Matt Whineray: Ministry for the Environment Independent Reference Group Chair on the need for the Govt to move away from natural hazard buyouts

There are expectations the Government continuing to step in to cover natural hazard costs for homeowners could create a moral hazard.  

An independent climate adaptation report reveals annual losses from weather-related events over the next 25 years could increase by a quarter.  

It warns the later we respond, the more disruptive the adjustment will be.  

Chair Matt Whineray told Heather du Plessis-Allan the best way forward is for people to understand what they can get and for the Government to move away from buyouts.  

He says this needs to be done over a period of time so the market has time to adjust and so people have fair warning and an opportunity to respond.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Homeowners with houses flooded or damage by where they need
to stop expecting government buyouts and do that within the
next twenty years. This is a recommendation from an expert
panel setup to nut out how to deal with climate risks.
Matt Winery is the chair of the Independent Reference Group
and is with us Morning Matt Hi Heather. So, Matt,
how would this work. You've got a batch next to
the beach, it gets flooded, the government will buy you
out for the next twenty years and after that you're

(00:21):
on your own.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
So what we're looking to do is create a transition
to a future state where the government is not the
de facto insurer of all property damage. And that's the
situation we're in at the moment on a de factor
on a default basis, and a reactive basis post events.
But it's not done for everybody or every impact. So

(00:46):
what we're saying is what you need to do is
transition to a state where people can understand what they
will get and the government's obligation to relieve hardship will
not be linked to property value anymore, but needs to
be done over period of time, so it gives the
market time to adjust and gives people fear warning and
an opportunity to respond.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Okay, you also talk about needing to withdraw some council
services from some places. What are you talking about?

Speaker 2 (01:12):
What we mean there is that the councils will need
the ability to withdraw services in particular areas that are
particularly affected by by flooding, severe inundational coastal erosions. So
like you saw post earthquake, you had you had some
situations where you just had a few a few people

(01:34):
still living near. What you need to do is get
to a point where the councils can make decisions about
how they will how they will adapt to the change
in climate, so the change in sea level, to change
in water level, and that needs to include the ability
to give indications over time that they would withdraw services
from particular areas where it's no longer suitable for people

(01:54):
to be living.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Is that in order to basically force people out.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
No, that doesn't. That doesn't people out. People can continue
to choose to stay there, but the council can't be
or must be in a position to be able to
decide whether to continue to give services if there are
essentially nobody to give services to or very few.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Matt, thanks very much. Matt Wineray, chair of the Independent
Reference Group.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.