Surf Life Saving Northern Region says without NRC's funding contribution, paid patrols in peak periods are at risk. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Surf Life Saving Northern Region says without NRC's funding contribution, paid patrols in peak periods are at risk. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Northland emergency services say the regional council’s proposal to scrap their funding collected through rates could possibly result in the loss of lives.
In a bid to soften the blow to ratepayers, Northland Regional Council has cut funding contributions to emergency services and sporting facilities in its draft Long Term Plan 2024-2034. Instead it plans to funnel the money into core council functions such as its environmental work.
The region’s rescuers are hoping public consultation will resuscitate the crucial source of revenue.
Council collects $12 per household a year through its Emergency Services Rate which in turn generates $1.11 million annually for the Northland Rescue Helicopter, Surf Life Saving Northern Region, Hato Hone St John, Coastguard Northern Region, Northland and Far North Search and Rescue, and Far North Radio and Sea Rescue.
By removing the cost to ratepayers, council says there would be an 11.05 per cent total rates rise in the first year as opposed to 13.4 per cent if it were to stay included.
Surf Life Saving Northern Regional (SLSNR) general manager Zac Franich said the decision would have dire consequences, potentially resulting in the loss of lives.
The organisation receives between $220,000 and $230,000 a year from council which covers 90 per cent of the funding to place paid surf lifeguards on Northland beaches during weekdays in peak season, including Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Franich said losing the funding would severely impact operations.
“At its worst, only one week of paid lifeguard service would be able to be delivered across the region.”
Since Labour weekend, Northland’s surf lifeguards have saved 33 people from drowning and prevented 3934 situations from turning into emergencies.
NRC deputy chair Tui Shortland said council recognised the importance of the emergency services but that they are not core council business, such as caring for the environment, preparing for natural hazards and long-term effects of climate change, and pest control - of which councils were being asked to deliver more of, putting funding for activities outside of that scope under pressure.
Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) chair Paul Ahlers said if contributions stopped on June 30 this year as proposed by council then no time had been left to fill the $535,000 financial gap.
Around $1.2m of community funding had to be found each year to cover basic operation costs for the service. Half of the money needed is covered by NRC’s rates contribution.
“Under this scenario, NEST will almost certainly have to run under a deficit, and this will place us under tremendous financial pressure,” Ahlers said.
Coastguard Whangārei president Cherie Nelson said the proposal to cut contributions came completely out of the blue.
Northland’s nine Coastguard units receive roughly $84,000 a year from NRC, a lot of which covers PPE costs, keeping vessels in-survey, and prepared trainings.
Nelson was gutted emergency services could potentially lose 10 years’ worth of funding as the demand on Northland’s rescuers increased.
But Shortland said that wasn’t the case. Long Term Plans happen every three years and budgets are reviewed annually.
“Additionally funding is only ever approved for a three-year period - this funding was never guaranteed beyond June 2024.”
Nelson said the money would have to come from elsewhere and at a time when the financial landscape Kiwis faced had made fundraising tough.
“We’re back to competing with multiple organisations across the country and that dollar is definitely shrinking so that does also mean that maybe we have to cut something else in our service that we’re offering.”
Whangārei Coastguard vessel Circa Rescue searches the Town Basin for a missing Whangārei man back in 2021. Photo / NZME
Far North Radio & Sea Rescue president Annette Hall was stunned by the move.
The Far North’s only dedicated marine radio service, which is run by volunteers, received $18,000 from council in the past two years, which helped cover the cost of maintaining the service’s three repeaters.
Hall said they were grateful for the funding - the first they had received from council’s rates - as the average maintenance bill for each of the repeaters on Mt Camel and Tauroa Point was between $17,000 and $21,000 a year, and the Te Paki repeater cost $27,000.
Shortland said council wanted to fully understand the consequences from its proposal but was clear that relying on donations and contributions from the likes of local government was not sustainable.
Ahlers understood Northland households were under pressure - New Zealand officially entered a recession last week - but urged people to support the continuation of Emergency Services Rate.
“The NRC must listen to the community it serves,” he said.
