Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Chris Hipkins has accused National of doing little to deal with the impacts of severe weather events, but will not commit to replenishing the disbanded climate resilience fund or even laying out a detailed adaptation policy before the election.
But the prime minister says the government is doing "very well" putting resilience at the core of all infrastructure rebuilding work, but stopped short of calling the cumulative effect of years of worsening weather events a climate crisis.
"Just look at what we're doing in rebuilding the Hawke's Bay Expressway," he said on Tuesday. "It's building back to be twice as strong with respect to flood resilience, we're building back road networks across the country… all of our plans and resilience is built into the core of what we're doing as we rebuild infrastructure."
Luxon told RNZ the flooding events in recent weeks had caused "huge economic challenges".
"Having said that, we've managed the past few weeks and months well, we've budgeted for this."
Luxon wanted to take the politics out of infrastructure rebuilds, and claimed he proposed doing exactly that when he was on then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's business advisory group as chief executive of Air New Zealand.
"Infrastructure should not be political, actually - it should sit outside and be managed by an Infrastructure Commission."
Asked if New Zealand was dealing with a climate crisis, Luxon said, "There's no doubt about it we've been in some real climate challenges - across the world it's been an issue for a long period of time".
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was clear some national infrastructure needed to either be relocated or a decision needed to be made about whether to keep investing in it.
Hipkins was highly critical of the government cancelling the $6 billion climate resilience fund set up under the last Labour government, but he stopped short of saying it would be reintroduced if he got back into power.
"We will set out before the election an alternative fiscal plan to the current government. I'm not writing it on the spot right now, but it will set out our priorities."
Hipkins would not commit to ring-fencing any amount of money for climate resilience or having a "fully-worked through policy" before the election
"It's incredibly complicated and it's the sort of thing you need to work through in government. We've said to the current government we will work through this with them - I don't think this needs to be something we compete on."
Flooding at Auckland's Eden Park in 2023. Photo: Photosport
Hipkins was prime minister when the devastating Auckland floods hit in January 2023, and had the resources that come with government to create policy.
When that was pointed out to Hipkins, he responded the plan they had devised was the now-cancelled climate resilience fund - the same fund he would not recommit to.
It would be after the May Budget before Labour released most of its policy, including anything it planned to do around climate resilience and managed retreat.
Asked if the plan was to borrow more to pay for those things, Hipkins said a "mature conversation" was needed about that, but would not rule out more borrowing.
Conversations need to be had with impacted communities about vulnerable housing and managed retreat, he said, reluctant for that conversation to be left to the insurance sector.
"Then you potentially end up with people who have done everything right who are left high and dry."
Mark Mitchell. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Let 'scientists work on that' - minister
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said local government had a huge role to play in any conversations about managed retreat, and any conversations with communities would be "tough".
"You can do as much preparation as you like, Mother Nature will still prove to be stronger, and it's just a matter that we have to be able to respond quickly.
"We've had these weather events for years. When I became minister two years ago, I've had a rolling maul of these weather events and I was briefed as the incoming minister to expect that."
Without a doubt Mitchell said weather patterns were changing, but he had no interest getting into a "climate change debate".
"Let the science and the scientists work on that one. My job, quite simply, is to make sure as our country that our readiness, our response, and our recovery is the best that we can possibly do."
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the country would face more severe weather events in the future, which is "why we should be maintaining a prudent fiscal position now".
"Getting that debt curve bending down, ensuring we're not just adding extra spending everywhere we look, because we need buffers in the Crown accounts to make sure we can respond to these events."
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