The Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has welcomed a $20 million co-investment from the 2024 Budget to improve flood resilience in the Bay of Plenty communities. The coalition Government’s Budget includes plans for the Regional Infrastructure Fund to support regional productivity and resilience. This fund, totaling $1.2 billion over three years, will invest in new and existing infrastructure across regional New Zealand.
The first projects to be funded will be flood protection and resilience projects, with an initial allocation of $200 million. Out of this, up to $101.1 million is committed to 42 projects nationwide. The co-investment will be managed by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, and will support the Regional Council in delivering flood protection infrastructure projects across three of its five rivers and drainage schemes.
The projects include future stages of Project Future Proof, a multi-stage project to rebuild the flood defences in Whakatāne city centre, improving and replacing flood infrastructure in the lower Kaituna River, and upgrading stopbanks around Ōpōtiki.
Council chair Doug Leeder said the co-investment recognizes the importance of infrastructure in protecting lives and livelihoods across the region. He highlighted that flooding is the most common natural hazard in New Zealand, with a major flood event occurring on average every eight months. He stressed the need to act now, as most of New Zealand’s flood infrastructure was not built for the scale or intensity of the weather events we are seeing today or will see in the future.
The co-investment builds on the existing joint Resilient River Communities programme between regional and unitary councils and Kānoa, which has helped alleviate increasing costs to ratepayers since it began in 2020. Leeder said this latest round of co-investment is expected to do the same.
The Regional Council is currently working through the implications of the Budget 2024 announcement on its rates, with information to be made public once the Long Term Plan is adopted on 26 June.