The New Zealand Government is investing $NZ6 billion ($5.6 billion) in the initial phase of a National Resilience Plan as the Auckland flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle up the ante on mitigation spending. 
 
The Government last week released this year’s Budget and an Infrastructure Action Plan, allocating funds for short-term rebuilding and for action to improve longer-term resilience. 
 
“The North Island weather events added a level of urgency to our infrastructure investment planning and highlighted the importance of resilience in the face of climate change and increasing extreme weather events,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson told Parliament. 
 
The Budget funding for the National Resilience Plan will support medium and long-term infrastructure investment and focus in the first instance on building back better from the recent weather events, he said. 
 
It will include action for “future proofing” road, rail, and local infrastructure wiped out by the extreme weather, as well as telecommunications and electricity transmission infrastructure 
 
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said earlier last week that the Budget would provide $NZ100 million ($93.9 million) specifically for flood protection following the recent North Island events, while spending totalling $NZ1 billion ($939 million) was flagged for a flood and cyclone recovery package.