Sonny is manager of BRaid (Braided Rivers Aid) and climate change advisor for Mahaanui Kurataioa.
In response to the Auckland floods, mayor Wayne Brown has said the city may have built houses where they shouldn't have been built. It remains to be seen whether the North Island floods will have the same shock value that caused Christchurch to abandon vast swathes of suburbia (the Red Zone) after its quakes. Waitakere, Christchurch, Taradale, all claimed from large areas of wetland, to where water likes to return in what used to be called “100 year events”. Inappropriate development is not limited to urban areas. Canterbury's braided rivers have been stifled by stopbanks and fringed by farms and forests for more years than a 4 wheel driver will waste litres of fuel and beer on Crate Day.
Supper and a chat afterwards.