Six months after hundreds of Auckland homeowners were affected by flooding events, they still don’t know which Category their damaged property is in nor when they will even find out, National’s spokesperson for Cyclone Recovery Chris Penk says.

“There is no relief in sight for these lives left in limbo. Despite Labour’s promises that categorisations would be made quickly, six months have now passed, leaving residents with nothing more than empty promises and mounting bills.

“In March, Grant Robertson said, ‘after the Canterbury earthquakes it was four months before decisions were taken on the future of affected areas. We want to move quicker than that’. Not only has the four-month yardstick long since passed, there is still no end in sight.

“In fact, Labour is still yet to determine how these buyouts will be funded. This information was due to be announced at the end of June, but that deadline was also missed. At this rate, we seriously doubt whether any Category 3 property owners in the North Island will receive a buyout offer by election day on 14 October.

“It appears Labour has been more focused on replacing Ministerial Regional leads for Cyclone Recovery than on giving affected homeowners certainty. Since those coordination roles were established, Stuart Nash, Meka Whaitiri, Michael Wood, Kiri Allan and Nanaia Mahuta have all come and gone from the role.

“National implores the Government to move much more quickly with categorisation decisions, to give those affected the real certainty they need.”