"When word of a crisis breaks out in Washington, it's no accident that the first question that comes to everyone's lips is: 'Where's the nearest carrier?'" President Bill Clinton March 12, 1993 aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt It doesn't really matter what you want to fly if you haven't got any place to fly it from. Our main effort in this campaign is to retain our current rescue helicopter bases in Taupo (also covering Ruapehu), Rotorua, Te Anau and Whitianga. Without those, none of the rest matters. Yes, the NASO proposal has more scraggly threads hanging off it that a scraggly student couch and, yes, it is tempting to pull on them. But these become distractions from our main efforts, sideshows that won't matter if we lose our bases. The current base locations are the key enablers for the current short flight times into incident locations. This means not only faster delivery of lifesaving aid faster but also greater opportunities to exploit weather windows. The current base locations are the key enablers for the intimate local relationships and knowledge of weather and terrain that underpin success operations in remote rural and alpine areas. The Ministry of Health, via NASO, says that no part of New Zealand will be left unserviced by rescue helicopters. That's true.....but...it won't say that the current response times will be maintained under the new model. With a fleet that will probably be smaller than the current one, and greater flight times from more remote bases, remote rural and alpine communities are going to get the short end of the stick in this proposal: we HAVE to keep these bases. Of course, NASO has a problem discussing these bases because sooner or later, someone important will ask the inconvenient question over their commission from the map of 'current' operating bases in the tender documents....that will be a bureaucratic 'uh-oh' moment, for sure... {just as a sidenote, does anyone else think that both Ministers Lees-Galloway and Clark need to grow a set and front up publicly over the fate of our current rescue helicopter services...?] A risk in long campaigns like this. is that while the issues remains, interest wanes once the initial high passes. We hammered past 21,000 signature last night which is a good sign that interest is still high as more and more communities get involved to say "NO!" to NASO... Despite really pants weather, Jan-Marie inspired over a thousand people to turn out for the march in Taupo on Monday. Some great speakers, including MP Louise Upston and former Minister Christine Rankin, now chair of the Lakes DHB and also blindsided by the NASO proposal, spoke of their anger and disappointment in the NASO process and proposal, and the detrimental effects on their districts and their people should the plan go ahead as is... The next public activity is scheduled for Rotorua on Saturday 21 March with a meeting at the helicopter hangar at Rotorua Hospital at 10AM. Please go long to be counted and have your voice...if you can't make it, please comment in support on the event page https://www.facebook.com/events/158308854837047 I was talking to a reporter from a community newspaper yesterday about other ways that people that can raise their concerns to the Ministers responsible. We thought it might be an idea for community papers to print a prepared message format that people could cut out, sign and send in an envelope to each Minister. If you like that idea and think it might work in your area - assuming that your local community paper has some free space - then maybe contact them and ask them what they can do. Alternatively you could use the information below, wrote your own short letter and send it off. The two Ministers are the Hon Iain Lees Galloway, Minister for ACC and the Hon Dr David Clarke, Minister of Health. The Parliamentary freemail address for individuals wishing to raise concerns with either Minister is: The Hon Iain Lees-Galloway Minister for ACC Freepost Parliament Private Bag 18 888 Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160 and The Hon Dr David Clark Minister for ACC Freepost Parliament Private Bag 18 888 Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160 Each letter to the Ministers should ask that they: - Retain the current rescue helicopter bases in Taupo, Rotorua, Te Anau and Whitianga. - Publicly confirm that the current levels of service including response times to patient locations will be maintained. Another 30 minutes is too long. - Make public the data on which the NASO proposal is based. Each letter must be signed by the sender and include their name and a contact email address or phone number. To send to more than one MP or Minister, please put all letters in a single envelope (but make sure there is a copy for each MP or Minister you want to hold accountable for keeping our rescue helicopter bases. More info here: https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/contact-an-mp Just because the Ministers are too shy to talk to us, doesn't mean we are too shy to talk to them...crank up that heat, hold them accountable for the actions of of those they are responsible for, shame them into engaging with the people who pout them in office... Stay on point, team...save our rescue helicopter bases...