February 23, 2024
Te Tairāwhiti resilience is being taken advantage of says Tangaere-Manuel
Labour’s spokesperson for Cyclone recovery, and the MP for Te Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, says Māori in her electorate are known for soldiering on through some horrific weather extremes in the past couple of years.
Te Tai Rawhiti, saw devestation to homes and infrastructure reaching into the billions of dollars – and Maori acknowledged as suffering the worst effects.
Cushla Tangaere-Manuel says while she’s very proud of the stoicism of Te Tai Rawhiti people, who’ve suffered a lot in silence – its time to start speaking up for themselves.
“We’re always going to be resilient, we’re always going to recover, but we actually have to stop saying, as a region, that “we’re okay”. Because we weren’t okay, like in terms of infrastructure, we weren’t okay before the cyclone… and if we don’t make noise we’re not going to get investment” she says.
Cushla Tangaere-Manuel says its good the region is getting $36 million, but there is nothing specific for Maori – who were the hardest hit, and most vulnerable – that isn’t good enough.