National Emergency Management Agency (New Zealand)

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The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA; 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 the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC).[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]

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Many communities and CDEM (Civil Defence Emergency Management) agencies were not adequately prepared, communication and warnings were non-existent or insufficient, and the capability and capacity of people and infrastructure was overestimated or lacking.

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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]

  • 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 1Script error: No such module "String".am.[12][13]

List of ministers for emergency management

Key

Template:Legend inline Template:Legend inline Template:Legend inline Template:Legend inline

No. Name Portrait Term of office Prime Minister
style="background:Template:Party color"| 1 William Bodkin File:William Bodkin, 1935.jpg 30 June 1942 2 October 1942 style="background:Template:Party color"| Fraser
(in the War Administration)
style="background:Template:Party color"| 2 David Wilson File:David Wilson MLC.jpg 30 October 1942 12 April 1944 style="background:Template:Party color"| Fraser
1944–1959: See Minister of Internal Affairs
style="background:Template:Party color"| 3 Bill Anderton File:Bill Anderton 1958.jpg 24 June 1959 12 December 1960 style="background:Template:Party color"| Nash
style="background:Template:Party color"| 4 Leon Götz File:Leon Götz.jpg 12 December 1960 20 December 1963 rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"| Holyoake
style="background:Template:Party color"| 5 David Seath File:David Seath.jpg 20 December 1963 9 February 1972
style="background:Template:Party color"| 6 Allan Highet File:EP-NZ Obits-H-Highet Allan-tn.jpg 9 February 1972 8 December 1972 style="background:Template:Party color"| Marshall
style="background:Template:Party color"| 7 Tom McGuigan File:Tom McGuigan.jpg 8 December 1972 10 September 1974 style="background:Template:Party color"| Kirk
style="background:Template:Party color"| 8 Henry May File:Henry May.jpg 10 September 1974 12 December 1975 style="background:Template:Party color"| Rowling
style="background:Template:Party color"| (6) Allan Highet File:EP-NZ Obits-H-Highet Allan-tn.jpg 12 December 1975 26 July 1984 style="background:Template:Party color"| Muldoon
style="background:Template:Party color"| 9 Peter Tapsell File:Peter Tapsell (cropped).jpg 26 July 1984 24 July 1987 rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"| Lange
height=50 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| 10 Michael Bassett File:Michael Bassett, 1969.jpg 24 July 1987 9 February 1990
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"| Palmer
height=50 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| 11 Margaret Austin File:Margaret Austin 2012.jpg 9 February 1990 2 November 1990
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| Moore
style="background:Template:Party color"| 12 Graeme Lee File:Graeme Lee crop.jpg 2 November 1990 29 November 1993 rowspan=5 style="background:Template:Party color"| Bolger
style="background:Template:Party color"| 13 Warren Cooper File:Warren Cooper 1983.jpg 29 November 1993 1 March 1996
style="background:Template:Party color"| 14 John Banks File:John Banks.jpg 1 March 1996 1 November 1996
style="background:Template:Party color"| 15 Murray McCully File:Murray McCully November 2016.jpg 1 November 1996 16 December 1996
height=30px style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| 16 Jack Elder File:No image.png 16 December 1996 10 December 1999
height=15px style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"| Shipley
style="background:Template:Party color"|
style="background:Template:Party color"| 17 George Hawkins File:George Hawkins.jpg 16 December 1999 19 October 2005 rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"| Clark
style="background:Template:Party color"| 18 Rick Barker File:Rick Barker.jpg 19 October 2005 19 November 2008
style="background:Template:Party color"| 19 John Carter File:John.Carter.Kerikeri.2016.JPG 19 November 2008 8 June 2011 rowspan=4 style="background:Template:Party color"| Key
style="background:Template:Party color"| 20 Craig Foss 8 June 2011 14 December 2011
style="background:Template:Party color"| 21 Chris Tremain File:Chris Tremain.jpg 14 December 2011 30 January 2013
height=70 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| 22 Nikki Kaye File:Nikki Kaye NZgovt cropped.jpg 30 January 2013 20 December 2016
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| rowspan=3 style="background:Template:Party color"| English
style="background:Template:Party color"| 23 Gerry Brownlee File:Gerry Brownlee 2017.jpg 20 December 2016 2 May 2017
style="background:Template:Party color"| 24 Nathan Guy File:Minister Nathan Guy - photo.jpg 2 May 2017 26 October 2017
style="background:Template:Party color"| 25 Kris Faafoi File:Hon Kris Faafoi.jpg 26 October 2017 27 June 2019 rowspan=4 style="background:Template:Party color"| Ardern
style="background:Template:Party color"| 26 Peeni Henare File:Peeni Henare.jpg 27 June 2019 6 November 2020
style="background:Template:Party color"| 27 Kiri Allan File:Kiri Allan.jpg 6 November 2020 14 June 2022
height=40 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| 28 Kieran McAnulty File:Kieran McAnulty.jpg 14 June 2022 27 November 2023
height=25 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| Hipkins
style="background:Template:Party color"| 29 Mark Mitchell File:Mark Mitchell (cropped).png 27 November 2023 present style="background:Template:Party color"| Luxon

See also

References

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External links

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