February 03, 2023
Floods highten climate change awareness
An advocate for the Climate Change Iwi Leaders Group, says the devastation suffered by Auckland may have done more in one week to convince New Zealanders of the climate crisis than years of campaigning.
Hinekaa Mako says extreme weather events have been affecting communities around the country for severasl years, but many people continue to deny they are related to climate change.
That’s harder to sustain when 1.7 millikon Aucklanders see it can happen to anyone, any time.
“When it’s your own home, when its your marae, when its your whanau it does hit home. And I heard I think yesterday someone talk about about, you know, it’s the heart of the country – and that was like a little bit of a heart attack,” Ms Mako says.
Hinekaa Mako says Maori communities, urban or rural, need to build resilience against future events.