The new year is set to bring the start of a transformational shift to Hawke’s Bay’s approach to civil defence and emergency management, with the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (HBCDEM) Transformation Strategy due to be adopted in a public meeting at the end of the month.

The Transformation Strategy, now in its final stages of development, focuses on delivering a three-year overhaul of the region’s approach to emergency management, the HBCDEM Joint Committee said.

“At the heart of the Transformation Strategy is our vision that together, as a community, we create a safe, informed, and resilient Hawke’s Bay that is prepared for, responds to, and recovers from emergencies and disasters well.

“We’re well aware that ‘civil defence’ is all of us, and that our community is at the heart of our civil defence system. For our new Strategy to be truly transformational, we need to focus on building stronger connections, we need to trust and empower local voices, and we need to enhance collaboration across the region – and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Transformation Strategy was created off the back of the March 2024 Independent Review into the HBCDEM Group’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle, which made more than 70 recommendations to improve the region’s approach to emergency management, says the Joint Committee.

“The Independent Review, led by former Commissioner of NZ Police, Mike Bush from Bush International Consulting, was tasked with identifying a range of learnings and opportunities to improve resilience for future events. The Review’s recommendations were reinforced by other national reviews, including Sir Jerry Mateparae’s Government Inquiry, which identified a number of findings consistent with the HBCDEM Group Review,” the Joint Committee said.

“When the Independent Review was released, the Joint Committee not only fully accepted all of the findings, it also committed to a complete overhaul of the region’s approach to emergency management and to ensuring those recommendations could be used wherever possible to strengthen Hawke’s Bay’s readiness and response capabilities for the future.

“This new Transformation Strategy and associated implementation plans are the tangible output of that commitment to a complete overhaul and, once finalised and adopted, these guiding documents will ensure the HBCDEM Group has the vision, structure and resourcing required to hit the ground running in 2025 and beyond.”

Joint Committee members acknowledged the significant amount of work that has already occurred, directly improving the region’s immediate civil defence capabilities.

“This includes the 53 Community Emergency Hubs established across the region, with an additional 41 in progress, the 24 Community Response Plans under development, with a further 2 already completed, and the more than 700 coordination centre staff, volunteers and partner agency representatives who have completed initial emergency management training with the support of the HBCDEM Group, all of which will form a key component of the Transformation Strategy’s implementation.”

In recognising the considerable effort that has gone into the numerous reviews ratified by HBCDEM, the Joint Committee acknowledged the huge amount of work ahead to ensure the reviews’ recommendations are listened to and actioned meaningfully.

“Whilst the improvements made to date are significant, the communities of Hawke’s Bay can – and should – expect more, which is why we’ve been so clear about our commitment to delivering transformational change.

“For the Committee, we’re really clear on what success looks like. This is about ensuring that the community is at the heart of a civil defence system that rebalances its capabilities from the bottom up – community, local and regional – and that those community, local and regional capabilities are capable of responding to an emergency event for a lengthy period of time. This is about ensuring mana whenua see themselves inside the civil defence system, that their voice is heard, and their insights are listened to, and that the system responds to their perspectives and needs.

“From an operational perspective, the Strategy includes a complete review of all HBCDEM infrastructure and assets, with business cases for investment submitted as part of the 2027 local government Long Term Plan consultation process. This will include the investment required to ensure the civil defence system has the necessary emergency management plans to enhance local and regional preparation for emergency events, and that these plans are supported by clear roles and responsibilities and functioning Service Level Agreements that enhance the performance of the HBCDEM system.”

Once adopted, implementation of the Strategy will be led by recently appointed HBCDEM Transformation Director, Matt Boggs, who joined the Group on a fixed-term basis in August 2024.

“From the outset, we made it clear that this is not about incremental change, but rather a complete overhaul of the way in which we approach emergency management in Hawke’s Bay. As a region, it is critical that the learnings, opportunities, and recommendations identified through the review process result in the delivery of visible and meaningful change, and that the Group is fully resourced to enable this change to occur,” the Joint Committee said.

“In his role as Transformation Director, Matt has been tasked with working alongside the CDEM Coordinating Executive Group and Council partners and leading the development of a clear, prioritised action plan to transform the HBCDEM system.

“While there are no silver bullets, we must not lose sight of the fact that this important mahi is about creating a safer, more informed, and resilient Hawke’s Bay that is prepared for, responds to, and recovers from emergencies and disasters in the future.”

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