Source: New Zealand Government
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says that communities in the Waikato are benefitting from over $414,000 in grants from funds raised through a special Lotto draw for Cyclone Gabrielle relief.
“Cyclone Gabrielle had a significant impact on parts of the Waikato, causing destruction to property, blocked roads, and requiring coordinated relief efforts Now, one year after grant applications closed, 18 community organisations have received funding to rebuild thanks to the generosity of Kiwis who bought tickets to the special Lotto draw for Cyclone Gabrielle relief,” says Ms van Velden.
Funds raised from the special Lotto draw were passed on to the Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal Trust, which accepted grant applications until May 2024 and distributed all funds by October 2024. Grants were given to community organisations in regions where a state of emergency was declared for Cyclone Gabrielle, which were Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Hawke’s Bay, and Tararua.
“As well as repairing and replacing community facilities that were damaged by the cyclone, the proceeds of the lottery draw went towards upgrading local emergency services organisations so they can be better prepared for any future severe weather events”.
Waikato projects that received funding include:
$29,500 to the Sunset Beach Surf Lifesaving Trust in Port Waikato for a new power generator to provide power supply to the community civil defence hub
$30,000 to the Oparau Hall Society Incorporated for repairs to the hall and equipment
$29,875 to the Port Project to restore and improve community walkways damaged by the cyclone
Sunset Beach Surf Lifesaving Trust had its first use of the generator in May 2025 when the Port had a major power outage. Malcolm Beattie, president of the Sunset Beach Lifesaving Trust, says “it kicked in and the community had access to the Community Hub for full power immediately. Having this service immediately available for our community free of any charges was amazing.”
The special draw was a part of the overall cyclone recovery effort and complemented the work that government, charities, mayoral relief funds, corporate partners and local fundraisers did in raising money to help with the response and recovery in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Raising funds for important community projects is at the heart of what Lotto does. I’m pleased that the funds raised from this special Lotto draw went towards better preparing impacted communities for future events.” says Ms van Velden.
The Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal Trust was established by the Crown as an independent entity to distribute funds raised in the Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal. The Trust allocated $14,511,916 in total across the regions affected to help recovery efforts, of which $11,770,000 came from the live Lotto NZ draw on 18 March 2023.
