2. Question No. 2—Cyclone RecoveryANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister for Cyclone RecoveryQuestion No. 2—Cyclone Recovery2. ANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister for Cyclone Recovery: What announcements has the Government made about support for severely affected locations in the wake of the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister for Cyclone Recovery): The Government is continuing to support those communities and regions affected with the recovery and rebuild from the recent extreme weather events. Today we announced that the Government will enter into a funding arrangement with councils in cyclone and flood affected regions to support them to offer a voluntary buy-out for owners of category 3 designated residential properties. We will also co-fund work needed to protect category 2 designated properties. This will help councils get the right solution in the right place and avoid significant financial hardship for property owners.Anna Lorck: What else did the announcement say about support for severely affected locations following the recent extreme weather events?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What we announced today is that we will work through the details with councils on how the funding of buy-outs for category 3 properties and support for areas where category 2 properties are over the coming weeks. We expect to have those details resolved later this month. For properties designated category 2 where community and or property-level interventions are possible to manage future severe weather event risk the Government will work with councils to help them build flood protection and other resilience measures. The initial support for this is already in place with $100 million initial funding announced in Budget 2023. People in homes designated as category 3 properties where future severe weather event risk cannot be mitigated will be offered a voluntary buy-out by councils the cost of which will be shared between the Government and councils. Decisions on the details of how the voluntary buy-out process will work will be made in the coming weeks. Issues to consider include the criteria for valuation of category 3 properties the split of cost between councils and central government and the treatment of uninsured properties.Anna Lorck: What other work is the Government doing to support those affected by the recent weather events?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Today's announcement was about residential properties. We are of course continuing to work with sectors such as the horticulture sector on possible support for commercial operators and also on regional plans that will provide overall support for recovery and rebuild. A parallel process is also under way to engage with Māori including on appropriate processes for whenua Māori. Engagement with those communities will be led by Te Arawhiti the Cyclone Response Unit and local councils. This process will ensure that there are equitable outcomes for those communities.Chris Penk: Thank you Mr Speaker. With key details not advised today such as residential housing outside the Hawke's Bay how to treat uninsured properties and the split of costs between councils and central government aren't these statements in the nature of an announcement about announcements?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Absolutely not. And to pick up one of the member's points the announcements today apply to every region affected. That announcement is that there will be a voluntary buy-out programme led by local councils and financially supported by the Government.