Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Don’t expect a handout. That’s basically the message to homeowners hoping the Government will swoop in and buyout houses after the next big cyclone. Watts is the climate Minister. He took a paper to cabinet. I had a read in the weekend. They haven’t immediately turned the tap off to buyouts, but they’re making it pretty clear it won’t e long before they do. How long? Doesn’t say, specifically. Just sometime in the medium to long term. If you’re buying a house or land, you’re going to want to check flood zones very carefully. After the Auckland floods - you know which parts of suburb are more prone to flooding. That’s, generally, where you don’t want to buy. Mor you can and manage the risk and mitigate. Council and government spent $2 billion on buyouts. That may not happen next time. Guess how many homes are sitting in flood prone areas right now? Hundreds of thousands. They’re worth $180 billion. It means insurance will be more expensive or non-existent for some areas and properties. The government basically