Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1         Accepts the apologies from Deputy Mayor David Donaldson, Mayor Garry Webber and Commissioner Bill Wasley for lateness tendered at the meeting.

Love/Turner

CARRIED

Minute Note: An apology was received from Deputy Mayor Shona Browne after conclusion of the meeting.  

3.1

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee Minutes - 18 December 2020

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1         Confirms the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee Minutes - 18 December 2020 as a true and correct record.

Campbell/Turner

CARRIED

4.1

Confirmation of appointments to the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group Joint Committee and Delegation relating to CDEM declarations for Tauranga City Council

Emergency Management Bay of Plenty Director Clinton Naude presented the report.

Key Points - Members:

·          Welcomed Commissioner Chair Anne Tolley and Commissioner Bill Wasley to the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee

·          Noted that the powers conferred under section 25(5) of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to declare a state of local emergency or to give notice of a local transition period, that covered the district of Tauranga City Council, had been delegate to Commission Chair Anne Tolley, and in her absence Commissioner Bill Wasley.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1         Acknowledges receipt of the letter, “Confirmation of appointments to the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group Joint Committee and Delegation relating to CDEM declarations for Tauranga City Council ”, dated 10 March 2021 from Tauranga City Council;

2         Welcomes Tauranga City Council Representatives Commission Chair Anne Tolley and Commissioner Bill Wasley (Alternate) as members of the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee;

3         Notes the resolution passed by Tauranga City Council on 8 March 2021, pursuant to its powers under clause 32(1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002, to delegate to Commission Chair Anne Tolley, and in her absence Commissioner Bill Wasley, the powers conferred under section 25(5) of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to declare a state of local emergency, or give notice of a local transition period, that covers the district of Tauranga City Council.

Turner/Chadwick

CARRIED

4.2

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group - Controller and Recovery Manager Statutory Appointments

Emergency Management Bay of Plenty (EMBOP) Director Clinton Naude presented the report.

Key Point - Members:

·      Acknowledged the additional pressure that had been placed on EMBOP Director Clinton Naude who had been acting as Alternative Group Controller since the resignation of EMBOP Manager Operations, Angela Reade in January 2021.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1         Receives the report, Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group - Controller and Recovery Manager Statutory Appointments;

2         Approves the appointment of Mark Crowe as Alternative Group Controller for the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, as defined under s26(2) of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002;

3         Approves the appointment of Mike Avery as Local Controller, Whakatāne District Council for the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, as defined under s27(1) of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002;

4         Approves the appointment of Janelle Coradine as an Alternative Group Recovery Manager for the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, as defined under s29(2) of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.

Turner/Chadwick

CARRIED

5.1

Fire & Emergency New Zealand: Risk Management

Presentation 1_Fire & Emergency New Zealand - Risk Reduction Presentation by David Guard: Objective ID A3760563 ⇨

Tabled Document 1 - Tabled item - Item 8.1 - Fire and Emergency New Zealand - Risk Management - Information Booklet - Tabled Item: Objective ID A3760898 ⇨  

Presented by David Guard, Region Manager, Ngā Tai Ki Te Puku, Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

Key Points:

·      The FENZ Risk Reduction Strategy aimed at identifying/analysing long-term risks to human life and property; taking steps to eliminate risks and to reduce the magnitude of their impact/likelihood of them occurring

·      Focussed on risk reduction by applying the following priorities:

o  Leading the development of risk management best practice

o  Fostering a risk reduction culture and capability

o  Safer people, communities and environments

·      Reduced risk in the built environment/natural environment and worked with communities to understand what they needed, what their priorities were and how FENZ could support them

·      Improvement in Recovery

o  Recovery had been the least developed and practiced component of the 4Rs by fire organisations previously. It has often been considered to be a longer term and more complex component and the responsibility of other agencies

o  FENZ was working with partners such as the National Emergency Management Agency on major disasters and incidents, as FENZ often responded first and could have the greatest impact

o  Focussed on the effects after a fire to reduce the long term traumatic effects on the occupants, and to make contact in the community and work closely with them to get the people the help they needed in a more timely manner (i.e. first 24 hours)

·      FENZ was working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and partner agencies to establish Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facilities (MIQ) facilities

·      Have applied “lessons-learnt” from recent responses to the Beirut explosion – was working with WorkSafe to obtain a list of all Ammonium Nitrate stores in New Zealand and was conducting building fire safety surveys of these sites by Risk Reduction Advisors.

10:21 am – Commissioner Bill Wasley entered the meeting.

Key Points Members:

·      Community safety in Rotorua required a more co-ordinated approach, particularly with regards to intelligence sharing/timely identification of hotspots and enabling a coordinated response.  Since Rotorua Lakes Council was investigating the establishment of an emergency operational centre, the FENZ National Training Centre in Rotorua was a possible option, given the importance of FENZ’s involvement as a partner agency

·      Raised concerns about the fire risks posed by “bake-houses”, but noted that FENZ and the NZ Police were monitoring the situation in close liaison

·      Noted the long-awaited Lake Ōkāreka Volunteer Fire Station had been officially opened on 19 March 2021

·      Although FENZ’s Fire Permit System was moving online, there would always be staff available at the Contact Centre to provide one-on-one guidance

·      The impact of the Three Waters Reform Programme needed to align with the New Zealand Fire Service Fire Fighting Water Supplies Code of Practice to enable FENZ to have access to sufficient water supply during emergencies.  This high level principle needed to be taken into consideration when councils within the region reviewed the Three Waters Reform Programme

·      Data on people living with disabilities/vulnerable groups needed to be reviewed/updated by individual councils to provide agencies with relevant information to support these households during emergencies

·      Expressed concern about the lack of alignment between local councils’ boundaries/FENZ Regions/District Health Boards and NZ Police boundaries. Suggested that the alignment of boundaries would enable better planning/more effective response

·      Potential for a collaborative approach between FENZ and CDEM in supporting home fire safety planning and home preparedness.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1.    Receives the Presentation by David Guard, Region Manager, Ngā Tai Ki Te Puku, Fire & Emergency New Zealand, on Fire & Emergency New Zealand: Risk Management.

Love/Turner

CARRIED

5.2

COVID-19 Update

Presentation 2 - COVID-19 Update: Objective ID A3760565 ⇨  

Presented by Dr Phil Shoemack – Medical Officer of Health, Toi Te Ora Public Health; Helen De Vere - COVID-19 Response Manager - Bay of Plenty District Health Board and Gary Lees - Incident Management Team Controller, Lakes District Health Board.

Key Points:

·      The health boundaries for Toi Te Ora Public Health in the Bay of Plenty (Bay of Plenty District Health Board and Lakes District Health Board) aligned with local councils’ boundaries and covered a population of +350 000

·      Provided COVID-19 statistics as at March 2021, locally and internationally

·      Ongoing action and readiness was required as an outbreak could occur any time

·      Outlined the New Zealand (NZ) COVID-19 Vaccine Plan

·      NZ COVID Vaccine Roll-out Summary and Plan

o  Provided examples of ways in which councils and Civil Defence could support the roll-out via: Leadership, Community engagement, and Logistics

·      Provided detailed plans of action for roll-out by both Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Boards.

Key Points Members:

·      Highlighted the importance of a unified message to communities to get vaccinated as an important step to protect the welfare and wellbeing of themselves, their whānau and our communities

·      Suggested that involving kaumātua to help support the COVID-19 Vaccine Programme would help combat misinformation and conspiracy theories

·      Noted that the annual flu vaccination programme would still be rolled out as per usual, in addition to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1.    Receives the Presentation “COVID-19 Update”; and

2.    Endorses the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme for all people in the Bay of Plenty Region and supports a joint press release/communication in support of the roll-out.

Love/Riesterer

CARRIED

5.3

Update - National Emergency Management Agency

Presentation 3 Jane Rollin - NEMA BoP Joint Committee: Objective ID A3760567 ⇨  

Presented by Jane Röllin - Senior Regional Emergency Management Advisor, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

Key Points:

·        NEMA structure/NEMA Senior Leadership Team as at 22 February 2021

·        NEMA strategic framework

o    Has been informed by more than a year of conversations with NEMA staff, partners and stakeholders

o    Reflected the direction NEMA needed to move towards to contribute to the Government’s vision for Aotearoa New Zealand’s emergency management system

o    Included standard components, such as purpose and vision statements, descriptions of role, functions and strategic outcomes, values and key partners

o    Key partners who helped achieve the vision included Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, Iwi Māori, Emergency Services, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Science and Disaster Risk Management experts

·        Development of the Regulatory Review “Trifecta” Programme aligned the content and outcomes of three key projects: (Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002/National CDEM Plan (Order) 2015/National Disaster Resilience Strategy (NDRS) roadmap) with the shared purpose of strengthening the Emergency Management System

o    The Programme would ensure the Plan, Act and NDRS roadmap were aligned in content and outcomes

o    The project would undertake the policy development and manage the process to develop a CDEM Act Amendment Bill

o    Amendments to the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act were part of the response to the Technical Advisory Group’s (TAG) recommendations “Delivering better responses to natural disasters and other emergencies”

o    Since the Government’s response to the TAG, there had been a number of emergencies, such as COVID-19, that have also provided lessons that would inform this work

o    Subject to Ministerial and Cabinet decisions, the Bill would be introduced to the House by the end of 2021

o    The Plan/Guide and Roadmap would be developed in parallel to the policy work on the Bill, with final consultation and publication following the passage of the Bill

·        Iwi Māori engagement process

o    Iwi Māori continued to make valuable contributions to emergency responses and recoveries, with their strong local connections, knowledge, influence, manaakitanga and support for the hauora of communities under stress

o    There was a strong mutual commitment by NEMA and iwi Māori to build on momentum from recent emergencies

·        Planning priorities for 2021 and beyond included:

o    Trifecta Programme

o    Regionalisation of national plans

o    National Response Framework

o    National Earthquake and Tsunami Plan

o    National Volcanic Plan

o    Regional planning support to AF8 (Alpine Fault Magnitude 8); Hikurangi Earthquake and Tsunami; Taranaki Volcanic planning

o    CDEM Group Plans, support to the reviews under the CDEM Act

·        National Emergency Management Conference scheduled for 26 - 27 May 2021: The theme for this year’s conference was “Building Safe and Resilient Communities: The Future of the Emergency Management System”.

Key Point Members:

·        Highlighted the importance of the navigator role in the recovery phase and noted that the Recovery Team at NEMA was currently running workshops on the topic and that the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group has a resilience fund application pending as part of a process of developing a manual for Navigators.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1.    Receives the verbal update by Jane Röllin, Senior Regional Emergency Management Advisor, National Emergency Management Agency.

Love/Turner

CARRIED

5.4

Update - Director Emergency Management Bay of Plenty

Presentation 4 Emergency Management - Directors Update - Joint Committee - 2021-03-19: Objective ID A3760568 ⇨

Presentation 5 BOP CDEM 2021 East Cape earthquake  Brad Scott GNS: Objective ID A3760571 ⇨   

Emergency Management Bay of Plenty (EMBOP) Director Clinton Naude provided an update on recent/ongoing events in the Bay of Plenty Region and the impact thereof on EMBOP’s resourcing as subsequent ongoing reviews, debriefs and improvements were required.  Brad Scott - Volcanologist, GNS Science Te Pū Ao provided an update on the science of the 5 March 2021 Earthquakes:

Key Points – EMBOP:

·      COVID-19 Update

o  All of New Zealand was currently at Alert Level 1.  EMBOP’s Resurgence Coordination Plan was in place but required an on-going focus/review to keep the plan updated in the current dynamic environment

o  The border for the Bay of Plenty region would ultimately be determined by Cabinet should the region be placed in a lock-down to manage the movement of the population; this would be event specific.  Management of the borders would be led by NZ Police

o  The National Warning Alert System was a separate system from the Emergency Mobile Alert sent to the general public, and was a sector alerting tool, which included communicating with Mayors/Chairs.  Mayors/Chairs in the Bay of Plenty with regards to the specific COVID-19 National Warning Alert System List

·      Whakaari/White Island – currently at Volcanic Alert Level 1, aviation code green

o  Received positive feedback/praise for the memorial service held in Whakatane for the 22 people who died in the Whakaari/White Island Event

o  WorkSafe prosecution was currently ongoing

o  Coroner’s inquest was still pending

o  EMBOP was continuously challenged with LGOIMA requests.  Within the current ongoing legal process, this was particularly time consuming

o  Currently moving into a transition phase for Whakaari/White Island recovery; EMBOP would be moving away from a co-ordinating role, returning responsibilities for ongoing recovery activities to individual agencies.  A report in this regard would be submitted to the Joint Committee in due course

o  At the 2020 Annual EMPA Awards Ceremony in Wellington, the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group received an EMPA award for Recovery in recognition of work following the Whakaari eruption. In announcing the award, EMPA gave special acknowledgement to BOPRC’s Kay Boreham who was seconded to the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group and led the communications for Whakaari

·      5 March 2021 Earthquakes

o  Provided a timeline for the Friday 5th March 2021 Earthquakes and Tsunami sequence

o  It was an excellent learning opportunity as it happened within a realistic environment.  A co-ordinated debriefing of the event, involving all agencies, is in progress

o  The event was successful, as the mission to keep all safe, had been accomplished

·      Reminded members that, as determined by the Ministry for Primary Industries, all of the North Island was still classified as experiencing a drought (large-scale adverse event)

o  There was ongoing monitoring of the impact on communities

o  Bay of Plenty Regional Council dry weather management procedures: Current classification: Rotorua Focus Zone at Level 2 (Impending water shortage - reduced stream flows and groundwater levels) and rest of Bay of Plenty at Level 1 (Normal water availability - Low rainfall, stream flows and soil moisture dropping).

Key Points Members:

·      Raised concern about the timing of closing the Auckland borders during the recent February 2021 level three lockdown as this allowed members of the community the opportunity to leave the region to go to batches outside of the Auckland Region.  Posing a risk, this matter should be considered in future decision making processes

·      Commended Rotorua and Kawerau Councils for activating support systems during the 5 March 2021 Earthquakes to ensure they would be ready to support the coastal areas in the event of an escalation.

Key Points – Brad Scott, GNS Science on the 2021 East Cape Earthquake:

·      Three large earthquakes occurred offshore New Zealand beginning with a M7.3 East Cape earthquake felt widely across the country. This was then followed a few hours later by a M7.4 and M8.1 earthquake in the Kermadec Islands

·      All three quakes caused tsunamis

·      Explained the driving force and plate boundary processes

·      GNS Science researchers were digging into the data to find out more about the massive forces that caused them

·      Resulted in ground deformation

·      East Cape 2021 earthquake detail

·      Post event Science / Rupture details

·      Tsunamis

o  It was extremely rare for three earthquakes in quick succession to generate three tsunamis that then combined in complicated ways to impact on one country

o  Having a large amount of new data to work with was going to be very useful in advancing the understanding of the threat tsunamis pose to New Zealand

o  GeoNet would be investigating how much the seafloor was deformed by each of the three earthquakes. This would add to the understanding of both the seismic and tsunami hazard faced by Aotearoa New Zealand

o  The continued seismic activity being experienced was very much in line with what would be expected following a significant earthquake

·      Earthquake forecasts were available on GeoNet’s website:

https://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/forecast/about

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1.    Receives the Update - Director Emergency Management Bay of Plenty.

Love/Chadwick

CARRIED

5.5

Update on the Group Emergency Coordination Centre

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana (BOPRC) General Manager, Regulatory Services Sarah Omundsen presented the report.

Key Points:

·      BOPRC was responsible for providing a Group Emergency Coordination Centre (GECC), to accommodate the Groups’ emergency response team

·      A legal review of GECC requirements and a risk resilience review had recently been carried out, leading to the decision to accommodate the GECC in Regional Council’s existing building, Regional House. The GECC would be located in an area within the building which would be fitted out specifically to meet the GECC operational requirements

·      Updated the Committee on the investigations that were undertaken to inform this decision

·      Detailed design work for the GECC had commenced, with completion of the facility due in late 2021.

Key Points Members:

·      Supported the concept of the GECC facility to be accommodated within Regional House in Tauranga

·      Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) was concerned about an increase in anti-social and criminal behaviour that was affecting residents and visitors’ experiences. Accordingly the RLC’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan had included an option of developing a Co-ordination Emergency Operations Centre to facilitate communication and shared intelligence/response between key stakeholders/agencies.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:

1         Receives the report, Update on the Group Emergency Coordination Centre.

Turner/Chadwick

CARRIED