New Zealanders need to be prepared, says Hawkins

Many New Zealanders may have become complacent about preparing for disasters over recent years of relative calm but people needed to be on their guard, Civil Defence Minister George Hawkins said today.

Calling for submissions on a proposed Civil Defence Disaster Management Strategy, Mr Hawkins said people needed to build their awareness of what to do in an emergency.

"I think New Zealand has been lucky over the years that we haven't had too many serious Civil Defence emergencies. The last big one was (Cyclone) Bola and that was in March 1988," he told reporters in the Civil Defence emergency centre, based underneath the Beehive.

"However, there is one thing that is absolutely certain, there will be another one.

"Councils from throughout New Zealand will be having an input into the strategy, but I think it is really important that Mums and Dads say how they will manage with their families."

Mr Hawkins cited earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, floods and a lahar from Mt Ruapehu as immediate risks to New Zealanders.

"If we have an earthquake of the same magnitude as Napier did in the 1930s, it would cost Wellington about $6.8 billion in terms of residential housing alone.

"That shows you the size of the problem," he said.

Parliament last year passed laws revamping the civil defence structure that Mr Hawkins said was inadequate.

The Civil Defence Emergency Management Bill replaced the former arrangements spread over 86 local authorities with 14 civil defence emergency management groups based on regional boundaries.

Mr Hawkins said the 1983 legislation was replaced because it was outdated.

He released the strategy today and hoped there would be many submissions.

The new strategy would allow emergency services groups including police, Fire Service and local councils to work more effectively together, Police Commissioner Rob Robinson said.

There was also provision not just for natural disasters, but also for an appropriate response to the present-day threat of terrorism.

"What we now view as non-natural disasters have all the same dynamics as natural disasters. We have previously managed them as two separate streams of work. We now manage them as a response to an emergency event," Mr Robinson said.

"The same principles, the same philosophies apply and we can now call on a broader range of engaged agencies to work with."

Mr Hawkins and Civil Defence Director John Norton said people could help themselves to prepare for disasters.

They urged people to plan with neighbours and discuss options with family members.

"When you can plan together there is strength in that and there is also comfort in that. It's one of things Kiwis are always good at, pitching in," Mr Hawkins said.

He said people could get complacent over time, but at least New Zealanders still recognised the risks were real.

"I think that's one of the dangers any community has, when we haven't had a major disaster for some time," he said.

"The thing is these are shaky isles, earthquakes are all around. But New Zealanders don't say 'it won't happen to me'. They are realistic about it."

Submissions for the proposed strategy close on September 12.

- NZPA