Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the government won't be able to keep bailing out flooded homeowners.
Luxon told Morning Report Cabinet wouldn't yet be considering a package of assistance for the Tasman district, because it was too early in the flood response.
"At this stage we have to focus on the reponse and then we'll make the assessment on what's needed from a recovery point of view."
Luxon said there was concern about further rainfall and slips, and he was impressed with the local response.
The region has been battered by heavy rain, forcing people from their homes, closing roads and leaving some cut off.
Flooding on the Otuwhero Valley. Photo: Supplied/ Jodie Reed
However, in response to a recent report recommending that homeowners whose houses are flooded or damaged by weather events not expect buy-outs in the future, he said there would have to be changes.
The report recommended individuals should be responsible for knowing the risks and making their own decisions about whether to move away from high-risk areas. A climate policy expert called the suggestion "morally bankrupt".
"In principle the government won't be able to keep bailing out people in this way, "Luxon said.
He said Climate Change Minister Simon Watts had been working hard to get a bipartisan view on how to deal long term with these weather events.
"This is a long term issue. We need a proper framework in place to work out whether its landowners, councils, whether its central government, banks, insurers that actually have to create a framework for dealing with these weather events an how we handle them going forward."
Luxon said the government would think through the report, and many other countries were dealing with the same challenges.
"We need to find a way to manage these events going forward and who takes reponsibility and is there a shared responsibility."
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