Government failing to give Gisborne post-cyclone certainty: Penk

Cyclone damage: David Clark (right), of Opou Station at Manutuke, talks with National Party cyclone recovery spokesman Chris Penk during his visit to the district this week. Picture supplied

Visiting National Party MP Chris Penk says much of New Zealand does not know how badly impacted Gisborne was by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Mr Penk, the party’s cyclone recovery spokesman, said it was understandable there was a greater focus on Hawke’s Bay, but Gisborne had its own challenges as an isolated region with a small ratepayer base.

A large amount of funding was obviously required but there were also other “straightforward and fundamental matters”.

Local Government and the community needed more certainty and details about rebuilding, time frames and community consultation.

“The Government said they would have the information necessary to make a decision in April around whether residents in cyclone- and flood-hit communities could rebuild their homes.

“However, in media interviews over the past couple of days Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson said that time frame has now been pushed back until the end of May.

“This is totally unacceptable. It’s now more than 10 weeks since the storms hit and all we’ve had from Labour is a statement on the blindingly obvious — some properties can stay, some can go and some will need modification.”

Mr Penk said the Government needed to be more transparent.

“Whether it be local government, community groups, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), households, businesses, they have been remarkably tolerant. But they can’t go forever not knowing what’s going on.”

“If the Government can communicate what the road blocks are, that will go a long way. But at the moment it’s the worse of both worlds with a lack of decisions and a lack of knowledge about when they’re going to be made.”

Mr Penk said the country needed a “disaster recovery approach” which allowed MPs to be in their communities helping out during a state of emergency, rather than passing laws under urgency in Parliament.

“Under a state of emergency, we would know what kicks in here.

“It might be that time frames under the Resource Management Act might not apply for say, six months.”

Mr Penk said National did not yet have such a policy confirmed in detail but that would happen before the election.

The MP for Kaipara Ki Mahurangi, accompanied by the party’s East Coast candidate Dana Kirkpatrick, visited Midway Beach, Papatu Road, Tolaga Bay and Hear4U men’s mental health charity.

Ms Kirkpatrick said there was a considerable amount of work, worth billions of dollars, yet to be done in Gisborne that needed Government recovery support.

“Billions of dollars required will need to come from the Government to get this region back on its feet. This includes roads, water infrastructure, bridges, flood protection, cleaning up, drainage and much more.

“There are many farmers and growers in our community who have had very little, if any, help.

“The effects of the cyclone will be felt for years. There is no insurance for crop losses and many farmers and growers have lost their income for this year and for two or three years ahead, impacting cash flow, forward planning, mental health and business viability.

“This is a serious issue for our region. In Gisborne, farming, horticulture, processing and the rural service industry employ nearly 4000 people and return $196 million a year in regional GDP (gross domestic product).

“We need to lobby harder for our farmers and growers to ensure they can rebuild and recover from the cyclone financially and from a wellbeing perspective.

“We still can’t easily get to Hawke’s Bay — a road which is an economic artery for our region, supplying the access to our markets and opportunities, and for many, family and work commitments.”