Te Ururoa Flavell MP for Waiariki www.waiariki.maori.nz

This last month has been absolutely frantic and I'm not just referring to the tension of the Rugby World Cup.

Since the grounding of the ship Rena at the Astrolabe Reef a month ago, I have been involved in both field and logistical operations. It was a real eye opener as the whole exercise rolled out.

From the very start, people wanted information about what had happened and what they could do about the situation – so it was important that we got as much relevant details out there as we could. We did that with a number of hui involving officials from Maritime NZ and it became my role to facilitate hui between and authorities and tangata whenua.

I would enter these hui with the expectation that people would be, understandably, very angry and frustrated. That was the case, but I hope that just getting an idea of what had happened and what was going on was helpful to most. Straight questions were put and answered and that is all that could be asked.

There will come a time where questions must be raised about how this happened and who is to blame, but right now, as I write this column, the ship remains on the reef and oil has washed up along the East Coast. In this day and age of technology, we could never have imagined a machine, used to navigate masses of ocean, could ground itself so easily on a reef known very well by seafarers, so there is no way we could have predicted the enormity of such a disaster.

It has been a key priority of my work during the last 18 months, to establish and protect the key input of tangata whenua in decisions made regarding the use of our lands and its resources. My private members bill which seeks to amend the Crown Minerals Act 1991, will ensure real consultation and on-going engagement with iwi, hapu and whanau at any suggestion of drilling or mining activities within the rohe.

What's become apparent since the disaster, is New Zealand's unity in the desire to protect our environments and seek better alternatives to the use of our lands and resources – including our oceans.

The biggest mihi must go to the collective community effort. We have had key iwi people at the operations level and that has been crucial as they engage with the many agencies to get resources and ensure that the tangata whenua voice is consulted with and being heard. Communities from across the Coastal Bay areas have really come to the fore in the huge voluntary effort to clean up the beaches, inlets and harbours.

Congratulations and thanks to you all. Clearly in times of adversity and if communities are threatened, people unite to a common cause. This has certainly happened. But it is still not over yet, for things develop and change daily. We must be prepared for a long haul here. Thank you all for the efforts to date. Awesome – Kawanike.

I welcome your feedback. Phone 07 3503261, email mpwaiariki@parliament.govt.nz or post to PO Box 12028 Rotorua 3045.