Hawke’s Bay farmers, growers call for more help as Government rules out cyclone recovery tax

A bulldozer in Ōtāne pushes the land back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Warren Buckland

The Government has ruled out any new tax to help pay for ballooning cyclone recovery costs, while farmers and growers in Hawke’s Bay say they are receiving “radio silence” with regard to any further support.

Speaking in Auckland, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods earlier this year was now estimated to be between $9 billion and $14.5 billion.

That includes an estimated $2-$3.5 billion of damage to households, $2-$3 billion to businesses and $5-$7.5 billion to infrastructure.

Much of that damage was in Hawke’s Bay, which was the region hit hardest by the cyclone.

Hipkins said the Government would not be introducing a cyclone levy or another kind of tax to help cover the recovery costs.

“The Government has taken the decision to fund the recovery from here on through a combination of the annual operating and capital allowances we set each year for the Budget, savings and reprioritisations, and some debt as we invest in infrastructure repairs and build back stronger,” he said.

“There will be no new tax everyone would have had to pay, such as a cyclone levy, to fund the recovery.

“I think of it like this; when you have to do major repairs to your house, you usually have to borrow a little and cut back on expenses elsewhere.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in conversation before his pre-Budget speech in Auckland on Thursday. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“Households generally can’t increase their income to pay for repairs, and it is not the right time for the Government to either.”

So far, the Government has announced a $250 million support package for roading, a $75m package for impacted businesses and a $74m package for farmers and growers.

Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay president Jim Galloway said the initial $10,000 grants that went to impacted farmers - out of that package - had been brilliant.

However, he said it had been “radio silence” since then as to whether the Government would do anything else for farmers.

“For most, they have done very little. They came out fast with the $10,000 grants, which were brilliant - that was a great starting point - but they have gone radio silence since then and nothing more has been announced.”

He said it was “pretty tough out there, and the bills are starting to roll in and get pretty big”.

“The amount of work people have ahead of them to get back to any resemblance of being able to farm properly again is absolutely massive.”

He said kilometres of fencing had been destroyed on farms, which was the biggest problem, then there were slips over tracks, water supply damage, silt in dams, bridges damaged and paddocks covered by silt and slips.

He said on one 40-hectare farm in Ōtāne, all that farm’s 4.5km of fencing had been destroyed and it would cost probably $100,000-plus to replace.

“Hundreds of thousands per farm, for the ones affected badly, is not an uncommon number ... they have to spend.”

He said not everything on farms was insurable, some policies simply capped how much could be paid out for the likes of fencing damage, and many farms were underinsured.

He said he did not have a view on introducing a new tax to help cover the cyclone recovery.

However, he said he wanted to see the Government do all it could to cut any spending that was superfluous to make sure it was going where it was needed most.

NZ Fruitgrowers Federation director Leon Stallard, from Hawke’s Bay, said there was huge uncertainty from impacted fruit growers around whether they will be able to rebuild in certain areas, whether they will receive further financial help from the Government, and whether they will receive help clearing silt and debris from their land.

“I know of growers who are spending $80,000-$90,000 a hectare just trying to clear the land on certain varieties.”

He said it was tough going and any announcements around support and zoning would be appreciated.

“We just need some certainty about what is going to happen going forward,” he said. “The emotional toll, not just on the growers, but even on the people that are working and assisting, is just enormous.”

He said without knowing more about a special levy for cyclone recovery, it was hard to say whether it was a good idea or not.