At its meeting on 27 January 2025, not quite two years since Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc on Hawke’s Bay and exposed the inadequacies of our emergency preparedness capabilities, the Joint Committee representing our five councils and iwi approved a new ‘transformational’ strategy.
Apart from laudable thematic commitments — “Our community is at the heart of the system” and “Our system is balanced and responsive to local needs” — the real proof in the pudding will be in the achievement of specific operational changes/goals starting now, with adequate funds committed by HB councils to getting the job done.
So, here are the specific goals indicated for 2025:
- HB will have increased its professional emergency management workforce by 45% (and by 2027 will have increased its emergency management volunteers workforce from 149 trained volunteers to 700);
- All HBCDEM infrastructure and assets reviewed and business cases submitted for investment consultation as part of the 2027 LTP process;
- 10 local emergency management exercises occur across HB (scheduled from July on) with a major combined exercise involving all levels of the HBCDEM system;
- HB will possess a regional assurance function, one of the first in NZ. The role will provide objective measurement of the readiness of all local and regional CDEM capabilities;
- By 2027 the region will possess up to date and modern local, regional hazard and reduction emergency management plans;
- Draft Service Level Agreements will provide clarity to the roles and responsibilities of each council and their CDEM teams. After testing in 2025, these agreements will be formalized in 2027.
As you can see, beyond further training and additional professional and volunteer staffing, still a heap of ‘planning’ to be completed.
And then there’s the money.
Materials presented at the adoption meeting indicate that ‘budget re-prioritisation’ has occurred to ensure adequate CDEM funding through the current fiscal year. “The HB CDEM Transformation Programme will require additional funding in FY 25/26 and FY 26/27 with the scale of that additional funding yet to be refined. Council Chief Executives are in discussions about the best approach to managing this situation.”
As we reported last week, Matt Boggs has been engaged to drive the ‘transformation’ process. system.” Boggs has a largely military career, rising to senior positions in the NZ Army and NZ Defence Force, with a stint at local government consultants Morrison Low.
Stay tuned!
Talking of resilience exercises, I ran two in January: the first to fill-in for our usual Internet connection with a temporary 4G service (thanks WirelessNation!) while the satellite system was replaced (thanks Starlink!), the second to test a newly-commissioned mains/generator supply change-over switch (thanks Ian!). Two significant projects for me, yet inconsequential on the scale of HB or NZ. The point is that we can all think ahead, in our own little ways, and so contribute to the whole.
The idea, in a nutshell, is to dig the wells before we get thirsty.
The biggest problem I see with Civil Defence in Hawkes Bay is that it only swings into action once an emergency has happened. The law allows preventative measures to be taken. A great example of this was the Kopu Rd flooding in Wairoa. A state of emergency could have been declared a couple of days earlier and the bar could have been opened up. Unless this is addressed, we are left with picking up the pieces after the fact.
Bridges, bridges, bridges. Hawkes Bay routes to safety rely on bridges. When that tsunami threatens, people are not going to hikoi/walk to safety. Lets be realistic and work now to make sure those bridges are still standing when desperately needed.