Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
I move, That this House note its deep sorrow at the tragic deaths of six young people and their teacher from Auckland’s Elim Christian College while participating in an outdoor education programme near the Tongariro National Park. The tragedy near Tongariro yesterday, taking the lives of six high school students and their teacher, is the worst nightmare of every family, every community, and every school. I am sure that the thoughts of every member of this House today will be with those grieving families, the school, their friends, and with the outdoor pursuits centre. Late last night I spoke to Murray Burton, the principal of the Elim Christian College, and passed on the deep sorrow that I felt for what had happened, and the Minister of Education has been at the school this morning. Since late yesterday Government agencies have been engaged in the support of the families and the school community.
I think that each of us can identify with what has happened. The young people and their teacher were away on what was a great adventure, and that great adventure has ended in the tragic loss of life for those seven people in the party. That leaves the families, the school, and the outdoor pursuits centre in shock and in grief, and having to come to terms with what has happened. The Elim Christian College is a faith-based school, and as its principal has said today, those involved will draw on their faith as they make the difficult journey of coming to terms with what has happened. I believe we all stand united with the families, the school, and the outdoor pursuits centre today in expressing our deep sorrow at the loss of the lives of these young people and their teacher, knowing that two of these young people were indeed to celebrate their 17th birthday this week. They had so much to live for, and so much potential. May they rest in peace.
JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
I share with the Prime Minister her expression of the deep sorrow felt by this House as we reflect on the tragic deaths of seven New Zealanders in the Tongariro National Park. Mercifully it is very rare that this Parliament has reason to reflect on a tragedy of this magnitude. It is with great sadness that we do so today. As parents, as members of Parliament, and as New Zealanders we share an understanding of the unconditional love felt for our children, and a sense of the ultimate helplessness felt in the face of events such as these. We can do nothing to lessen their loss, but instead extend our sympathy to the victims’ families, to the students and staff at Elim Christian College, and to the staff of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre. At this time of great pain we wish that they are able to take strength from their families, their communities, and their faith. They are firmly in our thoughts. May they rest in peace.
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) Link to this
I would like to express the deep sadness and shock of all those in New Zealand First at the tragic loss of the teacher and so many young and valuable lives during the crossing of the Mangatepopo Stream. The search and rescue teams, including the police and St John Ambulance, are to be commended for their efforts in very, very difficult conditions. Our thoughts are with the families and friends, colleagues and schoolmates, of those who lost their lives in such a sudden and unforeseeable event. We offer our sincere condolences to them.
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
The Green Party joins with other parties in the House to express our deepest sympathy to the families of Natasha Bray, Portia McPhail, Huan Hsu, Anthony Mulder, Floyd Fernandez, and Tara Gregory, and of their teacher Anthony McLean. There can be nothing so hard to bear as the death of one’s child, and I know that the whole country is thinking of those parents and families. Those young people were on an adventure; they were challenging themselves and their courage to tackle the challenges of a mountain and a river. It is really important that young people have the opportunity to do that, and preferably to do it in safety, and it would also be a tragedy if young people were to be prevented from accepting these challenges, from testing themselves, and from proving their courage in the outdoors because of these risks. We hope that it can be made a safer experience in the future, and they will not be forgotten.
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Māori Party) : Ka waipuke mai ngā roimata mai i te kāhui maunga e rere kau ana ki te moana. Ka tangi te awa, ka tangi ahau.
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[The tears from the cluster of mountains flood forth and flow to the sea. The river mourns, and so do I.]
I stand today extending my gaze from the mountains to the sea, thinking of those who have lost their lives in the Mangatepopo Gorge, and their whānau. Our tears flow as we think of the tragedy that has occurred within the Tongariro River, a tragedy that has dealt a savage blow to the families, Elim Christian College, as well as the staff of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, and, indeed, all who have been involved in this tragic event. No one in this House can imagine the pain that the parents, the wider families, and the school community must be feeling at this time. We can but express our deepest condolences for young lives lost.
The whole process of living, growing, and maturing involves testing boundaries and taking risks. All of those young people—and I include in our thoughts their young teacher—connected through to families who had dreams and aspirations for them that will now not be realised, so tenuous is life! The Māori Party has been shocked at the terrible tragedy that took place at the headwaters of the Whanganui River, a tragedy that extinguished so much hope and potential. We offer our sincere condolences to all who have been affected.
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) Link to this
We often rise in this House to express our sympathy, our commiserations, or our sense of loss when some prominent figure in New Zealand or elsewhere in the world has suffered a tragedy. But when we do so in respect of six young New Zealanders and their teacher who were going about their normal activity, I think it is all the more poignant, because it strikes home to all of us—all of us who are parents, those of us in this House who have been teachers, and all of us who work with young people day in, day out—that the loss is immediate and real.
To the parents, they will be struggling with immense emotions at the moment: the shock of the loss, the emptiness of rooms that will not be returned to, artefacts and mementos around the home that will not be picked up again, and, I guess, that inevitable question of “Why us?”. Well, we cannot answer those questions, but what we as a House can do is express to the parents, to the teachers, to the pupils, and to the wider community of the Elim Christian College in Auckland our very deepest sympathy as a Parliament, and our sense of standing alongside them in their loss, and standing alongside them in their grief in the days ahead.
United Future joins with other parties who have made a call for sympathy today. We respect the memories of those who have died. We stand with them, and we ask that they rest in peace.
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) Link to this
The ACT party joins with the Prime Minister and the entire House in offering our deep condolences to the families, friends, the community, and all of those directly affected by this horrific tragedy and this great loss. Words almost fail us. But what is very clear is that the entire country is united in its grief over this tragic and inexplicable loss. It is fitting that this entire House say to those families that we sympathise, and that we offer them, as best we can as a Parliament, our condolences. May those young people rest in peace.
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Leader—Progressive) Link to this
The loss of a child is the worst nightmare of any parent. We now have six families of children at the school, the parents and family of the teacher, the school community, and the community at large all working through that nightmare as we speak. The warmth of this House in expressing its condolences we can only hope will wrap itself around these families in their hour of need. We send them from here our best wishes for the strength to work though this extraordinary tragedy that has beset them all.