Climate policies lag as New Zealand continues to be thrashed by extreme weather
Extreme weather events are challenging the Governments ability to roll out forward-looking climate policies, leaving those who lose their homes or lives not in a very good place, Climate Change Minister James Shaw says. Asked about Nationals recent announcement that it would not work with Te Pati Maori, Shaw said the focus should be on the people who had lost their lives to extreme weather, not on the kind of gamesmanship that you see around here. That's just nonsense. After the destruction and death caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in February, Shaw attempted to accelerate some changes to adaptation rules . He wanted swift answers from officials on whether there were immediate interventions to help build long-term resilience, rather than reverting to the status quo, which would increase a lot of people's risk. READ MORE: * Climate strikers call on politicians to act as students hit the streets * Cyclone Gabrielle: Adaptation no longer climate change's poor cousin * Chris Hipkins commits to 'build back better', anticipating billions needed for cyclone recovery But months after Cyclone Gabrielle, and while Auckland was put into a state of emergency after experiencing torrential rain, no changes had been implemented and Shaw could not talk about any details of potential changes. There are some things in train and I can't speak to them yet because they haven't finally gone through Cabinet, but there'll be some announcements in the coming weeks. On the climate adaptation bill , which largely seemed to have fallen off the radar after being thrown into the spotlight due to Cyclone Gabrielle, Shaw said it was still being worked on. The issue that we've got is that these extreme weather events are actually challenging our ability to get ahead of them. Because the amount of resource that it's taking for us to respond to these cyclones and storms in different parts of the country is actually making it difficult for us to get the more forward-looking stuff on the table. And that's the nature of climate change is you always end up chasing your tail, Shaw said. That left the victims of extreme weather events in not in a very good place, to tell you the honest truth, Shaw said. That's why we have always said that we need to pick up the pace on climate change, devote more resource to it and make sure that we actually can get ahead of it. National has been keen to work with the Government on climate adaptation and while ACT leader David Seymour said he was always open to working with other parties, he was also sceptical and doubtful that the climate adaptation bill will work. Earth Sciences Professor Tim Naish said New Zealand was quite rightly putting a lot of its effort in mitigation to do its part. But adaption issue has really crept up on us, and it shouldn't have. We've known of some of these risks for a long, long time. It's not too late. Adaption has to be a priority. Naish said changes through the Reserouce Management Act reform had the potential to create strong legislation around decision-making for adaption. Questions such as who pays for managed retreat needed central government leadership. It is incumbent upon our leaders to protect Aotearoa, to help its people to be as resilient as possible. Climate change is here, it's here to stay, and it's going to get worse. This is something our leaders and us have to take seriously and grapple with.