John Cronin BOP Regional Council Chairman www.envbop.govt.nz

Since we first heard a large container ship had run aground on a reef offshore from Tauranga we at the regional council were incredibly concerned – my fellow elected members and staff alike – about the impact this could have on our environment and community.

As soon as it happened we threw the full resources of the regional council at the response and now we're supporting the lead agency, Maritime New Zealand, in any way we can to minimise the impact.
I've been humbled to see the tremendous effort put in by staff from the regional council and other agencies.

Some of our staff have worked and are continuing to work extremely long hours, right from the first call to our western Harbour Master who was also the first person on the Rena.

I expect we'll be involved for months to come as we'll continue to make all our staff and other resources available to Maritime New Zealand for as long as they are needed.

It's easy to see the efforts of those on the front line, but we also have staff working in logistics, human resources, communications and community relations, IT, logistics, planning and administration support.
I'd like to thank all staff at the regional council for their efforts, as while this has occurred other staff have stepped up so that we can continue to provide our normal services and keep the regional council running.
If have any questions or you'd like to offer assistance to the response, phone 0800 645 774.

If you come across oil or affected wildlife, please don't touch it, but immediately call the response team so they can help, phone 0800 645 774.

If you have a view on any other local government issue, I would be pleased to receive your comments, email johncronin@xtra.co.nz