Three reviews of HB’s readiness for and response to our Cyclone Gabrielle disaster are now officially underway … and given the muti-headed nature of Hawke’s Bay, a fourth is needed.
Flood protection
Probably front and centre is the independent review commissioned by HBRC of the council’s flood protection infrastructure, its performance during the disaster, and needed improvements.
An independent panel has been appointed.
Regional Council Chief Executive Dr Nic Peet says: “The panel conducting the review is made up of knowledgeable experts who will review the performance of the Regional Council’s flood protection assets, telemetry and other systems. We will cooperate willingly and transparently with the panel wherever its enquiries take it.”
The HBRC seems fully committed to this review of its management of flood protection. There has been no shortage of criticisms, from the well-founded to conspiracy theories.
Yet to be heard from is the Hastings District Council, which is facing what appear to be well-documented complaints around the management of its urban streams and drains, leading to serious flooding in Havelock North (specifically Joll Road) during the cyclone.
Some in the community have wanted the HBRC review to include the Havelock North situation, but that has not occurred, arguably because the relevant assets and responsibility sit with HDC and so they are technically outside the legal ‘scope’ of HBRC.
However, these complaints are not the first time Havelock North residents have claimed council mis-management of this kind. A paper trail is emerging that indicates HBRC has previously cited HDC formally for non-compliance with the consents under which it manages its urban reservoir and waterway system.
With Havelock North failures not part of the HBRC review, it is incumbent upon HDC to commit to its own review of that community’s cyclone flooding, conducted with the same independence and rigour as HBRC’s investigation.
BayBuzz understands that HBRC has officially communicated that ‘sentiment’ to HDC. We look forward to HDC taking action. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
While ‘reviews’ are underway, HBRC is also investigating mitigation solutions that would enable Category 2A properties to move to Category 2C, and then where possible to Category 1.
Engineering teams are working across the Bay seeking information from each of the impacted communities. The teams will review categorisation maps, historical data including flood history, analyse high resolution aerial photography, photos and videos from Cyclone Gabrielle, and building inspections taken during and immediately after the event.
From this information, a preferred solution will be chosen, and concept designs created along with costings, to identify any potential issues or pitfalls such as land access or consents. HBRC aims to get this work done by the end of September.
Civil Defence
Concurrently, an independent review of the performance of the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) response to Cyclone Gabrielle is underway.
As we reported earlier, that review will be headed by Mike Bush, formerly Commissioner of NZ Police. Bush International Consulting earlier this year completed the rapid review of the Auckland Flood response.
The ‘local’ member on this panel is Ngahiwi Tomoana, the former Chair of the Board of Ngāti Kahungunu.
Mr. Bush says the panel will follow “a tried and true method of interviewing people who responded during the event and key stakeholders, and will review a lot of documentation … We’ll also set up a process for public input.”
The panel will deliver a draft report later this year and a final report in 2024.
North Island emergency response
Finally, on a grander scale, the Government’s Inquiry into North Island response to flooding disaster (Northland, Auckland, the East Coast including Hawke’s Bay) is also underway.
As we have previously reported, “The purpose of this Inquiry is to ensure that the design of New Zealand’s emergency management system is appropriate to support readiness for, and responses to, future emergency events (such as landslides, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic activity, floods and storms) by identifying lessons from the 2023 North Island severe weather events.”
The Inquiry Panel recently released its first ‘Minutes’ indicating how it will function. As this Minute indicates, the Panel seems to be taking great pains to ensure that those wishing to make submissions or participate in interviews that might be critical of the recent emergency response will have confidentiality. The good news is that they are encouraging candor; hopefully this will not ultimately blur an equally frank public reporting of any performance failures, so the adequacy of recommended improvement measures can be properly assessed.
Hawke’s Bay has a representative on the Inquiry Panel, Julie Greene. Her professional career has been centred in the food production sector. She was a senior manager at Heinz Watties for over a decade and is currently Director of Graham Greene Limited, which owns interests in several Fruit Intellectual Property companies in China and New Zealand. She has an honours degree in Horticulture Science and post graduate diploma in Business Administration and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
How much money are all these reviews costing !? Surely one independent review is all that is needed !