Displaced Nelson residents say it’s “not fair” that they’re not being offered the accommodation support that will be given to storm-affected residents up north.
Two weeks ago, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni announced that the Government, from September, would offer weekly payments to North Island residents forced out of their homes by recent severe weather events who are grappling with both their temporary rental and continued mortgage costs.
A maximum of $610 is being offered to help cover costs, depending on a family’s location and size.
But families in the exact same situation in Nelson after the August 2022 weather event have received no accommodation assistance along these lines.
Gabbi Pollock and her family were in their Bishopdale home for just 13 months before it was red-stickered when a landslide broke through the retaining wall at the back of their property and approached the back of the house.
The red sticker has now been replaced by a yellow one, but the house is still not able to be lived in.
“Up until this point, my husband and I have been quite understanding of the fact that this is something that can happen when you own a house,” Pollock said.
"It is part of the risk… so we’ve been trying to find the positives in it. But then to see that something has been offered, but not to us, it just really hurts because we’re struggling.”
With a six-month-old and a dog, the motels offered by the Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) after the storm weren’t practical for them, so they found a rental instead.
But with their rent costing $1000 a week and another $820 a week for their recently re-fixed mortgage, they have now burned through their insurance accommodation cover.
Pollock said having a weekly accommodation supplement from the government would make a “huge difference”.
“It’s been a very stressful time; it’s had a huge impact on our mental health. Having the pressure eased even just a little bit would be amazing.”
Yoann Martichon’s family are also displaced from their home.
A landslide collided with the back of their house in the Brook Valley, earning them a red sticker.
Like Pollock, all TAS could offer Martichon were motels, but he’d probably have had to move every couple of weeks because they were all booked up, so he too opted for a rental.
His rent costs $600 a week, plus $230 on his mortgage. Though Martichon negotiated with his bank to only pay interest on the mortgage, a new re-fixed rate is about to start this month.
“So that’s going to kill us as well,” he said. “It’s pretty tough.”
Weekly accommodation assistance would be a “massive relief” for Martichon, whose insurance cover is on the verge of running out.
“I’m working only to pay my rent, and my partner is working to put food on the table and to pay the bills.
"There’s a lot of stress since the beginning, financially, because you’re just wondering how you’re going to be able to afford all that.
"On paper, we are completely broke because we’re paying so many expenses.”
Martichon thought it’s “not fair” that the accommodation support hasn’t been rolled out in Nelson.
“They have to do the same thing for the rest of the country, they can’t just focus on the North Island,” he said. “We feel like the South Island has been completely left out and doesn’t exist. But actually we do exist, we are still struggling.”
Pollock hopes to be back in her house by the end of September while Martichon is aiming for February next year, leaving the two families with many more thousands in costs over the coming months.
Nelson City Council has remitted rates for properties that can’t be lived in.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith shared the families’ dissatisfaction.
“I’m becoming increasingly frustrated for Nelson in not getting support from Government that is being made available to councils and communities in other parts of New Zealand.”
The Government recently declined to share costs with Nelson City Council as it seeks to build back better where landslides from council land have impacted private properties.
And in addition to the lack of temporary accommodation assistance being offered in Nelson, Smith said the Government is also not offering the council support in buying properties where building back is uneconomical – a measure introduced up north.
He said it is also slow in providing Nelson with millions in standard disaster recovery which is putting the council under additional financial stress.
“But actually, my greatest concern is for those remaining red-stickered property owners for whom answers on these questions are so important in getting their issues resolved,” he said.
“I don’t know how the government justifies paying those rental subsidies for some and not others… I think it’s grossly unjust that a family in Hawke's Bay or Auckland… is being provided with the Government support of a rental subsidy when people in exactly the circumstance in Nelson are not.”
A spokesperson for Minister Carmel Sepuloni said that “conversations are ongoing and further advice is imminent with regards to extending the [North Island Weather Events] payment to residents in Nelson”.
They added that TAS was made available for affected residents immediately after the August 2022 weather event and the service would continue to provide support to families during their ongoing recoveries.
Labour’s Nelson MP Rachel Boyack said it was important that displaced residents have access to enough financial support alongside alternative accommodation.
“We are coming to the point in the flood recovery where a small number of residents in Nelson have very challenging and complex situations regarding their homes and land.
"I am working closely with Council and my MP colleagues to ensure we have the right supports in place for people in Nelson.”
She encouraged anyone who is concerned about their situation to contact her office so that they can provide appropriate support.
There are currently 13 red-stickered homes and 68 yellow-stickered homes in Nelson.
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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