Cyclone-hit communities to wait longer for consultation on rebuild or red-zone future

Conversations with residents of cyclone and flooding-hit communities about whether they can rebuild their homes are being delayed amid requests from Hawke’s Bay mayors for more certainty from the Government.

About two weeks ago, Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson said he was hoping to initiate consultation on the Government’s plan for regions impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods from the start of May.

However, Robertson told the Herald he was now working towards taking that plan to communities towards the end of the month, but it could be even later.

National Party cyclone recovery spokesman Chris Penk is warning any more delays will put at risk people’s accommodation and further deteriorate their mental health.

Residents in Hawke’s Bay - one of the hardest hit regions during February’s cyclone - are pleading for more information with some beginning to restore their properties before receiving anything from their insurance providers who are waiting for direction from central government on what areas might be deemed no longer appropriate to build homes in.

“I’m very wary of putting out information that we can’t stand by,” Robertson said today.

“I absolutely understand the desire for certainty that everybody has, but I also don’t want to mislead people.

“I’m working towards the end of the month but I’m just wary of committing to that when there are so many moving parts.”

Homes along Dartmoor Rd in Hawke's Bay remained trashed after the cyclone ripped through the region. Photo / Paul Taylor

Yesterday, Robertson confirmed the framework for how it would be decided whether residential properties could remain in flooded areas or if the risk was too great.

The first category, “Low Risk”, would apply to properties where repairs were all that were required to manage a future severe weather event, meaning a home could be rebuilt in the same place once any necessary flood protection was reinstated.

The second category, “Managed Risk”, could involve the raising of nearby stopbanks, improving drainage or raising properties to limit the impact of flooding.

This category was split into three sub-categories, which ranged from local government repairs to flood protection schemes to “property-specific” measures like drainage and elevating the house.

The final category, “High Risk”, included those areas where homes should not be rebuilt because it was “not safe to live in because of the unacceptable risk of future flooding and loss of life”, Robertson said.

Hawke’s Bay mayors Sandra Hazlehurst (Hastings) and Craig Little (Wairoa) told RNZ this morning they supported the categories but wanted more information about how the consultation process would occur.

“It’s a good start but what we need is actually more certainty around a transparent and open process with timelines so our communities can understand what categories they fit in,” Hazlehurst said.

She said Hastings residents were “really suffering and really anxious” living with uncertainty.

Little said it would be difficult engaging with people who had lived in their communities for many generations and he doubted how effective current decision-making was, given the lack of understanding about how areas in Wairoa flooded.

“It’s a step in the right direction but we don’t even know what caused our flood so how can we know what to do?”

Robertson acknowledged the mayors’ concerns but reiterated his position that rushing consultation would do more harm than good.

“I think the worst possible outcome would be for us to go out with a decision about a community being in a particular category and then change that decision a few weeks later, that would actually be the worst outcome.”

National Party cyclone recovery spokesman Chris Penk. Photo / Facebook

Penk believed a decision left too late, even if it was the right decision, would have no practical value for some if they ran out of accommodation support or were becoming increasingly pressured to make mortgage payments.

“Time-critical decisions on repair and rebuilding cannot take place without the government playing its part, affecting households and businesses alike,” he said.

“Some of the decisions about properties’ longevity will be relatively straightforward and these should be advised without further delays.

“Grant Robertson needs to act with much greater transparency and urgency than we have seen so far.”