Government to match Mayoral Relief Fund appeals

The Government will match the Whakatane and Opotiki Mayoral Relief Fund appeals dollar for dollar, Civil Defence Minister George Hawkins and Waiariki MP Mita Ririnui said today.

The move comes on top of assistance for the area announced yesterday by the Prime Minister and Mr Hawkins.

This included:
·Enhanced Task Force Green assistance to be activated in the area where necessary
·Government assistance to the Opotiki and Whakatane District Councils to cover evacuation, accommodation and food costs for people forced from their homes by the floods
·A Government 'one stop shop' agency to be set up in the area
·Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Defence, Fire Service and Police staff to work with local authorities
·Additional Work and Income staff sent to the area from other regions
·A free phone Information HelpLine (0800 77 9997)
·A $20,000 grant to each of the Whakatane and Opotiki Mayoral Relief Funds to assist those in immediate need
·Cabinet authorisation for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ruth Dyson as Acting Social Development and Employment Minister, Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton, and Mr Hawkins to give additional assistance where necessary
·The Ministers of Finance, Social Development and Employment, and Agriculture delegated authority to approve any welfare programme to provide rural assistance income support for farmers whose income is affected by the flooding
·Transfund, Transit, local government and contractors have begun dealing with the most immediate roading problems. Once floodwaters have receded, a clearer idea of the full scale of repairs and what they will cost will be available. Transfund will prioritise spending and fast track projects where necessary as it did in the lower central North Island floods earlier this year.

Mr Hawkins said the moves underlined the Government's ongoing commitment to helping those caught in the flooding, as it had helped families and others who faced big losses in the lower North Island floods just five months ago.

A true picture of the damage caused in the community by the floods would not be able to be accurately assessed until the waters receded and people were back in their homes and on their farms, Mr Ririnui said. The Government would remain in close contact with local Councils to continue to monitor the situation.

"What is obvious and what the Government's fast reaction shows is this Government's ongoing concern is for the entire community, for farmers affected as well as everyone else in the area," he said.

Prime Minister Helen Clark visited the area with Mr Hawkins yesterday. Tomorrow Mr Hawkins will return for his third visit since Sunday, while Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia and Associate Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor will join Mr Ririnui in the area on Thursday.

Mr Ririnui said he had been impressed with the effort of everyone in the community who had rallied to help those in need.

"I would also like to make special mention of marae in the area who opened their doors to all comers in need during the floods."