The ACT Party has proposed 15 actions it believes are "practical solutions" necessary for the Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild.
It follows four regions exiting states of emergency this morning, and entering the recovery phase.
Released today, the proposal includes creating a special economic zone for Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti, making offending in a state of emergency an aggravating factor at sentencing, and cutting Three Waters spending and halting minimum wage increases for three years.
The proposal is laid out in a 14-page document titled "Cyclone Gabrielle: 15 urgent ideas for recovery".
ACT leader David Seymour announced the proposal in Hawke's Bay this morning, saying the 15 points were "practical solutions that are necessary to rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and create a more resilient future".
“Recovery is going to be costly, and the Government’s response must be wary of sparking another run of inflation and interest rate rises.
"New Zealand families can’t afford a repeat of the Covid response where a surge of wasteful spending, funded by borrowing contributed to the cost of living crisis."
He said the cyclone recovery response needed the Government to "cut unnecessary projects and re-prioritise the expenditure, reduce bureaucracy and remove red tape" to assist the rebuild.
Seymour said it also needed a local response to take precedence over central planning and intervention from government departments.
“Some of these solutions will bring about immediate relief to affected communities, some of them will help ensure they can build back better and be prepared for future events."
He said many of the policies have been developed after visiting cyclone affected areas and hearing directly from those affected.
The proposal also includes sharing GST revenue with local government to fund infrastructure development - which is proposed in ACT deputy leader Brooke Van Velden's Housing Infrastructure (GST-sharing) member's bill, which was drawn from the ballot and was introduced to the House on August 4 last year. It has not yet had its first reading.
It also includes reviewing the role and purpose of the Earthquake Commission in response to climate events so it "does not subsidise building in risky places".
The Natural Hazards Insurance bill, a Government bill which passed on February 21, replaced the Earthquake Commission Act 1993 and changed the name of the Earthquake Commission to Toka Tū Ake – Natural Hazards Commission.
The bill, which will come into effect on July 1 next year, aims to clarify the role of the commission and the cover provided by the bill as well as enhance the durability and flexibility of the legislation.
Act's proposal:
1. Create a Special Economic Zone for Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti
2. Amend section 9 of the Sentencing Act 2002 so that offending in a state of emergency would be an aggravating factor at sentencing
3. Invoke Section 9 of the Defence Act so the New Zealand Defence Force can assist Police with civil powers in a time of emergency
4. Cut "wasteful spending", including Three Waters reforms. Focus on recovery spending and avoid inflationary deficit spending
5. Increase the amount of financing available and extend the time of the exemption to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) to allow people to quickly access finance
6. Introduce special legislation to remove barriers to consents under the Resource Management Act
7. Amend the Recovery Visa so that it lasts for three years and has 48-hour processing turnarounds
8. Enact a Materials Equivalence Register, aimed at ensuring ample supply of building materials for the rebuild
9. Introduce a three-year moratorium on minimum wage increases, and an exemption from Fair Pay Agreements for businesses within the Special Economic Zone
10. Streamline foreign investment by allowing foreign direct investment from democratic OECD countries to skip Overseas Investment Office approval so businesses needing investment to rebuild can access more capital
11. Replace council building consent processes with private insurance so that people do not need to wait for council consent if an insurer is prepared to insure a building
12. Share GST revenue with local government to fund infrastructure development so local Government has certainty of funding to invest in rebuilding
13. Focus local government on core goods and services and price flood risk though variable rates so building in dangerous places pays more of its own council costs
14. Review the role and purpose of Earthquake Commission in response to climate events "so that it does not subsidise building in risky places"
15. Deal with the risks of forestry slash by making it easier to remove and set mitigation measures, and explore the concept of refundable bonds upon planting
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