Wairoa flood review findings released
A review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has found the flood was caused by a combination of factors leading to the river backing up and overflowing.
Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell says the Mayoral Fund has been triggered, activating $300,000 for regional recovery after severe weather hit the East Coast this week.
$100,000 each will be given to the Wairoa, Gisborne and Hastings District Councils as part of the initial response.
Speaking from the Haumoana Fire Station, Mitchell acknowledged the work of Mayors and first responders in the East Coast region.
“They have responded quickly, they have stood up the teams… the police evacuated over 200 homes last night here in Haumoana.”
While Mitchell says he hasn’t yet seen the state the storm has left Wairoa in, he understands that the community south of the Wairoa bridge have been hard this time. This is largely due to 6m swells.
“Once I’m on the ground, I’ll be able to get around and visualize and see exactly what the damage is but the reports are they’ve definitely got damage there,” he says.
“It’s pretty catastrophic for them, they continue to get hit so getting up there is my priority.”
Meanwhile, Hawke’s Bay Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says she wants to acknowledge the community and those who stood up the emergency hub as part of the community civil defence response.
“It’s fair to say they’ve done an amazing job and [I’m] incredibly grateful to everyone’s support,” Hazlehurst says.
A function at Parliament on 7th October brought together central government decision-makers, MPs, industry stakeholders and commercial partners to highlight the need for strategic investment in the future of Fieldays and its home, the Mystery Creek Events Centre campus.
The Government's revised 2050 biogenic methane target range of 14-24% by 2050 is being welcomed by dairy farmers.
An increasing number of students are doing agricultural and horticultural degrees at Massey University by distance learning.
ANZ New Zealand is encouraging farmers and businesses impacted by the recent extreme weather that hit Southland and South Otago last week to seek support if they need it.
When Professor Pierre Venter takes up his new role as vice chancellor at Massey University next February it will just be a matter of taking a few steps across the road to get to his new office at the Palmerston North Campus.
Two rural data organisations - DairyNZ’s DairyBase and Farm Focus - have formed a new partnership that aims to remove data duplication and help provide more timely, useful benchmarking insights for farmers.

OPINION: The Greens have taken the high moral ground on the Palestine issue and been leading political agitators in related…
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact…