WELLINGTON (HRNW) – The New Zealand government is committed to reducing spending even though severe weather events earlier this year caused asset damage of roughly NZ$9 billion ($5.51 billion) to NZ$14.5 billion, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday.
Flash floods hit Auckland, the country’s largest city, in January and Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the North Island in February leaving a trail of destruction.
Hipkins said the government would not introduce any major new taxes in this year’s budget and that the cost of repairs would largely be met by budget operating and capital allowances.
In in a separate report released on Thursday, the Treasury estimated that roughly half of the damage caused was to public infrastructure while both households and businesses suffered more than NZ$2 billion in damage.
“For our part, the government is committed to reducing our proportion of spending to dampen demand in the economy,” Hipkins said in a speech to the Employers and Manufacturers Association.