Source: Radio New Zealand
Severe weather has struck many communities hard in recent years, now some want more government input into safeguards (file Nelson, 2025). Supplied / Valeriya Horyayeva
Councils are calling on the government to foot more of the bill for improving New Zealand’s disaster resilience in the wake of last week’s devastating storms.
Advice from the Ministry for the Environment and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet reveals this country spends on average 0.6 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) on responding to natural hazards, nearly twice as much as the OECD country average.
“Since 2010, New Zealand has spent $64 billion on hazard-related costs. Of that, 97 percent was spent on response and recovery and only 3 percent on reducing risk,” the briefing document said.
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Gisborne mayor and president of Local Government New Zealand Rehette Stoltz said severe storms, floods, landslides, and coastal hazards were increasingly frequent and damaging.
“It’s becoming a national issue, with a reported 46 storms in the past 12 months alone. Previously it was a more localised issue, now we’re seeing it happen everywhere across Aotearoa,” she said.
“Our infrastructure is getting battered and as a nation we need to stop and plan.”
Stoltz said research suggested more than 750,000 New Zealanders live in flood prone areas, and that meant $235b worth of residential buildings were at risk.
“Every dollar spent on disaster preparedness saves at least $4 in response and recovery,” Stoltz said.
She said policies and plans for responding to climate risks were taking years to progress and councils wanted clarity from the government on who was responsible for doing – and paying for – what.
“We are operating in a system where everyone is looking at keeping rates as low as possible. The Government has made it a real priority to try and make sure that councils focus on core infrastructure. What we are saying is that lots of these issues are not local issues, these are national issues, so we don’t want all of that cost to be borne by ratepayers.”
Clear, durable co‑funding arrangements between central and local government were critical, Stoltz said.
“Doing nothing not only puts undue pressure on public finances in the long run but comes with significant risk to New Zealanders.”
Minister of Local Government Simon Watts said the government remained committed to working with councils and local communities to determine the best way forward for people living in areas exposed to climate risks.
”I want to acknowledge everyone who has been impacted by the extreme weather, not only this week but the weeks prior, and recognise the disruption and damage these events cause,” he said.
“Decisions of this nature are best made at the local level, and councils have a leading role. I encourage communities to work with their local councils, and we know that is already happening in some areas.”
Watts said changes the government was planning to make to the Climate Change Response Act 2002 would build stronger consistency across the country when it came to adaptation planning.
”These changes will ensure councils are preparing adaptation plans for priority areas, which will help build resilience,” he said.
“‘Planning for how we will share the costs of adapting to climate change over time is an important part of the work we are doing. It is a complex area and one where it is important to take the time to get things right. This is why we plan to make further decisions about this in the next term of Government.”
Watts said it was important that the government took time to work through all of those issues to ensure the framework could endure.
”We are moving as quickly as we can, but speed cannot come at a cost of quality and accuracy,” he said.
“A key part of this work is the New Zealand Flood Map. This map will ensure that people have good information about flood risks. It will allow people and businesses to plan ahead and make decisions about where to build that lower risk and boost resilience.”
“‘We plan to share the first version of the map with the public next year, with some early releases of data before the end of this year,” Watts said.
“‘While we build the framework, officials are actively looking for areas that should be accelerated to support the recovery.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
