Report to COUNCIL for noting

Transcription

1 Title: Section: Prepared by: Councillors Role in Civil Defence Emergency Management W Louise Bennett (Civil Defence Emergency Manager) Meeting Date: 1 December 2016 Legal Financial Significance = low Report to COUNCIL for noting SUMMARY Gisborne District Council is the Civil Defence and Emergency Group (CDEM Group) for the Gisborne District. It is responsible for comprehensive emergency management for the District. This report explains the roles of the Mayor and Councillors during an emergency, as well as the roles of other appointed positions. The Controller is the ultimate decision maker during an emergency and the Mayor and Councillors are under the Controller s jurisdiction for the time of the declaration. The Mayor s role is to declare a local emergency under the advice of the Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) comprising the Chief Executives of the Council and Tairāwhiti DHB, Area Commanders of Police and Fire Service, the Response, Recovery and Lifelines Managers as well as Council s Group Managers and Chief Executive of Te Runanganui O Ngati Porou and Te Runanga O Turanganui A Kiwa. In addition to providing leadership, the Mayor is likely to act as the official spokesperson during the emergency and is responsible for hosting government officials The primary roles of Councillors during an emergency are to keep the Mayor and Councillor upto-date with concerns and provide local knowledge to intelligence teams. The decisions or matters in this report are considered to be of low significance in accordance with the Council s Significance and Engagement Policy. RECOMMENDATIONS That the Council: 1. Notes the contents of this report. Authorised by: W Louise Bennett Civil Defence Emergency Manager Herman Koenders Acting Group Manager Operations Keywords: Councillors Role in Civil Defence, Declaration, Response and Recovery Page 1 of 6

2 BACKGROUND 1. The CDEM Group Vision is Resilient Tairawhiti Communities understanding and managing their risks and hazards. Tairawhiti Manahau Me hapori arotau me te whakahaere i nga morea me ngapumate a takiwa. 2. The goals are closely related to the drivers of the Group Plan and are directly drawn from the national goals described in the National CDEM Strategy and are attached as Appendix 1. DISCUSSION 4Rs of Civil Defence 3. The four Rs of civil defence are: Reduction Individuals and communities understand the risks they face and do what they can to reduce the impacts. Readiness Individuals and communities are ready to react when an event occurs. Response Resilience means communities managing their own response with coordinated support. Recovery Resilience means that CDEM and partner agencies support and guide individuals and communities to get back to normal as soon as possible. CDEM Group 4. Being a unitary authority the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (CDEM Group) is the Council and they provide risk management, leadership and commitment to community safety. 5. The Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act) requires the CDEM Group to: 6. Take an all hazards approach to improve and promote the sustainable management of hazards, enable communities to achieve acceptable levels of risk and plan and prepare for emergency response and recovery. 7. Be responsible for the preparation of this Plan, final approval and implementation. 8. Work together to achieve comprehensive emergency management within the Gisborne District. 9. The Management and Governance Section of the Group Plan has more about the role and legal requirement of the CDEM Group and is attached as Appendix 2. Page 2 of 6

3 10. Council, acting as the CDEM Group, has appointed various positions and bodies to perform its statutory responsibilities under the CDEM Act. The roles of the Mayor, Councillors and appointed positions during an emergency are explained below. Coordinating Executive Group 11. The appointment of CEG members (Council, DHB, Police and Fire) is set in the Act and other members such as the Response, Recovery and Lifelines Managers, Council s Group Managers and the Chief Executive of Te Runanganui O Ngati Porou and Te Runanga O Turanganui A Kiwa are co-opted on. 12. Their role is to provide advice to the Group (Council), implement the decisions of the Group and oversee all facets of the Group Plan. Role of the Mayor and District Councillors during an emergency 13. Councillors have tended not to hold positions in the Civil Defence organisation so they can keep a watching brief and not be tied down by operational responsibilities. If Councillors have a specific skill that they feel could be of use during an emergency, they should let this be known to the Mayor. 14. Rural Councillors should make themselves available to their Area Co-ordinator or Community Emergency Managers to provide assistance in their Areas. Most likely roles are: helping with the media, providing local knowledge to the Intelligence teams and relating any concerns to the Emergency Co-ordination Centre. 15. Urban Councillors are best utilised by keeping the Controller/Mayor up to date with any major concerns in the City. 16. In emergency events the Civil Defence Controller is the ultimate decision maker in terms of information, public statements and response actions and the Mayor and elected representatives are under the Controller s jurisdiction for the time of the declaration. 17. Declarations are only required if the powers and needed. A declaration gives the Controller powers to requisition equipment, supplies and property, evacuate or exclude people (the 2007 declaration was to keep people out during building inspections), enter property and close roads and public places. 18. Cost recovery is not dependent upon a state of emergency declared 19. The Controller is responsible for ensuring elected officials are regularly updated and kept informed of the situation. 20. During a declared emergency the Mayor s (or his deputy s) main responsibility will be to demonstrate leadership for their community and keep the public informed. They will also be the political spokesperson for the Council and host Cabinet Ministers and other key political and government officials. 21. The Mayor may act as the official spokesperson (to be agreed with the Controller) so needs to be supplied with accurate and timely information. As emergencies are fast moving and rapidly changing, especially in the initial stages, it may be easier for the Controller, Response Manager or PIM Manager to speak with the media until the Mayor is thoroughly briefed. Page 3 of 6

4 Group and Alternate Controllers 22. The Group delegates all of the powers of the Act to the persons appointed as Controllers. 23. Once a state of emergency is declared under the CDEM Act the Civil Defence Controller is the ultimate decision maker in terms of response and public information. The Mayor and elected representatives are under the Controller s jurisdiction for the time of the declaration and the Controller is responsible for ensuring elected officials are kept informed. 24. Council, acting as the CDEM Group, has appointed Peter Higgs as the Group Controller. The alternate is John Clarke. A report to this meeting is recommending that Patrick Willock and Ian Hunter also be appointed as Controllers. I, Louise Bennett, am the controller for small events (during large events my role is the Response Manager). Decision and Authority to Declare 25. In declaring a local state of emergency the Mayor (or his alternates) are advised by the CEG. Whether the full CEG needs to meet to advise the Mayor on the declaration will depend upon the time and type of disaster and the speed with which the decision needs to be made. 26. The declaration may be for a small area or the whole district (for example, the declaration for the 2007 Gisborne earthquake was limited to the central business district). 27. A declaration may be for up to seven days, but can be extended if required. 28. The decision to declare must be based upon whether there is a significant threat to life and/or property, that the normal response agencies cannot cope without the extra powers and that a declaration will make a difference. 29. The Group can also declare to support another Group in its response to an emergency. 30. Under the CDEM Act, a national state of emergency can be declared by the Governor General (made on recommendation of the Minister of Civil Defence Emergency management). A national, state of emergency was declared in Christchurch in A local state of emergency can be declared by the Mayor, or the Deputy Mayor in his absence. If both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are unavailable, the person acting as Mayor, or the first available committee chairperson, have authority to sign the declaration. Recovery Phase 32. Council, acting as the CDEM Group, will be involved in recovery however their main focus will return to business as usual. 33. The recovery phase will usually officially commence after a declaration of a state of emergency is lifted. However the Recovery Manager will have started work within the Emergency Coordination Centre as soon as the emergency event commences. 34. The Recovery Manager may brief the Mayor on potential recovery matters while the emergency is still in the response phase as the community and media will turn their focus on what next. 35. During the recovery phase the Mayor maybe asked to attend and participate in public meetings to provide information to and support affected communities. The Mayor is likely to be regularly contacted by the media and Government officials for comments on the recovery process. Continuous information and briefings will be necessary. Page 4 of 6

5 36. Councillors will also have an important role in communicating information to the community during the recovery phase. They may be asked to gather information on specific needs or pass on recovery information from the Council to the community. Group Recovery Manager 37. The CDEM Group has appointed John Clarke as the Group Recovery Manager to lead its recovery functions. Heather Kohn is his deputy. Group Welfare Manager 38. Penny Shaw is the appointed Group Welfare Manager. Her deputies are Lynne Campbell and Janet Steele. A number of the welfare functions sit under government departments and the DHBs. Civil Defence Centre 39. The Civil Defence Centre, previously known as the Welfare Centre, is managed by the Welfare Team during an emergency. It supports individuals, whanau and communities during the response and recovery phases of an emergency. For example, it may be used to organise accommodation for evacuated people or locate families. 35. The centre previously operated out of the Army Hall (during Cyclone Bola) but was relocated to the Lawson Field Theatre. The Salvation Army has agreed to let us use their Worship and Community Centre while the future of Lawson Field is decided. Community Link 36. Community Link is an arrangement unique to Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management and an integral part of our civil defence network. It is a group of volunteers spread throughout the District to provide a communication link between the Emergency Coordination Centre and their community. 37. Each area (as identified in Appendix 3) has an area coordinator: Gisborne (city and rural): vacant Te Araroa: Hal Hovell and his deputy is John Haerewa Waiapu: James Palmer and his deputies are Hori Hern and Dan Kawhia Uawa: Pop (James) Milner and his deputy is Nori Parata Waikohu: Ian Smith and his deputy is Dave Pikia Community Emergency Managers (CEMs) and Wardens sit under the Area Coordinators and report back any issues in their communities. 38. Each area operates from an Area Headquarters, which are local schools. These schools all have base radios which may be the only form of communications between the area and the Emergency Coordination Centre. 39. The area headquarters and community emergency centres are advertised in the back of the telephone books, on the Council website, signposted in the city area and well known in the rural areas. 40. Radio checks are undertaken each Monday during the school term to check the state of the radios. Page 5 of 6

6 Community Emergency Centre 41. These are centres in the community (mainly schools) that affected people can go to get help in the event of an emergency. Each centre has a radio to contact the Emergency Coordination Centre and is manned by the Community Emergency Managers and their staff. Many of the centres are signposted as welfare centres. 42. There can also be Community Led Centres that are established and operated by community based organisations or members and while they do not fall under CDEM direction they may work alongside CDEM led facilities. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Criteria This Report The Process Overall The effects on all or a large part of the Gisborne district Low Low The effects on individuals or specific communities Low Low The level or history of public interest in the matter or issue Low Low Inconsistency with Council s current strategy and policy Low Low Impacts on Council s delivery of its Financial Strategy and Long Term Plan. Low Low 43. The decisions or matters in this report are considered to be of low significance in accordance with Council s Significance and Engagement Policy. RISKS 43. Over the years the District has been affected by earthquakes (1966, 2007, 2016), tsunami (March and May 1947), flooding and landslips caused through heavy rain and cyclones (1906, 1948, 1977, 1985, 1988, 2002, 2005, 2015) and the man made hazards such as marine oil spill (2002) and infrastructure failure. 44. It is important that Councillors and Council staff are prepared and know their role in an emergency as events can happen at any time. APPENDICES Appendix 1 Goals of the Group Plan Appendix 2 Roles and Legal Requirements of the CDEM Group (Council) Appendix 3 Community Link Areas Page 6 of 6