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From MAS

It’s been a tough year for many of our Members and the insurance industry. Auckland’s ongoing issues with flooding and the ravages of Cyclone Gabrielle were a stark and sudden harbinger of our new reality – a world with more frequent extreme weather events.

As we adjust to our meteorological new normal, it’s clear we’ll have to change the ways we’ve done things until now. That’s why we selected the theme for this issue as ‘building back better’, and there are plenty of positive ideas and people profiled. Our cover story showcases a Wellington architect who is going to extreme lengths to drastically reduce the carbon impact of buildings. Many of his ideas promise radical improvements to standard practices if they are adopted more widely by the building industry – such as replacing imported structural steel with locally grown engineered Pinus radiata.

We look at the impact the devastating weather events had on our communities, and how MAS responded to these crises, which saw claims increase by over 33% compared to usual claim numbers.

We also share the story of MAS Member and Dunedin Hospital emergency department specialist Richard Stephenson, who completed a 66-day unassisted journey to the South Pole earlier this year.

We welcome your feedback, story ideas and anything else you wish to share with us – email onmas@mas.co.nz.

Nā te Kaiwhakatika

Kātahi anō te tau tino uaua ki ngā Mema tokomaha me te ahumahi rīanga. He whakatūpato ohotata mārama ngā raru waipuke i Tāmaki Makaurau me ngā mahi tukituki a Huripari Kapariēre mō te ao hōu – he ao e puta auau ake mai ai te huarere mōrihariha.

I a tātou e waia ana ki te huarere hōu noa nei, kei te mārama pai tē taea tonutia a tātou tikanga mahi ā mohoa nei. Nā reira mātou i whiriwhiri ai, hei tāhuhu mō tēnei tānga, ko “te hanga pai ake,” ā, he nui ngā whakaaro pai me ngā kōtaha tāngata ka kōrerotia. Ko tā te kōrero uhi he whakanui i tētahi kaihoahoa nō Pōneke e upoko pakaru ana kia whakawhāiti i te pānga ā-waro o te hanga whare. He maha ōna whakaaro mō te taunaha i ngā whakapai whakaharahara ki ngā tikanga mahi arowhānui, ki te ai ka whāia whānuitia e te ahumahi hanga whare – pērā i te whakakapi i te tīra hanga whare nō tāwāhi ki te rākau paina raweke i whakatipu ki konei.

Titiro ai tātou ki te pānga whakamōtī o te huarere ki ō tātou hapori, me te urupare a te MAS ki aua mōrearea, i kitea ai te pikinga kerēme koni atu i te 33% i ō mua rā.

Kua tuariatia hoki e mātou te kōrero mō te Mema MAS, te tohunga taiwhanga whawhatitata o te Hōhipera o Ōtepoti, mō Richard Stephenson, i puta tōna ihu i tētahi ripoitanga taratahi
e 66-rā ki Te Pito Tonga i tēnei tau.

Nau mai ō urupare, ō ohia kōrero, me ērā atu mea anō e hiahia ana koe kia tuku mai – īmēratia onmas@mas.co.nz.

Chris Sutherland
Āpiha Rīanga Arowhānui Matua

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