Susan Miria Besant - “A true leader would have made a statement as soon as Civil Defence text alerts went out to the public at 11.47am the day before the Mauao tragedy. When around the motu roads were flooded and closed, slips took out infrastructure, people were swept away in their cars, and whanau were stranded on rooftops. Luxon chose that evening instead to smile into the camera and announce the election date and what he would be focussing on. Overnight, people were killed while two whanau members escaped a landslide that crushed their home in Papāmoa mere hours before a series of slips and a fatal landslide at Mauao. Luxon responded with a note to the country. On his official letterhead. He was choppered about first to Thames, ignoring the climate protestors, then over the Coromandel before bounding out as if on combat assault, woefully belated to Mauao - the pre-arranged media there to capture his egress and practised anguished mien. How could he look those mourning families in the eye let alone first responders, emergency services, police, USAR, iwi and fire services who have been there from the second the landslide hit. Fire Service cancelled their planned disputes strike to carry out their services to our communities. How Luxon could not feel immense shame that their funding and other civil defence budgets were significantly cut by his government is beyond me. Council will be blamed entirely for the absolute heartbreaking losses at Mauao, the Mayor will likely be propped up by his backer$ and the wrong heads will roll. Simply, Luxon saw this as a media opportunity and an ooh actually convenient get-out-of-Ratana (if he milked it, Waitangi Day too)-free card.”
“There's nothing Right, Honourable or Prime about this guy.”
This is really well-said. 👏
#mauao #mountmaunganui #landslide #luxon #electionyear
