Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is calling on the Government and the insurance industry to take greater responsibility for disaster recovery funding, warning councils cannot act as the "insurer of last resort”—particularly if rates caps are introduced.
As the $2 billion Auckland recovery programme wraps up, Brown says early cost estimates were underestimated, leaving ratepayers exposed to higher-than-expected costs.
He is calling for a nationally led funding model, arguing it is “unfair and unsustainable” for local ratepayers to carry the burden of increasingly frequent severe weather events.
Brown says the issue goes beyond Auckland and is urging urgent government and industry action before the next disaster strikes.
“Ratepayers are not insurers and shouldn’t bear the burden of the cost of major weather events.”
“With ongoing budget pressures and the possibility of rates caps, councils simply do not have the financial capacity to absorb events of this scale,” he says.
“Paying for major weather events should not fall on ratepayers alone. This is a nationwide issue that requires a coordinated government and insurance industry response.”
Mayor Brown acknowledged the scale of the events and paid tribute to the efforts of communities, organisations and council staff involved in the response and recovery.
“We've done this now and we’re never doing this again. I thank everyone who stepped up because we couldn’t have done this on our own," says Mayor Brown.
“This is not unique to Auckland. We need a sustainable national approach in place before the next major disaster strikes.”
"When I was in Singapore recently, Mayors from around the world were keen to hear about how we had gone from the most ill-prepared city for a storm to now being one of the best prepared, in three years," he says.
However, he raised concerns about early assessments that underestimated the number of properties requiring support. Initial forecasts suggested around 700 properties would need voluntary buy-outs. The final number was closer to 1,200.
“The early estimates set the foundation for key funding decisions. Good decision-making relies on reliable information, and in situations like this, I would’ve preferred if they’d said, ‘we don’t know’ how many properties might be affected.”
Mayor Brown will continue to push for change and is calling on the government to join with the insurance industry to come up with a fair and workable solution.