Government boosts flood aid to $30 million

The Government today announced the amount of money it was putting into rebuilding flood-damaged Eastern Bay of Plenty would be raised to $30 million.

Ministers have approved an additional package of measures including agricultural recovery, repairing schools, fixing roads and helping low income earners and evacuees.

Civil Defence Minister George Hawkins said there would be more support when other costs were known.

The Government had no illusions as to the severity of the floods, Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton said in a statement.

"The flooding caused widespread damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure, devastated farms and other rural activities, ruined houses and threatened the livelihoods of many people," he said.

At the height of the flood about 12,000ha of land were flooded and about 3200 people were evacuated, but none remain in evacuation centres.

It was estimated 210 Bay of Plenty homes were flooded or affected by landslides and of these 188 were unsuitable for occupation, at least in the short term. A few were likely to be condemned.

The package would provide for grants to help low-income households with re-establishing or re-locating. The average $2000 payments would help to either replace essential items such as fridges, beds, and washing machines or help relocate to new accommodation.

Eligibility would be subject to an income and asset test and take into account help from other sources, such as public donations.

The cost of that initiative was expected to be $464,000 in 2004/05.

An agricultural recovery programme will be established, including $6.3 million in 2004/05 and $480,000 in 2005/06 to cover three quarters of costs to restore uninsurable, damaged property.

The threshold for damage would be set at 10 per cent of total damage or $5000, whichever is greater.

Help will be given for transporting stock back to farms and for removing silt, re-grassing, rebuilding boundary fences and essential access, water supply, and drainage, removing debris, and restoring lost crops.

Other measures in the package include:

* grants to farmers and orchardists forced off their properties so they leave with $65,000 equity;

* income support payments to eligible farmers and orchardists until the end of the year, providing 75 per cent of unemployment benefit for essential living costs while farms produce little or no income;

* The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to appoint four agricultural recovery facilitators to help affected communities;

* deductions to be allowed for tax losses on destroyed farming;

* four community recovery workers to be appointed to help provide support to Maori communities in Whakatane and Opotiki districts;

* Task Force Green enhanced to help clean-up operations.

Transit NZ and Transfund are working with the councils to develop a work programme to repair damage to roads.

The Government estimated damage to Eastern Bay of Plenty roads at up to $5.5 million, but the Eastern Bay of Plenty Recovery Centre (EBOPRC) estimated it to be about $10 million.

The Government may partially reimburse councils for the cost of repairing water, sewerage, storm water, and some river systems.

Meanwhile, Whakatane district inspectors have found that of the 1000 homes inspected, 364 have flood and landslip damage and 118 homes have uninsured contents.

There are no longer people in evacuation centres in Opotiki and Whakatane and all schools are open, Donna Young of the EBOPRC said in a statement.

Families in Waiotahi in the Opotiki district and Te Mahoe in the Whakatane area are still being asked to boil their water.

Tanker water is being supplied to Te Mahoe until the water supply is back to normal.

- NZPA