National to improve civil defence capabilities

National’s civil defence policy will improve the effectiveness of New Zealand’s civil defence capabilities and strengthen our communities so they can better cope with the natural hazards they face, says National’s Civil Defence spokesman, John Carter.

“We need to ensure that our communities are prepared for disasters, that our emergency services are ready to respond, and that households and local economies can recover quickly from such events.”

National will improve disaster recovery by investigating ways of making sure Kiwi families affected by natural disasters are better equipped to rebuild their lives and homes.

We will also enhance response capacity by:

Advancing national co-ordination of public alerting systems.

Making better use of information technology for emergency management.

Encouraging joint delivery of civil defence emergency services to enhance capability and improve efficiencies.

Investigating ways to improve and strengthen the ability of our armed forces to assist in civil defence emergencies.

Working more closely with community groups to ensure that emergency response capability is developed where necessary.

“National will provide certainty in the area of civil defence by requiring civil defence groups to publicly report on their emergency preparedness every year. We will ensure that an assessment of the impact of natural disasters is incorporated into infrastructure planning and development.

“New Zealand faces a broad range of natural hazards due to our diverse landscape, extensive coastline, active geology, and reliance on primary production. Effective civil defence is essential in reducing the risks presented by these hazards.”

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