Cyclone Gabrielle: Agencies still processing hundreds of grant applications

Farmland in Central Hawke's Bay devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle. The Ministry for Primary Industries is still working through hundreds of grant applications from across the country. Photo / Warren Buckland

Local and central government agencies are still working through hundreds of applications for Cyclone Gabrielle relief grants, many of which are from Hawke’s Bay households, organisations and farmers.

The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) provides a Welfare Support Grant on behalf of the Government for organisations affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

A spokesperson for Nema said that while they didn’t have a specific breakdown of Hawke’s Bay applications to the grant, they were able to confirm that most of the applications came from Hawke’s Bay.

Nema received 22 grant applications totalling $2.297 million from parts of the East Coast affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Of those, eight grants totalling around $447,000 have been approved or approved in principle, and 11 applications totalling $1.746m were being reviewed as of Thursday.

One grant had been withdrawn and two grants had been declined.

The spokesperson said Nema will process grant payments within 10 working days of receiving invoices.

By the end of March, the Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Fund had distributed $1.7m across 2680 households and 50 community groups and marae, according to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

As of March 31, 3,938 applications had been received, with an additional 846 online applications started but not yet completed.

The fund offers a maximum of $1,000 per property or $2,000 for community groups/marae.

The total fund of $3.7m comes from several sources, including donors.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council group manager of corporate services Susie Young said in a statement on Wednesday that the percentage of applications coming in from Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay was lower than it should be.

“We know the impact has been huge, particularly for Wairoa, and we are desperately trying to get the message out in the hope that those with needs in isolated communities will come forward when they are able,” Young said.

The HBRC statement said the review team aims to review each application within seven working days.

The statement said applicants will be notified by email of the outcome, and successful applications will receive payment within five working days.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced on Wednesday that the Government had approved a $23 million boost to its cyclone grant for farmers and growers to bring it up to $78m in total.

As of Wednesday last week, there had been nearly 6,000 applications received for grants, with 3,290 approved, and $37m paid out to farmers and growers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle across the country.

Applications for the clean-up grants closed on March 20, but those in hard-to-reach areas had until April 3 to apply.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) manages the grant.

A spokesperson for MPI said that the team was working hard to approve grants, but some required more checking than others due to application errors, including incorrect bank information, missing signatures and failure to complete the declaration section

“Where people are missing information, MPI will contact them directly for the details. Some claims are more complex and require more time to work through,” the spokesperson said.

“An independent group of primary sector experts is helping to assess applications and monitor the funding to ensure it is going towards appropriate uses.”

The spokesperson said that under the funding programme, farmers and growers could carry out urgent repair work and apply for a grant payment retrospectively.