From Response to Resilience: Emergency Management Reform in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand is currently reforming its emergency management structures and frameworks. The aim of the reform is to shift the focus from responding to emergencies once they have occurred, to managing the risks each community is subject to, and creating resilient communities. The newly established Ministry for Emergency Management aims to link together existing processes involved in land-use management, risk (hazard) reduction, and sustainable development, in a way that supports economic and social development, on the one hand, and reduces social and economic risk on the other. In doing so, a comprehensive approach is being taken to address the legislative framework; local government structures; training, education, and research sectors available to emergency management practitioners. This paper outlines the reforms, placing them within the context of the risks New Zealand is subjected to, as well as the wider reform of most sectors of the economy since the 1980s.