33176 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government

Written Question

Published date: 06 Aug 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	33176 (2026)
Question asked:	23 Jul 2026
Member asking:	Tangi Utikere
Portfolio:	Minister of Local Government
Minister replying:	Hon Simon Watts
Answer received:	02 Aug 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_33176_2026
Document guid:	45aaa85a-db8d-4829-b522-607ae91626a3

33176 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government: What further modelling work, if any, is being undertaken by Hawke's Bay Regional Council on the technical issue affecting the Wairoa flood resilience project?

Hon Simon Watts: I am advised by the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport that the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's engineering consultant has carried out further hydraulic river modelling and morphodynamic modelling (modelling of riverbed movement) to assess the risk of river avulsion under both a 1-in-100-year design flood event and events exceeding this. This confirmed that the risk of avulsion occurring in a 1-in-100-year flood event is unlikely and can be managed through additional engineering measures such as scour protection.