- Hon Damien O'Connor
- Hon Kieran McAnulty
- $500,000 to repair fences and growing structures
- Support for farmers and growers on top of $74 million in recovery grants
- Extra funds for the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust
The Government is contributing a further $500,000 to the Post Your Support initiative, a community fundraising campaign supporting farmers and growers to fix cyclone damaged fences and growing structures, Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor announced.
"It's been an extremely challenging start to the year for farmers and growers affected by the adverse weather events in the North Island and this funding is about getting in behind our rural communities as they rebuild," Damien O'Connor said.
"The Government previously contributed $100,000 to help kick-start this work and is now adding a further $500,000 to ensure that essential infrastructure like fences and growing structures can be repaired and replaced, with funds going towards materials like posts and wires.
"This sits alongside our ongoing support for cyclone-affected primary producers, including $74 million in recovery grants, and the North Island Weather Events Loan Guarantee Scheme and Primary Producer Finance Scheme," Damien O'Connor said.
The Government has also made an additional adverse event classification following ongoing wet conditions in the Bay of Plenty, releasing $50,000 to boost support in the region, said Rural Communities Minister Kieran McAnulty.
"This extra funding will enable the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust to deliver further services to those in need. The cumulative impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle and continued heavy rain events mean challenging conditions for farmers in the lead-up to calving.
"The Rural Support Trust provides key services like mentoring, mental health outreach, and running community events. This funding will support their work to take the strain off farmers who are doing it tough right now," Kieran McAnulty said.
The Government contribution to the Post Your Support campaign comes from the $35.4 million allocated in Budget 2023 to support the recovery of rural communities affected by the recent North Island weather events.
Information on how farmers and growers can apply, and how members of the public can donate, can be found here.
