PM, Chris Hipkins on the cyclone recovery pre-Budget announcement live from Napier. Video / NZ Herald
OPINION:
The rolling maul of Government laced up its boots and trudged into Hawke’s Bay on Sunday carrying almost $1 billion of aid.
The money will rebuild the region’s schools, roads and rail lines, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced.
Three months to the day ago, the communities of Esk Valley,Pakowhai, Puketapu, Omahu and beyond were climbing on to roofs to escape floodwaters. Eight didn’t survive.
Sunday’s announcement told a region that has been psychologically and economically smashed that it, thankfully, hasn’t been given up on.
Among the big dollar signs, there was an important promise - that Government will keep mental health at the forefront.
February 14 was a tragedy of a day in Hawke’s Bay and there have been tragedies in the region in the three months since, as cyclone recovery minister Grant Robertson pointedly noted.
He was referring to suspected suicides. There doesn’t appear to have been a statistically significant spike, but the ones that have occurred have hit flooded communities hard.
With families grieving, Robertson highlighted the pain they were going through and promised the Government would support them.
The commitments include spending $100m to strengthen things like stopbanks and hundreds of millions more to rebuild community transport lifelines.
It’s a massive investment that dwarfs anything that Red Cross or lotteries grants could ever achieve for Hawke’s Bay.
But one thing missing was funding to help those doing it toughest right now - the people who’ve been flooded.
The word ‘homes’ barely rated a mention amid 3000+ words of promises.
For those who’ve lost everything, there’s no Budget rescue this year. The uncertainty looks set to drag on for many more months as local authorities mull just how dangerous it would be to rebuild in some areas.
The stopbank question is a big one. How much land do you protect with them? And could any sort of stopbank have stopped the Esk Valley torrent?
The ministers on Sunday deliberately stood in maul formation on a stopbank that didn’t fail on the Tūtaekurī River, and noted how important Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s recent investment in upgrading it had proven.
They argued Taradale, population 13,000-plus, escaped with limited damage as a result.
A cyclist passing a small breach on the Tūtaekurī river stop bank near Taradale during the height of the Cyclone Gabrielle floods. Photo / Paul Taylor
Yes, ministers, but it was a close-run thing.
It could equally be argued that the raging waters would have overtopped in the worst possible place if the Tūtaekurī’s stopbanks hadn’t failed further upstream, or on the other side of the river near Waiohiki.
This is the reality that Hawke’s Bay must confront, and it’s one that leaves thousands in a precarious position until decisions are actually made.
Almost $1b of funding is a big start. The knowledge that rate rises won’t be huge as a result of the cyclone will help some sleep easier.
It will leave a sour taste for orchardists who sought a $750m recovery package and have been given a mere fraction of that.
And it’s worth remembering that flood-hit Auckland will take plenty of the $941m pie too.
But thank you, from Hawke’s Bay. The support is noted. In the coming months and years, plenty more will be needed.
