Funding results for earthquake recovery welcomed

Primary Industries and Civil Defence Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed the announcement of eight successful projects that will be supported by the $5 million Earthquake Recovery Fund.

Announced in May this year, the Earthquake Recovery Fund supports quake-struck farmers and growers in the Marlborough, Kaikoura and Hurunui regions by funding community-driven projects, as well as funding professional advisory services for future land use planning.

“Eight community project applications have been approved for funding, totalling $3.54 million over three years. These projects are led by community groups and focus on tackling a shared problem or new opportunities for land-use.

“$1 million is also now available for land owners and managers to access professional advisory services from an approved supplier list, helping them make good decisions.

“The remaining $460,000 will cover earthquake recovery related work that isn’t covered by the community projects such as precision agriculture and resilience planning.

“This support is important because the earthquake had a major effect on the landscape. It has meant a lot of tough decisions and extra work for many people in the wider region.

“Since the earthquake in November last year, there has been a massive whole-of-government approach to supporting communities in their recovery with funding of $1.2 billion for a range of projects.”

For more information on the funded projects, and to access the list of approved suppliers of professional advisory services, visit www.mpi.govt.nz/Kaikoura-earthquake