By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting
Ruapehu District Council is stepping up its emergency management capability as the Government prepares to overhaul the civil defence system.
Chief Executive Clive Manley said findings from recent severe weather disasters had prompted wide-ranging reforms, with a new Emergency Management Bill to replace the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.
The Government was also intending to deliver operational improvements in risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery, which aligned with the council’s increased focus on these areas, Manley said.
“As the first response in any emergency will always come from local communities, the Government is aiming to ensure councils can deliver a consistent minimum standard of emergency management across the country.”
A top priority was strengthening the skills and capacity of emergency management staff and the wider community to help build district resilience, Manley said.
“Our aim is to ensure Ruapehu is more resilient, more capable and better prepared for whatever emergencies come our way.”
Emergency Management Officer Simon Osborne said the council had been investing in both people and technology to meet that challenge.
Recent investments in new technology for the Emergency Operations Centre coupled with on-going staff training were aimed at improving the council’s response capacity.
“We have implemented the D4H emergency management platform which supports planning, coordination, communication and reporting during incidents along with inter-operability with other councils.”
With support from the Civil Defence Emergency Management Resilience Fund, the council has run 20 marae-based training events providing NZQA-accredited qualifications to more than 250 participants.
“Strengthening Māori skills and resources in this way strengthens the entire emergency response system and benefits all communities,” Osborne said.
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