National Emergency Management Agency (New Zealand) Explained

Agency Name:National Emergency Management Agency
Formed:1 December 2019
Preceding1:Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Jurisdiction:New Zealand
Headquarters:TSB House, Wellington
Minister1 Name:Mark Mitchell
Minister1 Pfo:Minister for Emergency Management
Chief1 Position:Chief Executive
Chief1 Name:David Gawn
Chief2 Name:Gary Knowles
Chief2 Position:Deputy Chief Executive – Emergency Management and Director Civil Defence
Chief3 Name:Alan Cassidy
Chief3 Position:Deputy Chief Executive – Strategic Enablement
Parent Agency:Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (New Zealand)
Child1 Agency:National Crisis Management Centre
Website:http://www.civildefence.govt.nz
Chief4 Name:Jenna Rogers
Chief4 Position:Manager Analysis and Planning
Chief5 Name:Roger Ball
Chief5 Position:Manager National Operations
Chief6 Name:David Coetzee
Chief6 Position:Manager Regional Partnerships
Chief7 Name:Gill Genet
Chief7 Position:Manager System Capability
Chief8 Name:Adam Allington
Chief8 Position:Policy Manager
Chief9 Name:Anthony Frith
Chief9 Position:Communications Manager

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] [4] [5] This replaced the existing Ministry of Civil Defence.[6] 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 Prime Minister and Cabinet.[7] This was intended to reflect DMPC's role as the government's lead agency in national security planning.[8]

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:[9]

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.[10]

Activities

The Agency administers the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 and:[11]

Since 2017, Civil Defence has utilised Emergency Mobile Alert technologies to deliver essential emergency information to mobile phones in New Zealand. They test it every year to make sure the system is working correctly.[12] During the 2017 Mobile Alert test, Vodafone accidentally sent the test alert message at 1 AM.[13]

List of ministers for emergency management

Key
No.NamePortraitTerm of officePrime Minister
1William Bodkin30 June 19422 October 1942Fraser
(in the War Administration)
2David Wilson30 October 194212 April 1944Fraser
1944–1959: See Minister of Internal Affairs
3Bill Anderton24 June 195912 December 1960Nash
4Leon Götz12 December 196020 December 1963Holyoake
5David Seath20 December 19639 February 1972
6Allan Highet9 February 19728 December 1972Marshall
7Tom McGuigan8 December 197210 September 1974Kirk
8Henry May10 September 197412 December 1975Rowling
(6)Allan Highet12 December 197526 July 1984Muldoon
9Peter Tapsell26 July 198424 July 1987Lange
height=50 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"10Michael Bassett24 July 19879 February 1990
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"Palmer
height=50 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"11Margaret Austin9 February 19902 November 1990
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"Moore
12Graeme Lee2 November 199029 November 1993Bolger
13Warren Cooper29 November 19931 March 1996
14John Banks1 March 19961 November 1996
15Murray McCully1 November 199616 December 1996
height=30px style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"16Jack Elder16 December 199610 December 1999
height=15px style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"Shipley
17George Hawkins16 December 199919 October 2005Clark
18Rick Barker19 October 200519 November 2008
19John Carter19 November 20088 June 2011Key
20Craig Foss8 June 201114 December 2011
21Chris Tremain14 December 201130 January 2013
height=70 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"22Nikki Kaye30 January 201320 December 2016
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"English
23Gerry Brownlee20 December 20162 May 2017
24Nathan Guy2 May 201726 October 2017
25Kris Faafoi26 October 201727 June 2019Ardern
26Peeni Henare27 June 20196 November 2020
27Kiri Allan6 November 202014 June 2022
height=40 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"28Kieran McAnulty14 June 202227 November 2023
height=25 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"Hipkins
29Mark Mitchell27 November 2023presentLuxon

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ministerial List. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 27 November 2023.
  2. Web site: Civil Defence in New Zealand: A Short History. Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. 1990. https://web.archive.org/web/20170811090600/http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/publications/Short-History-of-Civil-Defence.pdf. 11 August 2017.
  3. Web site: Policy, Legal and Institutional Arrangements. Shirley Mattingly. 2007. 19 September 2017.
  4. Web site: New moves to protect communities. 5 August 1999. 19 September 2017. Jack Elder.
  5. Web site: Vote Emergency Management. 2003. 19 September 2017. 516.
  6. Web site: Valedictory statement of Hon Jack Elder. 7 October 1999. 19 September 2017.
  7. Web site: Civil defence moves to Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Nikki Kaye. Beehive.govt.nz. 31 March 2014. 19 September 2017.
  8. Web site: MCDEM shift will strengthen emergency management and resilience. Jonathan Coleman. Nikki Kaye. 19 November 2013. 19 September 2017.
  9. News: Crimp . Lauren . 23 April 2024 . 'Significant shortcomings' in NZ's emergency management system - inquiry . 8 August 2024 . . en-nz.
  10. News: Plummer . Benjamin . 16 May 2024 . National Emergency Management Agency review highlights lack of well-trained staff to deal with severe weather events . 8 August 2024 . The New Zealand Herald.
  11. Web site: About the Ministry . https://web.archive.org/web/20170615104010/http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/about/about-the-ministry/ . 15 June 2017 . 19 September 2017 . Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.
  12. Web site: Emergency Mobile Alert. www.civildefence.govt.nz. en. 25 November 2019.
  13. News: Good morning! It's your 1.32am Civil Defence alert test. 3 October 2017. 25 November 2019. en-NZ. 1170-0777.