The Government has introduced a new law that will require city and district councils to make plans for protecting communities at high risk from flooding and other climate change effects. But it has put off deciding how the cost of that work will be shared between central and local government.

The Beehive announced on 15 July 2026 that, for the first time, councils will be required by law to plan how at-risk communities prepare for climate change (Beehive.govt.nz). The law would require councils to plan at least 30 years ahead and spell out the likely cost. Councils that already have plans could keep them, as long as they meet the new requirements.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said the Government was "simply not at that point" on deciding who pays. He said the first step was to get plans in place. The Government has pushed the cost-sharing decision to the next parliamentary term — the period between elections.

That delay has drawn pushback from the local government sector. Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the body that represents councils, said cost-sharing decisions must be a priority because some councils will not be able to afford the work (RNZ).

A government document published alongside the draft law estimated the cost of simply developing an adaptation plan could reach up to $5.1 million per council.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little called the idea of central government helping fund the work "wishful thinking." Little said climate adaptation planning was already underway in his district, involving meetings with iwi and the community. He argued that New Zealand needs to invest in things like flood protection, river management, and stronger infrastructure before disasters happen, rather than paying for recovery afterwards (Waatea News).

Opōtiki Mayor David Moore went further, saying his council "may not even survive" the new planning requirements. Opōtiki is built between two rivers at sea level, surrounded by stopbanks — earth walls built to hold back floodwater — that Moore said would not last forever. He noted two state highways run through the town and are protected by stopbanks yet receive no funding. He called on the Government to help councils protect infrastructure. Moore has declared a civil defence emergency three times in his four years as mayor due to severe weather.

The new law fits into a wider system. Under the Climate Change Response Act, the Government must produce a National Adaptation Plan within two years of each national climate change risk assessment (Ministry for the Environment). The first National Adaptation Plan, released in 2022, committed the Government to providing guidance for decision-makers to assess and manage climate risks (Ministry for the Environment). The Ministry for the Environment says council risk assessments will likely feed into the next national risk assessment, due in 2026 (Ministry for the Environment). The Ministry also says work is underway on a "fair and enduring adaptation framework" for Aotearoa New Zealand (Ministry for the Environment).

The broader problem is that the new law tells councils they must plan, but does not say who will pay for the work those plans identify. Think of it like being told you must draw up blueprints for a new seawall, but no one has agreed to help pay for building it. For small councils with few ratepayers and communities already facing floods, the gap between the cost of writing a plan and the cost of actually doing the work is enormous. LGNZ says some councils will simply not be able to fund adaptation on their own. The Government's approach — plans first, funding later — assumes the planning process will gather information that helps shape a future funding model. Mayors like Little and Moore are saying the money question cannot wait in towns already living through repeated weather emergencies.

The political reality is straightforward: requiring plans puts a visible but limited cost on councils, while deferring cost-sharing means the Government avoids committing to a potentially open-ended bill before the next election. Whether that approach works will depend on whether councils can produce useful plans under financial pressure, and whether the next government picks up cost-sharing with the urgency councils are asking for.