North Island Weather Events - Enhanced Taskforce Green - Budget 2023

Enabling Enhanced Taskforce Green to provide more support for communities in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle - Wellbeing Budget 2023.

This initiative will allow MSD to deploy more teams to continue clean-up work in response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

This initiative seeks Cabinet approval to spend an additional $1 million from existing baseline funding to allow Enhanced Taskforce Green to employ more people to continue supporting farmers, growers and community groups with clean-up.

• Enhanced Task Force Green (ETFG) is a disaster recovery employment support that assists communities with clean-up activities. It helps communities to recover from damage resulting from weather events or natural disasters. ETFG funds organisations to employ jobseekers (and people at risk of losing their job due to the event) to assist with clean-up in impacted communities. Funding pays for wages, health and safety training, light equipment and transport. 
• The Minister for Social Development and Employment has delegated authority to approve up to $0.5 million from existing baseline funding per event for ETFG.
• ETFG has already employed jobseekers across the North Island and is currently on the ground supporting farmers, growers and community groups in their clean-up activities in response to Cyclone Gabrielle.
• Due to the scale of the damage of Cyclone Gabrielle, additional spend of $1 million is needed to continue supporting communities with clean-up. There is an immediate need and the additional spend will allow ETFG to employ more people to continue supporting communities with clean-up. Without the additional $1 million, not all farmers, growers and community groups will receive the support they need.
• $1 million additional funding will be met from within the Vote Social Development baseline.