10 February 2021

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

Ngā mihi o te tau hou

Greetings to all in this first e-Bulletin of 2021.

I hope you and those close to you were able to enjoy some well-earned rest over the holiday period. My whānau and I staycationed in Te Whanganui a Tara which was (mostly) blissfully uneventful.

The ongoing response to COVID-19 will remain a sharp priority for the foreseeable future as we wrestle with resurgence, vaccinations and big questions, such as the border.

I sense that ka mua ka muri (walking backwards into the future) may prove to be a defining theme in 2021.

Later this month we will remember those who died, were bereaved, injured or endured hardship, as well as honour those who helped in the aftermath of and recovery from the Christchurch Earthquake.

10 years on since that devasting event, we have learned a lot. We have evolved. However, there remains much to be done as an emergency management sector.

History doesn’t provide us precise guidelines to the future, but it is essentially a vast early warning system.

Creating space in 2021 to further address the vulnerabilities in the emergency management system identified in the 2017 Ministerial Review into New Zealand’s responses to natural disasters and other emergencies (TAG) and what we’ve further learned since then is a priority for NEMA.

Another key feature of NEMA’s work this year will be to better recognise the role that iwi Māori play in emergency management and further integrate te āo Māori into emergency management. 

You can also expect to see NEMA leaning in to ensure that our emergency management systems are  geared towards inclusive and community-led responses.

Thank you for the patience that you have shown in allowing NEMA time to transition to our new arrangements. We have grown our footprint to 100 FTEs, strengthened our leadership bench and reorganised our structure to support our role as the emergency management system kaitiaki, operator and assurer.

Expect to see more of us out and about this year as we build on the momentum we’ve achieved with the initial investment the government has made in NEMA.

We know you are expectant.

We are ready.

Ngā mihi nui,

Carolyn

Save the date: National Emergency Management Conference 2021

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is pleased to announce preparations for the 2021 National Emergency Management Conference have commenced. Registrations will open in March.

The Conference will be held on 26-27 May at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, and will include the Conference Dinner on the evening of 26 May.

The theme this year is “Building Safe and Resilient Communities: The Future of the Emergency Management System”.

We’re assembling a great programme with an interesting list of speakers. This is definitely an event you won’t want to miss!

The conference will include sessions designed to support emergency management professionals.  A range of meetings and workshops will be held both sides of the conference to make the most of opportunities for networking and discussion.

The conference, which had been an annual event, has been deferred for the last two years; in 2019 while the focus was on establishing the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and last year due to COVID-19.  We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to bring emergency management professionals together to discuss topics of mutual interest, network and celebrate advances in this important field of work.

Nominations for the CDEM Awards will close on 31 March 2021.  You can find out more about the Award on the NEMA website.

For more information email: NEMConference@nema.govt.nz

NZ EMAT third training course begins this month

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is gearing up to run the third New Zealand Emergency Management Assistance Team (NZ EMAT) training course from Sunday 28 February to Friday 12 March 2021 at Camp Wainui in Wainuiomata. 

The course is focused on ensuring the effectiveness of NZ EMAT members to support and assist Controllers and Incident Management Teams through developing interpersonal skills, including coaching, leadership and problem-solving approaches. The course provides a capability step for the sector and is a significant personal development opportunity for individuals, while strengthening the capability of participants' home agencies.

The establishment of NZ EMAT was the Government’s response to the recommendations to establish a ‘fly-in team’ in the Technical Advisory Group’s 2018 report on better responses to natural disasters and other emergencies. To date, EMAT has been engaged on deployments assisting with West Coast flooding, Southland flooding and in support of the National Crisis Management Centre and Queenstown EOC’s for COVID-19. Find out more about NZ EMAT on the NEMA website. 

NEMA hosts first Tupu Tai intern 

NEMA was delighted to host a summer intern as part of the Tupu Tai Pasifika Public Sector Internship Programme from the 2020/21 intake. This is the first year NEMA has been part of this initiative. 

Tupu Tai is an interagency government initiative that offers Pasifika students the opportunity to explore career pathways, build confidence as Pasifika professionals, and see what it’s like working for government. Find out more about the programme on the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment website. 

Minister for Emergency Management visits Waitangi for 2021 celebrations 

Minister for Emergency Management, Hon Kiri Allan, spent last week at Waitangi as part of official Waitangi Day celebrations. This visit included attendance at the National Iwi Chairs Forum and meeting with Māori Wardens.

A focus of this year's visit to Waitangi was how the Government can continue to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Recognising the role iwi Māori play in emergency management and further integrating te āo Māori into emergency management is a key focus for Minister Allan and NEMA for the year ahead.

Sector Spotlights

Cadets celebrate successful first year

The Waimakariri Civil Defence Emergency Management Cadets have recently marked their first year milestone. The Unit is the first CDEM Cadet Unit in New Zealand. 

The Unit came together for the first time in February 2020 with an enthusiastic group of young people. Following an initial team building session, Cadets were sized up for uniforms, completed unit standards and geared up for their first camp in March, which was delayed by COVID-19. The resulting lockdown put a hold on further training and meant cadets had to meet via zoom until it was lifted in late June.

The Cadets finally got the opportunity to attend their first camp in July, where they were introduced to CIMS and completed training and unit standards for communicating with radios.

There’s a focus on personal development and leadership skills within the Unit, so the Cadets also completed Strength Finder and coordinated the awards ceremony for some of our adult volunteers receiving NEMA Long Service Awards.

In November, our final camp for the year culminated in a half-day tramp up Mt Richardson. The exercise tested skills the Cadets had already been trained in such as radios and map reading and gave the young people a chance to demonstrate their leadership skills.

They also had to deal with an injury, which resulted in the cadets (to their surprise and delight) being airlifted from the top of the mountain by a helicopter back to the camp. We were pleased to have a news crew join us for the day and the story can be viewed on the Newshub website.

All cadets have successfully achieved competence in Strength Finder, and Unit Standards for CDEM, Personal Readiness, Radio Communication and Aircraft Safety. They also received training from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Waikuku Surf Lifesaving and Hydro Response Ltd (flood protection).

Waimakariri District Mayor Dan Gordon presented each young person with a certificate acknowledging their place in history as a founding member of Waimakariri CDEM Cadets. 

Pleasingly, nearly all of the cadets have indicated they’ll be staying with the programme for the next year.

         Top Cadet - Annika Ettema                          Leadership Award - Riley Helps

HRNZ Webinar - Overlapping PCBUs and the Whakaari White Island Tragedy 

The Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRNZ) are hosting a webinar on 3 March 2021 to shed light on what businesses can learn from the 2019 Whakaari White Island disaster and the resulting investigation.

WorkSafe NZ has filed charges against 13 parties after an investigation into the Whakaari/White Island disaster. Ten companies are facing a maximum fine of $1.5 million and another three individuals will also face charges for failing to exercise due diligence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The Facilitator, Matt Jones will discuss what businesses can learn from the court hearings and provide a fresh perspective on how we can all plan to ensure we reduce our risk exposures in 2021 and beyond.

Attendees will gain practical advice that can be actioned immediately. Matt Jones specialises in breaking down terminology and ensuring his audiences are left with the tools and solutions to your requirements.

To find out more about the webinar, including ticket prices, visit the HRNZ website. 

Vacancies

NEMA Vacancies

• Advisor, Operational Systems 
• Advisor, Operational Readiness and Response
• Senior Advisor, Operational Systems 
• Team Leader, Recovery (Fixed Term)
• Senior Advisor, Policy

Find out more about these roles, and apply on the NEMA website. 

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.