4 November 2020

eBulletin is your regular source of emergency management news, information, case studies, best practice, research and reports.

Take a moment to find out the latest and celebrate successes from our sector.

NEMA News

Ministerial portfolio renamed from 'Civil Defence' to 'Emergency Management' 

You may have seen the news this week that (Hon) Kiri Allan has been appointed the Minister for Emergency Management. In doing so, the Government has renamed the Ministerial portfolio from 'Civil Defence' to 'Emergency Management'. The change in portfolio name does not affect the Minister’s responsibilities under the CDEM Act 2002.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) welcomes the change in the Ministerial portfolio name to Emergency Management. The use of the term ‘Emergency Management’ for the Ministerial portfolio is an intuitive and accurate reflection of the Government’s efforts to build a contemporary emergency management system.

Changing the portfolio title from ‘Civil Defence’ to ‘Emergency Management’ also signals the Government’s continued intention to systematise the identification of, planning for, mitigation of, responses to and recovery from national and local level hazards and risks. It strengthens awareness of emergency management as a vital function of our national security system.

The change in portfolio name also supports the shift in the role and focus of NEMA from that of our predecessor agency, MCDEM. Committed to putting people at the heart of the national emergency management system, NEMA works at the national level to create an effective and integrated emergency management system in order to reduce the type and level of impact emergencies may have on our people, communities, property, critical infrastructure, economic and environment.

The change in portfolio name does not reflect or necessitate any branding decisions. As part of its Designing for the Future programme, NEMA will be reviewing the future of sector-wide CDEM branding. Any decisions will be subject to scoping, funding, and consultation, and a keen recognition of the recognition, trust and credibility that the existing CDEM brand carries.

If you have any questions relating to this decision, please email emergency.management@nema.govt.nz or reach our to your usual NEMA contact.

(Hon) Kiri Allan appointed Minister for Emergency Management 

This year's nationwide Emergency Mobile Alert test date confirmed 

This year’s nationwide test of Emergency Mobile Alert will take place on the evening of Sunday 22 November.

Emergency Mobile Alert is a way of receiving information about emergencies in your area. If your life, health or property is in danger, Emergency Mobile Alerts can be sent to your mobile by authorised emergency agencies, without needing to sign up or download an app.

New Zealand ShakeOut 2020 a success! 

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in New Zealand ShakeOut 2020. Over 680,000 people completed this year's national earthquake drill on 15 October. 

NEMA hosted the official drill at Matatā Public School in Bay of Plenty. You can still view the full livestream of the school's Drop, Cover, Hold drill and tsunami hīkoi on the NZ Civil Defence Facebook page. 

We look forward to shaking out with you again in 2021! 

NEMA hosts first face-to-face training of surge staff for the Alternative NCMC

On Thursday 1 October, staff from a range of Government agencies participated in surge staff training for the activation of the Alternative National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) in Auckland. If Wellington is severely impacted by an emergency, Civil Defence Emergency Management personnel in Auckland will activate the Alternative NCMC, supported by local surge staff from across government. The Alternative NCMC is based at the Ellerslie Events Centre.

A diverse range of agencies were represented at the session, including:

• NZ Police 
• Department of Corrections
• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
• Ministry for Primary Industries
• Inland Revenue
• Ministry of Social Development
• Te Puni Kōkiri
• Ministry for the Environment
• New Zealand Customs Service
• Department of Internal Affairs
• Education Review Office
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
• New Zealand Defence Force.

The diversity of skills, knowledge and experience from across these agencies showed through during the session, with each participant adding their own value to the activities.

Participants gave great feedback on their first session and will continue to be invited to online and face-to-face training opportunities. Further training and orientation sessions for new participants will be available for booking in coming months.

If you or your agency are interested in being part of the Alternative NCMC surge staff in Auckland, please contact the NEMA System Capability team at CapDev@nema.govt.nz.

Sector Spotlights

Recap from the annual National Lifeline Utilities Forum

The New Zealand Lifelines Council hosted the annual National Lifeline Utilities Forum in Tauranga on 21 and 22 October. The opening keynote address from Christine Jones of Tauranga City Council, showcased years of work to identify and develop mitigation programmes for Tauranga City’s challenging hazard environment. This was followed by a climate change session, including infrastructure learnings from the recently completed National Climate Change Risk Assessment and the latest advice on adaptive design for infrastructure.

The COVID-19 global pandemic featured strongly throughout the forum. Sarah Stuart-Black, Director Civil Defence & Emergency Management, led a session focused on COVID-19, accompanied by a number of presentations from different sectors on their responses and key learnings.

Bill Bayfield, Establishment CEO for Taumata Arowai (Three-Waters Regulator) opened the session on water sector resilience challenges, which featured water sector reforms, and response to droughts, floods and critical asset failures. Ross Copland, the Chief Executive of Te Waihanga (Infrastructure Commission) led a discussion around key questions such as “is our infrastructure resilience enough?”.

There were 35 speakers overall, and presentation files are available at: http://www.alg.org.nz/events/national-lifelines-forum/. You can also view the New Zealand Lifelines Council’s 'New Zealand Critical Lifelines Infrastructure National Vulnerability Assessment 2020 Edition' at http://www.nzlifelines.org.nz.

Civil Defence’s Next Generation Steps Up

Clad in crisp, navy-blue uniforms, a group of 16 teenagers gather to train each week on the outskirts of Rangiora. These youth are the first intake of Waimakariri's Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Cadet Unit; the first of its kind in the country.

The programme provides practical training in CDEM for young people aged 12-17 and provides a taste of a potential future career in the emergency services.

“My dad’s a volunteer firefighter, so it’s kind of in my blood, said 12-year-old cadet, Riley Helps. “I’m hoping it will lead me into adult volunteering.”

As well as learning about Civil Defence, the cadets have practised fire-fighting, using radios, and learnt about life skills such as Strengthsfinder and goal-setting.

The programme is a joint initiative between the Council’s Civil Defence Emergency Management and Youth Development teams and is modelled on the Police Citizens Youth Club Emergency Service Cadets in Australia.

Emergency Management Officer, Chris Field, says there’s a focus on teaching the cadets to take charge of their own personal development.

“One of the first things they did, was to sit down and establish their own set of values,” said Field. “Leaders are promoted from within the cadets, and they’ll soon be learning to manage their own communications and publicity.”

A public competition was held to design the Cadet’s official badge, with the winning entry coming from a member of the Waimakariri Youth Council.

Thirteen year old cadet, Annika Ettema, says she would definitely recommend the programme to others, “I think Cadets is a good opportunity, there’s lots of variety and the people are pretty cool.”

Vacancies

CDEM Sector 

• Organisational Readiness Advisor, Tauranga City Council

To list a Civil Defence Emergency Management sector role, please email the National Emergency Management Agency communications team. We'll include your listing on our website and in upcoming editions of e-Bulletin.

Got a story?

eBulletin provides newsworthy updates about Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) and related information from the sector. It is for people in the emergency management sector and/or those with an interest in emergency management. eBulletin shares news, information, case studies, best practice, research and reports, and celebrates successes.

Some topics for content include:

• upcoming events and activities
• information about responses to emergencies
• information about research (keeping in mind it is not a peer-reviewed journal)
• reports on what has been happening around the sector
• announcements of new publications and guides
• information about courses (ones you have been on and ones coming up), and
• celebrations of successes.