Environment Southland (ES) say more investment is needed from central government to support Southland’s flood protection schemes, with the risk of flooding rising due to climate change. 

ES has today endorsed a report urging Central Government to prioritise sustained co-investment in flood protection across New Zealand.

The Central Government Co-investment in Flood Protection Schemes Supplementary Report states that New Zealanders’ lives and livelihoods are in danger from increasingly severe and frequent flood risks arising from climate change.

ES say Southland's flood protection schemes work to protect the regional airport in Invercargill, main highways and rail links, and communities' lives and livelihoods throughout the region.

However, maintenance and upgrades to these schemes are funded principally by Southland ratepayers.

Te Uru Kahika, representing sixteen regional and unitary councils throughout New Zealand, released the report on 6 April 2022. 

It urges Central Government to provide supporting investment to fund critical flood protection infrastructure across New Zealand.

Environment Southland's chairman Nicol Horrell said the time for Central Government to commit to a long term, co-investment approach for flood protection is now.

"Science shows us that we will get more extreme weather patterns, so while we have had an exceptionally dry period in Southland, severe flooding is highly likely to affect our region again."

"The three years of climate resilience funding announced in July 2020 has enabled us to bring forward critical upgrades to our region's flood protection schemes and was very welcome."

"For the long-term, ongoing Central Government funding would give certainty that an appropriate level of protection can be maintained in the face of increasing climate change impacts in the future," he says

Te Uru Kahika’s report strengthens the findings of an earlier report in 2019, which revealed that the combined $200m regional and unitary council investment in flood protection schemes each year was falling short of what is required to meet flood protection needs by $150m per annum. 

ES says over the ten years considered, that would be $1.5b of under-investment in critical flood protection schemes.

The report documents the scale of Crown assets protected by flood protection schemes, and states that the efficient functioning of the economy and our communities is a responsibility that must be shared between regional councils and Central Government.

“Regional councils are a proven reliable partner for the Government when it comes to delivering flood risk management. However, we do support the call for a prudent and realistic financial partnership that will ultimately pay dividends for central and regional government and protect the communities we serve," says Horrell.