Independent review into Civil Defence response must not be written off

Labour’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management spokesperson Lianne Dalziel says that she is disappointed that the Government has not only taken three months to release the independent review of the Civil Defence earthquake response, but also already decided what the response should be without any consultation.

“This the most comprehensive and significant report into lessons learned so far and yet the Government has sat on it for three months and released it along with their response without any wider input.  This report raises serious issues and contains incredibly important recommendations that cross political boundaries.

“We all need to learn the lessons of what has occurred and play a role in establishing the best approach to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.

“I am disappointed that the Government has simply ruled out transferring the response responsibility to the regional CDEM groups, particularly as it found that local emergency management in Christchurch was “dysfunctionally divided” at the time, something which put property and lives at risk.

“The report shows that the emergency services responded magnificently  to a crisis that was in many ways overwhelming.

“But it also highlighted the critical role of volunteers, who carried out many rescues and provided much of the assistance in the first few hours, as well as the role of  local communities who played a central role in providing support. We must follow its recommendations that any future disasters link community organisations and volunteers to the official response effort.

Lianne Dalziel said that it was also disappointing that the Government decided to stop the review’s terms of reference at the point at which they decided the form of the recovery authority, which established top-down political leadership of the recovery as opposed to engaging and inclusive leadership.

The Government continues to want to avoid any scrutiny of the decision to establish a government department in Christchurch without the layer of governance that best practice would demand,” says Lianne Dalziel.