The outcome of a potential court case between residents of Matatā and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council could lead to other coastal communities in New Zealand forcing buyouts.
That's the ramifications predicted by environmental lawyer Andrew Braggins who was on TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning to discuss the ongoing debate in Matatā.
Residents in the small Bay of Plenty town are unimpressed with the council’s suggestion to get everyone out of their homes following a 2005 flood that tore through houses - an offer they believe is "nothing short of blackmail" .
This comes after a 2005 flood which damaged homes across the town.
The disagreement in Matatā could lead to a case where families can try to defend their homes but Mr Braggins said if the court finds the council's decision to be just and for the safety of residents, that could have a domino effect on other coastal communities looking for a way out.
"What we will see is that more communities will see this as an option to force councils to buy them out out of the risk they currently face."
Mr Braggins said the situation should've been handled "much quicker" but the council's decision is likely one they didn't want to have to execute.
"While you can totally understand people wanting to stay in their homes where they've grown up - it might be inter-generational - but the problem with flood risks is they happen and after five or 10 years, it's easy to forget about it and downplay those risks.
"Then a really big event comes in and people die - people need to plan for those and that's what the council is trying to do here."
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