When there's an emergency, our communities need to be well resourced to respond.

It’s volunteers, emergency responders, marae and local groups who provide critical services, make sure we are cared for, and manage the immediate needs like the clean-up and communications.

Our legislation must be improved to allow for better preparation, reduce climate risk, and set-up emergency management systems for communities to handle the immediate response with the proper resources.

After signing this short submission, you can make your own unique submission using this quick guide.

[Petition begins] 

Tēnā koutou, 

The Green Party asks the select committee to introduce the following action points in the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) legislation. 

These points include: 

1. Setting transparent principles in the Climate Adaptation Framework for how funding will be provided for risk reduction that recognises the responsibility of the Crown for this as a collective public good. 
   
   
2. Reinstate a climate emergency response fund, with ETS revenue put towards adaptation and mitigation, and provide a long-term stable funding stream for critical adaptation projects such as South Dunedin Future and the Tairāwhiti Transition Programme.
   
   
3. Increase, and make more accessible, the Civil Defence Payment, to a level adequate to support communities and households, and recognise the vulnerable position of marginalised people, such as the disabled in these severe weather events. Specifically with the current states of emergency, make the Civil Defence Payment available for impacted people. The lack of access to this payment during this crisis appears to be a serious oversight, and demonstrates the lack of consistency with emergency response. 
   
   
4. Ensure new mandates for Civil Defence and Emergency Management groups do not go unfunded under this bill. The Regulatory Impact Statement shows that around $100 million of additional costs, not including costs to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, are expected as a result of these new mandates. We encourage you to fund these appropriately. 
   
   
5. Recognise and strengthen Te Tiriti partnership between Māori and the Crown more strongly, acknowledging and resourcing the vital role that marae and iwi play at the forefront of the emergency management response. 
   
   
6. Improve co-ordination of agencies tasked with response, and interoperability across the various levels of emergency management and across regions (e.g., FENZ into Emergency Management) and provide for explicit trigger points that capabilities must be stood up by.
   
   
7. Ensure that the voices of disabled, and other marginalised communities are explicitly included in contingency planning for emergencies. 

[Petition ends]