Dad’s urban army — Editorial

The sad fact of life during the Kaikoura earthquake has been CD’s lack of understanding of the needs of rural people.

We may feel for urban people whose homes have been destroyed and jobs put on hold. But do urban people, especially those in CD, truly understand the plight of farmers? Many of them have also lost their homes, and lack basic necessities, but they carry the added responsibility of caring for stock -- cows, sheep, cattle, deer or man’s best friend, the farm dog.

CD people don’t get this, and understandably farmers in North Canterbury have been beside themselves with anger and frustration at the inflexible, bureaucratic approach of some well-meaning volunteers dealing with farmers at a local level.

Yes, safety is important, but some behaviour of the civil defence people beggars belief. Understandably, care is essential on the inland route to Kaikoura, but serious questions arise about the management of this road issue.

Even the Acting Minister of Civil Defence, Gerry Brownlee, has asked questions about the workings of the CD response and so he should.

Farmers may be forgiven for feeling they have been dealt a bad hand by CD. Its role rightly includes restoring calm, but in this case CD people have added to farmers’ woes by being impractical and non-pragmatic. The CD approach has seemed to many rural people to be, “If it’s not in the CD manual we don’t do it”. Sorry, but that’s daft!

CD may easily observe damage to buildings in Wellington, and rule that workers stay away. It requires a bit more thinking, a lighter touch -- and, to be fair, training -- for CD to appreciate the plight of a dairy farmer whose rotary milking platform has been jolted off its rollers.

Consider the plight of a farmer plagued by landslips, destroyed fences and stock going bush, and without tracks for stock mustering and no digger access for track repair. For him then to be told by dad’s army that he can’t go home -- for what seem spurious reasons -- is the final straw.

The Kaikoura quake highlights again the enduring gap between town and country, especially at the level of officialdom.

Brownlee had better ring some changes.