File photo. Wairoa from the air shows floodwaters and mud throughout the town in February 2023. Photo: Nathan McKinnon
The government has dedicated $1.2 million to extending the Wairoa Airport runway, improving access for emergency supplies and support in times of natural disaster.
It comes as part of a $3.7m funding boost for the town to help with riverside restoration, the runway extension and housing for tradespeople coming to the region to repair homes inundated by the storm in February.
Almost a third of the town's homes suffered damage, and it was completely cut off by road - its three entry/exit points via State Highways 2 and 38 were all closed by storm damage.
The airport's current runway was too short to land large planes, so emergency supplies were flown in mainly by helicopter, which could carry fewer items.
Mayor Craig Little said plans to extend the airport had been on the cards for a while, but the cyclone had shown its necessity.
"If we'd had the airport like this beforehand, we could have landed one big plane, instead of flying in fifty to a hundred helicopters and it would have been a lot cheaper for the recovery, and for us - because at the end of the day, somebody has to pay for those flights."
The Regional Recovery Agency's oversight board chair Blair O'Keeffe said Wairoa being largely cut off from the rest of Hawke's Bay significantly delayed recovery efforts.
Wairoa after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ/ Kate Green
"The funding from government announced yesterday not only enables the district to increase its levels of resilience and connectivity through the extension of the runway, it also creates employment opportunities for the many builders and recovery workers who will need to come into the region to help with the rebuild.
In June, Sunair Aviation announced new flights between Napier, Wairoa and Gisborne, using small planes carrying six passengers per flight.
Little said a new runway would open up opportunities for bigger passenger planes and more business.
There was some land at both ends of the airport that would need to be acquired before the plan could go ahead, he said.
Medical benefits
Little said another advantage of a longer runway was that the Skyline Aviation Cessna Mustang jet, used in Hawke's Bay for the Air Ambulance Service, could then be used in medical emergencies to transport patients out of Wairoa, "which will save lives through quicker and smoother flights".
Wairoa's deputy mayor Denise Eaglesome-Karekare said right now, medical flights had to go to Hastings and then on to Wellington if needed, rather than going straight to Wellington.
A larger plane would be better equipped, and could make that journey in one go.
'The forgotten cousins'
Eaglesome-Karekare said the town's residents often felt like "the forgotten cousins" of Hawke's Bay, left out of major funding programmes.
Wairoa needed government support, because its small ratepayer base meant it could not afford the cyclone repairs alone.
Eaglesome-Karekare said an announcement like this showed the government had heard their calls for help, and was coming to the party.
"You know, we've always felt like we're the forgotten cousins to our whānau in Hawke's Bay - and no one is pointing the finger at Hawke's Bay," she said.
"Right now, we know we haven't been forgotten, we know that ministers, that government is looking at us, and listening to us."