\u201cEverybody is always gobsmacked when they find out that a slip on road reserve land \u2013 which does not belong to the home owner and is on council land that\u2019s managed by Auckland Transport \u2013 that they don\u2019t fix that land, even though it\u2019s their land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In November 2024, Auckland Council set aside $5 million from the Crown-council-funded Transport Flood Recovery programme for property owners hit by slips on road reserve land, if they met certain criteria.<\/p>\n
Because access to her house was not affected, Feather missed out on accessing any funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they were obviously concerned with what the actual scale of the problem was so they [Auckland Council] narrowed the criteria and they narrowed it very, very tightly,\u201d Albiston said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in actual fact, most people who had slips on road reserve land weren\u2019t able to access that grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachael Feather’s Titirangi home on Wood Bay Rd, pictured with the slip below her property on road reserve land.<\/p>\n
While they were grateful for the funding, Star estimated that less than half of the now-closed grant was distributed to impacted home owners, Albiston said.<\/p>\n
The council was yet to advise the group of the final figure, she said.<\/p>\n
The Herald asked Auckland Council to confirm how much of the road reserve grant had been allocated to remedy landslide issues.<\/p>\n
It declined to supply a figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just our assessment based on the people that we know have accessed the scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would love to have seen that full $5m allocated to all of those who actually have an issue like Rachael.\u201d<\/p>\n
In order to help Feather, Star asked the council and Auckland Transport (AT) to undertake the works directly, ideally folding them into another project already underway nearby on Wood Bay Rd.<\/p>\n
Failing that, the group asked for a $30,000 grant to cover the investigation and design of the slip fix, for the council and AT to waive consenting and encroachment licence fees, for AT to take on traffic management during the works and for the council to assign a case manager to fast-track consents.<\/p>\n
In response to Star\u2019s letter, Auckland Council\u2019s acting property general manager, Mace Ward, expressed sympathy for Feather\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n
AT would waive any encroachment licence fees and allow access to the land, Ward wrote.<\/p>\n
However, no further funds were available and traffic management would still fall to Feather.<\/p>\n
The letter also said the council would write to the minister responsible for the Natural Hazards Commission (NHC, formerly the Earthquake Commission or EQC) and the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, highlighting Feather\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
When approached by the Herald, Ward said contacting central government would bring attention to consequences of the NHC legislation and the impact on property owners.<\/p>\n
The NHC was the insurer in natural disasters and \u201ccertainly the council can\u2019t be the insurer of last resort on behalf of the ratepayer\u201d, Ward said.<\/p>\n
Almost the full repair bill to stabilise land caused by the road reserve slip falls to Feather because the NHC could not fund remediation work due to its guiding legislation.<\/p>\n
In 2024, an EQC assessor found the slip meant 20sq m of Feather\u2019s land was at imminent risk. The slip had also damaged a water pipe. The value of the total damage was assessed to be $7867.<\/p>\n
In the same report, remediating the slip was costed at $105,187.67.<\/p>\n
By law, the NHC pays whichever is lower: the value of the land and building loss, or the cost of the remedial works. After excesses, Feather\u2019s settlement was assessed at $7017, leaving a shortfall close to $100,000.<\/p>\n
Another problem Feather now faced is covering the full mortgage of her home after her tenant moved out, Feather\u2019s daughter Morgan Lee said.<\/p>\n
There were also building costs associated with preparing the house for sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I set up a Givealittle page just to see if we can help create some breathing room to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan Lee (left) and her mother Rachael Feather feel the Auckland Anniversary floods recovery programme has failed them. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
The earlier Herald story explained<\/a> that after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, Feather moved from her home to live alongside family.<\/p>\n Selling her Titirangi house was to fund her final months and leave a legacy for her two daughters.<\/p>\n However, in April, keen buyers had to withdraw an offer when their bank judged the unfixed slip too risky to lend against.<\/p>\n Lee believes the council\u2019s response to her mother\u2019s plight, and how it had applied the now-closed road reserve grant funding, ran contrary to its purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand why there is a process for prioritisation for funding and it makes logical sense and it should cover 95% of cases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when you … tick every box in the process and you still end up with an outcome that is so obviously wrong for the end human and you\u2019ve got nobody with the authority to question the process or to apply critical thinking or judgment to it, you just go: \u2018This isn\u2019t right and where is the humanity in it all?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n