Some residents in West Auckland affected by the January floods are sceptical about promises to protect their properties from future disasters.
Yesterday, the Government announced that it will support councils to buy out some damaged homes and improve flood defences in other at-risk areas. But there are still questions about who will pay for what and how long the work by councils will take.
Resident Joe Young's neighbourhood in Swanson was inundated during the Anniversary Weekend floods — though his own home wasn't damaged.
He had been clearing debris out of his local stream by himself after heavy rain and told 1News that he didn't have confidence in authorities to deliver improvements.
"I don't know if I have the confidence that it's going to be done correctly."
The Government has committed to supporting councils to buy out damaged homes. (Source: 1News)
For now, Young said he still plans to continue clearing his local stream by himself.
"As a community or as a neighbourhood, this is our mitigation. This is the best we can muster up every second or third weekend," he said.
Community leader Lyall Carter said: "There is a real sense that they won't be able to do it as quickly or effectively as we need."
Carter is the chairperson of a residents' group, West Auckland Is Flooding, established after the devastating floods.
The Government's plan includes grouping damaged properties into different categories depending on how much risk they face in the future.
Councils in cyclone-affected regions like Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay have already started contacting homeowners about which category their properties will fall in, whilst that work will begin for flood-affected Aucklanders in 10 days' time.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson told 1News that the situation was more complicated in an urban environment like the supercity.
"The big question that follows that is, well, how much are they going to pay, or is someone going to pay, and when will that happen?"
For those in the most high-risk category, details on how the buyout offer process will work will be made available in the coming weeks, but one of the big sticking points is how uninsured properties are treated.
The Insurance Council's Tim Grafton said it was important for the Government not to create a "moral hazard" with buyouts by heavily benefiting the uninsured.
"It's very important for us to see that it doesn't benefit the uninsured to the point where there's no point in taking out insurance."
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