Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for a 'national flood plan' to stop 'dumb stuff' like building on flood plains—just three weeks after his government fast-tracked development on the Sunfield flood plain for a National Party donor.
The contradiction emerged when Luxon announced climate adaptation measures following recent flooding. "We've got to work on a national flood plan, national adaptation framework… make sure we're not doing dumb stuff, for example, building back into flood plains," the Prime Minister told reporters.
Mate, the hypocrisy here is breathtaking. Three weeks ago, Luxon's government fast-tracked approval for Winton to develop Sunfield—a known flood plain. The connection? Winton is a donor to Infrastructure Minister Christopher Bishop.
The fast-track approval process, introduced by the coalition government, allows ministers to override normal environmental and planning safeguards for projects deemed economically significant. Critics have warned from the start that this creates opportunities for political favours and environmental disasters.
Now both are playing out simultaneously.
New Zealand is already grappling with insurance crises in flood-prone areas. After Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods, insurers are reassessing their exposure. Properties on flood plains are becoming uninsurable. When the next disaster hits Sunfield, who pays?
The answer, inevitably, will be taxpayers. Either through direct bailouts, emergency accommodation, or infrastructure repairs. This is privatising profits and socialising risks—textbook crony capitalism dressed up as economic development.
Climate experts have condemned the decision. New Zealand faces increasingly severe weather events as climate change intensifies. Building on flood plains now is building future disasters. It's the opposite of adaptation.
The Greens and Labour have seized on the contradiction, with Labour's climate spokesperson calling it "the most blatant example yet of this government saying one thing and doing another on climate."
Even within the coalition, there's discomfort. Several National MPs privately acknowledge the Sunfield approval was a mistake, though none will say so publicly.
Luxon's call for a national flood plan is welcome. But it rings hollow when his government is actively fast-tracking the exact "dumb stuff" he claims to oppose. New Zealand needs climate policy based on science, not donor relationships.
