On Sunday July 5, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new initiative, the Cleaner Rivers initiative, with $100 million of funds allocated for cleaning up the Kaipara Harbour and $4 million for restoration of the Mahurangi River.

This funding will go towards removing 100,000m3 of sediment from the river between Warkworth Town Basin and the northern end of Mahurangi Harbour, off Dawson's Creek. The project is likely to create around 50 local jobs.

In Budget 2020, the Labour Party announced the Jobs For Nature fund: a huge, $1.3 billion package designed to create a total of 11,000 environmental jobs across the country. From restoring wetlands, to regenerating native bush and controlling pests and weeds, the projects being invested in will get people into jobs post-COVID-19, while protecting and restoring our natural environment.

The $162 million waterway clean-up package will help New Zealandlakes and rivers, restoring them to health within a generation, while also creating green jobs. A $5 million land restoration project in Mahurangi East has also been announced, an extension of the project to reduce sedimentation in the Mahurangi River catchment. 

The announcements were made at the Labour Party Congress in Wellington.