Cyclone Gabrielle made a number of Hastings homes unliveable. Photo: Hasting District Council
A decision not to require owners of unliveable cyclone-wrecked homes to pay for demolishing their properties has been met with an outburst of applause at a Hastings District Council meeting.
The council was mulling a change to its buyout policy, which would require those who had received insurance payouts exceeding the market value of their properties to contribute to demolition.
But that was met with outrage at a meeting earlier in the month, with Esk Valley resident Dan Gale telling councillors he and other affected families had "nothing left to give".
At that meeting, mayor Sandra Hazlehurst ordered the matter be left "on the table" for further deliberation. But on Tuesday, the council voted to revert to the original policy: that it covers demolition costs.
Councillors were split six votes each way, forcing Hazlehurst to exercise her casting vote, which was met with applause from affected residents in the room.
"There are definitely views for and against this amendment, and they're very, very valid, and it's a very, very difficult decision," Hazlehurst said.
"But I will vote not to include the amendment, to leave the policy as status quo."
The government - which refused to contribute towards demolition in its agreement to split buyout costs with councils - had to come to the party, she said.
"My biggest concern is, that this, right from the beginning, through our negotiations with the Crown, is a partnership.
"And a partnership means a partnership."
Hazlehurst said she had asked the government to stump up with some money, so ratepayers did not have to shoulder the entire burden.
But Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell was firm that was not part of the deal when asked on Tuesday.
"The reality is, the agreement between the government and local authorities is that they are the landowner, and they are responsible for the demolition or remediation of those properties," he said.
He pointed to the "significant" amount of taxpayer money that the government put into the recovery, towards property buyouts, flood protection and silt and debris removal.
"But the agreement was, that when it came to demolition, that was something that local government's responsible for."