Devastating slips at Muriwai following Cyclone Gabrielle. Video / George Heard
Residents on Auckland’s west coast displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle in February should know some time in July and August what the fate of their homes will be.
Minister for Auckland Michael Wood told a meeting last evening in the Muriwai Surf Club that the Government is “working at pace” to get agreement with Auckland Council on how buyouts will be managed. He was confident the two parties would reach agreement in July on how to fund the managed buyouts that many homeowners will face.
The Government has committed to funding, along with councils, the managed buyout process for properties deemed unsafe.
At the same meeting, a geotech engineer in the council’s Recovery Office, Ross Roberts, said the council had a “timeline to August” for decisions about the category each property would be placed into.
Wood stressed that the buyout scheme will be voluntary. “No one is going to have their home compulsorily acquired.”
Muriwai resident Maria Koppens said there was another big question about relocation that had not been addressed: “Where will we go? We have a community here and we love living here. Will we be offered somewhere that’s anything like as good?”
Wood also said he was aware that for many residents, insurance cover for their temporary rental costs was also about to end and some people were also in dispute with their banks over the terms of their mortgages.
“I want to look at it,” he said. “We want to help you get through this ongoing challenging period with some certainty.”
Residents of Auckland's west coast beaches gathered to hear Minister for Auckland Michael Wood update them on the cyclone recovery effort. Photo / Dean Purcell
Meanwhile, a survey by the Muriwai Stickered Residents Group (MSRG) has revealed some of the ongoing pressures faced by residents.
MSRG says 152 properties were red-stickered on Auckland’s West Coast, meaning access to the property was prohibited. Sixty-nine per cent of these, or 105, were in Muriwai.
The group surveyed 66 displaced homeowners between June 12-13 and found more than half had dependants living with them and 10 had three or more children. Since moving out of their house, 80 per cent had found a rental property to live in and 18 per cent were staying with friends or family.
Most of the respondents (87 per cent) were receiving accommodation support from their insurance provider but most of these policies would expire in the coming months. All respondents told MSRG they would struggle to pay the rent without that support.
Sixty-seven per cent of respondents had a mortgage and half said they would be forced to foreclose on their mortgage within the next 12 months based on their current trajectory. Of those with mortgages, half had contacted their bank requesting help with their mortgage.
Meanwhile, some of the roadblocks at Muriwai were lifted yesterday morning and the beach is now open to the public.
