Hon Grant Robertson

Minister of Finance

Minister for Cyclone Recovery

Nelson homeowners severely impacted by the extreme weather event of August 2022 will be able to access Government support, including a buyout deal for their damaged homes, subject to agreement from Nelson City Council.

“For a small number of Nelson homeowners the impacts from last August’s severe weather event have been similar to those affected by the North Island Weather Events,” Grant Robertson said.

“I asked officials to consider proposals from Nelson City Council to support those affected that are consistent with the approach taken by the Government to support the regions affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Nelson City Council has identified 14 households where landslide risk is too high for people to return to their homes, but the costs to mitigate the risk is prohibitive. The Mayor asked the Government to consider sharing the costs for these homeowners to be offered a buyout deal.

“Consistent with the approach taken in affected regions in the North Island, the Government and Nelson City Council will contribute 50 percent each to the net cost of this buyout. The net cost is the amount above the insurance and EQC payments received by the homeowner, with the Government’s contribution expected to be up to $6 million.

“The Government has also asked the Ministry of Social Development to work with the Cyclone Recovery Unit on providing temporary accommodation assistance to families in acute financial hardship. MSD is currently establishing a payment that we hope will be delivered within the next few weeks.

“These families remain out of their houses, are paying a mortgage on that house and their insurance-paid support for rent has run out. This assistance will relieve some of the financial pressure they are under while the circumstances associated with their houses are resolved.

“The August 2022 weather event caused numerous landslips affecting residential areas in Nelson. A council taskforce has identified 18 significant slips on Council owned land that affect private properties. Of these, work to date considers that 16 of these can be remediated to the standard they were before the event and made more resilient to future events.

“The Government will contribute 50 percent of the cost to remediate these 16 slips, at a cost of up to $6 million.

“The Government has also agreed to pay for ongoing monitoring using specialised equipment of the Tāhunanui Slump, a area in Nelson that moves around 10cm a year, for the next ten years. The total cost of this will be $300,000. We will also consider a contribution to funding of the replacement of storm water systems in Nelson in the future.

“Overall, the Government will contribute $12.3 million to support Nelson’s recovery and provide certainty to those affected so they can move on with their lives,” Grant Robertson said.

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