Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the decision by the Secretary of Education to allow Auckland’s early childhood centres, schools, universities, and other tertiary institutions to open tomorrow.

“It turned out to be the right decision to keep schools closed today. But Aucklanders are resilient and – where possible – want to get our region back to normal again. With blue sky over much of the city, the worst is hopefully behind us. We can now resume the big Auckland clean-up that communities got underway on Saturday morning, and prepare for the even bigger repair and removal stage,” Mayor Brown said.

But the Mayor said it was important Aucklanders take extra care in the days and perhaps weeks ahead.

“Our region is saturated. More slips are possible or even likely. Floodwaters are still present with dangerous hidden debris. As everyone heads back to work and school tomorrow, please keep well away from anything that looks like it could become a slip, and do not play in floodwaters.

“Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the other day, we need to get Auckland pumping again, after three years of Covid.

“As Aucklanders carry on with the big clean up, and as a number of families grieve loved ones, we also need to back to normal as quickly as possible.

“Thank you to Aucklanders for sticking together and to the thousands of emergency service personnel, council workers and volunteers who have put themselves at risk and are now into their fifth day of extraordinarily hard work.

“Thank you to our Councillors and Local Board members for your hard work in our communities and for your advice.

“And thank you to our infrastructure suppliers who have kept most transport, water, power, and sewerage working after this unprecedented weather event.

“There are going to be lessons to learn for all of us, including me. But, overall, Aucklanders can be proud of how we have got through what we hope is the worst.”

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