Chris Hipkins

Hipkins replied: “I regret my intel at the time was incorrect.” A few days after Cyclone Gabrielle hit just over two weeks ago, flood traffic workers manning ...

He was aware of some big donations that had already been signalled - but would not reveal who they were from. A dedicated trust would manage the fundraising campaign. Harvey said last week that the crew involved had been left feeling shaken, uneasy and nervous. “Raising money for the community is Lotto NZ’s fundamental purpose, and so we welcome the opportunity to support recovery efforts by raising funds through this special draw,” Lyman said. “Launching the appeal fund, the Prime Minister said the Government was ‘giving wealthy people the opportunity to contribute’. “With the help of generous New Zealanders, relief organisations and those affected will be supported to recover and rebuild.” Lotto NZ chief executive Chris Lyman is “very proud” to be holding the fundraiser. Hipkins said the Government was in a “very good position” to support New Zealand through the flood recovery. Hipkins said he did not want to set a target for the appeal, but the immediate aftermath of a disaster was the best time to start fundraising. It had been in the works for days with Westpac, Colenso and BBDO, and Facebook had volunteered to publicise it and assist with foreign donations. Put to him that the Government’s choices were simply borrowing or taxing, Hipkins replied: “Well, we have to pay for it somehow.” Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking, Hipkins said there were community facilities and buildings that would need “a bit more support” to get up and running again.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said feedback from authorities indicated there hadn't been a significant increase of Covid-19 cases in cyclone-hit areas of th.

Further wet weather hit Gisborne and Napier overnight and Hipkins is expected to return to Hawke’s Bay in the coming days to follow up on the cyclone response. He won’t jump so it’s time for the Prime Minister and Minister of Health to push him.” Campbell is also chair of the Environment Protection Agency. “The Muriwai community have more uncertainty ahead of them, and I want to acknowledge that. Hipkins week is otherwise centred on the response to Cyclone Gabrielle. Hipkins is in Auckland for the day, checking in on a courier company in the aftermath of the flooding and cyclone after attending the opening of Ngakoroa School in Karaka this morning.

The prime minister says police gave him the wrong information about two road workers who had guns pointed at them after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Over the week prior, around 25 people each day had been arrested across those regions – which police said was “within normal range”. * [The ACT party ](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131277480/cyclone-gabrielle-chris-hipkins-denies-outbreak-of-lawlessness-in-hawkes-bay)called for ministers to authorise a military deployment to assist police, while [National said](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/131325133/claims-of-cyclone-crime-spike-a-political-football-cops-at-coalface-say) police were stretched “too thin”. [PM Chris Hipkins announces ministers to lead regional cyclone recovery efforts](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131290992/pm-chris-hipkins-announces-ministers-to-lead-regional-cyclone-recovery-efforts?rm=a) [PM Chris Hipkins launches international fundraising effort for Cyclone Gabrielle](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131348595/pm-chris-hipkins-launches-international-fundraising-effort-for-cyclone-gabrielle?rm=a) [road workers in Hawke’s Bay who had guns pointed at them](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300811173/pistol-and-shotgun-aimed-at-flood-traffic-staff).

The Prime Minister initially said there were no first-hand accounts of people pulling guns - now Chris Hipkins claims he got wrong information from the ...

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The founder of Destiny Church and the Freedoms NZ political party, Brian Tamaki, has told followers that the devastating and deadly floods of Cyclone Gabrielle ...

In a livestream earlier this week, Tamaki urged those taking part to grasp the opportunity to proselytise. I transfer His feelings to my feelings, His thoughts to my thoughts.” The mayor of Gisborne, Rehette Stoltz, called Tamaki’s comments “disappointing, unhelpful and laughable”, adding: “We have families struggling after losing their homes and their livelihoods and a much-loved community member lost his life.” She told The Spinoff: “In true Kiwi style, the rest of NZ have mucked in and supported us every step of the way. By posting a tweet in support of Pride Month, Christopher Luxon had been “glorifying baby killing”, Tamaki railed, bizarrely. Because that’s where the most extreme abortion, that’s the abomination that’s coming up in the air to God. I suggest Brian stop wasting his time ‘researching’ Pornhub, and instead join the rest of New Zealand who have donated time, energy and money to help us get back on our feet. That city in there, Hastings and Gisborne, has the highest number of porn watchers in the country and it’s one of the biggest averages per capita in the world … So I hopped on,” sermonised Tamaki, typing the air to illustrate logging on to the internet. And they’re the biggest watchers on the porn site of gay porn. “I thought, no, God said, you know, you know it, you’ve got it, the revelation, you’ve got to share it. [horse enthusiast](https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/18-11-2016/the-definitive-history-of-brian-tamakis-horse-obsessed-twitter-page) who rejects allegations that Destiny is a cult, said: “That flooding was a result of depravity.” He went on to describe his research process. I see the perversion that is linked to bad weather.

Some residents from Auckland's Muriwai, displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle, have been staying at a makeshift caravan park for the past two weeks.

So that alone has changed the community to start with, let alone all the kids that have been displaced ... "And that might be controls like, is there anything we can do to monitor the hillside? Are we waiting for the cliff face to settle down? "Everyone's just been great, we've got so much food, you know, people dropping off cooked food ... [land in the area continued to move](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/484378/cyclone-gabrielle-muriwai-domain-crescent-residents-asked-to-leave), he said, and officials were still waiting on advice from geotechnical specialists. Maggs said this information will be used to inform decisions on the safety and usability of homes on the road. At the local surf club, donations of clothes, linen, and food have continued to pour in for families in need. "So what are people in our situation waiting for? Bruce said they were aware of the severe impact on Muriwai and the need for medium to long-term accommodation. Stevens said their caravan had survived a summer of successive weather events and was still holding out strong, with a blunt umbrella plugging a hole in the roof of the caravan. [one of the hardest hit communities](https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018877942/cyclone-gabrielle-muriwai-community-grieves-firefighter-killed-in-slip) in Auckland, where [two firefighters died](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/484373/muriwai-slip-fenz-pays-tribute-to-firefighters-who-died-we-are-indebted-to-them) after a slip and more than 200 homes were red or yellow-stickered. Many families were evacuated at short notice and had only a brief window of time to return to their homes to pick up essentials, a week after the cyclone.

The month of March is meant to be a big one at Apatu Farms Orchard in Puketapu when ripe apples are picked from trees after a long season of preparation.

We can insure for hail, but that is very expensive and most of us don’t.” “Time is of the essence and we need the right packages and support.” “Without that support we don’t know where we are going to go and what we are going to do,” he said. “Some are really damaged and some are going to be okay, but the seriousness of this thing is just coming into realisation.” “Our machinery and our sheds are all insured, but crops for this type of event are non-insurable. “Every time I have flown in, you get a different perspective, and can certainly see the extent of the devastation across different areas,” Hipkins said, as he heard from growers about the floods’ impact.

He's spent the day visiting the area hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, including meeting with rescue helicopter pilots. Watch it above. It should start at 3pm. App ...

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he has seen first-hand the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on growers today - and "actually seeing it up front really brings ...

Climate resilience will be a core objective of the recovery. "We are committed to a locally-led recovery, supported by central government. This is similar to what happened in Queensland following the 2010/11 floods," Robertson said. Getting on the ground was not just about getting photos for the news but about hearing people, Hipkins said. Roading and telecommunications were intermittent but they had "absolutely not been forgotten about". There was a lot of work to do ahead, with some things happening faster than others, he said.