Southland to get millions in Government funding for critical flood protection

Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Flooding through Mataura in February threatened the paper mill and could have created toxic ammonia.

Southland will receive $25 million in Government funding for flood protection, for the projects identified as critical following the February floods.

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said the money for stopbanks and flood protection work in Southland and Otago would keep residents safer and boost the local economies.

The funding formed part of the $210m shovel-ready climate resilience and flood protection projects, from the $3 billion set aside for infrastructure in Budget 2020.

The funding would go towards 11 projects in Southland and four projects totalling $5m in Otago.

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“Every year flooding costs regional economies many millions of dollars,” he said.

“On top of that, there is the considerable stress of lost income and the cost of rebuilding and repairing the damage.”

In February, Southland was hit with flooding across the district, with Mataura and Wyndham being some of the worst hit areas.

“Flooding impacts livelihoods and damages the infrastructure that people rely on to stay safe and to get around. Investing to mitigate these impacts makes sense for individuals and businesses,” Jones said.

The work to be done in Southland is stopbank protection in Gore, stopbanks at Otepuni and Stead St in Invercargill, as well as a pump station on Stead St, a town stopbank upgrade at Mataura, flood damage repairs at the Waiau River, stopbank upgrades at the Waihopai River and at Waimumu and Wyndham.

“We want to work directly with regional councils to undertake a range of flood protection measures including upgrading stop banks, creating new stop banks, flood damage repairs, earthworks and flood management structures.”

The investment would also create immediate and much-needed jobs, he said.

“This funding will make a real difference to people living in Southland and Otago by not only making them safer from the impact of flooding, but also providing new work opportunities.”

Jones also announced $1.86m over two years to set up a pilot for the New Zealand Shearing Training Model programme, which would use “micro credentialing”, earn-as-you-learn, and upskilling for up to 270 new and existing shearers.

It would target school leavers, unemployed and underemployed people, career changers, and people in the industry who would like to learn new skills.

The programme would initially include two schemes in the Tairāwhiti/Hawke’s Bay area, Otago and Southland areas, where it would establish centres of excellence for expert training in shearing and wool handling, he said.