Michael and Kylie Fitzpatrick are stuck waiting for their insurance claim six months on from Cyclone Gabrielle. It would let them move their house off unsafe land. Photo / Michael Fitzpatick
Michael and Kylie Fitzpatrick are stuck waiting for their insurance claim six months on from Cyclone Gabrielle. It would let them move their house off unsafe land. Photo / Michael Fitzpatick
One of only three red-stickered properties in the entire Tararua District, there is no prospect of a government buyout on the horizon like Hawke’s Bay yet for Michael “Bryan” and Kylie Fitzpatrick.
But, six months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, it is not a buyout that the Fitzpatricks arelooking for but rather a final decision on their insurance claim that will allow them to move their home off unsafe land.
A report commissioned by their insurer FMG confirmed their worst fears - the land their house sits on is at risk of slipping further after the most recent cyclone-inducing slipping.
“The hill behind our house, about 300 metres of the hillside has slipped and a lot of it has landed on the back of the house,” Michael said.
“The land at the front of the house is also moving so the entire hill it is sitting on is unsafe.”
Fitzpatrick said their home is transportable and he hopes to move it to another part of the property if it is safe to do so, but he and his partner still have not learned anything more about their claim from FMG, leaving them stuck.
“We don’t want to get a buyout... I hope to god they don’t turn around and say “No, none of the property is suitable for the house’.”
Trudy Hales, Tararua District Council’s recovery communications and engagement advisor, said the Council has not yet spoken to Central Government Ministers about land categorisation or government buyouts.
“At this stage, we have not spoken to ministers specifically around this as it is currently going through the Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery Taskforce,” Hale said.
“There are currently geotech reports and advice from insurers that need to be delivered and assessed before we can have these conversations.”
Hale said there are three red-stickered properties and 12 yellow-stickered properties in the Tararua District.
Fitzpatrick said his primary concern is still getting a final settlement on his insurance so decisions can be made before they run out of money for temporary accommodation.
“You try to ring them and you get put on hold, you’ve got a case worker but we’ve never spoken to the case worker we were given, we always get put on someone else,” Fitzpatrick said.
Geotech assessment of the land under the Fitzpatricks' house, on the opposite side of Marainanga Gorge from Pongaroa, has shown that the hill it sits on is at risk of slipping further. Photo / Michael Fitzpatrick
Nicki Mackay, chief recovery officer at FMG, said that 60 per cent of claims in Hawke’s Bay had been settled to date and 65 per cent of claims in Pongaroa, with nine remaining open.
“Firstly, we sympathise with the circumstances faced by Michael and Kylie. Like so many across the impacted regions, they are facing uncertainty and are looking for a resolution,” Mackay said in a statement.
She said FMG had paid out the Fitzpatrick’s $30,000 plus GST alternative accommodation cover in full by May and they were continuing to work with them on the damage caused to their property.
“This isn’t the first time land has slipped and damaged this property, resulting in an insurance claim. The first was in 2011 and again in 2022,” she said.
“Landslip slips like these are complex to assess and manage and it is important that time is taken to make sure we all understand the future risks to people and property as well as the costs of repair and remediation.”
Mackay did not offer an expected timeframe for the resolution of the Fitzpatricks’ claim but said Tonkin and Taylor’s engineer’s report would help progress the claim.
She said all clients with an open EQC claim in response to Cyclone Gabrielle or the Auckland Anniversary Weekend flood had a consultant assigned to them and the Fitzpatricks were able to direct dial or email their FMG consultant as needed.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
