Protestors in the region feeling the impacts of climate change the hardest right now marched to the regional council building in Napier.
They asked Hawke's Bay Regional Council's general manager Pieri Munro when the impact of global warming on storms will start to be taken seriously.
"You die of old age, we'll die of climate change," people chanted during the march on Friday.
In Napier, many homes have been so badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, climate strike organisers even debated whether it was appropriate to hold a protest.
But decided - the timing couldn't be more crucial.
"I came here to tell people about what's going on with," School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) protestor Olivia Sebileau told Newshub.
SS4C organiser Madison Milley said "Friends who were in the affected areas that got completely wiped away. They didn't prepare because they were told it wasn't that serious."
They marched to Hawke's Bay Regional Council together where they bailed up Munro.
"How bout HBRC ( Hawke's Bay Regional Council) thinking about how our land is used and how that contributes," one protestor said.
Another protestor said "But that's the same as [19]88. It's the same words and nothing happened."
"People have been out there working with others in communities. They've been planting, they've been working on the erosion control on the hills," Munro said.
They vented their frustration over decades of what they see as inaction by decision-makers.
"You've placed all your intent into dealing with repercussions. It's about both But what I'm saying is you're only focused on the repercussions," a third protestor said.
But protestors asked why the plan is to bail out the water rather than repair the leak.
"Whenever there were questions thrown at him [Munro] to ask 'what are we going to do fix the route of the problem?' It was very much deflected," Milley said.
When they can see all around them that the planet needs help.
"It's all falling to pieces and stuff, because of what we are doing," Sebileau said.
The problem is that simple but fixing it - not so much.
