New legislation has been introduced to further support the recovery and rebuild stemming from the recent weather events in New Zealand.

Called the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill, it aims to provide the flexibility to allow communities and local government to respond quickly to issues that occur during recovery efforts without the need to anticipate provisions that may need to be amended.

Emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty said in a media release that this flexibility in responding to natural disasters was an important component of the response and recovery from 2016’s Kaikōura earthquake. This bill will afford the same flexibility to all areas affected by the recent weather events.

The government has also recently announced the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service to help avoid potential disputes as a mediator for claimants who ran into insurance problems.

The new bill comes after the Natural Hazards Insurance Bill, which recently passed its third and final reading at Parliament. This bill clarifies the rules around making multiple insurance claims on mixed or multi-use buildings, translating to faster resolving of claims.

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