Destruction in Otago from flooding and heavy rain is “devastating”, the Prime Minister says, but he was unaware of a proposal to government that was turned down this year and had aimed to prevent flood risks for low-lying houses in South Dunedin.
Christopher Luxon and Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell talked to media in Dunedin early on Monday afternoon, after meeting with local authorities and visiting affected residents.
The number of houses that have been red-stickered has now risen to 11, Luxon said.
“The devastation is real - whether it be 11 families who’ve got red-stickered properties at the moment, whether it be farmers that’ve lost huge amounts of livestock and land.
“And obviously some challenges with respect to the roading infrastructure and network, with slips and other things impacting properties and roads ... it’s been a difficult time.”
Asked about a $132 million proposal from Dunedin City Council to central government that involved buying out at-risk homeowners in low-lying parts of Dunedin, which had been turned down, Luxon said he had not been advised on it, and Mitchell said he would need to check the details.
The council took the plan to the previous Government just before last year’s election, as a result of flooding in the city in 2015, but was told earlier this year it had been rejected.
“I haven’t seen advice on that and I am not aware of that,” Luxon said “ ... but for right now what we’re focused on is the response to the immediate events that happened, not in 2015, but what happened this time round.
“And as you saw there was a huge quantity of water - not incomparable to 2015 from what I understand - and yet the response was handled in a much better way and with a much better response.”
A man walking through floodwaters in South Dunedin. Photo / George Heard
Luxon thanked the regional emergency management response teams, local infrastructure workers, emergency responders and everyone who had stepped up to help their neighbours out during the storm and flooding: “Teams worked together incredibly well ... the regional response was very impressive.”
Support would continue through the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ministry of Social Development, he said.
Mitchell said the damage to the red-stickered homes was mostly as a result of slips, and each property was being investigated to see if it would be possible for work to be carried out to make them safe to live in again.
Asked if government would consider funding to buy-out homeowners in low-lying parts of Dunedin, Luxon said extreme weather events and three waters infrastructure challenges were not just affecting Dunedin, but were a national issue.
“Importantly for us on events like this we also need to start to think about climate adaptation and actually how we’re going to deal with all of those issues across the country - they are difficult issues,” Luxon said.
“We need a national system response here, not just bespoke responses where councils go off and do their own thing.”
He wants to see local councils and political parties work together in a bipartisan way on long-term solutions to climate vulnerabilities, and said minister Simon Watts was working to create a framework as part of climate strategy.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to reporters in Dunedin. Photo / Ben Tomsett
“We’ve got a plan called Local Water Done Well, we’re working our way through with councils to make sure that we can work together to have the capacity to finance investments that are needed going forward,” Luxon said.
“We’re saying lets get a common NZ Inc approach on this, and not make it a political issue.”
Today the cleanup gets under way in earnest, Dunedin mayor Jules Radich told Morning Report today, as Monday was the first working day after last week’s events.
SH87 about to reopen, long delays on SH88
People travelling on State Highway 88, a main thoroughfare for Dunedin city, should expect long delays, as work is being done to make the road safe and assess damage from the floods, Waka Kotahi said.
Traffic controls are in place, and there would be delays of up to 30 minutes at the Parry St rockfall site from Monday through Wednesday, from 9am to 4pm, as contractors were doing assessments and scaling work.
Investigations were also under way at the large Burkes Drive slip to understand the extent of damage there.
And the remaining closed stretch of State Highway 87 north of Dunedin, between Kyeburn and Hyde, was expected to reopen on Monday afternoon, with a temporary road surface in place.
