Civil Defence (New Zealand)

The National Emergency Management Agency (; Māori: ''Te Rākau Whakamarumaru'') is the public service department of New Zealand responsible for providing leadership and support around national, local and regional emergencies. It is an autonomous departmental agency hosted by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. It replaced the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management in December 2019.

The Minister for Emergency Management is currently Mark Mitchell.

History

No formal civil defence or emergency management structure existed in New Zealand until the 1930s, when the increasing threat of war prompted the formation of the Emergency Precautions Scheme, which was controlled by the Department of Internal Affairs. In addition to war, earthquake risk was another concern of the Scheme, prompted in part by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. During World War II, the name of the EPS was changed to Civil Defence. While EPS/Civil Defence did not need to respond to any invasion attempts, it was twice called upon to assist with earthquake recovery efforts in Wellington and the Wairarapa region in 1942.

First Minister of Civil Defence

Following the war, responsibility for civil defence was assumed by the Department of Internal Affairs. A ''Review of Defence'' white paper, issued by the Second Labour Government amid the fear of nuclear war, proposed the establishment of a separate Ministry of Civil Defence. The first Director of Civil Defence was J.V. Meech (also the Secretary of Internal Affairs), though in practice much of the work was delegated to Andrew Sharp; the first Minister of Civil Defence in the post-war period was Bill Anderton (also the Minister of Internal Affairs). The Civil Defence Act 1962 set out in legislation the responsibilities and duties of the Ministry. In 1964, the first full-time Director of Civil Defence was appointed: Brigadier R.C. Queree.

A new Ministry for Emergency Management was established under the National/New Zealand First Coalition Government by Civil Defence Minister Jack Elder on 1 July 1999, following the Review of Emergency Services. This replaced the existing Ministry of Civil Defence. Later, the department name changed again to become the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.

Transfer to Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management remained a business unit of the Department of Internal Affairs until 1 April 2014, when it was transferred to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). This was intended to reflect DMPC's role as the government's lead agency in national security planning.

Beginning 1 December 2019, the Ministry's name was changed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Its structure was also changed, with it becoming a departmental agency and the appointment of NEMA's first interim chief executive (rather than reporting through to the chief executive of DPMC). A departmental agency is an operationally autonomous agency with its own chief executive, hosted by a department of the New Zealand public service.

Inquiry following North Island severe weather events

In 2024, the Government released the findings of an inquiry into the performance of New Zealand's emergency management system. The inquiry focussed on the response to three severe weather events in the North Island in early 2023: Cyclone Hale (8 to 12 January), Auckland Anniversary floods (26 January to 3 February), and Cyclone Gabrielle (12 to 16 February). The three severe weather events caused 15 fatalities, and the estimated cost of damage was in the range $9 –14.5 billion. The inquiry report concluded that:

The National Emergency Management Agency conducted its own internal review and concluded that it lacked sufficient well-trained personnel and leadership to deal with the severe weather events. It also found that the facilities used by the National Crisis Management Centre and the National Co-ordination Centre were not fit for purpose and that technology used by these centres was not reliable.

Activities

The Agency administers the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 and:

* advises government on matters relating to civil defence emergency management
* identifies hazards and risks
* develops, maintains and evaluates the strategy for civil defence emergency management
* ensures coordination at national, regional and local levels
* promotes civil defence emergency management and deliver public awareness about how to prepare for, and what to do in, an emergency
* supports planning, operations and capability development for the civil defence emergency management sector,and develops standards and guidelines
* monitors and evaluates the performance of Civil Defence Emergency Management groups in 16 regions
* maintains and operates the National Crisis Management Centre, including providing personnel to staff the Centre
* issues public information and warnings
* manages the response of central government to major emergencies (such as earthquake, tsunami, landslide, volcanic eruptions or unrest, floods, severe winds, snow, coastal hazards, and failure of critical infrastructure)

Since 2017, Civil Defence has used Emergency Mobile Alert technologies to deliver essential emergency information to mobile phones in New Zealand. The alert system is tested annually; during the 2017 test, Vodafone accidentally sent the test alert message at 1am.

List of ministers for emergency management

;Key

See also

* Lifeline utility

References

External links

Official website

Get Ready Get Thru, the Ministry's multilingual public education campaign

Final report of the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (New Zealand)
Emergency management in New Zealand
Civil defense
New Zealand public service departmental agencies