Bridging the gap: Hawke’s Bay producers face uncertain wait while roads are repaired

Industry leaders are warning that more investment will be needed before there is a return to normal, after Cyclone Gabrielle stopped many Hawke’s Bay industries in their tracks.

The devastating storm in mid-February caused widespread flooding, slips and destruction to roads and property across the region, with several crucial routes still impassable a month on.

The effects are still being felt by many - not only those who have suffered personal loss and damage.

Those in primary industries, like farmers and growers, have seen major disruptions to transportation and production during a time of year when they are normally harvesting their crops.

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Mark Hook, General Manager of infrastructure contractor Lattey Group, has been working to rebuild bridges.

Initially the team is putting in temporary Bailey bridges, until plans are in place to redesign and rebuild many of the major bridges in the region.

Along with public works, he said many farmers have been affected by damage to their own private farm bridges. Many of these will need to be inspected, and in some cases rebuilt.

“There'll be hundreds of bridges that need to be checked, some needing remediating work, and some will need to be replaced,” Mark said.

“We have a team to do this, and will look to grow that further to have greater capacity to help, while also focusing on sourcing materials and equipment – there’s some steel in New Zealand, but not heaps.”

While bridges on public roads will be rebuilt using public money, farm bridges are typically the responsibility of the property owner.

Unless they have specific insurance for these, there will be a cost to landowners.

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“The financial impact on these people is going to be high - they're going to need help,” Mark said.

On a recent flight from Napier to Auckland, Mark saw the region from the air for the first time and was struck by how widespread the damage is.

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“Just seeing what’s happened in places like Pakowhai, and how little it has improved since then - and knowing how many people are there working on it - it's just such an intensive task,” he said.

“This has been a major event and it’s going to take some time to get back to how it was.”

The damage to the road network is having a detrimental effect at a time of the year when the region is normally at its most productive.

The latest available data, taken from Statistics New Zealand’s 2017 Agricultural Production Census, shows Hawke’s Bay is a powerhouse of New Zealand food production.

In terms of hectares planted, the region produces about 18 per cent of the country’s vegetables, and 14 per cent of fruit, including more than half of New Zealand’s apples and squash, and more than a quarter of our peas and beans.

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ANZ Regional Manager for Business Marcus Bousfield says the East Coast also produces about 30 per cent of our red meat.

He says the cyclone has not only slowed down the industry in Hawke’s Bay, but in many areas, it has been stopped in its tracks.

“The horticulture and pip fruit sectors have been impacted at the worst possible time, seeing their annual incomes wiped out in one hit,” Marcus said.

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“For the pastoral sector, incomes will be delayed, due to an inability to get product to market because of damaged infrastructure - roading, power, internet etc. Then there’s the added effect of land erosion.

“This is very much a primary sector event, - that is not to take away from the personal loss that many of the community have sustained - but the sector-wide impact has deeply hurt our food production system.

“This weather event will likely lead to further increases in the cost of food, which has already been driven higher by inflation, given limitations of supply.

“Further issues around access to apple root stock and transport for the livestock sector will impact New Zealand’s GDP.

“Assuming an average 40 per cent impact across those sectors, this could be a hit on GDP nearing the billions.”

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Marcus says the region needs a coordinated approach to getting back on track.

“Coordination, as you would expect, has been slow, as people come to terms with the enormity of this event while trying to help in time-critical areas like keeping apple trees alive and getting living essentials to isolated communities.

“We need to ensure that capital is available to those sectors as we look to rebuild a more resilient sector - for example, and really simply, where there was once a one lane bridge, we could build a two-lane bridge - providing smarter logistical routes and opening up new areas for food production.

“As a bank, we’ve been here before – such as during the PSA kiwifruit virus outbreak - and we take a long-term view that allows our customers to have assurance and stability of their capital provider - it also allows us to be prepared for events like this.

"We've been working closely with affected ANZ business customers around the region to understand their needs, and offer customised assistance to help them get back on track.

“I’ve been heartened by the resilience and generosity shown by our customers, and the community, and Hawke’s Bay will recover from this – but it will take time.”

To aid in recovery efforts, ANZ New Zealand has pledged $3 million to communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, including $1m to the New Zealand Red Cross.