Exhaustion, frustration and an air of sadness could be felt at a Tolaga Bay meeting, as people shared emotional accounts of the impact of slash and recent cyclones.
While somewhat bound politically by Labour's promise of no new taxes this term, Finance Minister Grant Robertson is keeping all options open in his search for a way to fund the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary floods.
It's the first big test for his pairing with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins - and they will need to carefully balance the practicalities of on-the-ground response with longer-term preparation for future challenges - all while keeping faith with voters, many of them still traumatised by the crises.
In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ political editor Jane Patterson assesses the impact of the cyclone and the financial tools the government has for dealing with it.