Wagner NickyCIVIL DEFENCE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingHon NICKY WAGNER (Minister of Customs) on behalf of the Minister of Civil Defence: I move That the Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This bill was introduced in November 2015. I would like to start by acknowledging the Hon Nikki Kaye. She was the one who developed this bill and did a huge amount of work towards it and I am sure she would have liked to be here today for its final debate. Before I start I would like to thank parties across the House for their support of this bill. I would particularly like to thank the Government Administration Committee chaired by the Hon Ruth Dyson and all the members of that committee for their work on this bill. There were a number of changes recommended by the committee that have I think strengthened the bill. The bill recognises that more legislative tools are required to enable communities to recover from emergencies more efficiently and more effectively. The bill meets this need particularly in regard to small and medium events and of course these are the most frequent events and emergencies that we experience in New Zealand. But the bill is not limited to small and medium types of emergencies and can be used on a large-scale emergency—although hopefully we will not need it—until any bespoke legislation is created. The bill sends a clear signal that planning for recovery is important as historically the focus has been on preparing and responding to an emergency. Planning of course is extremely important and it is only with good plans that we can underpin good recovery. To summarise the key provisions I believe that they significantly support local communities. Firstly the bill provides for local civil defence emergency management groups made out of local councils to initiate formal transition periods. During these times group recovery managers on behalf of the community have access to powers designed to assist the recovery phase. These powers include things like the ability to close roads the ability to keep areas clear of the public and the ability to carry out any necessary works. Secondly the bill emphasises the need for civil defence emergency management groups and their communities to discuss and plan for recovery. Of course planning for recovery should always occur prior to an emergency and communities need to be part of that planning conversation. The planning for recovery requirements were strengthened during the Committee of the whole House debate by an amendment by Clare Curran and that was supported by all so I thank Clare Curran for that. The bill now provides that civil defence emergency management group plans must include strategic recovery planning. That makes it expressly clear that planning for recovery must be undertaken. There are also additional supporting provisions such as the ability for the Minister of Civil Defence to become involved if local communities lack capacity. Transition periods can also be initiated at a national level. The next steps: once the bill has been passed the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management will actively support the implementation of the bill and work with local groups and communities to make the most of its provisions in both planning for and responding to recovery activities. Finally I would like to thank all of those who have been involved in the development of this bill. It is a sensible approach. It is focused on increasing community resilience and on speeding up recovery after an emergency. It puts more tools in the tool kit for local communities and the Government and I commend this bill to the House.