Homeowners hit worst by cyclone learning their fate

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

The homeowners worst affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent flooding events have been getting the news they were both waiting for and dreading, on the risk and rebuild status of their property.

Seventeen homeowners in Tairāwhiti have been called to advise them that their home is on land that is no longer deemed suitable for a residence — 14 of them in Gisborne city.

Their properties are among an estimated 700 designated as Category 3 around the country (about 400 of which are in Auckland), where future severe weather event risk — from flooding or unstable land — cannot be sufficiently mitigated.

Once confirmed in this category, these homeowners will be offered a voluntary buyout through a funding arrangement between central and local government.

This co-funding arrangement will also cover protection works for the estimated 10,000 homeowners where it has been determined that property and community level interventions, such as raising stopbanks, are feasible to manage future severe weather risk.

No number has been released yet for Category 2 homes in this region, while Wairoa has 684 Category 2 homes and no Category 3 homes.

Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson says a “ball park” figure is that the Category 3 buyouts will cost $1 billion, and that it has not yet been decided how this will be financed.

Details of how the buyout process will work would be released in coming weeks, including criteria for valuing properties, the cost split between central and local government, and what would happen for uninsured properties, Robertson said — stressing that taxpayers generally could not meet all the costs.

The issue of what role insurance would play in voluntary buyouts was still being worked out.

In terms of Category 2 homes, Robertson said a process would be put in place so the Government and councils could set up plans and a business case for the redevelopment of these homes. He hoped that would be finalised by early next year.

Māori engagement would happen through a parallel process that would address the future of whenua Māori.

Yesterday’s announcements by the Government and affected councils follow months of local risk assessments, using data from the councils, the Ministry for the Environment and insurers.

Households will still have a chance to give input into these processes, and houses could be shifted between categories as further assessments of risks and dangers are taken.

Robertson said more information was to come regarding commercial properties and operators in impacted sectors such as horticulture.