Sharnae Hope18:12, Jul 05 2021
Supplied
Prior to 2019 the Coromandel Rescue Helicopter Trust was based in Whitianga for more than 12 years.
A battle to bring a lifesaving helicopter service back from the dead is heading to the Beehive.
For more than a decade a Whitianga-based chopper service was on the spot to fly people out of potentially deadly situations until the Ministry of Health axed the service in 2019.
Residents have been rallying to return the service ever since and Coromandel MP Scott Simpson is backing them.
The ministry has made a deliberate decision to “prioritise Auckland and Northland ahead of people in Coromandel and I don’t think that's good enough”.