“The Mayor’s Office will fully co-operate with the review and expects other agencies to do the same, including by providing the review with whatever information it requests,” the office said in a statement this afternoon.
Bush will be joined on the four-member review panel by Gary Knowles, who led the Pike River Mine disaster response for police and was the former director of Civil Defence. Other members are Debbie Francis, the former chief people officer at the New Zealand Defence Force, who has served as an independent investigator into workplace culture at Parliament, and Michael Paki, a former police sergeant and senior investigator who served as head of iwi and community relations at Counties Manukau.
While cognisant that the disaster response is still taking place, the group intends to issue a public report by March 6, one month from now.
The panel’s budget will start at $100,000 but additional funds may be negotiated if needed, the mayor’s office said.
In announcing the review panel and its function, Brown acknowledged again that the response was not up to standard.
“As I said on Friday, I dropped the ball the night of 27 January, especially with my communication, and I am sorry,” he said in a statement today.
“All our decisions and actions must be reviewed thoroughly, and clear and direct recommendations made so that we all do better for Aucklanders next time. Time is of the essence – with climate change, we do not know when [or] how soon the next severe weather event or other civil-defence emergency might occur.”
The review will be the first but is unlikely the last into the storm response, Brown said, predicting that others might be ordered by Government.
Among other questions, the panel will specifically consider:
- Should the state of local emergency have been recommended and approved earlier than it was; and, if so, when and why, and why did this not happen; and what were the consequences?
- How effective and timely were related communications, including declarations and alerts, with partner agencies, central government, elected members (including the mayor) and the public?
Councillor Sharon Stewart, chair of Auckland Council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management Committee, said she welcomed the review.
“Everyone needs to do better,” she said in a statement. “... The committee and I are looking forward to these independent insights from Mr Bush and his team into how we can all do better.”
Auckland Councillor Daniel Newman said the announcement of an inquiry into the immediate response was a welcome move.
“The terms of reference have been based on Mr Bush’s advice and will be helpful in understanding the gaps in the initial response as well as identifying any actions that need to be implemented immediately to improve the council’s preparedness for the next event.
“Alongside this review, Auckland Council’s ability to effectively lead the region’s readiness, response and recovery tasks when civil defence emergencies occur will need to be further examined. This is essential as we work to repair our broken region.”
Newman said the findings would help identify the root cause of some of the problems that occurred when the storm hit.
