The New Zealand Government has chosen not to fanfare the release of its working group report on managed retreat until after the election. The Ministry for the Environment requested the report and it is now available on the ministry’s website.

[…] in the final reckoning, it recommends communities be relocated using new legislated emergency powers, with no right of court appeal.

[Climate Change Minister James Shaw] confirms he is seeking a cross-party agreement, and has been talking to National’s climate change spokesperson Simon Watts.

“He and I have met two or three times already. They’ve said this is an area that they think needs consensus, and they’re keen to work on that.

The report contains 57 recommendations, including these:

  • support to property owners is given on a specified basis, up to a cap per property, and any costs above the cap would be borne by the individual property owners.
  • compulsory natural hazard insurance includes a clause providing that once a property experiences a damage event above a certain threshold (say, damage worth 30 per cent of the property’s value), this will automatically trigger the planned relocation
  • Maori and non-governmental organisations would get the most compensation, then owner-occupied homes; rental accommodation and business premises would get less compensation; bach and holiday home owners should not receive compensation payments at all, though they might receive some modest assistance with demolition or clean-up costs.
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A contribution from The BFD staff.