ACT criticises cyclone response, Parliament hiatus

ACT is criticising the government over its approach to Cyclone Gabrielle and has opposed the adjournment of Parliament, saying Labour "loves disaster politics".

Party leader David Seymour argues the cyclone is also proof New Zealand needs to shift away from mitigating climate change, and focus on adaptation.

The storm has been causing chaos across the North Island, cutting power to thousands and shutting down mobile phone communications in many areas.

Parliament's first session had been set down for this afternoon. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been in Auckland since the weekend, but the bad weather meant he was unable to fly to Wellington in time for his prime ministerial speech kicking off the parliamentary year.

Parliament's Business Committee, which includes members from all parties, met after midday to discuss whether plans needed to change and chose to postpone the usual sitting programme until next week.

Instead, the House sat briefly this afternoon with parties speaking about the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, before making statements about the declaration of national emergency and adjournment of Parliament.

Heading into the debating chamber this afternoon, Seymour attacked the timing of the announcement and the adjournment of Parliament.

"We are witnessing extraordinary scenes particularly on the East Coast and Hawke's Bay right now, however, there is no logical reason for Parliament to be shut," he said.

"MPs are here and unless you've got an MP with an electrician licence who can help get the power back on the best place for them to be is here in Parliament, doing their job."

He said the sequence of events this morning "only reinforces that, just like under Jacinda, Labour loves disaster politics".

"Just this morning you had Kieran McAnulty, the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Minister saying local states of emergency were sufficient. A few hours later - as the storm was actually passing most of New Zealand - he decides then he's going to declare a national state of emergency; just as Air New Zealand announces its flights will resume, Parliament gets shut down."

He said he did think it was the right thing to declare a national state of emergency, but "my point is that as early as this morning the government were saying that the local states of emergency were adequate. They simply can't have it both ways. Secondly, just because there's a national state of emergency doesn't mean that Parliament shouldn't be sitting".

Under questioning, McAnulty said the declaration was made after a meeting with local civil defence groups made clear the need for national coordination.

"Since that stage Hawke's Bay declared and it was decided from feedback that they provided NEMA ... would benefit from a nationally coordinated response," he said.

He thanked the parties outside government for "working constructively with agencies and ministers on behalf of your constituents", particularly National's Gerry Brownlee.

"There's no time for political games at times like this and you've lived up to that, so thank you," he said.

The National Party has been so far supportive of the government's moves to declare a national state of emergency. Brownlee said they supported the actions taken by the government, and it was the right thing to do.

ACT was the only party to oppose the adjournment. Deputy leader Brooke van Velden said the party believed MPs had a duty to be there.

"We need to be extremely clear - when a government in an emergency takes on extra powers, we should be here to hold those powers to account and to hold the government to account.

"Many people have lost their homes and their livelihoods and will be wondering what the effects of this cyclone will be in the weeks and months to come, but for many New Zealanders the worst of the weather effect itself has passed, flights are returning, travel disruptions in some regards have not happened.

"Parliament is making the decision to adjourn as the worst of the weather has passed. We know that the effects on the community are still here; there are people going through terrible terrible events - but what will be different from tomorrow than will be different next week?

"We cannot suspend democracy because of the weather. We have a duty to be here and we oppose the adjournment of Parliament."

However, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer had driven from her community to be at the resumption of Parliament, and supported the adjournment - saying the focus needed to be on helping communities recover.

"These aren't one-day events, we can't just carry on like nothing has happened. It seems like some want to ignore communities and lead this nation from the comfort of their chambers. People like that aren't fit to lead this nation."

Green Party MP Jan Logie also defended the politicians who were busy on the ground with their constituents.

"To be suggesting that they are not doing their job as parliamentarians in prioritising this and that putting themselves at risk is not what the Green Party believes this Parliament should be encouraging.

"We believe that MPs should be able to do their job and be safe and be in proximity to their communities in times of crisis."

Climate change

Seymour said the weather showed a need to shift focus regarding climate change.

"Our climate change response needs to shift from mitigation to adaption. New Zealand can't change the climate but it can better adapt, and unfortunately we're getting a really big lesson in that right now."

He said risks should be accurately priced in insurance, and people who benefited or imposed costs should be the ones to pay, rather than costs being forced on them.

However, having EQC price in risk resulting from climate change was an option ACT would consider supporting.

Green Party co-leader and Climate Change Minister James Shaw welcomed the government's "decisive and comprehensive" action in responding to the emergency, but despaired over a lack of action on the climate.

"Just when we thought we had had our worst climate-related disaster in this country only two weeks ago, we are now facing an even more significant challenge," he said.

"As I stand here today I struggle to find words to express what I'm thinking and feeling about this particular crisis, I don't think I've ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or not; whether it was caused by humans or not; whether it was bad or not; whether we should do something about it or not - because it is clearly here now."

He said if nothing was done about it, things would get worse.

"We are standing in it right now. This is a climate change related event - the severity of it of course made worse by the that fact our global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees."

Seymour accused Shaw of trying to politicise the cyclone.

"[We] heard somebody attempt to politicise the issue and put it through their particular lens - very happy to do that, but not in this debate, I don't think it's appropriate.

"I think a lot of people ... in the farming community will say the idea 'if only the government made them sacrifice a few calves we'd be delivered from the storm' - I don't think that helps right now. I thought that needs to be said."