Viewpoint

What a time to be alive

In the aftermath of massive flooding and storm events, I wish you a much better month of March than you probably had in February.

In particular, I’m aware that so many of you have only had power restored relatively recently, after two weeks out or even longer. Living without electricity is a stressful enough experience at the best of times. For those dependent on power for medical reasons, water supply and communications though, it must have felt intolerable. Listening to the concerns of constituents throughout this time – and directly advocating for re-connection where possible – taught me three key things.

First, where physical access to the outside world is removed, residents’ ability to take care of themselves naturally grows in importance. In other words, with arterial roads suddenly inaccessible due to slips, cratering or flooding, the stress levels increased for those without power in their own household or business. The option of heading down the road for vital services was removed.

The usual priority for utilities companies, when it comes to restoring services, is to get the greatest number of people back online as soon as possible, then work outwards. This may make sense on paper but means that more rural and remote areas inevitably wait longer. It also means that those most vulnerable due to road access issues face the “double-whammy” of disconnection for longer.

Many readers of Mahurangi Matters were isolated during the period that the

Please don’t park on paths

A Warkworth resident has made a plea for more consideration from drivers who park their vehicles on footpaths instead of the road. Rosemary Allan snapped this car parked across the pathway in Hexham Street last week, saying such behaviour made life difficult for pedestrians or people with impaired mobility. She said she knew of one mobility scooter user who had fallen and hurt themselves while trying to get around a car that was taking up most of a path. “It happens all the time,” she said.

Brynderwyns route to the north was closed, at the same time as Dome Valley was also impassable. I hope that when equivalent events take place in the future (God forbid) this particular form of vulnerability is factored into the power restoration priorities.

Second, systems need to respond to reality. That might sound obvious enough in itself, but constituents contacting me throughout were deeply frustrated to find that power or communications problems had ostensibly been fixed, according to the authorities’ records, when no such thing had happened.

Third, better disaster preparedness is needed. The community is indebted to every first-responder, community group, business or individual who opened their doors (often literally) to those in need. Thank you all.

It was heartwarming to see, sure, but as a nation we clearly should not be caught short so badly that such acts of heroism and selflessness are needed at such scale. A permanent, publicised plan is needed. Auckland Emergency Management should lead that planning now, with execution to take place when the next storm hits. Please continue to contact my office and me with your post-flooding and poststorm issues. I’m hearing the same stories many times over, so am able to identify shortfalls in the system across the area. It’d be great to see as many of you as possible at the upcoming Warkworth A&P Lifestyle Show. Meantime, take care and may the lights stay on.

110gms unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

1 ½ cups flour

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup butterscotch chips. You can use Wetheralls and smash them with the rolling pin.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare Braided Mini Bundt Pan with butter and dust with flour and use a pastry brush to evenly coat the details of the pan. Using a mixer combine melted butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Slowly mix in egg and egg yolk.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter and sugar mixture and thoroughly combine. Stir in butterscotch chips. Fill each cavity of the pan only ¾ full with a large cookie scoop of batter (about 3 tablespoons) and push batter into details of cavities. Gently tap pan on towel-covered countertop to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 18-20 minutes in the middle rack of oven or until edges are lightly browned and tester inserted into Bundt Blondies comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack. Clean pan, prepare pan with butter, and repeat bake time with remaining batter. These are best served warm. Make a glaze just to add a detail and further taste. Lemon is lovely