Wairoa flood class action: Over 100 people express interest at hall meeting

More than 100 people attended a public meeting in Wairoa to learn more about a class action against Hawke's Bay Regional Council for flooding in late June. Photo / Paul Taylor

A public meeting to gauge interest in a class action against Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for people affected by the June flooding in Wairoa needed to move to a bigger hall to contain the more than 100 people who attended.

More information about who will fund the representative case is expected to come in the next two weeks, with interest from multiple parties.

Lawyer Grant Shand lodged a statement of claim against the regional council in Napier’s High Court on behalf of Kopu Road Orchards Limited and trustees of Cabbage Tree Trust Dianne Ruth Downey and Christine Janet Neale on July 16.

The statement of claim acknowledges other Wairoa property residents/owners were in a similar situation to the plaintiffs and advised that the plaintiffs sought to bring claims on behalf of similarly affected people in representative proceedings.

The case relates primarily to flooding in Wairoa on and after June 26, when about 120 homes in the lower part of Wairoa township were flooded during the East Coast storm event while hundreds more properties reportedly were affected.

Locals believe the regional council should have issued instructions to dig a channel through the Wairoa River bar, a raised area of sediment that builds up in the mouth of the Wairoa River, sooner than they did to ease flooding.

Downey owns The Limery, a Wairoa-based lime juicing operation flooded during the event.

The regional council declined to comment on the current proceedings while the matter was before the court.

A regional council spokeswoman said the council was not aware of any previous representative proceedings being brought against it.

Shand said a public meeting he hosted on August 8 to inform residents about what was happening with the Wairoa flooding class action had to be moved to accommodate the number of people who attended.

“We started in a small hall and it was quite clear that wasn’t going to be enough, so we had to move to the big hall. I’d say it was north of 100, might not be 200.”

He said a couple of people from Wairoa District Council were present, including deputy mayor Denise Eaglesome-Karekare, but he was not aware of anyone from the regional council at the meeting.

He said the overall sentiment of residents and the Wairoa District Council was that they felt “neglected” or “forgotten” by the regional council.

Shand believed there was a “really good case” against the regional council.

“You have a lot of people who aren’t going to have the ability to do anything themselves, uninsured, don’t have the money to sue the regional council, don’t want to take the risk, so it is ideal to enable them to take advantage of this process and the benefit of why class actions exist.”

He said the funder of the Wairoa case was not certain yet, but there were two or three interested candidates.

“We will see how that plays out in the next week or two.”

Shand was involved in certified class actions against EQC relating to the Christchurch earthquakes and three other upcoming class actions. He was also counsel on a class action against the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for floods in Edgecumbe in 2017.

From here, he hoped he could get people who had suffered damages to quantify the loss.

“It is important to do it while it is fresh and then it gives you a total number to work from as well.”

He said how long the full court process would take depended on “the attitude of the regional council and its insurance company.”

“I have no control over that, so I don’t know.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the 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