Appendix 1New Zealand delegation
1.1This appendix provides a summary of the Senate Select Committee on Australia’s Disaster Resilience’s (committee) delegation to New Zealand (NZ) which occurred from 8 to 12 April 2024.
1.2The committee members who attended the delegation included Senator Jacqui Lambie (Chair), Senator Tony Sheldon (Deputy Chair), and Senator Perin Davey (member).
1.3The committee met with a range of stakeholders who each play an important role in NZ’s disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The committee is grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with such a vast array of organisations, agencies and representatives and appreciated the openness of these individuals in sharing their expertise, knowledge and valuable experiences in dealing with natural disasters in NZ. The committee also thanks the Australian High Commission for facilitating such an insightful program.
Tuesday, 9 April 2024
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
1.4The committee met with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the following representatives:
Dr Rob Murdoch, Deputy Chief Executive;
Dr Andrew Tait, Chief Scientist for Climate, Atmosphere and Natural Hazards; and
Mr Geoff Baird, General Manager of Communications.
1.5NIWA is a government-owned research organisation that is independently operated. Its purpose is to conduct leading environmental science to provide understanding of climate and the atmosphere and increase resilience to weather and climate hazards to improve safety and wellbeing of New Zealanders. It has 14 research and monitoring sites across NZ, as well as one in Perth, Australia.
1.6NIWA provided the committee with an overview of the impacts of climate variability in Australia and New Zealand and the challenges climate variability presents for disaster resilience. It was clear that NZ faced similar challenges to Australia. NIWA also discussed how climate modelling can be used to estimate the impacts of natural disasters and prepare for disaster events. NIWA noted that with artificial intelligence, they are able to forecast weather up to 35 days in advance. NIWA emphasised that forecasting was key information for emergency planning and response.
1.7Additionally, NIWA provided insights into the modelling of flood events and how this modelling can be used to gauge the impacts of weather events, including how this modelling can be used to assess and consider risk. Similar to the situation in Australia, NIWA noted that their flood mapping ability is also constrained by resourcing.
New Zealand Defence Force, Strategic Engagements Branch
1.8The committee met with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), Strategic Engagements Branch and the following representatives:
(Navy) CAPT Steve Lenik;
(Airforce) GPCAPT Richard Deihl, Director of Operations;
(Army) Lt COL Scott Cordwell;
Group Captain Andrew Hoffman, Australian Defence Adviser to NZ, Australian High Commission; and
Major Darren Smith, Assistant Australian Defence Adviser to NZ, Australian High Commission.
1.9The NZDF outlined their role in responding to natural disasters and other national emergencies, as well as their relationship with Australia and Pacific neighbours. As discussed in chapter 4 of this report, the NZDF can be engaged under the Defence Act 1990 to respond to national emergencies, by deploying at short notice to manage wild fires, search and rescue, and related operational outputs. The NZDF maintains experts who can assess the scale of a disaster and determine what personnel and equipment are needed.
1.10The committee discussed NZDF’s capabilities, the interaction between defence and other government bodies, and the role of volunteers and the Reserves in the context of responding to natural disasters. The committee learned that the NZDF attend a weekly weather report working group meeting for the purpose of sharing information across government. The meeting is led by the NZ National Emergency Management Agency (NZ NEMA), with other attendees including the Meteorological Service (MET) which provides weather forecast information, and Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS Science) which provides advice on earthquake information.
Student Volunteer Army
1.11The committee met with Ms Emily Byrne, now former Chief Executive of the Student Volunteer Army (SVA). As discussed in chapter 3 of this report, SVA was established in the wake of the 2010 Christchurch earthquake and mobilises student volunteers to respond to disaster events and assist their communities. The model is managed through university clubs which allows them to have hubs spread across the country, with the ability to come together and coordinate nationally. Their model is based on Find + Build + Act + Share/Reflect (find a problem, build a solution, act and implement the plan, and reflect and learn).
1.12Ms Byrne provided the committee with insights into how spontaneous volunteers can be harnessed, and the valuable contributions they can make to the community in the recovery phase, as well as building ongoing volunteerism throughout NZ. They discussed the programs being delivered in schools to build a culture of volunteering and giving back to the community.
1.13Some of the challenges encountered by SVA that were discussed included: the health and safety of volunteers; liability; linking with community groups and emergency management; the need for funding to be able to harness technology to make registration of volunteers and tasks more efficient; and the need for ongoing funding, rather than constantly expanding and contracting based on grant funding. Ms Byrne noted that they are not currently funded by government but are working on building a relationship with NZ NEMA.
New Zealand Red Cross
1.14The committee met with the CEO, Ms Sarah (Norm) Stuart-Black QSO, and General Manager, Emergency Management and International, Mr Sean Stewart, from the NZ Red Cross. The Red Cross is a well-known humanitarian organisation across the globe.
1.15The NZ Red Cross has a role under the government’s National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015. This plan sets out the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in reducing risks and preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies. Under the plan, the NZ Red Cross assists with things such as psychosocial support, financial assistance, running evacuation centres, and household goods and service. It was noted that NEMA was considering how the NZ Red Cross could play a role in coordinating volunteers.
1.16The NZ Red Cross emphasised their culture of ‘compliment, not compete’, stating that it is important that groups focus on how they can work together to achieve outcomes for communities. The NZ Red Cross noted they faced some challenges with raising revenue and managing public perception of the role and capacity of the NZ Red Cross.
New Zealand Police
1.17The committee met with Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, Operational Services at the NZ Police and gained a better understanding of NZ Police’s role in responding to disasters.
1.18Unlike Australia, NZ does not have state governments and has just two tiers of government—the national government and local governments. The committee noted that because NZ was not constrained by as many levels of government as Australia, there were less entities to engage with which had benefits of streamlining disaster response. Additionally, the NZ Police is a national force, rather than state-based which allowed for greater consistency and coordination at the national level.
1.19The importance of empathy from government bodies when responding to disasters, as well as the need to invest in both the perception of safety and actual safety (to be safe, you have to feel safe), resonated with committee members.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
1.20The committee met with:
Mr Kerry Gregory, Chief Executive;
Mr Bryan Dunne, Deputy Chief Executive; and
Mr Nick Pyatt, Principal Advisor Operational Capacity.
1.21Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) was established in 2017 after the urban and rural fire services combined into a single, integrated fire and emergency services organisation. Its objectives are ‘reducing the incidence of unwanted fires and the associated risk to life and property’ and ‘protecting and preserving life, and preventing or limiting injury, damage to property, land and the environment’. One of the main functions of FENZ is undertaking urban search and rescue.
1.22The committee learned about the operation of FENZ and its role in responding to disasters, including that they have a mandate to be part of the local response and are often the first organisation on the scene. FENZ outlined their support to local governments with emergency management and acknowledged the importance of local organisations in responding to disasters in their communities.
1.23Like Australia, FENZ have a workforce made up of both paid employees and volunteers. The committee learned that volunteers are not paid an allowance for up to 24 hours of service, and beyond 24 hours they receive an honorarium. Volunteers have operation skills maintenance requirements and must undertake core training. FENZ have been grappling with a similar issue identified by Australia’s fire and emergency services whereby they rely on the goodwill of employers to release their employees to volunteer in the emergency response space, including how to incentivise employers.
1.24The committee also had an insightful discussion about risk management and how we can encourage individuals in the community to engage with risk, particularly the risks associated with the location they decide to reside in.
Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery
1.25The committee met with the Hon Mark Mitchell MP, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery, who shared stories about NZ’s experience of disaster recovery and response with the committee. It was noted that NZ is one of the world’s most likely countries to be hit by weather events, second to Bangladesh.
1.26The Minister noted that a government inquiry was underway into the adequacy of NZ’s emergency management system on the North Island which was to be released on 23 April 2024. The report found that NZ’s emergency management system did not have the capacity or capability to deal with significant, widespread events impacting multiple regions at once, and that the areas of preparedness, communication and infrastructure capacity required improvement.
1.27It was noted during the meeting that there was somewhat of a ‘post code lottery’ in the level of emergency recovery and response—highlighting some of the challenges facing NZ’s emergency management system.
1.28The important role of iwi—kinship groups in Māori society—in emergency response due to their strong networks and ability to be proactive in the community, was emphasised. However, NZ’s emergency management legislation currently does not recognise a formal role for iwi, but it was noted that there is a proposal for iwi to join local governance bodies in discussions about how to best get them a seat at the table.
Figure 1.1Meeting with the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery
Pictured: Senator Tony Sheldon, the Hon Mark Mitchell MP, Senator Jacqui Lambie, and Senator Perin Davey
Opposition spokesperson for emergency management
1.29The committee also met with the Opposition (Labour Party) spokesperson for Emergency Management, Camilla Belich MP, the Hon Kerian McAulty MP, former Minister for Emergency Management, and Rachel Boyack MP, Chair of Governance and Administration Committee.
1.30Mr McAulty shared his experiences as Minister for Emergency Management during Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland flooding response and recovery effort. The group also shared their views on the challenges that NZ faces in responding to and recovering from frequent weather events and the importance of formally acknowledging the fundamental role local iwi play in response and recovery efforts.
New Zealand Earthquake Commission
1.31The committee met with the NZ Earthquake Commission which is now known as the Natural Hazards Commission following a change in legislation in July 2024.
1.32Chief Executive, Tina Mitchell, and Head of Risk Reduction and Resilience, Sarah-Jayne McCurrach, provided the committee with an understanding of the role and operations of the NZ Earthquake Commission which was established in 1945 as a unique response to NZ’s active geological environment.
1.33The Earthquake Commission is one of the world’s leading providers of natural disaster insurance and are dedicated to reducing the impact on people and property when natural disasters occur. It administers the Natural Hazard fund to ensure that everyone in NZ with a home insurance policy has a baseline level of cover.
1.34It was highlighted that NZ has an extremely high property insurance rate (95 per cent) compared to other countries.
Insurance Council of New Zealand
1.35The committee met with the Hon Kris Faafoi, Chief Executive, and Sarah Knox, Consumer Affairs Manager, of the Insurance Council of NZ (ICNZ). ICNZ represents fire and general insurance companies and performs a key role in informing and educating consumers about key insurance issues and risks. ICNZ provided the committee with a better understanding of the insurance market in NZ and NZ’s risk profile.
1.36During the meeting, it was highlighted that risk mitigation by individuals and councils has a significant impact on insurance. It was noted that NZ faces similar issues as Australia in land planning and building in areas such as flood plains which can significantly impact insurance as well.
New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency
1.37The committee met with NZ NEMA, including the following representatives:
Dave Gawn, Chief Executive;
Tania Gerrard, Chief Māori Advisor;
Jenna Rogers, Deputy Chief Executive of Strategic Engagement;
Stefan Weir, Chief of Staff;
Savanah Dantin, International Engagement; and
Malcolm Miller, Risk and Delivery Team.
1.38The committee heard about NZ NEMA’s role and operations, including within locally led response and recovery efforts. NZ NEMA is similar to Australia’s NEMA by providing leadership and coordination across the emergency management system.
1.39The importance of investing in resilience was highlighted, noting that response and recovery costs NZ 4.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), annualised over the last 20 years. The representatives also shared their personal experiences in responding to recent emergencies, such as the North Island weather events of February 2023.
1.40NZ NEMA discussed the important role of the Māori people in responding to natural disasters, particular in first response, noting that there is a challenge in building resilience. It was indicated that some local authority civil defence emergency management (CDEM) groups have a Māori or iwi officer on board, but not all of them, and that NZ NEMA was looking to improve this engagement.
1.41During the meeting, the challenges associated with volunteers was discussed including the management and coordination of volunteers, incentivising volunteers, and ensuring employers support their employees to volunteer.
1.42The committee was taken on a tour of the National Crisis Management Centre which is maintained to be ready for an emergency at any time with its own emergency water, food and power supply, an independent IT network and telecommunications system, and seismic protection for earthquake loadings, amongst other essentials.
Figure 1.2The National Crisis Management Centre press room
Pictured: Senator Tony Sheldon, Senator Jacqui Lambie, and Senator Perin Davey
Thursday, 11 April 2024
Geological and Nuclear Science
1.43The committee met with GNS Science and received a tour of the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre. The representatives present at this meeting included:
Chelydra Percy, Chief Executive;
Dr Graham Leonard, Natural Hazards and Risk Theme Leader;
Dr Bruce Girdwood, Data Science & Geohazards Monitoring Manager;
Mr Chris Costley, Principal Communications Adviser; and
Mr Clinton Zirk, Geohazard Operation Centre Manager.
1.44GNS Science operates the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre which opened in 2018. It is one third funded by the government, one third by competitive science grants and one third commercial funding. The centre provides around-the-clock eyes on monitoring of geohazards in NZ, including earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes and landslides. It is the first facility of its kind to monitor four hazards in the one facility. GNS Science’s role is to monitor and respond to natural hazards, understand where the event has occurred, potential consequences of the event and pass along the information to the relevant party.
1.45GNS Science explained to the committee the importance of their work in building community resilience and discussed their contribution to our understanding of geohazards, stewardship of national policy, improving natural hazards risk management systems, producing trusted science advice, and knowledge exchange.
1.46GNS Science noted that they work with Australian institutions, such as Geoscience Australia and universities, on climate and coastal hazards research, including wild fires, floods and storm surges.
Figure 1.3The National Geohazards Monitoring Centre, GNS Science
Pictured: Dr Bruce Girdwood, Senator Tony Sheldon, Senator Perin Davey, Senator Jacqui Lambie, Chelydra Percy, Dr Graham Leonard, and Mr Clinton Zirk.
NZ Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
1.47The committee met with the NZ Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Cyclone Recovery Unit. The Chief Executive Climate Recovery, Katrina Casey, and Executive Director Strategic Policy and Legislation, Anna Wilson-Farrell, explained the role of the unit in providing strategic oversight and coordination of recovery efforts.
1.48The Cyclone Recovery Unit was established in March 2023 as the Government’s response and recovery from the North Island extreme weather events, specifically Cyclone Gabrielle which caused approximately NZ$13.5 billion in damages in February 2023. Their main purpose is to lead, coordinate and monitor severe weather recovery across government. The unit supports local engagement with communities, iwi, businesses, local government, regional groups and others to coordinate planning and reporting as well as provide advice on system risk and assurance.
New Zealand Treasury
1.49The committee met with NZ Treasury, including Steve Cantwell, Principal Advisor, and Dan Jury, Senior Analyst, from the Financial Markets Branch.
1.50NZ Treasury discussed the upcoming legislation that would change the Earthquake Commission into the Natural Hazards Commission and aims to update and modernise the NZ insurance market.
1.51Treasury noted that NZ’s focus has tended to be on earthquakes, but the more varied weather events being experienced on the North Island have given rise to a renewed focus on other disaster events, and that these risks are perceived as being more similar to the risks faced in Australia.
Christchurch City Council
1.52The committee met with Christchurch City Council’s Executive Leadership Team, including Mary Richardson, Interim Chief Executive, and Andrew Rutledge, General Manager for Civil Communities.
1.53The Christchurch City Council shared their experience in leading response and recovery efforts as a council and their relationship with NZ NEMA. They discussed the challenges they faced with managing volunteers, rebuilding, improvements to infrastructure, and managing their relationship with the central government. Regarding spontaneous volunteers, the council said they had learned it is better to coordinate and empower them rather than trying to control them like they did in the past.
1.54The council also discussed the importance of focusing on supporting the most vulnerable people in the community, promoting awareness about climate change and risk, building community capacity to deal with events, learning lessons from disaster events, and ensuring recovery is in a form that is future-proof.
Regional CDEM Group Recovery Managers
1.55The committee met with Brenden Winder, Christchurch CDEM Manager, and Richard Ball, Canterbury CDEM Group Recovery Manager.
1.56CDEM groups identify hazards and risks, prepare Civil Defence Emergency Management plans, make arrangements for the declaration of a state of emergency in the group’s area, as well as arrangements for cooperation and coordination with other CDEM groups. There are sixteen CDEM groups across NZ and comprise of a committee of elected councillors from each council within regional boundaries. CDEM Groups are required to consult with the public on the development of their plans.
1.57A recovery manager coordinates and facilitates immediate, medium and long term recovery activities. Recovery Managers can be appointed at national, group and local level. CDEM Groups must appoint a suitably qualified and experienced person to be a Group Recovery Manager and may appoint one or more Local Recovery Managers.
1.58The CDEM Group Managers discussed the critical role of CDEMs in response and recovery efforts, the challenges they face and the importance of local relationships and partnerships. CDEMs play an important role in advocating for the community’s recovery needs and funding as they have limited direct authority or resources. Canterbury CDEM emphasised that a plan is only as good as people’s knowledge of it. Plans therefore need to be widely understood and agreed, integrated at all levels, have role clarity, personnel trained, and the structures and processes agreed. Insurance was also a key issue raised whereby it was noted that infrastructure is rebuilt like for like because that is what you are insured for, even if it is not appropriate for future resilience.
Quake City – Canterbury Museum
1.59The committee received a personalised private tour of Quake City at Canterbury Museum.
1.60Quake City is a special exhibition designed to help understand the events that unfolded during the earthquakes in Christchurch and Canterbury in February 2011. It includes numerous displays and features hands-on displays, videos and treasures rescued from the rubble after the earthquakes.
1.61Through the tour the committee gained insight into what it might be like to experience an earthquake, the immediate aftermath and the ongoing recovery effort. They had the opportunity to hear personal stories and experiences of locals and saw examples of ingenuity and comradery from the local community in the recovery effort.
Friday, 12 April 2024
NZ NEMA Chief Science Adviser
1.62The committee met with NZ NEMA’s Chief Science Adviser, Professor Tom Wilson. Professor Wilson’s research is focused on disaster risk assessment and rural disaster resilience and, through his role at NZ NEMA, he supports the effective use of science within emergency management policy and practice.
1.63Professor Wilson provided the committee with insight into the important role of science in disaster preparedness and building resilience, as well as the risks that NZ faces and the challenges in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disaster events. Some of Professor Wilson’s key points included:
there has been a degradation of resilience due to dependence mentality;
risk is compounding and relative vulnerability is growing;
socio-economic pressures are also compounding, increasing the complexity of responses and putting pressure on traditional risk transfer mechanisms;
repeated disasters have an impact on social cohesion;
the importance of planning specifically for severe or catastrophic events – some plans cannot be scaled up for significant events; and
the need to use science for better planning and response.
Canterbury CDEM Group
1.64The committee met with following members of the Canterbury CDEM Group:
James Thompson, Canterbury CDEM Group Manager and Controller;
Andrea Williams, Te Runange o Ngāi Tahu Senior Adviser;
Jamie Ruwhiu, Program Manager, Whanau and Emergency Response for Ngāi Tahu; and
Gavin Treadgold, Regional CDEM Planner.
1.65The committee learned more about the Canterbury CDEM Group which covers the largest geographical area of CDEM Groups and deals with a wide range of significant hazards and risks. The committee gained a better understanding of the variation between CDEM Groups across NZ and the importance of building local relationships. The Group’s plans to support Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi of the South Island, was also discussed.
1.66During the meeting, the role of volunteers was canvassed, including the challenges of managing spontaneous volunteers and opportunities to leverage the deployment of the public service in times of emergency.
Justice Precinct Emergency Services leadership
1.67The committee met with Inspector Bryan Buck, Operations Manager for Canterbury Police District, joined by James Thompson and Gavin Treadgold from Canterbury CDEM Group.
1.68The Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct (the Precinct) brings together all justice and emergency services in one purpose-built, leading-edge precinct in Central Christchurch. It is a $300 million anchor project led by the Ministry of Justice and comprised of three buildings—the Justice Building, the Emergency Services Building and a car park for operational vehicles.
1.69The Precinct leadership gave the committee some background on the history of the justice precinct, highlighting that the co-location of responders facilitates relationship building and coordination during ‘peace time’ (in between disaster events). This allows them to leverage those relationships during emergencies.
1.70The committee also received a tour of the emergency operations centre and gained an understanding of how it came to be within the justice precinct.
Figure 1.4The Emergency Operations Centre, Justice Precinct
Pictured: Senator Tony Sheldon, Professor Tom Wilson, and Senator Perin Davey
Ngāi Tahu representatives
1.71The committee met with Andrea Williams, Te Runange o Ngāi Tahu Senior Adviser, and Jamie Ruwhiu, Program Manager, Whanau and Emergency Response for Ngāi Tahu.
1.72As noted above, Ngāi Tahu is the principal Māori iwi of the South Island. In this meeting, the committee learned more about the Ngāi Tahu and the critical role they play in responding to emergency events throughout the South Island. The challenges Ngāi Tahu experience with interacting with the bureaucracy of government was discussed, as well as the importance of recognition, relationship-building, cultural competency and working in partnership.
University of Canterbury and QuakeCoRE
1.73The committee met with Professor Brendon Bradley, Dr Tom Logan and Professor John Hopkins from the University of Canterbury’s Centre for Earthquake Resilience (QuakeCoRE).
1.74QuakeCoRE is located at the University of Canterbury and aims to transform the earthquake resilience of communities through innovative research, human capability development and national collaborations. QuakeCoRE focuses on establishing multi-institutional national research programs that are internationally networked to implement pathways of earthquake resilience through system-level science.
1.75The committee gained a better understanding of the practical outcomes of collaborative research in discussing the innovative and collaborative research model of QuakeCoRE. The collaborative model reduces competition between universities and provides better value for taxpayer funding compared to funding lots of independent research projects.