Despite the Auckland Council publicly agreeing with the government to a $2 billion recovery plan after the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods, 60+ properties around Tamaki Makaurau remain in limbo.

The storm damage affecting and threatening private properties is on public land. The land is owned by Auckland Council and managed by Auckland Transport.

“This is not a private land issue, the damage is on publicly owned land – which is for the Auckland Council to fix,” said STAR ‘Stickered Area Residents’ Group member Thibault Beaujot.

Reparation and remediation of the Auckland Council-owned road reserves has now been put back on the agenda this Thursday 3 October before the Council – this time it’s with the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee.

Over one year ago the STAR Group appeared before Mayor Brown and the full Governing Body on 24 August 2023 sharing insights and devastating experiences.

They were asking for ‘help – and fast’. The galvanised group were hoping for a fair and just solution from the Council so all the properties would be remediated.

“But the challenge has been that the criteria for various funds that might have been available, did not allow for money to be spent on remediating Auckland Council-owned land.” Beaujot said.

The cost of repair could be up to $400,000 per site plus $100,000 in consent fees. 

Some residents are affected by the land supporting their house subsiding, others by landslips that started above their house, and others lost safe access to their house. One car is still stranded after Council banks slid away.

“We don't receive money from private insurance or EQC, because this is not our land, and we cannot get access to any loan to pay for the cost of remediation either.” said STAR Group member Tony Proffit.

The group believe that the damage on the Auckland Council land is threatening their safety and needs to be mitigated or reinstated. 

“We’ve done a lot to support affected residents and facilitate the recovery efforts since Day 1. But twenty months on, we really feel very strongly that Auckland Council and its agencies need to act urgently to provide those affected with a clear solution and detailed plan of action,” he said.

The group says it has been working patiently with Auckland Transport to find solutions to their issues since July 2023 and The Storm Recovery Office since December 2023.

“For months we’ve met with all sorts of Council officials, Members of Parliament, and lately have escalated our requests to the Deputy Mayor Ms Simpson, the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery the Hon. Mark Mitchell, and Minister of Transport and Local Government Hon. Simeon Brown,” said Beaujot.

On Thursday twenty members of the group with their families and supporters are presenting an updated evidential report ahead of a Notice of Motion being presented by Councillor Ken Turner.

The Notice of Motion 

1. Ohia / endorse Auckland Transport efforts to seek additional funding and the reallocation of existing funding to support the repair to damage on Auckland Council-owned land and to support Project Design, Project Resource, Building Consents, and Encroachment Licensing for that repair.
2. Tautoko / support Auckland Transport efforts to investigate options for prioritising and streamlining the encroachment licence application process to enable affected residents to enter into a licence to work; and request regular updates on progress on this.
3. Tono / request Auckland Council staff investigate options for streamlining resource and building consent processes to support this work and to report back to this committee within three months on options and progress.
4. Tautoko / support Auckland Transport efforts to also seek additional government funding and the reallocation of existing funding to be allocated towards mitigation that will ensure long term safety and structural integrity of the current damage.
5. Tautoko / support the terms of any funding allowed for these purposes to include reimbursement of residents who have undertaken works in the interim. 
6. Tuhi a-taipitopito / note that if the above is not completed in a timely manner that results will have a negative impact on the affected property owners, and Auckland Council’s reputation.

“It's not our responsibility to look at how to fund this. We don't mind where the money is coming from, we just want Auckland Council to repair their land, so we can move on with our lives.

Aside from the moral obligation to fix the damage, the costs to remedy the Council-owned land are out of reach for most of the ratepayers in the residents’ group.

This isn’t just about the financial factors at play here. This is about public safety, resilience for future weather events, and about our mental health and wellbeing as a community as well.

There remains huge stress for many of us, especially each time it rains. We all know that weather events are expected to become more frequent and more intense. Future risks need to be mitigated as soon as possible” said STAR Group member Thibault Beaujot.

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