Storm-damaged Northland – where State Highway 1 has been closed indefinitely by slips – feels ignored and forgotten by central government, according to business and community leaders.

But ministers say they are doing everything they can to help the storm-impacted area, with a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

The bluster of words began last week when Far North deputy mayor Ann Court used strong language in an email to Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty and Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis, to ask when they would be coming up.

Court said the council has been trying to get ministers to see the district’s road damage since the storm on August 18 and 19 but the area is “totally forgotten”.

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The storm not only closed SH1 at Mangamuka, but it caused slips on the alternate route of SH10, the local alternate route through Ahipara and local road West Coast Rd.

“There is not a kilometre of road that has not been scathed in some way, from a minor slip through to catastrophic failure.”

While local roads are the responsibility of the council, the council is subsidised by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Court said.

SH10 is a tenuous alternative, with two slips near Totara North and Waitangi River Bridge previously being closed to heavy traffic due to its instability.

Court compared Northland with Nelson-Marlborough, which has had two visits from McAnulty and one from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

McAnulty has since arranged to see the impacted roads in person on Thursday, along with local MPs Kelvin Davis and Willow-Jean Prime, and Waka Kotahi representatives.

He said since the storm, he has been in regular contact with mayor John Carter and Court, to learn about the impacts and organise a time for the visit.

“I acknowledge the difficulties faced by Far North communities who have been affected by the recent closure of the Mangamuka Gorge area,” he said.

Prime said McAnulty’s decision to come up to Northland was not due to any strong words, but simply a matter of scheduling.

Northland is very much front-of-mind for ministers, who regularly meet with her and Davis to find out concerns from the region, she said.

“I absolutely believe that Northland is cared about. I base that on the response that we get when we take issues to the ministers – they genuinely hear us and work with us,” she said.

Davis said while Northland was not forgotten by Parliament, it could not be compared to Nelson-Marlborough, where councils declared a state of emergency which triggers a Government response.

McAnulty – who is also associate transport minister – has been planning his visit for a while, and a lot of work has been happening behind the scenes with both him and Transport Minister Michael Wood, Davis said.

“We’ve been outlining the seriousness of the situation … Just because someone doesn’t fly up in a helicopter and have a look around, doesn’t mean that we [Northland] has been forgotten.”

Davis said he was only just made aware of the problems of Waitangi River Bridge on SH10, but this Government has put more money into road maintenance and repairs than any other.

“We were criticised for not committing to building a four-lane motorway from Puhoi to Whangārei, but all the money would’ve gone into that and there would be nothing for this sort of thing,” he said.

But Kaitāia Business Association’s Andrea Panther disagreed Northland was getting its fair share of money for its roads.

“There’s a gross inequity of spending throughout New Zealand.

“It doesn’t matter which region you go to, their roads are great, but once you get north of Whangārei you can tell you’re in Northland because of the rough, potholed roads.”

Panther said she was pleased McAnulty was coming to visit the Far North.

“We feel like until the ministers see how bad it is, they don’t understand our dilemma.”

The closure of Mangamuka Gorge was costing some Kaitāia businesses tens of thousands each month, and the fragility of SH10 was shown on Friday when it was closed due to a crash, she said.