This proposal is to amend the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery (Hawke's Bay Flood Protection Works) Order 2024 that the Government approved under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023.
This amendment was requested by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.
The amendment only applies to the location where flood protection works could be proposed in Wairoa.
Cyclone Gabrielle caused significant losses and damage to the Hawke’s Bay region in February 2023. Flooding highlighted the need for new stop banks and other works to protect homes and communities from future floods.
The Severe Weather Emergency Recovery (Hawke's Bay Flood Protection Works) Order 2024 (the 2024 Order) was enacted in June 2024. It provides a streamlined consenting process to speed up the delivery of flood mitigation works that would reduce the flood risk to about 975 properties in Hawke’s Bay. These properties were categorised as Category 2A or 2C under the Future of Severely Affected Land Categorisation Framework. For these properties, this means the risk of future flooding is unacceptable without flood mitigation.
The 2024 Order was enacted when Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was at the stage of evaluating design options for the flood mitigation solution at Wairoa. The 2024 Order currently identifies the possible locations for the works in Wairoa through the map below (which includes two areas, Wairoa – A and Wairoa – B), as well as a description (which includes coordinates).
Flood mitigation works proposed by the Regional Council will allow 380 homes in Wairoa to be recategorised as Category 1 after works are completed and the flood risk has been reduced.
Since the 2024 Order was enacted, the Regional Council has engaged on flood mitigation options with mana whenua, marae representatives, affected whānau, property owners and people whose homes and properties were impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
In February 2025, the Regional Council confirmed the potential suitability of an additional flood mitigation option for the North Clyde area of Wairoa. The option known as 1C+ proposed the construction of a floodway and stop banks that would be partly outside the area specified in the 2024 Order.
Because this alternate solution for Wairoa falls partially outside the area defined in the 2024 Order, an amendment to the order has been requested to enable full consideration of this option.
Provided that resource consents and land access can be secured, the Regional Council plans to start work in the 2025/26 summer construction season. It aims to complete these works by the end of the 2026/27 summer construction season, so that flood protection is in place before winter 2027.
The Regional Council is seeking an amendment to the map and descriptions (which include coordinates) for the location of the Wairoa flood protection works in Schedule 1 of the 2024 Order.
The Council is not seeking any other changes to the 2024 Order. This would enable the option known as 1C+ to be considered through the consenting pathway offered by the 2024 Order.
It is important to note that the proposed amendment would not commit Wairoa to a particular solution.
The amendment would take effect from the day after enactment and expire when the 2024 Order expires on 31 March 2028.
The map below sets out the area already covered by the 2024 Order for Wairoa – Area B (in blue), as well as the additional area to be included (in red). Please note, the map is indicative only. If there is any inconsistency between the map and the descriptions in the appendix below, the descriptions should be followed.
Maps of the proposed additional area (PDF, 11MB)
As engagement is ongoing and further changes could potentially be required to the solution during the consenting process, the amendment adds an additional area of land to the 2024 Order but does not remove any of the land currently covered. This will ensure that the 2024 Order provides the community with the flexibility needed to continue working through the preferred flood mitigation proposal.
The 2024 Order cannot be used to progress this solution without this amendment. While alternative consenting processes exist, they are unlikely to deliver this project in a timely manner and are likely to increase costs. The main consequence of delay arising from consenting processes will be that the Wairoa community remains at significant risk from flooding events for a longer period of time.
The proposed amendment is necessary to achieve the purpose of the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023 (SWERLA), because it will enable communities and councils to focus on planning, rebuilding, and recovery, including:
Order in Council for Hawke’s Bay flood protection works
Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023 [Legislation]
Severe Weather Emergency Recovery (Hawke's Bay Flood Protection Works) Order 2024 [Legislation]
Wairoa Flood Mitigation Project fact sheet [Wairoa Flood Mitigation Project]
Engagement document about this amendment proposal (PDF, 617KB)
Maps of the proposed additional area (PDF, 11MB)
Contact us at severeweather@mfe.govt.nz if you have questions.
We welcome your feedback on this proposal.
We will provide a summary of feedback to the Minister for the Environment, the Regulations Review Committee and the review panel considering this Order in Council amendment under the SWERLA.
Please email your feedback to severeweather@mfe.govt.nz before 5pm, Friday 30 May 2025.