$1.3m spent on ‘business saver’ travel subsidy since 2021 storm

The travel subsidy to help people, and stock, get in and out of the Marlborough Sounds was introduced after the major flooding event in July 2021, as a number of roads had to close in the aftermath.

It was paid through the council’s emergency works fund for Sounds roading, although 95 per cent of that could be claimed back from the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

But with Kenepuru Rd, the Sounds road with the largest repair bill, reopening to everyone on December 17, the subsidy had now finished.

Kenepuru Water Taxi owner Adrian Weatherhead said the subsidy, which was $25 per passenger per trip, had “certainly encouraged a lot of business”.

He had already noticed inquiries were not necessarily translating into bookings and wondered if that was a result of the price now it was not subsidised.

“I find that people say, ‘oh, that's expensive’, but when you look at the costs you can’t do it any cheaper. You’ve got insurance, you’ve got boats to buy, you know, running repairs,” Adrian said.

He said he was now working closely with accommodation providers because the service was a “numbers game”.

“The more people you put on, the cheaper it becomes for everybody,” he said.

Adrian, who took over the business after the floods, had expanded it into different areas in the Sounds, so he did not know if business would be impacted without the subsidy.

“I don't feel like I'm definitely down on numbers, because I'm getting other work that I wasn't getting last year from different areas in the Sounds,” he said.

He said Kenepuru Rd was “narrow and dangerous” even before the storm event happened, so for some people it was still better to get the water taxi.

“I can't expect the council to carry on doing what they're doing, but it's been fantastic what they had done,” he said.

Figures received under the Local Government Official Information Act revealed a total of $1,329,656 was claimed for subsidies.

More than $800,000 had been spent on the barge subsidy since the 2021 storm event, while about $470,000 had been spent on water taxis, and $27,804 on air services.

The 2022-23 financial year was the most expensive year, with $347,823 spent on barging, $210,319 on water taxis and $10,283 on air services, a total of $568,425.

Hopewell Lodge in the outer Kenepuru Sound was a half-hour water taxi ride from Havelock, but took up to three hours from Havelock in a car.

Hopewell Lodge co-owner Lynley Perkins Clegg said the best way to arrive was by boat.

"The subsidy for us, it was a lifesaver, it was a business saver.”

The lodge had rooms available for less than $200 a night. But now the subsidy had ended, a group of four people would now have to pay between $200 and $300 for a water taxi, she said.

“So the subsidy was amazing because it made the water taxi totally affordable. It made you realise how important water infrastructure is for the Sounds.”

If she had multiple rooms booked on a particular day, she said she would contact those people directly to try and get as many people as possible onto the water taxi, to reduce the price per person.

“But it’s a lot of work, some of them don’t get back to me.”

The barge subsidy had been crucial for moving stock around the road, but on December 10 stock trucks were piloted through for the first time in three years, which Marlborough Roads manager Steve Murrin said was significant milestone.

“It’s a real relief for the farmers in the outer Sounds. It’s also a major milestone for us as well, it’s one of the targets we set, to get the road open by Christmas, and we’ve managed to achieve it,“ Steve said.

Any stock truck that used the road still needed a permit.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.