Access to dental services, more teachers: Ruatoria on the election

First Up reporter Leonard Powell went on a road trip from Whakatāne around the East Cape to test the tone of the East Coast's towns, pre-election. This is the third story from that series.

On the main street of Ruatoria, a group of local musicians gathers outside the old pub - it's something they do every week.

The town's pace was noticeably slower than the city, and one was always greeted with a smile.

The Salvation Army were set up, giving away supplies to people in need.

Peter Koia and Jenny Ratana-Koia drove two hours north from Gisborne to lend a hand.

"For the last two years, we've been coming up every second Tuesday just to give stuff away to the community, bring a bit of joy and love to the community," Koia said.

Ratana-Koia said it was the wintery items getting snapped up.

"We've given away hundreds of hot water bottles and we had hundreds to give away, so that was great."

"Warm clothes have been extremely popular," she said.

And people had been picking up blankets too.

Read more:

• Leonard Powell's first story from his pre-election East Coast trip, from Waihau Bay
• The election issues for Te Araroa locals: Roads, petrol prices and kaimoana

Next stop was at Ngata Memorial College.

"We used to be able to ride to school, but they put their gates up and we got nowhere to put our horses," head girl Stevie Rangiuaia said.

Some students still rode to school, and put their horses in a nearby paddock.

The school roll was just over 100 - and Rangiuaia was one of six year 13 pupils.

The first-time voter was torn between studying to become a te reo teacher, or heading to Western Australia to earn money in the mines.

Rangiuaia was on the Māori roll in Ikaroa-Rawhiti - where former East Coast rugby chief executive turned Labour MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel will battle it out against Labour defector Meka Whaitiri - now standing for Te Pāti Māori.

While Rangiuaia was not yet sure of who to vote for, her nan had told her voting was important.

"She just said ... with me voting like it shows my opinion on who I think should rule New Zealand"

Inside the staffroom was Rangiuaia's nan, Jacqui Rangiuaia, who works at the college as a teacher aide.

She said the dental situation was an important issue for the community of Ruatoria - since the dental nurse who used to drive the van retired.

"There's no dental care for primary aged children, only college kids, and so if your child has a tooth problem, we have to travel to Gisborne. And that's if you can get in. They're so overloaded, so busy, it's hard to get in."

Numeracy and hard technology teacher Wayne Palmer had seen the difficulty of getting specialist teachers into rural areas.

"It's hard to come into an area when you're not from here and live here, isolated, away from the cities and stuff, let alone trying to get and keep. So recruitment and retention of specialist teachers like maths and science."

Palmer said most of the teachers were "home grown", but attracting outsiders would benefit everyone.

"At the moment we've got two really good teachers from the Philippines, husband and wife, and with two young sons, so they've settled in well to the community. How long they stay as anybody's game."

"It took us a long time to get some teachers. So to get those specialists or to get ones who have been out and, you know, seen the world and are experienced teachers - that's a good thing."

Peter Heron had been the principal at Ngata Memorial College for three years, and said enticing teachers and finding accommodation for them was a challenge.

"We have 10 school houses, all of which are full of teachers, and over the last three years we've grown from 64 students to 110, so we've reached a point now where any more growth we're going to struggle to actually house our staff and there is not a big housing market here."

Each day started with karakia and the school's whakataukī.

Then it was time for notices and breakfast - which came from a range of providers like KidsCan.

Later in the day lunch was provided through Ka Ora, Ka Ako healthy school lunches programme - Heron said it had a good impact.

"We've seen our attendance increase from in the 60s up to the 80 percent."

"We're seeing improved engagement, improved attendance and children enjoying being at school."

Heron said some students had years of isolation through Covid, soon followed by Cyclone Gabrielle.

It had disrupted not just education, but also mental health and social growth.

"It's really only in the last few months that the sports programmes have picked up again properly."

"Our students are going to a ball at Tolaga Bay Area School next week. And again, there's not been a ball for three years."

"Lots of those key milestones of being a teenager have not been present for our students."

Heron said the school was lucky to have the support to send food, sleeping bags, cookers and other resources to their local whānau.

But what they really needed was a steady sense of "normal".