The $30 million sediment and debris funding was part of the Government’s ongoing commitment towards helping communities, including owners of whenua Māori, farmers, growers and communities to recover from the cyclone.

The funding was intended to support owners of whenua Māori make decisions about the clean-up of their land.

Te Puni Kōkiri also managed $2 million of the $10.15 million woody debris grant funding announced as part of Budget 23. This $2 million was allocated specifically to manage woody debris in catchments on whenua Māori.

Fund overview

On 29 June 2023,  funding of $30 million was announced to support whenua Māori owners following Cyclone Gabrielle.

The $30 million was to provide vital clean-up of sediment and debris in Tairāwhiti and the Hawke’s Bay regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. This was in addition to the $102 million announced earlier to help councils in Tairāwhiti and the Hawke’s Bay deal with sediment and the $70 million to help commercial properties clean up their land.

This funding for whenua Māori built on the activity already underway on the ground and supported local recovery efforts by iwi, communities, councils, and owners of whenua Māori.

In addition, $2 million of the $10.15 million woody debris fund was allocated specifically to manage woody debris in catchments on whenua Māori.

Owners, trustees and entities of whenua Māori in Tairāwhiti and the Hawke’s Bay were eligible to apply for funding.

For the purposes of this funding, whenua Māori included:

• Māori freehold land, Māori customary land and Māori reservations as set out in Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993
• Land held by Post-Settlement Governance Entities (including Treaty settlement land)
• General land held by owners of whenua in the above categories which is managed together with that whenua.

This funding has  been committed and is no longer available.

Investment progress

List of current investments at 30 November 2023

Investment update at 30 November 2023