“Today’s announcement will help councils get the right solution in the right place and avoid significant financial hardship for property owners,” said Minister Robertson.
“The Government is committed to providing funding to support councils and will work through the details with them on how that will work in practice for both Category 2 and 3 properties. We expect to have those details resolved in June.
“For properties designated Category 2 (where it is determined community and/or property level interventions are feasible to manage future severe weather event risk) the Government will work with councils to help them build flood protection and other resilience measures.
“The initial support for this is already in place with $100 million initial funding announced in Budget 2023.”
People in homes designated as Category 3 properties (where future severe weather event risk cannot be sufficiently mitigated) will be offered a voluntary buyout by councils. The costs of this will be shared between the Government and councils.
“Decisions on the details of how the voluntary buyout process will work will be made in the coming weeks. This will include the criteria for valuation of Category 3 properties, the split of costs between councils and central government, and the treatment of uninsured properties.”
A parallel process was under way to engage with Māori, including on appropriate processes for whenua Māori.
Engagement with those communities would be led by the Cyclone Response Unit, Te Arawhiti and local councils.
“Tairāwhiti has already begun contact with property owners in Category 3, with the remainder to be finalised over coming weeks,” Associate Finance Minister Michael Wood said.
Seventeen homeowners in Tairāwhiti have had their houses classified by the Government as unsafe to live in, with the land they’re on no longer suitable for residential (Category 3).
The council has no final figure for numbers of houses in Category 2 yet.
“It’s a devastating blow for these property owners and the communities most impacted,” Mayor Rehette Stoltz said.
“Yesterday we started calling the 17 owners of these homes.
“The majority of them (14) are in the city.”
“Category 3 is the highest, and this is a Government classification separate to the council’s red-sticker assessments.
“Category 3 means there is a future severe weather risk that cannot be mitigated and there may be a threat to life.”
Mayor Stoltz said while the news had been devastating, there had also been an overall feeling of relief and certainty for most people who had been contacted, with a few expressing concerns about what is next for them.
“There are other Government agencies who will provide support for these property owners.
“We know there’ll be a lot of questions and an urgent need to understand what happens next and what the options are,” she said.
“Each property is unique and influenced by a range of different factors. The situation is incredibly complex, and we don’t have all the answers yet.
“As a council, we remain committed to sharing information quickly to help those affected make plans.
“These are challenging decisions with long-lasting impacts, which is why we are taking the time to get this right.
“Property owners deemed to be in Category 2 will be notified next on what options will be available to them, including whether they can return home in the future or will need to relocate due to the flood risks.
“We are waiting for Government announcements about what is available. Then we’ll work with landowners and ensure there are options and support available.”
Mayor Stoltz says preliminary maps showing the areas affected will be available at the end of next week.
“These maps could still change after further hazard work is carried out. We’ve been told some properties could shift within Category 2, or even be shifted to Category 3. As soon as we know, we will let landowners know.”
The council, in collaboration with the Government’s Cyclone Recovery Taskforce, have been working on which areas should be placed into each category. The risk assessment process was based on data from the council, Ministry for the Environment, and insurance company claims data.
Wairoa has no Category 3 properties but 684 Category 2 properties, all on the north bank of the Wairoa River, and properties along the Wairoa River to the north.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said it was good property owners had some certainly and would be able to re-insure properties but he was reticent on just how much flood mitigation would cost the council and ratepayers.
“We have a lot of work to do. Like a lot of other councils we don’t have a lot of money and we don’t want to put future generations under financial difficulties. So, I just hope the government takes in council on a case by case basis and each community’s ability to pay.”
With river mitigation expected to be the main work needed, the costs could be in “the millions and millions”, possibly up to $100m, Mr Little said.
“We certainly can’t afford that. We will just have to work with the government to find out how we are going to do this.”
