Millions will go into East Coast clean-up and reconstruction – it’s reassuring to learn Moodys are not discomforted
Well over $400 million of state spending was mentioned in a press statement today that describes what the government is doing to support the findings of the Ministerial Inquiry into the devastating East Coast weather events of recent months.
Each of the inquiry report’s recommendations was carefully considered, and the government is firmly focussed on reducing risk and setting the region up for sustainable longer-term change, Environment Minister David Parker said.
The response has two phases: immediate actions, then building resilience.
Phase one includes action to remove woody debris and on finding how best to ramp up efforts to remove woody debris that’s at risk of further damaging downstream infrastructure for the longer term.
The announcement gives answers to one of the burning questions which Point of Order asks, when we check the government’s official website to find what ministers of the Crown are doing. It tells us how they are spending our money:
“The Government has already made $10.15 million in funding available to enable the clean-up of up to 70,000 tonnes of slash. An initial $3.54 million of the fund has been distributed to councils across Tairāwhiti and the Hawke’s Bay to commence clean-up operations, with a further $2 million being administered through Te Puni Kōkiri directly for whenua Māori.
“The $10.15m is a start. But it’s clear more needs to be done to address the problem of woody debris and manage the risks to life, assets, and the environment.
“Other Government assistance for cyclone-related recovery in the region includes $202 million for silt and debris removal in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti … and $205 million for immediate roading repairs in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa announced this week.”
We suspect government spending is involved or has been involved in other announcements.
For example, Housing Minister Megan Woods brayed about the Government “delivering a major boost to public housing in Auckland with the opening of the 276 unit Te Mātāwai development on Greys Avenue, that will provide tenants with around-the-clock, on-site support”.
Was this major boost to public housing delivered without cost?
Obviously not, but Woods did not mention this cost.
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis similarly brayed about the significant impact made in the first year under an “Action Plan” (much preferred to an Inaction Plan) designed “to bring children’s agencies together for the common purpose of helping those most in need”.
Davis has made no mention of the cost.
Those and other announcements were found in our monitoring of the Beehive website –
Phase one includes action to remove woody debris and on finding how best to ramp up efforts to remove woody debris that’s at risk of further damaging downstream infrastructure for the longer term.
The announcement gives answers to one of the burning questions which Point of Order asks, when we check the government’s official website to find what ministers of the Crown are doing. It tells us how they are spending our money:
“The Government has already made $10.15 million in funding available to enable the clean-up of up to 70,000 tonnes of slash. An initial $3.54 million of the fund has been distributed to councils across Tairāwhiti and the Hawke’s Bay to commence clean-up operations, with a further $2 million being administered through Te Puni Kōkiri directly for whenua Māori.
“The $10.15m is a start. But it’s clear more needs to be done to address the problem of woody debris and manage the risks to life, assets, and the environment.
“Other Government assistance for cyclone-related recovery in the region includes $202 million for silt and debris removal in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti … and $205 million for immediate roading repairs in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa announced this week.”
We suspect government spending is involved or has been involved in other announcements.
For example, Housing Minister Megan Woods brayed about the Government “delivering a major boost to public housing in Auckland with the opening of the 276 unit Te Mātāwai development on Greys Avenue, that will provide tenants with around-the-clock, on-site support”.
Was this major boost to public housing delivered without cost?
Obviously not, but Woods did not mention this cost.
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis similarly brayed about the significant impact made in the first year under an “Action Plan” (much preferred to an Inaction Plan) designed “to bring children’s agencies together for the common purpose of helping those most in need”.
Davis has made no mention of the cost.
Those and other announcements were found in our monitoring of the Beehive website –
Latest from the Beehive
The Government is backing a comprehensive package of action around land use in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa.
The Government is delivering a major boost to public housing in Auckland with the opening of the 276 unit Te Mātāwai development on Greys Avenue, that will provide tenants with around-the-clock, on-site support.
The Government’s careful and responsible financial management has been endorsed by the credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service.
An Action Plan designed to bring children’s agencies together for the common purpose of helping those most in need has had a significant impact in its first year.
Kiwis will find it easier to compare product prices at the supermarket, with new regulations due to come into force at the end of August.
The statement on the response to the East Coast land use report says the Government initiated the Ministerial Inquiry in March this year, in response to damage suffered by people and communities during Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle.
The Inquiry panel, chaired by Hekia Parata, presented its report and recommendations to Ministers on 12 May 2023.
As well as developing and confirming the two-phased approach, the Government has considered and responded to each of the Inquiry’s recommendations (see Appendix One of the Cabinet paper: Government response to the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa).
Eight of the 49 recommendations are not being progressed for reasons including:
- the recommendation has already been formally declined by Government (for example, fast-track consent of Te Araroa Kāhui Kupenga Marine Facility proposal)
- it would set an unsustainable precedent (for example, shifting funding responsibility from local to central government for flood protection and control).
The forestry industry continues to push for change: Statement from Eastland Wood Council and Hawke’s Bay Forestry Group
Support for clean-up and recovery already provided by the Government includes:
- $10.15 million to clean up and remove a minimum of 70,000 tonnes of woody debris, including forestry slash, from highest priority areas in river and catchment systems in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay;
- $10.4 million woody biomass research fund over three years to build an evidence base for investing in biomass forestry, including research to promote woody residue and slash recovery;
- Support for development of a bioenergy plant in Tairāwhiti, using slash and business models for continuous-cover forestry as a viable alternative to clear-felling;
- $202 million of support for sediment and debris clean up, although this is mainly focussed on sediment. Within this funding:
* $102 million is to help councils process and dispose of all the material coming from properties, and to deal with sediment and debris on council-land so it is available to the public again;* $70 million is to help commercial properties – including farmers and growers – to clean up their land and return to profit; and* $30 million is for clean-up of a broad range of whenua Māori, supporting Māori to decide how to manage sediment and debris on their whenua
After readers have absorbed the implications (and costs) of acting on Parata’s recommendations, they can take comfort from news that the credit rating agency, Moody’s Investor Services, has endorsed the Government’s careful and responsible financial management.
This reassuring news was delivered by none other than Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance.
Moody’s in their annual credit analysis released this week affirmed their view of the New Zealand economy which has seen them give a local currency credit rating and foreign currency rating at Aaa with a stable outlook.
“The Government’s response to the shocks of the pandemic and then high inflation has been recognised by Moody’s, which notes that the economy’s resilience reflects the strong institutions, sustained policy effectiveness including the Government’s actions to support New Zealanders and our healthy fiscal position compared with that of our peers,” Grant Robertson said.
“The Government has moved to consolidate its spending in response to economic conditions and Moody’s said that it expected this discipline to continue. As I’ve said previously, we will continue to take the hard decisions that are needed, while keeping a balanced approach that delivers the strong public services that New Zealanders deserve.
“The agency also said that the Government’s strong fiscal discipline and comparatively low debt levels means that the country’s credit metrics are in a good position to respond to further negative shocks to the economy.”
The annual credit analysis also reflected Moody’s long-standing views on the issue of high household debt in New Zealand.
Robertson said this has been a tough time for New Zealanders but the country is well positioned to face the challenges ahead, with people in work in record numbers, wages rising, inflation heading in the right direction and public debt levels among the lowest in the world.
He didn’t mention we will have a general election in a few weeks when citizens can say whether they endorse the Government’s careful and responsible financial management.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton.
No comments:
Post a Comment