Swift action needed on Solomons disaster
National’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Wayne Mapp, is calling on the Government to act now on the devastation wreaked by
Cyclone Zoe in the Solomons.
“It’s appalling how long it has taken New Zealand authorities to make any sort of aerial assessment, considering a
freelance cameraman was able to get a flight over Tikopia early yesterday.
“By the end of today, a Hercules could be air dropping supplies and experts in communications and medical aid, instead
of waiting for a boat to get there.
“This is a humanitarian disaster in our own back yard. The cyclone was at the top of the scale for the Southern
Hemisphere and, so far, these victims have been given no help. There will be critically injured people who need medical
aid – we don’t know how many. Food will be short and there may be no fresh water.
“Getting action from the government in the ‘failed state’ of the Solomons will be difficult, if not impossible. That
means that countries that can act, must act. We want Phil Goff to make decisions now that could save lives,” says Dr
Mapp.