The government has announced a relief package of $1 billion that will go towards the cyclone recovery efforts as part of the 2023 national budget. This package, according to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, will cover the basics of rebuilding roads, rail, and schools, as well as preparing Aotearoa for future weather events with investments towards flood resilience.
“The recovery package responds to the immediate recovery needs of today and invests in greater resilience for tomorrow,” Chris Hipkins said. “This is about doing the basics – repairing and rebuilding what has been damaged and making smart investments, including $100 million of protection funding to ensure future events don’t cause the same devastation.”
In a news release, Hipkins said that the package affirms the government’s ongoing commitment to recover and rebuild from what is being considered as New Zealand’s second most costly natural disaster. Before this relief package, the government provided $890 million to Kiwis for repair works and ongoing business support.
The country’s treasury estimated the damages from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods at around $9 billion to $14.5 billion. Around $5 billion to $7.5 billion of this is related to infrastructure damage for those owned by central and local governments.
Cyclone taskforce minister Grant Robertson said that the relief package does not include the immediate and ongoing support for communities and businesses provided by the government, and assured Kiwis that it “is not the end of our support to weather affected regions.”
“Cyclone Gabrielle hit the country when the Budget 2023 process was relatively advanced. As a result we made the call that the response would be prioritised over other initiatives which were in the draft budget package at the time,” Robertson said. ““As regions and sectors finalise recovery plans and decisions are made on future land-use, the government will continue to stand beside these communities, their people and businesses.”
The relief package comes days after the cyclone taskforce’s most recent update on their ongoing assessments with New Zealand insurers. On that front, Robertson said that decisions on category 2 and category 3 flood prone areas are set to begin in June, with assessment on low-risk properties ending by May 31.
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