opened today's national service with prayers of thanksgiving led by Henare Rakiihia Tau, Upoko Runanga, Ngai Tuahuriri. Many thousands of Cantabrians attended.

TPK staff member visited the Hagley Park RAC which has been open for a week. Staff reported a low visitor rate, with 19 visitors being the highest number so far. No hard data relating to Maori visiting this RAC, at an estimate less than 5% of the total visitor population.

TPK staff member visited the Aranui RAC and made contact with the manager there offering TPK support. At this stage the RAC has sufficient personnel to cope with demand.

TPK visited Rapaki Marae in Lyttleton to discuss a whanau day on or around the 20th March and also to make the offer of TPK support. Tuahiwi and Rehua Marae will hold similar events. The main objective of the day is for whanau to gather and relax as the 20th has been publicized as the day of another major quake.

Following the MBFS survey, three clients have been engaged, two have requested mentoring support. The database from Enterprise Waitaha has been received and comparison with the MBFS database is approximately 40% complete.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

254 enquiries processed in total (16 & 17 March). Queries include: WINZ (125), Red Cross (58), HNZ (26), IRD (5) and Christchurch CC (13). Approximately 19 have sought counselling services.

TPK continue to manaaki people entering and leaving RAC. TPK have also been providing online access to print bank statements etc for WINZ and Red Cross applications.

There appears to be a shift in the main concern for visitors. With the onset of winter, whanau are increasingly concerned about weather proofing their homes. Fletchers builders (contracted by EQC) have a phone number for people to call and they will deploy builders to ensure homes are sanitary, safe and weatherproof. This number is provided at the RAC to clients if needed.

Māori Wardens

Wardens continue door-to-door activities. There is some concern from Wardens that detailed information gathered from the field is not being followed up. Demand continues for food and water packs and there are reports of people desperate to leave Christchurch before the 20th March.

Rehua Marae

Activities have slowed at the marae. TPK are no longer based in the wharekai and are now operating in a separate building at Rehua.

Wigram

Continue to establish presence at Wigram.

NGO Rebuild

Several NGOs met yesterday to discuss the past three weeks and issues faced by the NGOs in moving forward in the recovery.

The general message communicated was a desire for a collective approach moving forward. This includes the sharing of data. Those present acknowledged that they are committed for the long haul. Ngai Tahu will continue to lead these discussions.

The next hui will be Monday 21 March, 1pm at Rehua. Prior to the hui an email will be distributed containing the key points from yesterday's hui and some models for progressing as a collective. This will form the basis of discussion for Monday.

TPK Emergency Operation Centre response efforts yesterday:

Issue	TPK Action	Response	TPK Follow up
Red Cross	Misinformation circulated that Red Cross were no longer accepting applications, TPK sought clarification.	Red Cross clarified that hardship grant forms continue to be accepted. There is no need for people to fill in the registration form to process an application. The registration forms are to record information regarding displaced people/families. It was indicated that in the near future a cut-off date for hardship grant applications may be announced.	Find out when cut-off date is for the Red Cross hardship grant and inform staff at RAC.
MSD	Information gathering	At TPK request MSD have shared some data relating to the amount paid out for Civil Defence grants (amount of applications and acceptance rate).	Analyse data and follow up for any further information useful for TPK planning.
Community briefings (Civil Defence)	Meeting key contacts and introductions	Round 2 of the community briefings commence Monday 21 March. Key agencies/organizations provide information and updates. This time also allows for one on one discussion with the various representatives.	Discuss the potential for TPK presence at the briefings. Contact the community relations manager to discuss/confirm.

Tribal Support Packages

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 13

16/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri has 12 staff on the ground as at yesterday.

There were approximately 65 calls to the 0800 KAITAHU line on Monday. Of these calls, approximately 75% were from Christchurch East.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

105 enquiries processed in total. Queries include: WINZ (35), Red Cross (21), HNZ (10), and Christchurch CC (7). People are primarily seeking food and financial assistance. No major health issues raised today. A small number sought counselling services.

TPK continue to manaaki people entering and leaving RAC. TPK have also been providing online access to print bank statements etc for WINZ and Red Cross applications.

Several more social workers/counsellors arrived today. They have been linked with the appropriate contact to deploy them out in to the field. It has been reported that some whānau have only recently engaged with providers, however on the other hand some households are reporting multiple home visits by various agencies/services.

TPK staff visited Lyttleton, Beckenham, New Brighton and Aranui RACs. Over approximately 20% visitors to the Beckenham and Aranui RACs identified as Māori. There is no TPK presence at the Aranui RAC which appears to have the highest attendance of Māori.

Fielded several calls on the TPK 0800 number. Some were from people seeking financial assistance as they have relocated or wish to relocate. Some seeking assistance were referred to the closest RAC.

Māori Wardens

There are currently 30 Māori Wardens deployed in Christchurch East and are based now at the Roy Stokes Hall in New Brighton. Wardens continue door-to-door activities. Approximately 132 houses in Avondale,Bexley and Phillipstown were visited on Monday. Food parcels have been replenished by the Salvation Army. Salvation Army are asking for address information for those who receive parcels as some families appear to be visiting multiple centres for food. Lack of toilets continues to be reported.

No people home in a good percentage of houses visited by the Wardens.

Rehua Marae

Activities have slowed at the marae.

Wigram

Continue to establish presence at Wigram.

TPK Emergency Operation Centre response efforts yesterday:

Issue	TPK Action	Response	TPK Follow up
Tainui Builders Roopu.	Information gathering to inform TPK 30 day plan for WPG	Builders have been deployed to privately owned homes. Going into the homes, the builders are faced with requests for welfare and health assistance. Builders have collected a wealth of information.	TPK to investigate the possibility of assisting with the collating and analysis of information. Investigate pairing the builders with Māori Wardens to field non building requests.
Maori Wardens	Information gathering to inform TPK 30 day plan for WPG	Māori Wardens are feeding information back to Ngāi Tahu for them to analyse and report. Māori Wardens have reported that their role has become more along the lines of liaison officers.	Follow up with Ngai Tahu on 30 day plan 17/18 March. Investigate if Māori Wardens have any key data from the first 7 days following the earthquake.
Positive Directions Trust (PDT)	Provider to He Oranga Pounamu (contracted to Whanau Ora)	PDT is working alongside TRONT in the recovery phase. They require further funding and sought this through TPK.	Referred back to He Oranga Pounamu and then Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Māori Business Facilitation (MBFS) Activity

MBFS Commercial Development Manager received confirmation from two MBFS providers that they are up and running. This means that all four MBFS providers in Christchurch are operating, although all have relocated to temporary locations. Waitaha Enterprise will send through their database of members for TPK MBFS to conduct a comparison to identify Māori businesses that are not currently receiving facilitation and will make contact.

Stock take of affected Māori businesses, both MBFS and non-MBFS clients through a Business Impact Assessment survey using a questionnaire adapted from the survey tool used by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. So far, around 60 clients have been identified operating around the affected areas. As of 11 March,

38% (13 out of 34) of clients completed the survey
62% (21 out of 34) are still un-contactable, telephone lines were either disconnected or no one answering the phone. The MBFS staff on the ground will visit to these clients and assess the business situation
18% (6 out of 13) reported that their business had been highly affected such as (i) loss of revenue for 3 clients whose businesses are inside the cordoned off areas; (ii) damaged/loss of stocks or inventories; and (iii) for clients whose place of business are outside the earthquake zone reported losses due to cancellations (accommodation) and staff relocating in other areas (construction)
9% (3 out of 34) requested to meet with account managers

Offer of services to facilitate and broker access of private and public sector support services such as the WINZ's Earthquake Support Subsidy for employers and employees; IRD's tax relief packages; and mobile business centres through Recovery Canterbury.

Organising meetings/networking activity to provide a venue for Māori businesses to share experiences and potential solutions to jumpstart recovery for stronger Canterbury. This intervention may come in later when the immediate needs of the clients' whanau have been responded to.

Tribal Support Packages

Te Puni Kōkiri staff in Christchurch are trying to gather all information on Tribal Support Packages in one place. If you are aware that your iwi have support packages in place, please could you email the details and the contact persons for this support to me, by return email?

Big thanks to Te Puni Kōkiri – Derek Fox

Help from Te Puni Kokiri, Te Mangai Paho and Te Ohu Kaimoana led directly to about five thousand men women and children from the badly affected eastern suburbs of Christchurch getting something hot to eat, have a laugh and to get a bit of a lift from the trauma of their shattered lives following the devastating earthquake of February 22nd.

How, well with TPK's support a small team from Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Levin and Wellington travelled to Christchurch taking a mobile kitchen on a trailer from Flaxmere to Otautahi where 'Tunutunu' was parked up on the side of the road and sausages, patties, mussels and smoked eel – lots of them – were cooked up and served to hungry and grateful locals.

Te Mangai Paho helped us with transport and in return we broadcast back from Christchurch in Maori and in English into Maori radio.

The team was made up of Henare O'Keefe and his sister Moana from Flaxmere, Alan Ward from Taranaki, Aaron Smale from Levin and Jaewynn McKay and Derek Fox from Wellington. We crossed over to Te Waipounamu on Friday the 4th of March and were on the job cooking in Aranui from Saturday afternoon.

Our mandate was simple, go out there and cook and help however you can.

Although no one was counting in all we may have fed about 5000 people. We cooked about three and a half thousand sausages, a similar number of patties, 50kgs of mussels donated by Te Ohu Kaimoana and about 20kgs of smoked eels given to us by the good people of Rehua marae. Te Ohu Kaimoana also donated 20 punnets of kina.

In addition to that other people recognising our obvious penetration into the 'eastside' would drop some of their produce off to us for distribution, so the Federated Farmers Women would give use some of their precooked and packaged shepherds pies and other goodies to give away. Others dropped off sausages in addition to our own supplies along with baking and fruit. We had lollies for the kids and candles for people with out power – which included almost all of the eastside in the time we were there.

We made the corner of Pages and Breezes roads our own, cooking for about nine hours a day straight. We fed all comers, locals, the student army helping clean up the silt spread all over the place by the liquefaction, Red Cross workers doing the rounds, workers doing the dirty job of cleaning porta loos, police officers on patrol through the area, up to a hundred of the special team from around the world helping to identify the remains of the dead, the Governor-General and Tim Shadbolt the mayor of Invercargil who travelled with a bus load of students from his city to help with the clean up.

Some people were really starving, on day one a young man with tears in his eyes and starring lovingly at his hot sausage said he hadn't eaten for days and claimed we had saved his life – he had lost everything including the will to go on until that point.

Others thanked us for giving them something hot to eat; they had been without power, water, and sewerage for 12 days. No power means no hot food.

Others welcomed a respite from their broken homes and lives and enjoyed our silly banter and thanked us for the little things we could offer; they were staggered that we had come all the way from our homes to help.

From time to time too – again with the help of TPK – some Maori role models joined us and they really gave the locals a lift.

Te Hamua Nikora the host of the TV programme Homai te Pakipaki came down to help us for a day. He was so taken up with the project that he refused to go home the next day and only went the day after to get more clothes and permission from his wife to come back and stay for the rest of the week.

The rugby star brothers Rico and Hosea Gear joined us for a day and were a huge hit once people realised who was offering them their sausage, patties or whatever. So too was Te Kohe (TK) Tuhaka, one of the stars of Shortland Street and other TV productions.

A whole lot of people from Aranui, and almost the entire Australian Police contingent who came over to help, now have pictures with our role models in their green TPK shirts!

Of course our little team was just a small part of the TPK effort in Otautahi. TPK staffers from around the country were helping out in various centres around the city and the district. We were lucky in a sense in that we had a roving commission and were a bit like a guerrilla group able to go and set up where we felt we could do most good and simply start cooking – whenever we did people turned up.

But as I said at the beginning we couldn't have done this without the support of CE Leith Comer and TPK staff, John Bishara and his staff from Te Mangai Paho, and Peter Douglas from Te Ohu Kaimoana.

The Rehua and Nga Hau E Wha marae crews stored our perishables; and the Rehua cooks refused to let us leave each night without having kai regardless of how late we turned up.

We're very grateful to all of you.

Tena koutou katoa.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 12

14/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri has 11 staff on the ground as at yesterday and continues to rotate our Christchurch based staff with head office and regional staff. 30 Māori Wardens are deployed at Christchurch East and are now based at the Roy Stokes Hall in New Brighton. 16 of these are on duty at any one time. Ngāi Tahu and TPK are continuing to facilitate and broker a co-ordinated and complementary effort between the government and Māori sector. Focus remains on Christchurch East.

Christchurch based TPK staff have been directed to take special leave from this afternoon and for the rest of the week, including the weekend.

By the end of March the Chch TPK presence will be operating in a more conventional Business As Usual (BAU) manner, albeit a post quake BAU. Auxiliary cover is required for the RACs for the next 3 weeks (2-3 staff in RAC base at Nga Hau e Wha).

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

Te Puni Kōkiri continue to manaaki people entering and leaving RAC. Yesterday was a slow-ish day with 50 enquiries processed in total – broken down as follows: Work and Income (24), Red Cross (25), Housing NZ (5), and Christchurch City Council (4). This reflects people returning primarily for food and financial assistance. Continue to refer people for counselling services. Yesterday's referrals were noticeably for children. Received 5 requests for chemical toilets and 4 requests for portaloos – queries passed onto CCC to respond to.

Māori Wardens

Wardens continue door-to-door activities. They have delivered food parcels and chemical toilets, especially in the Linwood area. Have also assisted in delivering water to Pacific Island communities.

Rehua Marae

The support of the Marae at Rehua has been outstanding. Activities have slowed with no Red Cross application forms received yesterday.

Other Recovery Assistance Centre's

Staff visited Lyttelton RAC – fairly slow pace, similar to Ngā Hau e Wha RAC.

Potential Issues

Possibility of tension this week as people begin receiving confirmation (or not) of the welfare applications.

Accommodation Outside Christchurch

Co-ordination continues to work well for upper South Island marae and for Wellington marae. Evacuees mostly in transit and calling in at marae for showers, food, clothing. Wellington has around 60-70 ecavuees.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 11

11/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Good progress is being made at Ngā Hau e Whā as work from NGOs continues to scope out navigation and advocacy support to the affected whānau and communities in Christchurch East.
Coordination between iwi efforts and the government response continues. Coordination hub at Wigram airbase. From this coordination hub Ngāi Tahu distributes national Iwi contributions and food to whānau.
Te Puni Kōkiri currently has 22 staff on the ground as at Friday, 11 March and continues to rotate the Christchurch based staff with head office and regional office people. One team is deployed at Rehua Marae. One team is deployed at Ngā Hau e Whā Marae (operating as a Recovery Assistance Centre) to increase access to Christchurch East people. Thirty Māori Wardens are deployed in Christchurch East and are based now at the Roy Stokes Hall in New Brighton.
The 0800 KAI TAHU number continues to serve as an information and advice portal for iwi Māori, Pacific peoples and others, with many seeking information about accessing support, including financial support. The number of calls range between 30 - 60 per day.

Ngā Hau e Whā Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC)

Te Puni Kōkiri staff are working closely alongside the RAC manager at the marae.
There is a steady stream of enquiries received each day at the RAC, with Te Puni Kokiri staff assisting those that come to the RAC to engage with relevant agencies, which can take some time.
The Minister of Māori Affairs and Prime Minister visited Ngā Hau e Whā Marae on Thursday and were able to see firsthand the capacity of the marae to provide an environment that welcomed and supported the residents of Christchurch to access agency and NGO supports.

Māori Wardens

Their door to door activities continue and Wardens are referring residents to Ngā Hau e Whā Marae RAC.
Wardens have been well received by the community who were very appreciative of the delivery of Salvation Army family packs, which have been distributed from the Linwood food branch.
The Minister of Māori Affairs went out with the Wardens door knocking in the Bexley and Aranui area yesterday and continued to be appreciative of the importance of the role of Māori Wardens.

Marae Support

Co-ordination continues to work well for Upper South Island marae and for Wellington marae.
Marae continue to provide invaluable support to the families of all communities that have left Christchurch, including to families that have sought temporary respite from the city. An example of this support is the 17 families from the Bhutanese community being hosted by marae in Dunedin.
Wellington has around 60-70 evacuees across the region, with many of these families being supported to transition into temporary housing with whānau.
Elsewhere across the country marae have stepped in to support relocating whānau with short term accommodation and with support to re-engage with whānau in the communities they have travelled to.

Update on National Effort

At NCWG – work continues with planning for the psycho-social needs of those affected in Christchurch and those that have travelled to other parts of the country. Christchurch and Canterbury earthquakes provide a unique set of circumstances in terms of international experience, with two natural disasters in such close timing and proximity to each other and the on-going aftershocks meaning people will have a greater need for psycho-social assistance in the short and longer term.
Work continues on needs assessment and case management approaches to support people and the drawing together of learnings from agencies and NGOs in this situation.
Te Puni Kokiri met with representatives of the kaupapa awhi whānau roopu today that we had supported to travel to Christchurch in the week following 22 February. This was a group of highly skilled practitioners in social support and they provided a firsthand view of the needs presenting in the Māori community.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 10

9/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

As at Tuesday, 8 March – Te Puni Kōkiri staffing numbers

Staff
Kaiwhakarite	10
Māori Wardens	30
Admin/ Fielding calls	3
ELT/RD/Policy/IA/SS/PW	12
MBFS	1

Co-ordination between the iwi and government response continues.
Ngāi Tahu continues to distribute national iwi contributions and food to whānau, from the co-ordination hub at Wigram airbase.
The 0800 KAI TAHU number continues to serve as an information and advice portal for iwi Māori, Pacifika and others, with many seeking information about accessing support, including financial support. The number of calls range between 30 - 60 per day.
Te Puni Kōkiri staff on the ground continue to assist Ngāi Tahu and are still rotating its Christchurch based staff with head office and regional office people
Te Puni Kōkiri IT staff are going to Christchurch to improve the connectivity at Rehua Marae
The Minister of Māori Affairs and the Prime Minister will be in Christchurch tomorrow including visting Rehua Marae.
The Minister of Māori Affairs will also be visiting with the Māori Wardens.

Accommodation in Christchurch

Ngāi Tahu continue to co-ordinate Christchurch area marae through 0800 KAI TAHU.

Accommodation Outside Canterbury

Co-ordination continues to work well for Upper South Island and Wellington marae. There are fewer evacuees now transiting through, but those who are in transit continue to stop at marae for showers, food, clothing.
Wellington has around 60-70 evacuees (as at Tuesday, 8 March) in from the region. Forty evacuees are now settled at Te Kakano O Te Aroha Marae (Moera, Hutt Valley). All registrations have been completed and Work and Income benefits are now being accessed by the evacuees. Eight children started Kōhanga Reo and five started Primary School. Support for the adult evacuees such as health checks etc are being planned by Kōkiri Marae Social Services.
Takapuwahia Marae in Porirua yesterday was supporting 23 evacuees (11 adults and 12 children). Three more evacuees were expected. A plan is underway to provide housing options for these evacuees, while some are being placed with families in the community.
Rangitane are offering houses to support evacuees, potentially to house up to 80 whānau.

Update on National Effort

As the Government moves to set up a recovery structure/agency, requests are being made for further resourcing and commitment from all agencies to join the centre/PIM (public information management) set-up in Christchurch.

Communications Update

A whole-of-government communication co-ordination for all Christchurch earthquake communication from the state sector is being set up. It will be lead by Justine Gilliland (LINZ) / Jason Ryan (SSC) operating in Wellington; and Karl Ferguson/Spiro Anastasiou (Health) operating in Christchurch.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 9

7/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

As at Sunday, 6 March – Te Puni Kokiri staffing numbers

Kaiwhakarite	10
Māori Wardens	30
Admin/ Fielding calls	2
ELT/RD/Policy/IA/SS/PW	12

Te Puni Kōkiri and Ngāi Tahu working with Wajkato Tainui to co-ordinate the 40 Tainui person release team. builders that were welcomed at Rehua marae. The Tainui team which includes medical staff and builders has been deployed into the community today. Te Puni Kōkiri have been assisting the Fijian community with Red Cross registrations of which 56 were received. Te Puni Kōkiri continues to monitor agency levels of participation at these centres. Operation Suburbs has officially finished as they have reached their target of 50,000 houses. Te Puni Kōkiri is following this up as there is still more demand not being met. More information is expected on Wednesday, 9 March.

Ngā Hau e Wha marae is operating as a Recovery Assistance Centre (RAC), Ngā Hau e Wha marae is the host. The Ministry of Social Development is the centre manager, and Te Puni Kōkiri staff working closely alongside. There are 10 groups working from the marae, including Ngāi Tahu and various NGOs. The manager is following up the involvement of other agencies including Police and Health. Te Puni Kōkiri staff visited Brighton, Aranui Recreational and Linwood RAC centres to monitor number of agencies operating from these centres and levels of Māori residents seeking support. There is around 6 RACs operating with another 2 expected to open tomorrow. We will continue to encourage residents to visit RACs to register for whole of government response.

Up to 25 Māori Wardens are working in the eastern areas. Their door to door activities continue and wardens are referring residents to Ngā Hau e Wha Marae, key agencies, information and assisting with food and water distribution. The areas that have been checked include Rawhiti and New Brighton.

Tahu FM is up and broadcasting from a studio at the Wigram hub today. Ngāi Tahu and the Tahu FM crew extend their thanks to Te Upoko o te Ika, in particular Wena Tait, and the iwi radio network for the fantastic support and effort they have made since the earthquake.

Te Puni Kokiri has been invited to participate in the planning sub-groups which are being set up by WAG. Focus on Health, Education, Employment, Psycho-social and Housing.

Henare O'Keefe, his helpers and his mobile kitchen 'Tunutunu' were in hot demand over the weekend. On Saturday, around 300 people turned up for the great kai being served up. We would like to thank all those involved and those who continue to be involved.

Accommodation in Christchurch

Ngāi Tahu continue to coordinate marae accommodation through 0800 KAI TAHU.

Accommodation Outside Canterbury

The coordination of accommodation outside of Canterbury continues, working with Upper South Island marae and Wellington marae. Evacuees mostly in transit and calling in at marae for showers, food, clothing.

Update on National Effort

Ngāi Tahu continues to providing co-ordinate assistance to residents, with five NGOs operating. Te Arawa nurses are back operating in Christchurch. On Sunday 59 residents sought support from the marae and numbers are expected to increase today, Monday, 7 March.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has set up a temporary support base from Rehua.

Te Puni Kokiri attended the Psycho-social subgroup meeting today which has come out of the NWCG work.

Communications Update

All public sector communications managers are meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, 8th March to co-ordinate communications across agencies.

The Minister of Maori Affairs will visit Christchurch on Thursday.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 8

4/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Our office in Christchurch has been allocated a yellow sticker level 1, which means that the staff can only get into the offices to get access to equipment and papers, and then get out again.

Te Puni Kōkiri now have 25 staff on the ground assisting Ngāi Tahu and continues to rotate Christchurch based staff with head office and regional office people. There continues to be teams based Rehua marae, Ngā Hau e Whā marae (operating as a recovery Assistance Centre) and Ngāi Tahu's coordination centre at Wigram (providing analytical capability and reporting).

A second welfare planning group hui was held today, and a 14 day plan draft was tabled, and there are to be committees established re; health, temporary accommodation, employment, education, social support and Māori strategy. Two hundred hot food trays have been sent out to the community (Remy Emery).

Te Puni Kōkiri presence at the following sites

Rehua marae
Ngā Hau e Wha marae
Cowle Stadium
Civil Defence Emergency Management Centre

Agencies co-located

Ngāi Tahu, Te Arawa Nurses, HNZC
Opening tomorrow as a Recovery Assistance Centre (approved by WAG) NGOS and WINZ, NZ Police, Ngāi Tahu, Red Cross – likely that more agencies will arrive
HNZC, MSD
Civil Defence

An additional 20 Māori Wardens (a total of almost 70 Māori wardens) have been deployed to assist NZ Police with checking on residents wellbeing during the day and evenings in identified hotspots in Christchurch East. Māori Wardens are based at the Salvation Army.

Accommodation in Christchurch

Ngāi Tahu continue to coordinate accommodation through 0800 KAI TAHU. Tuahiwi marae is accommodating more than 20 people, catering for up to 100 dinners, and still receiving donations of food. The number of displaced people seeking accommodation has decreased, however the demand for and on service workers has increased.

Accommodation Outside Canterbury

Update on National Effort

Te Puawaitanga (Māori Women's Welfare League) will operate as key entity for other Māori health organisations to umbrella under for the purposes of logistical and supply support from the CDHB.

Tainui is deploying its advance team today and tomorrow to set a forward base at Lincoln University. They expect to deploy several medical teams (nurses and GPs) on the ground over the next few days to support efforts from public health authorities. This has been linked in with the Ministry of Health and the Canterbury District Health Board.

The Ministry of Social Development are collating data on those on the DPB and other vulnerable families including that in Christchurch East to assist with the effective allocation of portaloos. Additionally there are two sub-groups being established one for psycho/social and the other for housing, both of which Te Puni Kōkiri will participate.

Communications Update

All public sector communications managers are meeting Tuesday, 8th March to co-ordinate communications across agencies.

Update from Regions

Some regions (include Takitimu, Te Arawa, Taitokerau) are reporting that displaced Christchurch people and whānau are arriving in their regions, either in transit or seeking accommodation, and students who have enrolled in their institutions to continue their study.

NOTE: there will be no bulletins this weekend, Saturday, 5 March and Sunday, 6 March.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 7

3/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri staff have spent the last two days setting up offices at Ngāi Tahu's Wigram hub, which is expected to our permanent base for the next few months– many thanks go to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. From this coordination hub Ngāi Tahu also distributes national iwi contributions and food to whānau, today many of the loaded vehicles head out to the eastern suburbs.

Te Puni Kōkiri have 22 staff on the ground assisting Ngāi Tahu and is rotating its Christchurch based staff with head office and regional office people (see CE's email to all staff further down). One team is deployed at Rehua Marae. A second team is deployed at Ngā Hau e Whā Marae to increase access to Christchurch East. A third team are at Ngāi Tahu's coordination centre at Wigram to provide analytical capability and reporting. Te Puni Kōkiri staff continue to be allocated to mobile Work and Income offices to assist with welfare efforts. Te Puni Kōkiri, Māori Wardens and Ngāi Tahu staff will be enhancing their door knocking efforts in Christchurch East to support Operation Suburb.

Ngā Hau e Whā Marae in Aranui will be operating as a Recovery Assistance Centre from Friday 4 March. The marae will be used as a base for government agencies and community service providers to support east Christchurch residents. Everybody is welcome to call into the Marae at 250 Pages Rd, Aranui for support. Operating hours will be 9.00am to 3.00pm for 7 days a week until further notice. WINZ, Red Cross and social and health services will be based at the Marae.

Operation Suburb currently has 200 teams in the field. TPK are working well with these teams and information is being shared. Operation Suburb is setting up 10 recovery centres across the city, it is expected that 6 of these will be in the east.

Te Puni Kōkiri are hoping to gain access to their offices in Kilmore Street tomorrow. The intention is to relocate vehicles left parked there last Tuesday and also to remove any equipment easily got from inside the office.

Accommodation in Christchurch

Ngāi Tahu continues to co-ordinate the Christchurch area marae through 0800 KAI TAHU. Rehua marae is operating now only as an operational support centre. All marae that are in a position to take whānau in the Canterbury region have been opened and are being supported. Tuahiwi marae, Takahanga Marae (Kaikoura) and Te Aitarakihi Marae (Timaru) have been very busy. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is providing practical supplies to marae in the immediate area e.g. fuel, gas, food, blankets. Canned food and water is what is needed most and these can be sent to the Wigram Hub, Corsair Drive, Wigram. The Pasifika community are now also accessing resources at Wigram.

Update on National Effort

Te Puni Kōkiri attended the NGO meeting in Christchurch today. Approximately 200 participants representing 48 organisations were in attendance.

Some iwi providers (Te Arawa and Tainui) have groups of medical people travelling to Christchurch (Six Te Arawa nurses are on the ground but are shortly to leave) and these are being linked through public health authorities to the main health response. Arrangements are in place for the deployment of the Tainui group.

Communications Update

0800 number - Te Puni Kōkiri will shortly have an 0800 number that will terminate at Head Office able to take all quake related calls from around the country. Tunutunu - Henare O'Keefe and his mobile Tunutunu will be having their first outing this Saturday, 5 March at Ngā Hau e Wha marae. Te Hamua Nikora will be helping out with Saturday's effort.

2 degrees are hoping to have a portable caravan for people to charge their cell phones alongside Tunutunu. It is also hoped that MSD/Work and Income's mobile office will also be there.

Update from Head Office

Volunteers - Te Puni Kōkiri volunteers' rosters and rotations are being co-ordinated by HR.
Resources - All the IT/communications and resources required for the three hubs are being organized.
Accommodation - Consideration is being given to the medium term plans for staff accommodation.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 6

2/03/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri are establishing another operational base at Nga Hau e Wha, this will be operational by tomorrow. This second operational site is being established to complement the existing operational site at Rehua Marae to provide greater proximity of efforts to Christchurch East. Other agencies will be invited to co-locate there, following discussions with Norm Dewes at Ngā Hau e Whā today.

Any in-bound health support offers from iwi groups have been put on stand-by until coordination with Canterbury District Health Board is improved.

TPK currently has 14 staff on the ground assisting Ngāi Tahu and is rotating its Christchurch based staff with head office and regional office people. A second team of staff is being mobilised for deployment at Ngā Hau e Whā Marae to increase access to Aranui and the other eastern suburbs.

TPK staff continued to be allocated to welfare centres and to mobile Work and Income offices to assist with welfare efforts. The number of TPK will boosted tomorrow by another 8 or so. Some who have been in Otautahi for the last week will be withdrawn for a few days.

A further group of over 20 Māori Wardens (to complement those already down there) arrived today and are already working in the field.

The wind has picked up and so too has the dust from the liquefaction and asbestos. Any people travelling to Otautahi are advised to take with them masks, eye protection and drops, hand sanitisers, wipes etc.

Accommodation in Christchurch

There are no clear stats yet on the number of people who have relocated out of Otautahi, but it is know that there have been 3,000 new enrolments in schools in the last week, mostly in other parts of the South Island.

Accommodation issues and pressures are getting attention around the country. In instances where agreements state that broken houses have to be fixed within 14 days – clearly that is not going to happen and degrees of flexibility will be required.

Update on National Effort

Physco-social response is developing. TPK deputy secretary (Whanau and Social Policy Wahanga) Geoff Short and his director of operations – Di Grennell will be travelling to Otautahi tomorrow to assist with the co-ordination of the NGO effort and attend the NGO hui being held. MSD have hired the Canterbury Netballs Courts for the next month to be used as a base for the NGO effort.

The Red Cross advise that so far 10,000 registration forms have been received.

Te Puni Kōkiri today sought volunteers to assist with the Māori response in Otautahi from staff from the Māori Trustee Office, Te Mangai Pahi, Te Taura Whiri and Māori Television, realising that the Maori effort will be in Otautahi for the long haul.

Update from Regions

TPK Takitimu advise that as at 12noon today they were aware that 48 evacuees had arrived in that region; Waikato office were aware of 156 and Tairawhiti evacuees are starting to trickle in. However, the closest airport that any Tairawhiti bound evacuees appear to be landing in is Napier. Te Rūnanga o Ngati Porou are mobilising their bus to meet any Tairawhiti bound evacuees at Napier airport and transport them north.

Communications Update

Te Mangai Paho and Te Puni Kōkiri have joined forces to provide an increase in radio broadcasting out of the troubled areas by putting a small mobile team into the region to provide hourly input into the Maori radio network and on the TahuFM frequency via Te Upoko o Te Ika.

Te Puni Kōkiri is facilitating Henare O'Keefe and his mobile kitchen – Tunutunu – to be taken down to Christchurch and into the eastern suburbs in particular to provide kai with the help of some Māori role models. Henare has also received tremendous support from the people of Takitimu in this effort. Tunutunu's first "outing" in Aranui will be on Saturday.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 5

1/03/2011

Update from Otautahi

Te Puni Kōkiri are working hard with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to cement their plan of action. Cannot stress enough how important it is for the Maori effort to be co-ordinated and to link in with the overall Emergency Response. We have to ensure we are a part of the BIG effort and not one of many "little" efforts. The government has a long-term responsibility and the Māori effort needs to be in sync with it.

To assist with co-ordinating the NGO effort, the Ministry of Health will have in place tomorrow a dedicated contact for the Māori NGO effort based in Chch.

TPK staff are assisting the student volunteer army with its efforts to do face to face engagement with residents in Christchurch East and provide fliers with essential information to those not yet visited by Operation Suburb.

TPK staff have supported visits to Otautahi by Hon Georgina te Heuheu in her capacity as Minister of Pacific Island Affairs and Hon Hekia Parata in her capacity as Minister or Women's Affairs.

20 Māori Wardens are linked with NZ Police and assisting with patrolling during the day and evening in identified hotspots in Christchurch East.

Update on National Effort

Co-ordination continues to work well for Upper South Island marae and for Wellington marae. No significant increase in demand outside of Christchurch, marae contacted yesterday reporting small numbers actually staying at the marae. Evacuees mostly in transit and calling in at marae for showers, food, clothing, toiletries etc. Marae are also being used as a base to register and assess evacuee needs.

Evacuees also being increasingly placed with families in the community.

A Help for Housing New Zealand Tenants – factsheet was released yesterday, please see copy attached and be sure to relay this information to relevant friends and whanau who may still be with access to phones etc.

Whilst there have been thousands of offers of accommodation (short and medium term) from throughout the country and fewer than 400 requests for accommodation have been received thus far – there have been few "matches". With the number of house inspections now numbering around 9,000 a day it is expected that accommodation requests will rise sharply in the coming days.

Update from Wellington

As a follow up to the governments Earthquake Employment Support Package announced yesterday, it can be confirmed that NGO's are eligible for the Workforce Payments. See the link below for more information on yesterday's announcements.

$3.5million has been made available for trauma counseling.

www.msd.govt.nz

Update from Auckland

At the Tamaki WAG meeting it was reported that 10,500 evacuees have arrived in Auckland since Monday – many via Whenuapai airbase. Local kura are opening their doors to new students.

Update from Penrhyn, Cook Islands

The Cook Islands Government requested that the country observe 2 minutes silence and pray for the people of Christchurch at 1:51pm today. Please find attached a heartfelt photo of the entire Omoka School in Penrhyn.

Useful numbers and websites

Government earthquake helpline: 0800 779 997
Māori/Pacifica/ethnic communities helpline: 0800 KAI TAHU (0800 524 824)
Additional ethnic communities helpline: 3555615 ext: 721 (9am-7pm)
Missing people inquiries: 0800 733 276 or 0800 RED CROSS
Healthline: 0800 611 116
EQC claim line: 0800 DAMAGE (326243)
Housing Help 0800 HELP 00 (0800 435 700)
www.canterburyearthquake.org.nz (for key information, council and Civil Defence updates)
http://www.civildefence.govt.nz (for key information and status updates)
www.eq.org.nz (Chch recovery may where the community can report local information, e.g hazards, infrastructure)
www.google.com/crisisresponse/christchurch_earthquake.html (Google crisis response, includes person finder and map)
www.sva.org.nz (for info on the Student Volunteer Army, and how to become a SVA volunteer)
www.tpk.govt.nz

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 4

28/02/2011

Update from Ōtautahi

The centre for the government support (National Crisis Management Centre) is now being run out of Christchurch. Their action plan for the next week will be the co-ordination of resources; provision of health care, stress relief and evacuating people from Christchurch.

Co-ordination between iwi efforts and the government response is continuing. TPK Māori staff continue to be allocated to each welfare centre to assist with recovery efforts and to welcome Māori. Visits have also been made to kōhanga reo who have been accommodating several families in each. Visits have been made and support given to Tongan church groups (food and generator).

Minister of Māori Affairs was in the region today. Accompanied by Mark Solomon he visited the Wigram Hub. Ngāi Tahu /TPK mobilizing the outreach drive from the hub. Which will see needs assessments forms completed and sent into the hub where resources will be sought.

CDHB has been invited to attend iwi coordination meeting at Wigram base today to strengthen the communication lines between health and iwi.

The 0800 housing help line has received over 4000 calls for accommodation support. Trends indicate that people from Chch are presenting at other offices.

Affected schools are remaining closed at least until Friday 4th March.

Roads, water and sanitation remain the big issues.

Salvation Army and Red Cross "Operation Suburb" door knocking exercise in every home in affected suburbs continues to be implemented with teams comprising 1 building inspector and 2 welfare support people. Current progress could take up to 14 days to complete a full sweep of the city. Civil Defence looking to double numbers of volunteers to 1200.

Over 6,000 Red Cross forms/registrations have been received to date. Approximately 500 have been completed by TPK staff.

The WINZ mobile van operating in Aranui has process over 14,000 emergency payments.

The Te Arawa Health team administered checks to 20 kōhanga whanau members, a similar number at Rapaki marae and several whanau in Aranui.

Ngāi Tahu are implementing food distribution from the Wigram hub and co-ordinating communications across all iwi radio stations.

Update on National Effort

A lot of work is happening on processing the welfare needs. NCMC has received thousands of offers of support.

To date the 0800 779 997 help line has taken over 40,000 calls.

All the regional Welfare Action Groups (WAGs) from throughout the country will be activated from tomorrow and will be able to co-ordinate on a regional basis needs assessments, provision of support resources across the spectrum

Trying to get really good information on those who have left Chch is proving difficult.

Update from Wellington

TPK's Deputy Secretary Support Services, Julie Morrison will be visiting Chch later this week to ascertain and then implement the longer term support needs for the TPK presence there. The first of the TPK regional staff deployed to Chch will be rotated out this week.

Te Upoko o te Ika broadcast a number of live interviews today across the TahuFM frequency ranging from people offering help from outside the area to with grass roots people in Chch (including a Tongan community leader) and local Māori MP Rahui Katene. The Minister of Maori Affairs was also interviewed from Otautahi.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 3

27/02/2011

Day 5 and Te Puni Kōkiri's effort to date has predominantly focused on deploying additional resources to Christchurch and northwards; establishing contacts and opening lines of communications with key affected parties; working closing with central government agencies; supplementing mainstream resources etc.

We now need to move from the deployment phase to the next phase centred around making sure our people are able to access the resources are available and identifying any shortfalls, gaps or delivery problems.

Many whānau will be making their own plans but it is essential to get them connected, they may need help now, they may need it in the future. Getting messages and resources out to whānau affected by Tuesday's quake is paramount.

One avenue available as from 8am this morning is Tahu FM. Tahu FM is back on air via Te Upoko o Te Ika. Tahu FM was taken off air because their station HQ is in a damaged building inside the CBD. However now that Te Upoko O Te Ika is broadcasting on the Tahu frequencies we can get essential information through to Ōtautahi. Extensive live interviews took place earlier today with Mark Solomon and Hon Paula Bennett.

The opportunity to involve other Iwi/Māori stations around the country is currently being explored. We are establishing regular slots throughout the day where Te Upoko/Tahu FM deliberately give the latest info from Ōtautahi and other iwi stations can link in for those times.

Update from Christchurch

There is a very strong relationship between TPK and Ngāi Tahu emerging and the hub being established at Wigram will be an extremely important entry point for iwi resources coming in and being deployed.

Ngāi Tahu are now coordinating Christchurch area marae through 0800 KAI TAHU. All marae that are in a position to take whānau in the Canterbury region have been opened and are being supported. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is providing practical supplies to marae in the immediate area e.g. fuel, gas, food, blankets. Rapaki marae has up to 60 people from the local community and has been included as an accommodation centre for the area.

Herewini Te Koha has met with John Hamilton in the Civil Defence command post and through this relationship will be a better way of ensuring the Māori issues are woven into the plans emanating from the Civil Defence HQ.

Coordination is now in place for Upper South Island marae and for Wellington marae. Good and up-to-date information has ensured that wrap-around services are where they need to be. There has been no real increase in demand today (outside of Chch). Mostly the whānau calling in at marae are after taking showers, having a meal, registering for Red Cross, completing health assessments etc. Marae have reported really good community support.

Marae across the Nelson Tasman region have opened their doors to Christchurch residents. Nelson Tasman Civil Defence has been asked to pass on that marae accommodation is available free of charge and is open to both Maori and non-Maori. In Nelson Tasman the two marae available are:

Whakatu marae, Atawhai Drive, Nelson, 027 472 5100 or 546-9097 (office hours)
Te Awhina marae, Pah Road, Motueka , tel 021 039 2794 or 021 043 9061

Nelson City and Tasman District Councils are collating offers of accommodation for Christchurch people wanting to get out of the city. This service has also been publicised in Christchurch, while Nelson City Council owned camping grounds are offering relief to Christchurch residents.

Update on National Effort

Clear co-ordination has been established around NGO/Social services information flow. TPK is working with Māori NGOs to deploy auxiliary workforce, particularly Māori trauma counseling specialists. Eight have been identified for traveling on Monday, MSD have been advised. Iwi providers that have already identified small groups or individual nurses and medical support available to travel to Christchurch are being linked through public health authorities.

Minister's Visit

The Minister of Maori Affairs is re-visiting Ōtautahi apopo. He is likely to visit Tuahine Marae (and surrounds), Nga Hau e Wha (and surrounds) and the "hub" at Wigram. Mark Solomon is likely to be accompanying the Minister.

Communications

Attached to this panui are messages that were specifically prepared for broadcasting over iwi radio this morning, but they are also useful for any whānau using social media to refer too. Please note that the Marae stats are constantly changing.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 2

26/02/2011

Update from Christchurch

The "hub" being established at Wigram is progressing and expected to be operational within the next 48 hours.

Te Arawa contingent of nurses who arrived this morning were deployed to assist elderly and young people.

Volunteers have been deployed to Welfare Centres and key Māori congregations. A number of different teams are out door knocking, with the potential to duplicate resources. Welfare officers/building inspector teams are operating and we should investigate tagging on to them.

Māori Wardens are engaged in door knocking "reassurance campaigns" and at welfare centres.

"Operation Suburb" has so far knocked on 4,500-5,000 households, with forms etc for completion.

Aranui – requires extensive assistance, this has started arriving. Evacuees have been moved from the indoor stadium centre to other centres which were outside of the Aranui area. It is extremely important for all evacuees to fill in the Red Cross forms, in order to be registered on the database, to receive assistance.

Takahanga Marae is experiencing an influx of whanau who are in transit to whanau in the North Island. Most whanau are from Aranui, many of these people have little or no money, often no ID and little clothing. They are completing Red Cross and Work and Income forms on arrival; Work and Income are assisting on site with cash resources, Te Puni Kōkiri is also on site. Some whanau members are very traumatised and require psychosocial support which is being sought. Some whanau/evacuees may be referred to other marae in the Nelson/Marlborough area and there is a coordination group in place to do that.

Local communications are hampered with Tahu FM being off air, but a plan is being put in place to enable Te Upoko o Te Ika to broadcast on Tahu FM's transmitter to the Christchurch area. This will provide another channel for information pertinent to people in Christchurch to be broadcast from as early as next week.

Update on National Effort

Offers of social service support from around the motu should be channeled through Te Puni Kōkiri (whanauora@tpk.govt.nz). Te Puni Kōkiri are in constant contact with those on the ground in Christchurch and are matching their needs with service providers.

Next Thursday as many of the Christchurch NGO's as possible will be meeting in Christchurch so as to get a handle on what is required.

The 0800 calling centres are taking a call every 3 seconds. There are 1200 people staffing these lines and the approximate wait time is 12 minutes.

Te Puni Kōkiri have developed a Marae coordination schedule, that contains details of Marae that are open and have capacity to accept evacuees. This schedule is being constantly updated.

The Minister of Māori Affairs – is going to Christchurch on Monday and will visit the Hub and communities.

Te Puni Kōkiri Quake Bulletin 1

25/02/2011

Kia ora koutou

Yesterday at Rehua marae the Minister of Māori Affairs held a meeting attended by iwi leaders from Ngāi Tahu , Tainui and Te Arawa, Te Rūnanga o Nga Maata Waka, Māori wardens, whanau, providers and Te Puni Kōkiri to establish key priorities and to co-ordinate a Maori response to the disaster.

Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon reported that while much of the focus of the media has been on the Christchurch CBD, in the east of the city people are without water, power, food and sewerage disposal. He said that because the city's infrastructure won't be fixed for months people need to take precautions against the outbreak of diseases.

The first outcome of yesterday's hui was the forming of a co-ordination group today, led by Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu . The other members of this group are Te Puni Kōkiri, He Oranga Pounamu, the Māori Wardens and Te Runanga o Nga Maata Waka. This core group will co-opt others as and when required. The police and fire service, civil defence and other government departments will also be involved.

The seven workstreams this group will be focusing on are:

Leadership and Communications
Marae co-ordination
Donations and voluntary efforts
Service stocktake and co-ordination
Welfare Advisory Group (WAG)/Government Response/Civil Defence
Outreach
Welfare centres/offices

This group will be based at the former Wigram airbase which Ngāi Tahu is developing into a command centre and hub for these groups to operate from. Work is underway on the hub and it could be ready over the weekend or early next week.

The Te Puni Kōkiri presence in Otautahi is being led by Deputy Secretary Herewini Te Koha and Regional Director David Ormsby.

In response to the severity of Tuesday's earthquake a Te Puni Kōkiri National Emergency Group has been formed. It consists of key head office staff and all the regional directors. It meets daily at 4pm for updates and subsequent to these meetings this daily bulletin will be issued. This group is linked with the National Welfare Co-ordination Group (NWCG) and fully participates in their daily meetings where they co-ordinate national responses to local needs. These responses include providing accommodation at marae well outside of the immediate earthquake area. For example at Pipitea marae in Wellington to allow groups evacuating from Christchurch somewhere to stay enroute to their home rohe.

Some iwi like Te Arawa are arranging the evacuation of their kaumatua who want to leave the earthquake area and return to Te Arawa rohe. Te Arawa and Tainui have offered medical assistance to Ngāi Tahu in the form of doctors and nurses from Te Arawa and Tainui controlled hauora. The co-ordination group has been tasked with seeing what the needs might be and whether medical assistance is required and where they might be located.

Mark Solomon reported that there had been offers of food and other resources but he cautioned that the co-ordination group first needed to be up and running with an appropriate distribution system to ensure that these offers from outside were properly utilized. It was reported to the group that the Red Cross believes the best contribution to make is cash.

People wanting to make cash donation can do so via the Ngāi Tahu Earthquake Charitable Trust Account, the ANZ account number is: 01 0797 0460281 01

Enquiries for Ngāi Tahu can be directed to their 0800 KAI TAHU (0800 524 524) – it is operating.