6. Civil Defence—Disaster PreparednessRON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of Civil DefenceCivil Defence—Disaster Preparedness6. RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of Civil Defence: Can the Government assure New Zealanders on our level of preparedness for all natural disasters?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Acting Minister of Civil Defence): Yes I think the way that civil defence has responded so far indicates that although they would say that there is always more to learn and that each circumstance gives them that opportunity to improve. In New Zealand our approach is generally to act locally coordinate regionally and support nationally. I think that keeping those three things in mind as basic principles the civil defence organisation in New Zealand is able to respond appropriately in the first instance. The longer-term recovery is something that all of us will need to think about.Ron Mark: Does he have any concerns about reports of the 111 phone line and civil defence site crashing; if so what does he have in mind to address that problem?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I think the Government as a whole has a concern about how that happened. The situation is that it was off for about 30 minutes largely because like any other structure the 111 system is inside a building that was considered to be unsafe and they were asked to evacuate. Normally there would be a switchover to another site; in this case there was I understand some mistake and the switchover did not occur but when it was picked up it immediately happened. It is concerning but I can tell you that it is of even greater concern to the staff of the centre who are dedicated people and who do a great job in normal circumstances. I am sure that they will want to ensure that this does not happen again.Ron Mark: Has he been advised on the number of buildings in Wellington that are owned or occupied by Government agencies and emergency services that do not meet earthquake-strengthening requirements and how is that work progressing?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: As the Acting Minister of Civil Defence I have not been briefed on that at this point because the assessment post - yesterday morning is still continuing. Some of the buildings have been cleared for occupation as being safe for the purpose that they are intended; others are still under assessment and I would hope that by at the latest the latter part of next week we will have a very comprehensive understanding of those situations. But of course the safety of people in buildings is not confined just to civil servants; it is to everybody who works in the Wellington area in a commercial establishment. It is going to take a while to get through all of that.Ron Mark: Does he believe the tsunami threat was adequately and consistently communicated to the public in the affected areas?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: In the event I think it was. There have been some concerns expressed about the speed with which sirens were turned on in some areas. But in the end the decision about that does lie with local authorities. I think that if I were to pinpoint why there might have been a set of different decisions made it would be because of the lack of clarity of the information that came out in the first place. When you look at the information that came out for those who were issuing it it seemed perfectly clear. But given that this was a relatively new experience for New Zealand on this scale I think we have got to learn from those experiences and ensure that next time it is treated appropriately. Can I say that the response that we got from people was extraordinary. People did the right thing. They were inconvenienced in a number of cases because of traffic jams etc. but we would not want to get to a point where people become so blasé about a warning that they do not engage in some of the activity that ultimately causes them that inconvenience.Ron Mark: Has the Government had discussions with KiwiRail and Bluebridge about rerouting Cook Strait ferries to Lyttelton until such time as State Highway 1 and the Picton-Christchurch rail link are re-established?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The Minister of Transport has answered a question in the House indicating that a wide range of options are being considered by operators and the Government to ensure that freight continuity.Ron Mark: What preparations is the Government looking at to use young people who are not in employment or in education and other unemployed New Zealanders in the recovery and rebuild phase for this and any future natural disaster?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: There were very successful programmes put in place in Christchurch for young people and we are now a country that has very high levels of employment. Those people who are unemployed may well find opportunities that come out of a disaster like this. It is a little hard to pinpoint it specifically because at this point the extent of damage to buildings in Wellington is not known and other areas where there are smaller communities may well have the capacity to effect those repairs without any particular new labour force being brought in. So there is still some consideration needed in order to find exactly the extent of the problem that is faced and then decisions can be made after that.