How much will the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle cost? It’s far too soon to tell, experts say - but the bill will almost certainly rise to the billions.
Treasury said it expects “to see a very significant cost” to the Crown, “in particular asset damage and infrastructure”.
It’ll also have to take into account lost economic output and reduced export earnings.
Then there’s the mammoth cost to Kiwis and insurance companies of destroyed and damaged property.
Before we can start arguing about who pays, we have to decide what scale of rebuild we’re looking at. Can New Zealand afford to “build back better”? Do infrastructure costs fall on local or central government? Does it make sense to rebuild at all on flood-prone land? If not, who pays for the “managed retreat” of whole communities?
