Frank King's whenua and home were flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Supplied
A woman whose land is in the direct path of a proposed Wairoa spillway has a message for people not affected - stop grandstanding and save the drama for Shortland St.
Wiki Hauraki says although the spillway will only take a small part of their whānau land, the process had been a test of their character, and it was "time to stop arguing with each other and get on and protect Wairoa".
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She said there had been a lot of disinformation thrown around.
"It's not a land grab and people can't say the Crown manager Lawrence Yule hasn't engaged with mana whenua.
"He has and it's our responsibility to pass on that information to our whānau and hapu.
"We are the people that have been at all the hui. We have been invited to negotiate and we have done that."
Three organisations - the Wairoa District Council, Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust - have discussed at length the merits of the two main flood mitigation options.
A meeting in Wairoa on February 13 confirmed Hawke's Bay Regional Council's support for the spillway Option 1C, which is in the path of 16 homes, six hectares of Māori whenua and 18ha of general title land.
The decision advanced the $70 million Government-funded infrastructure project to the next stage and means the construction of a spillway and strategic stop bank placements can begin once finalised and approved by central Government.
The process has not been without controversy. Tātau Tātau trust, a post-settlement entity for the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa, has said it won't support a specific recommendation and walked out of the February 13 meeting.
Yule, former Hastings mayor and former National MP for Tukituki, said at the Regional Council meeting two weeks ago, it was agreed that further work would be done to refine the profile and alignment of the preferred Option 1C.
The specific focus was on further minimising the potential impacts to owners of whenua Māori, whānau, home and landowners where possible.
"That work is now progressing at pace with input from river engineers and other technical experts, whose input is critical to ensuring the hydraulic integrity of Option 1C can be maintained while this further refinement occurs.
"There is still some modelling work to be done, and we hope to be able to update mana whenua, home and landowners on the final Option 1C footprint by mid-March," he said.
Hauraki says that regardless of which option was chosen, it was never going to please everyone.
"This option affects about 12ha of Māori land. The other option 1D affected 280ha of Māori land. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out which is the better one. Our ultimate goal is to protect the marae and whanua.
"I love Wairoa and after this is over, we will continue as our tupuna have done. Wairoa deserves the best."
She said after the decision was made to put Option 1C forward she felt relieved.
"People have been ringing me and saying, 'give it to me straight'.
"I call a spade a spade, in a respectful way, and now I'm finding that people who were not accepting of the plan are starting to look outside the square.
"We have to make a decision. Some people need to stop grandstanding and save their drama for Shortland St. This is too important."
Hauraki said she wanted to thank the people who came and helped Wairoa after the floods.
Frank King's whenua and home are right in the middle of the spillway.
The whenua belonged to his great-grandfather who milked cows on it during the depression in the 1930s. He said they had no issue with moving as long as they were compensated adequately.
"We built a new house two months before the cyclone after our home burned down in 2020," King said.
"And then the cyclone hit. There was so much water on and around the property. We are glad to have the opportunity to relocate."
Frank King, far right, and his wife Lovina, far left, with their mokopuna. Photo: Supplied
His whanau lived through the storm in May 1948, Cyclone Bola and Cyclone Gabrielle.
"Every time there's a heavy rain warning we get anxious."
He said some people were digging their toes in, mainly people who had part ownership in some land, but didn't live in Wairoa and weren't there to see the devastation.
"They also have the opportunity to be paid out. It doesn't mean you can't have whenua. They can."
Born and bred in Wairoa, King said they had everything at their fingertips, and that lots of good things happened in Wairoa.
"We want to be able to leave our grandchildren something.
"If we don't do this and Wairoa floods again, no one will have anything."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
