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

Tena koutou katoa. I hope you enjoyed a restful Christmas break despite the weather.

E hoa ma, it has been some time since I presented a column to The Weekend Sun. The matter of an election got in the way and in that regard, I thank you for your faith in me as MP for Waiariki. I intend to do my best to repay that faith.

Of course, the biggest issue affecting Tauranga – right from before the election through to now – is the grounding of the Rena. I do not intend to engage in the various arguments of why, how, responsibility and so on – that's not to say the hard questions mustn't be asked, but more that there are other forums to do that – and indeed we must.

My emphasis today, however, is to pay tribute to the fantastic efforts of the Tauranga community during the catastrophe. I have been able to see up close a lot of the carnage having flown around Motiti, Matakana, Bowentown, Waihi and across the sea to the vessel itself when it was breaking up and there were containers on the beach as well as at sea. One is left in awe at what Tangaroa was capable of.

On the other hand, I also witnessed the hard work of the working groups of volunteers, the marae organisations and communication network teams. The work was done, people came together and they helped and encouraged each other to a common cause in looking after Tangaroa. So Tauranga Moana, pat yourselves on the tuara, you should be rightly acknowledged.

One hopes that the authorities involved learnt some lessons from the exercise. There is one observation that I wish to make, and that is that authorities really need to recognise how important it is to involve Maori in decision making. Once our people became engaged, it was clear to see that there was a huge, coordinated, well managed workforce and associated resources available to the community effort. Yes, the whole community came together, including service organisations, sports clubs and the like and it was magnificent. But the key for places like Motiti and Matakana was mana whenua having input in the decision making process.

There are so many lessons to be learnt at every level about the whole scenario, but I am encouraged about how authorities did acknowledge tangata whenua in discussions and hope the precedent continues. The people of Matapihi will always be at Matapihi and the people of Motiti will always be there to look after the environment. They care about the area, they will look after it. It makes good sense to work with them.

I welcome your feedback. Phone 0508 924 274, email mpwaiariki@parliament.govt.nz or post to PO Box 12028 Rotorua 3045.