Auckland councillor Kerrin Leoni want Mayor Wayne Brown to put more to pressure on the government over giving councils the authority to refuse consents on vulnerable land. Photo: Supplied/ Labour Party
An Auckland councillor says tropical ex-cyclone Tam is a timely reminder that continuing to build infrastructure on flood-prone land will be disastrous.
Kerrin Leoni, running against current mayor Wayne Brown for the city's top job in October, says 2325 new builds - 15 percent of all consents granted in Auckland last year - were on flood plains.
She said the council was still dealing with the aftermath of flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, spending nearly $2 billion buying out 1215 seriously damaged properties.
She said the city needed to prepare for storms becoming a regular occurrence rather than a rare event.
"We saw when an atmospheric river like Gabrielle unleashes massive rainfall it's too much for normal drainage and flood management.
"So why are we still consenting to new builds on flood-prone land? It seems obvious we shouldn't be doing this."
Leoni said 4400 new homes and three retirement villages on the southern outskirts of Auckland approved for fast-tracking by the government were a major concern, as the development was within a flood plain.
A major housing development on a floodplain has been approved for fast-tracking by the government. Photo: Winton / supplied
She wanted the government to give councils the authority to refuse consents on vulnerable land.
The government previously told the council a national directive designed to give councils a stronger mandate to turn down such consents was coming this year.
But Leoni said Mayor Brown had not pressured the government enough on the issue.
"We have to make a strong stance that we want to see urgent action on this. I haven't seen any urgency from our current mayor to actually put his foot down and say this is not good enough for Auckland.
"As Mayor of Auckland, I will push for all council approvals and planning issues to be fully updated to embrace the latest data on climate change projections.
"This is something the central government needs to step up to so councils can have the proper legal framework to act."
She said the council also needed to reconsider its plans for the future of the Kumeū-Huapai town centre due to its high flooding risk.
"Kumeu is a case in point. There have been frequent floods in the district and now we're planning a new shopping centre there. Even a promised pro-active river maintenance programme won't cope."
Mayor Wayne Brown has been approached for comment.
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