00:09
So in the last topic, we talked about the evolution of
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emergency management.
00:12
Let's now turn to looking at the application of emergency
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management in a legislative context.
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In this case, we're going to use New
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Zealand as a case study.
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What, though, might international best practise
00:24
and emergency management legislation look like?
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Well, it should start from the risks that the nation that the
00:31
legislation is being applied to needs to take into account.
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It should link to other legislation so that we take
00:38
the comprehensive, collaborative approach that
00:40
was suggested in previous topics.
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It should link at least to land-use planning, to building
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legislation so that we can build in resilience to future
00:51
construction within our communities.
00:53
It should link to health and safety legislation and other
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pieces of legislation that might apply to risk
00:59
understanding, risk reduction, et cetera in that context.
01:04
It should talk about a sustainable management of
01:06
hazards and risks, not just dealing with them
01:10
individually, but doing so in a way that means we contribute
01:13
to a more sustainable community, economy, and
01:15
environment into the future.
01:17
It needs a collaborative approach across all of these
01:20
legislative and responsibility disciplines so that we get the
01:24
best out of the opportunities when legislation is developed.
01:28
It needs to take that risk-based approach to finding
01:32
opportunities, to bring about reduction, enhancing
01:34
readiness, enhancing response, and bringing about most
01:37
effective recovery.
01:39
So let's have a look at the New Zealand context.
01:42
Within New Zealand, with the Civil Defence Emergency
01:43
Management Act, which was introduced in 2002, replacing
01:47
previous Civil Defence Act of 1993, a comprehensive
01:51
definition of emergency is applied.
01:54
And that is anything, any natural hazard or any other
01:57
event that might threaten the safety of individuals or
02:02
communities, could bring about loss of life, could cause
02:05
illness or distress, or in any other way endangers public
02:08
safety or property, and that cannot be dealt with
02:13
effectively by emergency services attempting to do so
02:17
on their own.
02:19
And therefore any event that may require a significant
02:22
coordinated response.
02:23
Again, coordination is the key.
02:27
Emergency management, in the broad sense, in the Civil
02:29
Defense Emergency Management Act, talks about the
02:32
application of knowledge, measures, and practise
02:35
necessary or desirable to bring about public safety.
02:38
It's designed to protect against the risks that we
02:42
face, to prevent, reduce, overcome any hazard or harm
02:47
that may be associated with an emergency.
02:50
And it includes planning, organisation, coordination,
02:53
and implementation of those measures,
02:56
knowledge, and practise.
02:57
So again, a comprehensive approach.
03:00
Within the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act are
03:03
included a range of obligations.
03:06
It includes obligations for government departments to be
03:08
involved in emergency management and then specifies
03:11
some of those responsibilities.
03:14
It talks about the roles and obligations of regional and
03:16
local authorities, local government being closest to
03:19
communities having a critical role in emergency management.
03:23
It outlines the obligations and responsibilities of
03:26
emergency services, including hospital and health services,
03:30
both public and private health services.
03:34
It puts responsibilities and obligations in place for
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critical infrastructure, particularly as we are
03:39
becoming more dependent on those within communities and
03:41
will do so increasingly into the future.
03:45
It also provides an obligation on the part of communities to
03:49
be involved in emergency management in that
03:51
comprehensive sense that we've talked about through this
03:54
course so far.
03:55
The obligations that the Civil Defense Emergency Management
03:57
Act talks about include a collaborative approach to
04:00
understanding the hazards and risks that we face, working
04:03
together to reduce the risks and build resilience in
04:06
organisations and in communities.
04:09
It's a collaborative approach to planning and preparing for
04:12
emergencies.
04:14
It's about being collaborative when we respond and being
04:17
collaborative when we attempt to recover from
04:19
emergencies as well.
04:21
And it's about working collaboratively to ensure that
04:23
our communities can achieve an acceptable level of risk.
04:26
It doesn't mean we can avoid or
04:29
eliminate all risks entirely.
04:30
But at least we can assist communities in reaching a
04:33
level that they are comfortable with and able to
04:35
deal with into the future.
04:37
Risk management is an absolutely critical part of
04:39
emergency management.
04:40
And it's not just the Civil Defence Emergency Management
04:42
Act in New Zealand that delivers on the risk
04:44
management objective.
04:47
The Local Government Act in New Zealand, brought in at the
04:49
same time as the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act,
04:51
requires local authorities to avoid and
04:53
mitigate impacts of hazards.
04:56
That's within themselves and their own organisations and
04:58
also within the communities.
05:01
The Resource Management Act of 1991 requires local and
05:04
regional authorities to identify the hazards that
05:06
their communities face, to plan for and manage to avoid
05:11
or mitigate those hazards and risks, and it requires them to
05:14
do so within their plans, so as their land management
05:17
plans, their water management plans, air management plans.
05:21
And when organisations or individuals apply for consents
05:24
for activities that might have elements of risk within them
05:27
or exposure to risk.
05:29
The Health and Safety in Employment Act is another
05:31
mechanism of reducing risk within our communities and
05:35
managing risk.
05:36
So that talks about avoiding, remedying, and mitigating
05:39
hazards in workplaces for both workers and the public.
05:43
This is common not just in New Zealand but in most
05:45
jurisdictions.
05:48
The Building Act of 2004 puts in place building standards,
05:52
licencing and construction standards, and focuses on the
05:57
safety of users and the communities in relation to the
06:00
structures that are put in place under that act.
06:02
That legislation in New Zealand has been significantly
06:04
enhanced since the earthquakes we've experienced over the
06:07
last few years.
06:09
The Civil Defence Emergency Management Act, though, also
06:11
includes business continuity and gives it a lot more
06:15
emphasis than it previously did under the 1986 civil
06:17
defence legislation.
06:19
It requires all organisations to provide for service
06:24
continuity during and after emergencies.
06:27
This is both government, local government, and critical
06:30
infrastructure providers.
06:33
Take into account the effects of the emergency.
06:36
So they need to be able to deliver their services during
06:39
and after emergencies, but take into account
06:41
the effects of it.
06:42
So they may need to have a plan B and a plan C. It
06:46
requires business continuity planning and business
06:49
continuity practise.
06:52
Increasingly, there is monitoring and review to
06:54
ensure that business continuity is provided for
06:57
sufficiently within those organisations with obligations
07:00
under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act.
07:02
From looking at [INAUDIBLE]
07:03
sort of best practise for emergency management with a
07:05
case study in New Zealand, let's now move to the next
07:08
topic and look at the legal format for emergency
07:11
management in a more general sense.