University of Canterbury associate professor Ricardo Bello Mendoza joins The Front Page to unpack the engineering lessons from Moa Point and what it means for our future.
Wellington businesses facing closure because of the Moa Point sewage disaster have been thrown a lifeline, with the council offering payouts of up to $35,000 for those worst affected.
Wellington City Council today approved a $200,000 relief fund to support businesses on the capital’s South Coast.
The package allowsfor local businesses to claim a one-off payment of up to $35,000 if they can prove a drop in revenue of at least 50% in the months since the sewage plant failed.
The relief fund was originally proposed at $150,000, but was topped up to $200,000 from council savings.
Eligible businesses also must be Wellington-owned, have fewer than 20 employees, and be located within a defined high-impact zone or be directly reliant on ocean-based activity.
Kilbirnie, Rongotai and Lyall Bay business association Destination KRL manager Steve Walters has been advocating for the support, and told councillors this morning it was “a matter of survival”.
Analysis from Destination KRL showed a combined revenue loss across 25 businesses of approximately $120,000 per week during February.
It was a “pretty bleak situation” for impacted businesses, and Walters criticised a perceived lack of communication from officials.
“We have not received, three months after the date, any news or information that we can tell the businesses how long they need to plan for, because we don’t know how long this is going on.”
It is still unknown how long the plant will be out of action, the cost to repair it, or an official cause for the failure.
Hugh Collins, owner of Lyall Bay dive shop Ocean Hunter, said it has been a “disaster” for his business, with revenue down between 40-50%.
Hugh Collins says his diving business risks closing down due to the Moa Point disaster. Photo / RNZ
Collins said he and his business partner have been forced to take a pay cut to keep paying staff wages.
“If we miss out on this kind of funding, we will go under,” Collins said.
“I’ll have to let go of our staff, there’s six of us that will be unemployed.”
Walters said the 50% revenue drop threshold was too high, adding that some operators were below that threshold but still struggling to survive.
That prompted an amendment to allow the council’s chief executive and Mayor Andrew Little to consider some flexibility for applicants outside the criteria.
Walters said the support for those impacted by Moa Point was “out of kilter” with that given to businesses impacted by the 2022 occupation.
“The city council provided a million dollars to 40 businesses for 23 days of occupation in Parliament, we’re now at 90 days, and we’ve probably still got another 90 to go,” he said.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
