5 April 2018

Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board says Taupo’s rescue helicopter must stay

Removing Taupo’s rescue helicopter service is not an option, and the Government must weigh-in on the issue to make things right, says the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

The Trust Board is calling for action after learning that a request for proposal from the National Ambulance Sector Office does not include a rescue helicopter base in Taupo.

The proposal removes the Taupo base – substituting it for bases in Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, and New Plymouth that will service the Central North Island region, from Hamilton though to Wellington.

Echoing concerns shared by the Taupo District Mayor earlier this week, Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board Chief Executive Topia Rameka says removing the Taupo base will dramatically affect the risk to people who need the service.

“This is a major concern for us, and there has been a real lack of consultation. We understand that under the new system Taupo would still be serviced by other areas, but they are a further hour away – which could be the difference between life and death for the hundreds of rescues made in our rohe (region) every year.”

Taupo currently has the Greenlea rescue helicopter, which is based at Taupo Airport, which would cease to operate if this new proposal, in its current form, goes ahead.

“Not only does Greenlea perform hundreds of missions every year, it also provides our local Police and Search and Rescue with 24/7 support.

“Taupo is experiencing a tourism boom; there are thousands of people crossing Tongariro every week, and we have increasing levels of recreational activity taking place on our lake and in our forests.

“Our emergency response will be severely compromised if this proposal goes ahead. This in turn could have a major impact on our health and safety performance, and negative implications on the reputation of our tourism industry. We can’t afford to put our people at risk, we must have a base here in Taupo.”

Mr Rameka says the Trust would like to see the Taupo service included in the RFP and is calling on the Government to intervene and show some leadership.

“We need a whole of Government approach to this issue and we should all be very concerned about the implications of these emergency services leaving our regions and be working together to find an optimal solution.”

ENDS

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