July 22, 2022
Waititi questions gravel dig role in Motu washout
Wairaiki MP Rawiri Waititi has questioned whether excessive extraction of roading metal from the Motu River bed may have contributed to the wash out that cut state highway 35.
He expects it could take months to fix the roadway just east of the Motu bridge.
In the meantime residents of settlements further up the coast, including his home at Whangaparaoa, are cut off from Opotiki, the nearest major town.
He says the river is continuing to rise.
“I had a discussion with our local councillor Louis Rapihana who also had concerns about the extraction of metal just up the road from where that washout is. The Motu is actually quite a wide river bed and we have never seen a washout in that particular area,” Mr Waititi says.
Te Whānau a Apanui has reactivated the 12 hapū response unit established during the Covid lockdowns so it can ensure whanau and pakeke continue get necessary supplies.