Latest news#
Temporary Accommodation Assistance#
The Government has announced a new payment to give further help to residents unable to live in their homes after the Auckland Anniversary Weekend Floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. The Temporary Accommodation Assistance payment application process starts on 21 August and is specifically for people whose homes continue to be red or yellow stickered.
Eligible persons are those who have exhausted their temporary accommodation insurance, are paying home ownership costs as well as rental accommodation, and who have signed a tenancy agreement on or before 19 July 2023. People will need to have already registered with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Temporary Accommodation Service. There’s more information about Temporary Accommodation Assistance on the Work and Income website.
Land categorisations continue to provide clarity in Hawke’s Bay#
Over 40 percent of the residents located in provisional Category 2 and Category 3 areas across Hawke’s Bay have been moved to Category 1 announced the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Chair, Hinewai Ormsby, says the release of more than 1,200 residents from provisional Category 2 and Category 3 areas across Hawke’s Bay is a huge step forward for the region.
Auckland Council announces more rates relief for uninhabitable storm-damaged properties#
Auckland Council has announced rates relief for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 rating years for Tāmaki Makaurau properties that are uninhabitable due to storm events and severe weather events in the first half of 2023.
On 27 July, the Governing Body agreed to provide a 100 per cent rates remission for 2023/2024 for properties uninhabitable as a result of recent severe weather events with a further remission of 100 per cent in 2024/2025 for properties that remain uninhabitable as at 30 June 2024.
Support package for growers, farmers and businesses#
The support package for growers, farmers and businesses affected by North Island weather events announced in June, will be open for applications from Monday 31 July.
Both the Loan Guarantee Scheme, and the Primary Producer Finance schemes are available to businesses in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Hawke's Bay, Tararua, and Wairarapa that were severely affected by the North Island Weather Events in 2023.
The Loan Guarantee Scheme will enable commercial lenders to provide loans to highly affected businesses across all sectors with more favourable terms, such as reduced interest rates. The Loan Guarantee Scheme is administered by banks and other lenders
The Primary Producer Finance Scheme is designed to provide concessionary loans and equity support to severely impacted, land-based primary sector businesses. This scheme is being administered by Kānoa. Businesses need to complete either a shorter Expression of Interest, or the full Application including supporting information, before 8 September 2023.
Application and Expression of Interest forms, FAQs and other information is available on the Kānoa Grow Regions website.
Update from the Cyclone Recovery Unit (CRU)#
To help with this recovery effort from the North Island extreme weather events, the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023 (the SWERL Act) came into force on 13 April 2023.
The SWERL Act enables the Governor-General to make orders in council that modify statutes and accelerate recovery actions. Those actions might otherwise be delayed due to legislative requirements that, in the context of major flood and cyclone recovery, are overly burdensome. In April 2023 the CRU began a cross-government approach to utilise the new order in council mechanism. Five “tranches” of orders are planned.
- Tranche one includes changes for local government administration; an extension of time for the forestry industry on several requirements; and extended dates for property revaluations by the Hastings District Council.
- Tranche two provides for the open air burning of mixed waste under defined circumstances; and provides flexibility to councils under the Waste Minimisation Act regarding waste level and reporting requirements. These two orders have now been enacted.
- Tranche 3 will be enacted on 8 August, and provides for temporary accommodation in affected regions by reclassifying temporary accommodation that otherwise breaches certain district planning rules.
- Tranches 4, 5 and 5B are well underway with enactment planned for 31 August, 6 September and late-September (exact date to be confirmed) respectively. These tranches include amendments to the Land Transport Management Act to permit certain funding, exempt recovery activities from standard procurement requirements and allow for changes to the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport. Other changes include work on rail and road corridors, permanent housing, papakāinga solutions, Resource Management Act changes and adjustments to the Climate Change Response Act.
All the Orders in Council are reviewed by the Severe Weather Recovery Review Panel. The 11-member Panel has reviewed draft Orders in Council and provided advice on request to both the Minister for Cyclone Recovery and other relevant Ministers. Lead agencies, with coordination support from the CRU, are tasked with community and local iwi consultation on the orders, which is continuing in August.
The Review Panel recommendation letters regarding the orders in council can be viewed on the Parliamentary Counsel Office website.
For more information contact the CRU at [email protected] .
Katrina Casey,
Chief Executive
Cyclone Recovery
Updates across government#
Ministry for Primary Industries#
The delivery of the Woody Debris Fund is progressing with $3.54 million distributed to councils to commence woody debris collection. $2 million has been transferred to Te Puni Kōkiri and grant applications are now open. The residual $4.6 million will be progressed into contracts by mid-August 2023.
Waka Kotahi#
- After a 10-day closure, the cyclone-damaged Hikuwai No.1 bridge on State Highway 35 north of Gisborne, has been completely dismantled and removed. The road was reopened on 27 July 2023.
- State Highway 25 (Thames-Coromandel) speed limit changes have been approved and we are currently mobilising to implement them. This is expected to take approx. 6 weeks to complete, with installation commencing Friday 11 August.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment#
Temporary Accommodation Service
- MBIE and MSD have released the North Island Weather Events Temporary Accommodation Assistance scheme. Applications open on 21 August 2023 and will provide financial support to households when insurance payments for temporary accommodation run out.
Labour Market and Companies Office analysis
- Recent analysis found that filled job numbers for May are still higher for all affected regions than before the severe weather events. Filled jobs continue to grow over the month for Tāmaki Makaurau and Tairāwhiti, while Taitokerau and Hawke’s Bay experienced a typical seasonal fall. This, combined with minimal changes in existing trends from Companies Office data, indicates that intervention measures taken by organisations, Iwi and Government has contributed to the easing of impacts to businesses.