‘Further and faster’ promise from Nats

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

National this week unveiled new policy it says will speed up cyclone recovery here and in other cyclone-hit areas.

It would do that by unblocking the EQC assessment pipeline, and requiring EQC to prioritise assessments and set performance targets to ensure they are focused on delivering them faster and acquiring the skills they need to reduce the current backlog.

“The key elements of our recovery effort include confirming as quickly as possible to displaced residents whether they will be able to remain living in the same community, giving them a voice when they feel decisions have been unfair, and fast-tracking essential infrastructure for rebuild or replacement,” said the party’s Cyclone Recovery spokesman Chris Penk.

“A National government will honour commitments made by the current government but we will go further and faster.”

The policy would see a National government partner with local government and the private sector (including capital and project delivery, where needed) to ensure that rebuilding is undertaken to provide resilience.

National has already committed to prioritising four major roading projects for funding from the National Resilience Fund to enhance long-term resilience in flood-affected regions and ‘restoring and upgrading” State Highway 2 between Napier and Gisborne.

The use of Orders in Council — as enabled by emergency legislation supported by National — would “expedite that process in a quick, pragmatic way”, the policy states.

National would also create a new position of an Ombudsman for cyclone and flood recovery, initially established for two years, with funding of $7 million from the National Resilience Fund.

“An independent view on these issues will be important going forward so this is a positive move,” East Coast candidate Dana Kirkpatrick said.

With regard to roading, the full extent of the damage from the cyclone was still unknown “with specific projects and funding remaining undisclosed”.

“Resilient infrastructure will become increasingly important as the effects of climate change increase and extreme weather events become more common.

“National has identified four key priorities that could be funded by Budget 2023 which allocated $6 billion over 10 years to the National Resilience Fund to enhance long-term resilience in flood-affected regions. There will be more that needs to be done and we expect NZTA to be advising what the scope of projects are to build resilience back into our state highways.”