Thou Shalt not Lie

News items come and go. It is hard to keep up with the daily bombardment sprayed through various media outlets , let alone absorb and analyse  the content.

Early this morning this morning I caught the Finance Minister being interviewed about a report by the Insurance Industry that stated that New Zealand , I say that again, New Zealand , may be subject to another major weather event in the next 50 years.

Well there's some safe space for a start  .50 years. 

We can speculate all we want but we are talking about nature. That wonderful  encompassing world that we walk in everyday.

It's possible that we may have a storm anytime. We may not.

The terminology around return events confuses many people but it is understandable and its use in planning has been acceptable although it may be challenged in the future.

 

Having lived in one of the flooded areas for 40 years allows one to have some perspective  and balance in reflecting on Gabrielle .1 in 50 or 1 in 100 or even 1 in 200 has some meaning because you have past events that you can use to measure and compare. 

Back to the report.

Of course there is chance of further weather events of elevated magnitude but , and here is the big but, the authorities and Insurance fraternity say that these weather events will be more frequent because of climate change.

The Finance Minister , when asked about the report said 'well that's climate change' . She also mentioned we are going to have to adapt to climate change and have laws that are fit for purpose.(What does that mean?)

And then " we are going to have to get debt down so we can afford to pay for events"

This was all around comments on building in areas that were not prone to flooding and as an extension to that I would add probably retreat in coastal areas because of dreaded sea level rise.

We are living in a time where lies are being told. Porkies. 

The minute the narrative is changed from the weather to climate change when discussing weather events we are shifting from nature to lies.

The weather is nature , climate change happens all the time. It is a natural phenomenon but is used to

 impregnate  porkies in to society.

Gabrielle was an event that was of major proportion. May be a 1 in 500 year event. 

It was unforseen in planning and stopbanks that were built for a 1 in 100 year return were insufficient to with hold such a force .Even stopbanks built to a 1 in 200 year would have been vulnerable.

The kneejerk response to Gabrielle has already destroyed our community  and is creating a scene ripe for corporate exploitation .

The Minister needs to understand the difference between climate change and weather and may be take some advice from the scientists who expouse the truth.