This Government has cut flood protection spending by 41 per cent compared to the last Government, even as climate-change-charged extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.
"Luxon's Government gets up after each extreme weather event to talk about much they're spending on flood protection - spending that they've almost halved in comparison to the last Government," says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.
Documents OIA'd by the Green Party confirm Budget 2020 committed $217 million, Budget 2023 committed $122.9 million, and $647.5 million for North Island Weather Events Category 2 risk mitigation was confirmed and signed under the previous government.
This Government's contribution has been $200 million through the Regional Infrastructure Fund.
The previous Government committed $340 million over three years to flood resilience, excluding one-off disaster recovery funding. This Government has committed $200 million total across three years, spread across 74 projects nationwide. That is a decrease of $140 million.
"Every other week we're experiencing yet another 'one in one hundred year weather event.' We need climate resilience now. Luxon's Government has not only poured fossil fuels on the fire, but cut flood protection funding and last year decided to kick any meaningful decisions on climate adaptation funding til after the next election."
"Treasury is telling us there's an 80 per cent chance of another Gabrielle-scale event in the next 50 years, as Luxon's Government quietly delays and defunds any real work on resilience."
"Every dollar we fail to invest in flood protection now is a dollar communities pay back many times over when the next event hits."
"New Zealanders are sick of being told the Government is investing in keeping them safe when the reality is the opposite. They deserve an honest Government who does the real work to fix the entangled climate and cost-of-living crises; a Government that works for regular people, not the profit of mega corporations," says Swarbrick.
