28 March 2012

Wellington Region Emergency Management Office moves a step closer

Integrated Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) for the Wellington region has moved a step closer with agreement from the region’s Councils to support a plan for existing staff and resources to be brought together into one organisation.

“A new structure for civil defence in this region will be in place from 1 July,” Kapiti Mayor and Chair of the Wellington Region CDEM Group, Jenny Rowan said.

“Currently the region’s civil defence emergency management staff are employed directly by cities, districts or the regional council. Under the new one team approach these people will restructure into a single organisation, providing an Emergency Management service across all nine councils. This is important as disasters tend not to follow council boundaries and many residents live in one area and work in another.

“While the new team will be ‘home based’ in Wellington and Hutt Valley, staff will continue to live and work throughout the region conducting the same tasks, only this time in a more coordinated manner. Managing community networks from within each community is seen as the key to the new distributed approach.

“In the event of an emergency, CDEM along with council staff will respond from the network of Emergency Operations Centres spread across the region. Should the emergency be localised, resources can be redirected to provide additional support to the area concerned. This will ensure the region gets maximum value for its Civil Defence investment,” Jenny Rowan said.

“The new arrangements will also see greater emphasis placed on building resilience in our communities. Recent experience has shown that those parts of society that have robust business continuity plans and are prepared, tend to be better able to respond in an emergency and also take less time to recover. This applies equally to both businesses and families.

“Sadly not all have heeded past warnings and I would urge us all to take the time to think of our own situation and what may be at stake. Helping the community to help itself will definitely be a major focus for the new organisation,” she said.

“The new team will also allow common systems to be employed across the region and this along with the introduction of new software being sponsored by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management will allow responses to be better targeted at the needs of the community.

“This new integrated structure is an example of how councils in the Wellington region can work together to provide essential services more effectively and efficiently,” Jenny Rowan said.

ENDS

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