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Heather du Plessis-Allan: It's time we talk about White Island and our rescue efforts

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 3 Nov 2020, 4:43PM

Heather du Plessis-Allan: It's time we talk about White Island and our rescue efforts

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 3 Nov 2020, 4:43PM

This might feel a bit like it’s coming out of the blue, but I’d like to talk about the Whakaari White Island eruption. 

This has been prompted by a 60 Minutes documentary in Australia which screened on Sunday night. 

60 Minutes talked to some of the survivors of that eruption, and the fact that our rescue services didn’t go to help them.  And, I can tell you, it didn’t portray our rescue services very well. 

You might remember at the time, there was outcry when our rescue services refused to fly to the island to collect survivors. 

On the day, a couple of local helicopter pilots Tom Storey and Jason Hill heard there had been an eruption and immediately flew out. 

They landed on the island found survivors and then waited. 

They told the professional rescue services there were people alive but badly hurt, and that it was in their opinion safe enough to come to the island.  Then those rescue services made the decision not to go. 

So those two pilots saved the lives of everyone they could, without professional help. 

St John only went out nearly 2.5 hours after the eruption, after all the survivors had been rescued. 

60 Minutes spoke to some of the survivors.  Some talked about feeling abandoned, and it was pretty heart-breaking.

The thought that if our rescue services, with the proper equipment and training, had gone out to rescue, Paul’s son might be alive. 

St John debates that. They reckon it wouldn’t have saved lives. But Australia's Medical Director Doctor Tony Smith now admits, and I think this is a major admission, they should’ve gone out sooner. 

We discussed this a bit at the time of the eruption and it was polarising, people were firmly on either side of the debate. 

But now, it’s been nearly a year, I think we should all have a bit of a think about whether this is the response that we want from our rescue services. 

What is the point in having rescue services if they refuse to rescue? 

No one wants those professional rescuers to put themselves in a situation where they will die.  It’s reasonable to accept that they have to do risk analysis. 

The question is, are they taking enough risk to actually do their jobs?  Or are they taking so little risk that they are essentially impotent?  Even more risk averse than just ordinary citizens now? 

These survivors rightly feel abandoned and frustrated.  Hopefully St John and every other rescue service hears these survivors and reconsiders whether they, in the future, want to abandon other people who need them.  Or whether they’ll rescue when people need rescuing.  

The real heroes here are those two pilots Tom and Jason.  Watching them on Australian TV made me proud of what a couple of Kiwi guys will do to save other humans. 

I wish we could say the same about our rescue services that day. 

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