KEY POINTS:
Help for Northland farmers whose properties were inundated by floods will not be compromised because no civil emergency was declared, the Government says.
Farmers of New Zealand (Northland) operations director Bill Guest had said the fact that no civil emergency was declared on March 29 and 30 after
record rainfall swamped parts of the region could affect the financial and physical help the Government might provide.
Mr Guest said severe flooding and farm losses in Manawatu several years ago were declared an emergency, and the state gave 75 per cent subsidies for farm regrassing, fencing and farm roading.
Previous Northland flooding in the Hokianga and Pouto areas had attracted Task Force Green help to rebuild marae, but farmers had been left to their own devices.
After a meeting of farmers, local body and company representatives to discuss help for those in the badly flooded Hikurangi Swamp area near Whangarei, Mr Guest said farming families had to realise that Government assistance policies were "ever changing to the negative".
The cost of lost farm production and of restoring flood protection in the Hikurangi Swamp area have been put at $20 million.
But Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton said it was wrong to say the absence of an emergency declaration would affect farmers' chances of getting financial help.
"Whether a civil emergency was called or not will make no difference to the quality and quantity of government assistance," he said.
An enhanced Task Force Green plan worth $500,000 would help clean up farm properties in the flood-affected areas.
Task force workers' wages would be paid by the Government, and local councils would be reimbursed for any welfare and public safety costs incurred, Mr Anderton said.
One team was working on farms, and four would be at work in the area by the middle of this week.
More than 55 requests for help had been received, Mr Anderton said.
It is understood up to 14 task force teams, each with six workers, could be available if needed. Any help beyond the teams needs ministerial approval.
Mr Anderton said it was still "early days" and it was not clear whether further assistance would be needed.
Whangarei Mayor Pamela Peters said that although the floods were significant and damaging in localised areas, the situation throughout the Whangarei District never met the criteria for declaring a civil defence emergency.
State of emergency funding met civil defence costs only during the emergency, she said. It did not meet flood recovery costs.
"Our advocacy and application for central government funds is to meet recovery costs for our farmers and infrastructure," Mayor Peters said.
The Whangarei council was working with the Far North District Council and others to get adequate financial support.
Transit New Zealand is to pay the full cost of restoring national highways damaged by flooding, slips and washouts.
The cost of repairs to damaged council roads will get a 56 per cent subsidy in the Far North and a 52 per cent subsidy in Whangarei District.
