Local Focus: Who should pay for this destroyed Gisborne bridge?

After another bout of severe weather on June 22, Gisborne farmer Sam Gemmell was without power and completely cut off again.

The only road access from his family homestead to Wharekopae Road is via a bridge that was completely wiped out by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Rising waters make the river impassable, and his contact with the outside world is limited to shouting to his father over the Mokonui River.

“It’s access to everything, to the road and your neighbours,” said Sam.

Mokonui Station Bridge is privately owned and was built by Sam’s grandfather in 1959. It withstood Cyclone Bola in 1988.

The Gemmell family said the cost of insuring the bridge was too high, so it was uninsured when it was swept down the Mokonui River.

The replacement cost is estimated to be anywhere from $350,000 to $500,000.

Sam purchased Mokonui Station from his parents just under three years ago. Father Mark Gemmell had bought it from his father, who started as a shepherd on the farm pre-war and became a partner in 1946.

“The risk is that you’re all over [on] the house side of the river and you get heavy rain at night - in case of an emergency, for whatever reason, you can’t get back across it again. So it’s a central part of the farm’s infrastructure,” Mark said.

When the cyclone hit, Sam was without power and totally isolated. Within three days, Tairāwhiti Civil Defence had choppered food to Sam - that was the last time he said he heard from them.

“We’re all dealing with s*** from the cyclone and this continued rain, but it just feels like all the people that are really needing the help don’t seem to be getting it,” he said. “I just think it hasn’t been handled that well.”

Mark has made contact with Gisborne District Council multiple times and said the family feels let down.

“I would have thought they had a responsibility to check that their residents and their ratepayers were safe and offer some solution to what we’re facing,” Mark said.

Group manager for Tairāwhiti recovery, Anita Reedy-Houlthausen, said there has been regular email contact between the Gemmels and a regional recovery co-ordinator.

“I know that she has been leading the response in terms of making sure that they are stocked, so I know that they’re well-stocked. In terms of the bridge discussions, I also know she’s been having discussions with them,” said Reedy-Houlthausen.

Gisborne District Council acknowledged that $47.6 million has been injected into the region, predominantly for wood debris and silt removal. Reedy-Houlthausen said the Gemmells could go through the process of making the private bridge a council-owned bridge, but it is a huge process.

“We have to look at a range of factors, and one of them is around equity and affordability for the rest of our ratepayer population.

“It services one family.

“When you look at the 20 bridges across the region that are just non-existent anymore, that doesn’t fit within our priorities, and it’s unlikely to in the long term,” she said.

Sam has received $10,000 from the Ministry for Primary Industries and $3,000 from the Rural Support Trust. However, this is nowhere near the half a million dollars needed to replace the bridge.

“It’s pretty much my livelihood and my business, and I just need a bit of help to try to get back to running again so I can run the business properly and effectively and carry on contributing,” he said.

“I’ve never really asked for any hand-outs. I’m not asking for a hand-out, but just want a bit of help, like a bit of funding.”

On June 29, the Government released support packages for growers, farmers and businesses affected by the North Island weather events.

The package includes underwriting bank lending and offering cheaper finance options to ensure the long-term survival of critical regional industries.

Gisborne District Council has made contact with Sam Gemmell via text message to check how he is after the latest heavy rainfall. This was after the filming of Sam Gemmell’s interview.

Public Interest Journalism Fund.