Cyclone Gabrielle: Govt promises $300 million for recovery; 11 dead; 2200 unaccounted for; extends national state of emergency a week; PM rejects ‘lawlessness’ claims

The Government has promised a Cyclone Gabrielle emergency package of $250 million for roads and $50 million for businesses, while extending the national state of emergency for another seven days and creating a cyclone recovery taskforce.

There are now 11 confirmed dead almost a week after the cyclone smashed across large swathes of the North Island, most devastatingly in the island’s east.

At least 2246 people remain unaccounted for - registered as being uncontactable - although this number is expected to drop.

At today’s post-Cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins rejected claims of increased looting and disorder in Hawkes’ Bay and Tairāwhiti, saying “police are not seeing any evidence to suggest there’s [an increased] level of lawlessness”.

Police have arrested at least 59 people for looting and dishonesty offending in the Eastern District. Hipkins’ dismissal came after National’s justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith and police spokesman Mark Mitchell proposed doubling the sentences of those convicted of theft or burglary in an area that is under a state of emergency.

Act and NZ First have also called for the military to be used to help police maintain law and order.

Locals have been manning roadblocks in rural areas to protect their communities, and Newsroom reported a pistol and shotgun being aimed at traffic workers.

Hipkins said if people were setting up roadblocks, they should be doing it in conjunction with the police.

Police have been monitoring queues for food, fuel and cash since Cyclone Gabrielle hit. East Coast MP Kiri Allan told Newshub police are “physically drive[ing] the owners and operators of our Four Squares down to the bank to be able to deposit their money.”

Roadblocks were set up by locals in the wider Puketapu area after fears of looting. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise has also called for a greater military presence to provide security for scared and vulnerable communities. Wise said crime was potentially being underreported due to widespread communications issues.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told Newstalk ZB: “There have been examples of very bad behaviour here and we will hold those offenders to account.”

He said an additional 145 police staff have been deployed to the Eastern District, which normally has about 500 police staff.

“I acknowledge that there are a lot of concerned people in the community and there are no words to describe people who will do this [looting] to those vulnerable people, but we do have this situation under control.

“I completely acknowledge it’s harder to report [crimes] than usual, but when we have investigated pieces of information provided to us many of them have not stacked up - it comes second and third hand and when you track it down, finding the original the source can be very very difficult.”

Police have been monitoring lines for food and fuel in cyclone-hit areas. Photo / George Heard

Coster, however, said: “I don’t deny there are issues but we are well on top of them,”

He said the threshold had not yet been met for a request for assistance from the defence force.

Hipkins said he was getting a daily report on law and order from the police.

“There is a heightened sense of stress, but police are not reporting an increase in crime over and above what they would normally be dealing with,” he said.

“Police are not seeing any evidence to suggest there’s [an increased] level of lawlessness. That’s not to say people are not feeling anxious. I don’t think people should play to that fear. Police do have this under control.”

Hipkins said people filming and taking photos of damaged areas could be “disaster tourism” rather than criminals scoping out places to burgle.

STORY CONTINUES AFTER LIVE BLOG:

Hipkins announced the national state of emergency would be extended for another seven days at a post-cabinet press conference in Wellington this afternoon.

He told reporters that a lead minister would be appointed for each of the affected regions, tasked with reporting back on the local recovery approach for their regions.

A cyclone recovery taskforce, structured similarly to Queensland’s floods taskforce, would be headed by Sir Brian Roche.

A new cabinet committee - including the regional ministers - would be formed.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson will be the new Cyclone Recovery Minister.

Robertson said Cabinet had agreed to $50 million for support to businesses, workers and the primary sector.

On the transport front, he said the damage to roads has been “massive”, so $250 million would be put into the emergency works budget of NZTA to use on both local roads and state highways.

“Transport links are essential.”

Hundreds of NZDF personnel are helping with the recovery. Photo / NZDF

On the $250 million for the roading emergency fund, Robertson said “this is just the beginning. There is a massive amount of work required over the next weeks and years.”

About 400km of the roading network were currently undergoing urgent repairs in Tairāwhiti, Hawke’s Bay and central North Island.

He said the stocktake would be done on which roads could be rebuilt and which could not - but urgent remedial work was needed for the key routes, so the initial funding injection was decided on now.

Robertson said a wage subsidy would be considered among the longer-term decisions - this was for immediate support.

The $250m was a pre-commitment for Budget 2023, while the business package was from money that was already at hand.

He said no decisions had been made on whether changes would be required to cover the cost, such as tax changes, but when he put the Budget together, he would have to consider both revenue and spending.

The Vicarage Road bridge washed away by Cyclone Gabrielle floodwater at Puketapu, west of Napier. Photo / Mark Mitchell

On immigration, Hipkins said a special rebuild visa was one of the options being considered to try to get the labour force in for the rebuild.

There was significant pressure on housing for those displaced as places they would normally use for emergency accommodation were also full, because of other events in Auckland.

Hipkins said it was too early to speculate on whether Esk Valley, one of the worst hit areas by the cyclone which has killed 11, would be habitable in the future.

Hipkins said more than 6000 people were uncontactable after Cyclone Gabrielle but 4260 of those were OK. There was no update on the 10 people who police held grave fears for.

About 15,000 were still without power in North Island, about 70 per cent in Napier and surrounding areas.

The emergency response is still underway in many regions hardest hit by the cyclone – from Northland to Hawke’s Bay – and Hipkins warned on Sunday it will be a long road to recovery and could cost billions.

Today’s initial tranche of economic support is for businesses and people to contend with the immediate issues. A wider economic package is not likely to come until a complete assessment of the damage and what is required.

Labour MP and the MP for Te Atatu Phil Twyford has written to the PM and senior ministers, calling on them to move urgently on managed retreat and to buy out home owners with damaged homes in places it is no longer safe to live.

Cyclone Gabrielle decimated Esk Valley. Photo / Warren Buckland