Wellington candidates support wider buy-out scheme for flood-hit residents

Front-running political candidates in Wellington's southern suburbs say they support a wider government buy-out scheme for residents affected by April's flash flooding.

Wellington City Council is in the process of buying out one property affected by flash flooding in April.

A geotechnical report prepared for the council, which RNZ has seen, says a "significant volume of debris" inundated the property, coming from a steep-sided gully partly owned by the council - located directly upstream from the house. A blocked stormwater culvert and broken sewer pipe exacerbated the flow of debris.

More than 1800 properties in the city were impacted by the devastating weather on 20 April - when intense rainfall triggered flash flooding and major landslips in parts of the city.

Mayor Andrew Little told RNZ there was no wider programme of buy-outs, because central government had indicated it would not provide funding. He also said the council could not be used "a back-stop" for those who had bought properties in known risk areas.

Incumbent Rongotai and Wellington Bays candidate Julie Anne Genter said she supported more financial assistance for homeowners - many who she said had not known the extent of the flooding risk.

Genter said she had sent a letter to Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, urging him to meet with a group of residents calling for more financial assistance.

"I've spoken to numerous ministers, face-to-face, as well as writing letters on behalf of the constituents.

"And it just feels like because there weren't more of them - because it wasn't 50 percent of the city being flooded, they're just being forgotten. It's not good enough."

Labour candidate Craig Renney said buyout schemes should generally be used as a "last resort" and drainage and flood mitigation systems needed to be up to scratch.

But he said he would advocate for government funding for homeowners affected by the 20 April flood, and those locked out of their homes needed certainty.

"I think in this case because it was such an unusual event, and because absolutely nobody was expecting it, there might well be a case for it's wider use, but that would require the central government to come to the table to help."

National's candidate Karunā Muthu was approached for comment.

Residents recently called for more action on the six-month anniversary of the floods, with multiple people still out of their homes.

Catherine Leech was among a group of flood-affected residents who wrote to Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell, calling for a financial assistance scheme similar to Auckland's in 2023.

"That's the kind of support we are looking for, to a) assess the properties as to what the risk is, and then to go, this risk is too high for us to ask people to live there, so then do we buy them out, or offer some kind of financial assistance [to mitigate risk]?

"We're still out of our home, we haven't gone back yet. We're hoping that we'll be back in by Christmas... so there will be lasting effects. My daughter is already traumatised every time it rains and we're not even in the house."

Last week, Wellington City Council said it had revisited the Government's decision not to provide buyout assistance.

A spokesperson said the minister had confirmed this again, adding he would consider extra funding in future if another disaster struck.

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has said the National Emergency Management Agency had provided $46,000 on top of the government's contribution to the Mayoral Relief Fund, for accommodation to support people displaced by the floods.

His office said Mitchell did not recall any informal conversations regarding a buyout scheme, and there had been no formal meetings or proposals received on the matter.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts was approached for comment.