The cost of cleaning up Hawke's Bay's orchards has been estimated to be $1.5 billion. Photo / Warren Buckland
The cost of cleaning up Hawke's Bay's orchards has been estimated to be $1.5 billion. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Hawke’s Bay Horticulture Growers’ Taskforce has put a simple equation to the Government - give us $750 million to save the region $3.5 billion.
The taskforce, which is made up of industry and iwi leaders and backed by the Hawke’s Bay Recovery Agency and Hastings District Council, has donedetailed studies of the damage done to crops by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Its figures align with those of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and an international consulting firm engaged by Rockit Apples, whose own findings are due to be officially released this week.
The taskforce presented its proposal for a $750 million recovery package to the Government on April 4.
“Growers need decisions yesterday,” taskforce member Gus Charteris said.
An independent consultant, Charteris comes from a ministry background and was appointed to the taskforce by the Hawke’s Bay Recovery Agency to compile the recovery and economic impact report.
Taskforce and MPI figures suggest the Hawke’s Bay horticultural industry faces a $1.5 billion bill for silt removal and repairs alone.
“Growers aren’t asking for the full amount, all they’re looking for is a contribution to get back on their feet,” said Charteris.
Silt-removal ranges from $1000 per hectare to $130,000. In the case of Brydon Nisbet’s orchard, it’s been $70,000 per hectare.
Nisbet, who is president of the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association, said it’s an expense no one has available funds for, particularly given many lost all of this year’s crop in the cyclone.
Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers' Association president Brydon Nisbet, left, takes Tukituki MP Anna Lorck, centre, through his flood-damaged orchard. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
“The public needs to know we’re not insured for this,” Nisbet said.
“You can’t insure crops against flood damage and trees and infrastructure are not insured. You can insure your houses, your sheds, your machinery, but not your crops or your infrastructure.”
Some growers are in the midst of silt removal, while others don’t know where to start or simply can’t afford to.
That’s why the $750 million recovery package is so important, Nisbet said. Without it, estimates are that the Hawke’s Bay economy could lose $3.5 billion between now and 2030.
“Ministers are currently working through the issues on the next steps in the recovery, including silt removal, and more on this is expected to be announced soon,” Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson’s office said, in response to questions about the $750 million package.
The Hawke’s Bay Horticulture Growers’ Taskforce was formed on March 1 and its subsequent report is broken up into three “buckets”.
The first is assistance and clean up, the second is reinstatement and the third is re-establishment, which is for those orchards and vineyards completely wiped out by the cyclone.
There is an urgency to get Government funding so buckets one and two can get under way. The third is a more long-term project, given it will be four years before growers get any income from replanted crops.
Due to the range of Hawke’s Bay industries dependent on horticulture, Charteris believes the $750 million request is modest.
“This is not a cost, it’s an investment, because the Government is on the hook in any case, because of all the people who will lose jobs, and the lost income from taxes,” he said.
“In the meantime, many growers are at breaking point and we’re trying to avoid having these businesses making rash decisions - particularly employment decisions - that will have long-lasting impacts on the region.”
