Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

There are three main questions burning in the back of most people's brains this week.

No one snapped a photo of the Rena's captain coming ashore. But we imagine the scene could have looked something like this.

How could a modern container ship hit a well charted reef?

Why did the oil containment response taken so long?

What can we do to help?

Unfortunately, the answers to any of those are not forthcoming and providing no satisfaction for most people.

The outrage has been diverted into a powerful sense of purpose for most, trying to offer assistance in the cleanup – only to be told to stay off the beach and leave it to the ‘experts'.

That's not washing well with Joe Public.

We've had reports all week of clean up crews, fire staff, sitting around waiting for instructions. Best thing to do, call 0800645774 and get trained to help. As one of the more intelligent commentators said on SunLive this week; 'better to be moaning on the end of a shovel than moaning on the couch”.

The other frustrating aspect of the whole Rena saga is the patronising insistence from Maritime NZ that the situation is 'complex” and tell the public that they just wouldn't understand. Well, just try us!

We've just got to trust that these experts know what they're doing and are working on solutions as fast as possible.

The impact of this disaster is going to affect the Bay of Plenty for years. Not just the coastline's physical damage, but the psychological, emotional and financial impact will have continuing repercussions.

Best we steel ourselves and try to keep positive, despite the brain-numbing effect of bureaucrats who never seem to act fast enough.

It's easy to criticise and feel we're being fed tripe, when it seems nothing is happening. Many have said that if dithering boffins hadn't taken four days to find a tanker and someone to pay for it, the bulk of that heavy fuel oil could have been pumped out while the weather was calm.

But reality is that alternative pipe systems needed to be sorted before any pumping could start: it wouldnt have helped even if the tanker had arrived sooner.
But we can't help thinking that the delays wouldn't have been allowed to happen in Auckland.

If Rena had bowled into Tiri or Bean Rock instead of Astrolabe you'd have seen a vastly greater sense of urgency to deal with it. Lord knows what would have happened if the slick had threatened party central. It's time Tauranga was treated with the national credibility and importance it deserves as New Zealand's fourth largest city, New Zealand's biggest port and the country's best lifestyle location. At least, it used to be.

No doubt we'll get it cleaned up eventually. There is a huge amount of passion and emotion from the community, unlike anything I've ever felt in my lifetime in Tauranga.

People who live in the Bay love it for the very attributes that Rena's heavy fuel oil is smothering.

It reinforces that our coast, harbour and environment are truly the most important assets of this region. No amount of artificial, man-made attractions can ever replace this natural wonderland. This is why people flock to the Bay – not for stadiums, museums, galleries, pools or other contrivances people can dream up.

We need to look after each other in the weeks and months ahead, because this tragedy will affect not only our wonderful geography, but the economy, emotions and spirit of the entire region.

We'll keep bringing you the news, minute by minute, 24/7 first on www.sunlive.co.nz and I need to thank all the readers who have called to tell us what is happening and for sending your pictures.

I salute the SunLive team for incredible commitment to covering the disaster so far. From venturing out in rough conditions on the Waterline boat, to putting in long hours in the newsroom, the team has brought you outstanding coverage and broken all records for domestic web traffic with more than 200,000 page views in a few days. That dedication will continue to bring local, national and international attention to the terrible disaster oozing from Astrolabe.