Cyclone Gabrielle: Government to assume responsibility for flood mitigation consents

The Government is proposing to temporarily assume responsibility for the delivery of flood protection work across seven parts of Hawke’s Bay.

The Order in Council, which would see a legislative change to the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023, is designed to streamline the resource consent process and allow flood infrastructure work to begin sooner.

In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) earmarked seven areas where new infrastructure would see Category 2A and 2C properties reclassified to Category 1 and one area where new infrastructure would protect an industrial area as well as Napier’s wastewater treatment plant.

These areas are Wairoa, Whirinaki, Waiohiki, Ohiti Road/Omāhu, Pākōwhai, Havelock North, Pōrangahau and Awatoto.

Multiple resource consents will be required before any of the flood mitigation work can begin and the change in legislation is designed to streamline that.

HBRC chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby welcomed the Cabinet decision.

“This will play an important role in enabling work to start sooner and progress to be kept on track, whilst ensuring the usual protective measures of cultural and environmental impact assessments will not be compromised,” she said.

“Ultimately, we want to be able to provide certainty for our Category 2 property owners that they have a pathway to Category 1 and this is reliant on consent for new flood infrastructure works in these areas.”

Ormsby said the council acknowledged each Category 2 community was at a different stage but, regardless of the preferred solution, numerous resource consents would be required to undertake the work.

“In Wairoa and Pōrangahau, we are still working through options with those communities at this point, but it is reassuring to know [that], when we get to the consent stage, we will be able to move through this process efficiently.”

The Cabinet decision is not an unprecedented one, given various laws have been changed to help aid recovery efforts across cyclone-affected regions.

“This temporary change has been developed in response to a request from the Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency, demonstrating the coalition Government’s commitment to a recovery that is locally led with support from Government,” Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said it was all about providing people with certainty.

“Once councils have undertaken these works, approximately 975 properties which are currently categorised as Category 2A or 2C could be recategorised as Category 1 under the Land Classification System, indicating the land is at low risk from future flooding events,” he said. “The works would also protect the industrial area and Napier’s wastewater treatment plant in Awatoto.

“These changes would let councils get on with the job sooner, allowing affected landowners and occupiers to get on with their lives with more certainty about the future of their homes and businesses.”