Agenda of Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 7.1

3 December 2024

TITLE:	CEG Chair Report
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 20 November 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report provides a summary of activities undertaken by or directly related to the delivery of the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group plan over the period since the last CEG meeting in August 2024.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘CEG Chair Report’ by Graeme MacDonald, dated 5 November 2024, be received.

Background/Tuhinga

INDEX OF REPORTS

Page

1. Activations and response

2. CDEM Group

3. Far North CDEM Update

4. Kaipara CDEM Update

5. Whangārei District CDEM Update

6. Welfare Coordination Group Update

7. Northland Lifelines Group Update

8. CDEM Communications Update

9. Māori Engagement Update

10. Tsunami siren replacement Project Update

11. Tsunami inundation mapping Project Update

12. Multi Agency Coordination Centre

13. Professional Development and Engagement

14. Natural Hazards update

15. Tsunami Siren Testing

1. Activations and response

No activations or responses have occurred in the Northland region over the last quarter.

On Friday 4 October 2042, EMAT personnel based in Northland were on standby to support the recent Otago flooding event however the evet did not escalate further, and local resources were able to support the ECC and EOC’s.

2. CDEM Group

Kori Puckey has been appointed to the role of Emergency Management Specialist at Kaitaia. Kori commenced work in early October. Her previous role was as a Volunteer Support Officer with FENZ in the Far North.

Stakeholder engagement

The CDEM Manager and Response Manager both meet with Police Search and Rescue Specialist from Police National Headquarters’ and the Northland Police District. The purpose of the meeting was to collaborate on response arrangements and to understand how SAR PNHQ can support a regional emergency event. The meeting focused upon how SAR PNHQ could provide resource and assistance ahead of and during a CDEM emergency in the region.

Government Merge NIWA and MetService

At the last CEG meeting a request was made to clarify the responsibilities and differences between Metservice and NIWA weather forecasting roles and responsibilities. The government has recently decided to combine NIWA and MetService to improve weather forecasting. This will help better prepare for and respond to extreme weather and climate change. The recent reviews identify that NIWA and Metservice were often competing with each other and on occasions providing differing and conflicting weather forecasts. NIWA will take over MetService, but MetService will still be in charge of official weather reports.

This change will need new laws and a lot of planning. It is expected to start this process in the middle of 2025.

3. Far North CDEM Update

Activities undertaken by emergency management specialists are relative to the 2024-2025 Work Plan as outlined in the Far North District Council Service Level Agreement:

• Community engagement to support and enhance marae and community resilience and reviews of community response plans.

• Collaboration and review with multi-agency emergency planning at Ngawha Corrections Facility.

• Readiness check of Emergency Operations Centre equipment.

• Review of Civil Defence Centre Welfare Kits

• Bi-annual tsunami siren testing

• Stage one Climate Action and Resilience planning with Far North District Council.

4. Kaipara CDEM Update

Activities undertaken by the emergency management specialist that are relative to the 2024-2025 Work Plan as outlined in the Kaipara District Council Service Level Agreement:

• Community engagement to support and enhance marae and community resilience

• Review of Emergency Operations Procedures

• Review of Civil Defence Centre Welfare Kits

· Engagement and participation with NCDEM projects including: Northland Lifelines Group, Northland Welfare Coordination Group, Rural Support Trust and Rural Collaboration Dinners

• Bi-annual tsunami siren testing

· Provision of training & exercise opportunities for KDC staff

· Enhancement and promotion of CDEM through building relationships with key stakeholders

· Supporting the connectivity of lifeline utility organisations to improve infrastructure resilience

5. Whangārei District CDEM Update

· CIMS4 and Function courses (Welfare, Logistics & Intelligence) have been completed during this reporting period, with 4 more scheduled in November. A Response Manager course was held on 1 October for current and future Response Managers, Controllers, and NCDEM staff.

· An Emergency Services Day is planned for the 3rd of November at Kensington Stadium. Civil Defence will be participating in the event to promote self-preparedness and community preparedness.

· The WDC are developing a Procurement Policy with WDC Finance and Logistics to clarify financial requisitions during events. This policy will be integrated into WDC's financial systems (TechOne) and include a training package for the logistics team.

· Discussions have started regarding an ‘alternative’ WDC EOC site for power outages. The site identified is the Forum North building in the old Council Chambers, as that site has full generator capability.

· Approximately 20 community engagement opportunities have been completed in the Whangarei District, including some retirement villages. Further engagement is scheduled to support on-going CDEM works and NRC projects.

· A WDC EOC exercise is planned for the 11th of December to ‘test’ specific EOC aspects.

6. Welfare Update

Welfare Coordination Group (WCG)

The final Welfare Coordination Group meeting of the year is set for December 5, 2024. While the agenda is still being finalised, a key feature will be a tabletop exercise designed to enhance the group’s knowledge and encourage discussion.

Engagements

Group Welfare Specialist has presented, attended or engaged with the following over the past three months:

· Community Networkers

· Senior Networkers

· Psychosocial Support Northland

· Rural Support Trust Stakeholder Network

· Multicultural Whangarei

· Community Resilience Practioners

· Salvation Army

· Te Puni Kokiri

· Ministry for Primary Industries

· Volunteering Northland

· Fale Pasifika

Local Welfare Managers (LWM)

At the time of writing, the group and alternate group welfare managers and local welfare managers have met twice over the last quarter. The group welfare manager is now utilising these meetings not only for networking but also to conduct an informative learning session. The first session covered a CDEM 101 and explored the welfare function, while the second session focused on Government Financial Assistance in accordance with section 33 of the Guide to the National Plan.

WelNAS – Northlands Need Assessment Tool

A separate report is included in the agenda.

7. Northland Lifelines Group Update

A Northland Lifelines Group (NLG) meeting was held on Friday 27 September:

· The Severe Weather Plan adopted and now distributed to the group.

· A desktop exercise based around a tsunami scenario was held. The key purpose of the exercise was to create an environment where shared situational awareness and a common operating picture could be developed. Participants agreed that the exercise was a worthwhile training and relationship building opportunity and would welcome more of these exercises at future NLG meetings.

Work continues reviewing the Fuel Contingency Plan.

Work has commenced reviewing Electricity Outage Plan with a view to present a draft for the next NLG meeting in December.

Work continues to strengthen and enhance relationships with all members of the group.

Engagements

· Two meetings with consultants, NRC Natural Hazards and Rivers teams on the Resilience Explorer GIS project.

· NEMA National Lifeline Utility Coordinator quarterly hui

· Regional Lifeline Co-ordinators quarterly Hui

8. CDEM Communications Update

CDEM Facebook page insights, July 1, 2024 – October 1, 2024

Ÿ Page visit: 9,200

Ÿ Facebook Page followers: decreased by 31

Ÿ Total FB page followers as of 1 October 2024: 38,391

Our top performing post was a reminder post for the September tsunami siren testing, which had reach of approximately 20.9K

There were no significant weather or hazard related events for Northland over this period and therefore very few weather-related posts. The one weather warning post over this period was for an orange wind warning with a short lead time from when the warning was issued to when the event started – this post had a reach of 17.4K. This is lower than we would expect; however, an orange warning would normally have a day or two to reach people prior to the weather arriving, so the fact it was issued the day of, may have impacted the reach.

Our next best performing posts were related to:

An update on the CrowdStrike IT Outage with 15,807 estimated reach: https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid029GsTtjQk15JMjVoZ99b3PE59rh22Nr3QwL6bHvDBokFcW2mi1cDwbV8wL7ku8962l

Tsunami siren testing post with 13,980 estimated reach: https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid0336fGpkyoWsjtfuEJxRR4m9PuqDyoS9QHse9uJ612DKFfnA2KXZ93X1zHsQR8qk5Zl

Overall engagement on posts and follower numbers remains steady, but this is the first period in a while where we have seen a decrease in our overall followers, even though only slightly. This may be due to the lack of events, but we will continue to monitor this closely.

Northland CDEM Web section insights, July 1, 2024 – October 1, 2024

Ÿ Total page visits: 9,323

Ÿ Most popular pages:

1. Listen to the tsunami siren sounds: 3124

2. Tsunami warnings: 889

3. Tsunami siren replacement project: 736

These are generally the most popular topics, especially since siren testing was done over this period. The Tsunami siren replacement project continues to feature in our popular topics as we continue to promote this project.

Media

Our siren testing information was mentioned on multiple media outlets prior to testing: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529338/northland-tsunami-sirens-to-be-tested

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/far-north-news-in-brief-tsunami-siren-testing-ambos-on-strike-and-fire-warning/Z3LEQW4DSNGCHLHVRRG3FFNSCU/

9. Māori Engagement Update

Iwi engagement advisor has presented, attended or engaged with the following over the past three months:

· Supported NRC Rivers & Natural Hazards team and Whangarei EM Specialist, Damian Rio with the Flood affected Marae Project.

- 5 finished plans which are being reviewed by the marae.

- Initial hui engagements with 10 Marae have begun.

- Kōrero with 4 Marae are also commencing, with 8 still in the tikanga/planning stage.

· Supporting Tsumani Project Specialist, Brendon Gray with the Tsunami Siren Replacement Project.

- Te Parawhau, Taipa, Waimanoni, Waitangi, Te Hapua, Mangōnui and Rawhiti.

· Engagement with Runanga Iwi across Te Taitokerau.

- Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu (Initial hui regarding preparedness plans with their marae and whānau).

- Ngāti Whatua – Kaipara and Te Uri o Hau (Initial hui regarding delivery of preparedness plan workshops to their marae and whānau).

- Patuharakeke engagement hui supporting Damian Rio.

· Engagement and hui with NRC, FNDC, WDC and KDC Māori Relationships Groups.

· Online hui and whakawhānaunga meeting with various Pasifika Groups in Te Taitokerau.

A number of Iwi, Hapū and Marae are now reaching out to our CDEM team, so the amount of engagement and mahi is increasing since the start of the year. Great work from our EMS whānau and the NCDEM Group.

10. Tsunami Siren project installation update

As at 1st of November there are 71 constructed sirens throughout Tai Tokerau, with 51 of those connected via cellular. 19 of the remaining sites have resource consent approval and are in the construction planning phase, however with the standard 30 business day notification period, this brings us very close to the Christmas period, which we will not be undertaking construction over.

We are working with the construction company to see if any of the remaining sites can be done early/mid-December.

We are also working with the electricians to get the remainder of the already constructed sirens onto the satellite and cellular connections, and to get all constructed sirens onto mains power connections, they are currently on solar/battery only.

We are still in discussions with Department of Conservation over the annual fee they require to house four of the sirens on public conservation land. The annual fee is $13,700+gst for all four. This sets a tough precedent for any other sites located on land not owned by the councils and has a very high on-going cost for us to provide a service that protects DoC’s staff and visitors. DoC have indicated that they may be able to waive the fee for three of the sites. We are awaiting confirmation.

This should position us to test them in the next round of annual testing at the end of daylight-saving time.

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11. Tsunami Inundation Modelling Project

This will be discussed in more depth in another item.

With the release of updated Directors Guidelines, discussions are being held around moving to a Blue Zone model. We feel that Northlands coastline, and communities, are better served by a two zone (Yellow and Red) model, which is what Auckland are also moving to.

12. Multi Agency Coordination Centre

The MACC Heads of Agreement (binding) and Development Agreement documents are currently being considered by Chief Executives of WDC, FNDC, NRC, KDC and FENZ. Parties have indicated they are broadly satisfied with the proposed project oversight, building ownership and leasing arrangements and it is envisaged that Chief Executives will take the proposals to their respective councils for signoff in December 2024. WDC is seeking confirmation that the facility will meet EOC requirements.

The MACC Project Advisory Group (PAG) had its first meeting in September 2024 and have requested, and now received, from WDC, CDEM, and FENZ (as envisaged occupants) confirmed ‘scope’ of their user needs. The PAG has agreed as a principle that it is primarily ‘designing’ for an EEC and EOC but ‘allowing’ for the CDEM and FENZ business-as-usual activity. A site contamination survey is currently being undertaken. Design work will primarily involve CDEM, FENZ and WDC input with an Architect and Quantity Surveyor now being sought through NRC and FENZ procurement processes.

13. Professional Development and Engagement

Training

Training has continued over the last quarter, with CIMS (Level) 4 and function training well attended.

A two-day workshop, facilitated by the Met Service, provided staff with the opportunity to gain a better understand forecasting, weather maps, weather development and models. This was the first workshop of its kind to be rolled out and Met Service were able to take away a number of refinements.

A summary of training attended is shown in the table below.

Training	Attendees
		KDC	NRC	WDC	FNDC	CDEM	Agency
CIMS 4		5	3	32			26
EOC Functions		11	8	18	6	20	16
Met Service 101		1	9	3	1	11
PIM / Media						7

Engagement

On Thursday 26 November, The CDEM team had the opportunity to visit the SH1 Mangamuka Gorge slip repairs project, hosted by Waka Kotahi and project staff, and were able to view the extensive work being undertaken to rebuild this essential part of Northlands roading network. The Project team continue to work towards having the road reopened by Christmas 2024.

Updates on the works is available at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/northland-corridor/sh1-mangamuka-gorge-slip-repairs/media

An invitation from Police saw staff attended a meeting showcasing deployable cellular capability, being built by Hourua, a joint venture between Spark and One NZ. This network will provide priority cellular services to the Public Safety Network (PSN), which EM is not yet a part of, and with the adaptation of EM connectivity, this capability has the potential to support EM needs in the future.

Further connectivity through the NEMA Starlink Satellite Communication Service is currently being determined by the CDEM Group to determine how we can best utilise this offer and the ongoing costs of the service.

14. Natural Hazards Update

Risk Portal

NRC has contracted Urban Intelligence to develop a Te Taitokerau Risk Portal using their product Resilience Explorer. Resilience Explorer is a purpose-built geospatial platform that allows councils, CDEM, Lifelines and iwi/hapu to look at how mapped and modelled hazards intersect with ‘elements’ such as infrastructure, housing, marae and community facilities. There will be an open drop-in session on the morning of Friday 8 November at the NRC building for any interested party to come and view the draft Te Taitokerau portal and provide feedback to the project team.

Early Flood Forecast System

NRC are running a trial of an early flood forecast system on the Waitangi Catchment. This trial is being run using the international software Delft EFW and will support our hydrology team understand potential flood risk during high rainfall events. The Hydrology team are our technical flood experts and provide advice to the Controller and ECC.

15. Tsunami Siren Testing

The bi-annual testing of the Regional Tsunami Siren network was carried at the change of daylight on Sunday 29^th September.

The test was carried out as per Northland CDEM Group (Tsunami Network) Standard Operating Procedures to ensure the sirens are operating as per their design specifications, and that activation processes by Top Energy and Northpower remain operational.

Sirens were activated at 10.00 am for 10 minutes and shut off – strobe lights should continue to flash. They were activated again at 10.30 am for 30 seconds and then both the sirens and strobe lights are turned off. Test Ends.

Communities monitor the sirens, and report back to the emergency management specialists in each district to record the outcome and arrange any maintenance if required.

Faults Reported

Far North
Community	Location	Fault Reported
Taipa	Taipa Point Rd	Siren did not activate
Taipa	Cnr SH10 & Mamaru Road	Siren & strobe light did not activate
Tauranga Bay	Tauranga Bay Rd	Strobe Light did not continue to operate after first 10 minutes

Whangarei
Community	Location	Fault Reported
Whangarei Heads	Urquhart Bay	Strobe light did not operate
Whananaki	Whananaki North	Siren & strobe light did not activate
Tutukaka Coast	Outside Ngunguru School	Siren did not activate
Tutukaka Coast	Matapouri	Siren did not activate
Tutukaka Coast	Tutukaka Marina	Siren & strobe light did not activate
Tutukaka Coast	Pacific Bay	Siren did not activate
Oakura	Whangaruru Beach Camp	Strobe light did not operate
Waipu/Langs Beach	Waipu Cove Camp	Strobe light did not operate
Waipu/Langs Beach	Cove Road Waipu	Strobe light did not operate
Waipu/Langs Beach	Cove Road Waipu	Strobe light did not operate
Waipu/Langs Beach	Hector Lang Drive	Strobe light did not operate
Ruakaka	Ruakaka Shopping Centre	Strobe light did not operate

Kaipara
Community	Location	Fault Reported
Mangawhai	71 Moir Street	Strobe light did not operate

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 7.3

3 December 2024

TITLE:	Membership and appointments – Northland CDEM Group
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

Whakarāpopototanga | Executive Summary

This report provides an up-to-date list of members and key appointments for the Northland CDEM Group. The list of key appointments is available on the Northland CDEM Group plan webpage.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia | Recommendation(s)

1. That the report ‘Membership and appointments – Northland CDEM Group ’ by Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager and dated, 6 November 2024 be received.

2. That the CDEM Group appoints Joanne Tasker and Sian Leith as Local Recovery Managers for the Whangarei District Council area, pursuant to section 30(1) Civil Defence Act 2002.

3. That the CDEM Group acknowledges the withdrawal of Ken Ward as a Local Controller for the Far North District Council and he is removed from the list of appointments.

Tuhinga | Background

Membership of the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group:

Ÿ Councillor Stratford FNDC - Chair of CDEM Group

Ÿ Councillor Stolwerk NRC

Ÿ Mayor Cocurullo Mayor, WDC

Ÿ Councillor Lambeth KDC

Ÿ Wipari Henwood Commander, Fire and Emergency NZ

Ÿ Superintendent Matt Srhoj Northland Police District Commander

Ÿ Mike Gillooly NEMA (observer)

Note – Alternates for the CDEM Group are appointed as substitutes for the nominated representative in the event that the primary member is unavailable to attend a meeting. They are not appointed as an additional representative or as a second member of the group representing a council.

Membership of the Coordinating Executive Group:

Ÿ Jonathan Gibbard CEO, NRC

Ÿ Ruben Garcia FNDC delegated representative

Ÿ Simon Weston CEO, WDC – Chair of CEG

Ÿ Jason Marris CEO, KDC

Ÿ Wayne Ewers Inspector, NZ Police

Ÿ Graeme Quensell Assistant Area Commander, Fire and Emergency NZ

Ÿ Sarah Boniface Northland Health

Ÿ Ben Lockie St John Ambulance

Ÿ Mike Gillooly NEMA (observer)

Ÿ Liz Philips Interim MoH Representative

Ÿ Sarah Irwin Northland Lifelines Group

Ÿ Evania Arani Northland Welfare Coordination Group

Ÿ Hone Dalton Iwi Representative

Ÿ Snow Tane Iwi Representative

Group Controllers:

Ÿ Graeme MacDonald

Ÿ Alistair Wells

Ÿ John Burt

Ÿ Simon Weston

Ÿ Victoria Harwood

Ÿ Louisa Gritt

Ÿ Jenny Calder

Local Controllers for the Whangārei District:

Ÿ Simon Weston

Ÿ Victoria Harwood

Ÿ Shona Morgan

Local Controllers for the Kaipara District:

Ÿ Alistair Dunlop

Ÿ John Burt - under contract

Ÿ Jack Rudolph

Local Controllers for the Far North District:

Ÿ Alistair Wells

Group Welfare Managers:

Ÿ Evania Arani

Ÿ Kylie Cox

Ÿ Chris McColl

Ÿ Raewyn Smythe

Local Welfare Managers for the Whangārei District:

Ÿ Paula Urlich

Ÿ Toby Hoey

Ÿ Kate Biddlecombe

Local Welfare Managers for the Kaipara District:

Ÿ Jenny Rooney

Local Welfare Managers for the Far North District:

Ÿ Kirsty Roper

Ÿ Kara-Mia Rogers

Ÿ Ange Simonsen

Group Recovery Managers:

Ÿ Graeme MacDonald

Ÿ Jenny Calder

Ÿ Mark Trudinger

Local Recovery Managers:

Ÿ TBA (WDC)

Ÿ TBA (FNDC)

Ÿ Glynis McCarthy (KDC)

FNDC Controller appointment

Ken Ward has advised the FNDC that he is no longer available to undertake the role of Local Controller for the FNDC. This leaves the FNDC with one appointed local controller, Alistar Wells, who is a contractor that sits outside the FNDC. Discussion with the FNDC is underway to make new appointments.

New Appointments

The following are recommendations for new appointments to be made by the CDEM Group -

Local Recovery Manager appointments

WDC have engaged with the Group Recovery Manager to undertake a selection process to appoint two Local Recovery Managers. WDC have requested and the CEG recommends to the CDEM Group that Joanne Tasker and Sian Leith be appointed as Local Recovery Managers for the Whangarei District council (CDEM Act 2002 s. 30 (1).

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 8.5

3 December 2024

TITLE:	Tsunami Siren Project - Funding approval
From:	Brendon Gray, Emergency Management Specialist - Tsunami Projects and Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

Executive summary

At the October 2024 CEG meeting additional funding requests for the Tsunami Siren Replacement Project were presented. The requests were to obtain funds under two requirements: Expansion, and Remediation.

This report relates to additional funding total $223,284 required to complete the project. It does not relate to expansion, spare parts, or any enhancements.

The CEG have considered the request and are recommending that the CDEM Group approves the funding request totalling $223,284 from CDEM Group funding reserves to ensure that the project is completed.

Recommendation(s)

1. That the report ‘Tsunami Siren Project - Funding approval ’ by Brendon Gray, Emergency Management Specialist - Tsunami Projects and Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager and dated 5 November 2024, be received.

2. That the CDEM group approves $223,384 from the CDEM Group funds to cover the shortfall in the project budget.

Options

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Obtain the $223,284 as per the report attached	Ensures sufficient funding to connect sirens to mains power.	Requires previously unbudgeted funds.
2	Obtain partial funding	Enables most of the sirens to be connected to mains power.	Leaves some units solely on solar power depending on amount sourced, requiring future funds to connect them to the mains power.
3	Do not source additional funds	No further investment at this time.	A number of sirens will have to remain on solar power source only. Those sirens may struggle to have sufficient power during darker months or will drain their batteries when activated (not have sufficient battery to send an “all clear” message or a second activation).

The CEG’s recommended option is to obtain the full additional funding requested from the CDEM group funds.

Considerations

1. Financial implications

The initial project budget was set circa 2019. There have been significant changes to costs since that time, the budget was set using estimates, and some technological requirements were unknown. This has resulted in a potential shortfall.

A report was submitted by MWA Solutions Ltd and Tutukaka Consultants Ltd indicating that there is an expected budget overrun for the project of $137,284. The report is included as an attachment. Additional costs due to implementation issues have also been incurred.

Overrun Calculations		FNDC (42 sirens)	KDC (6 sirens)	WDC (45 sirens)
MWA Calculated Overrun	$ 137,284	$ 61,200	$ 8,857	$ 66,428
4G upgrade	$ 48,000	$ 21,677	$ 3,096	$ 23,225
Satellite Arm	$ 38,000	$ 17,161	$ 2,451	$ 18,387
	$ 223,284	$ 100,837	$ 14,405	$ 108,040

2. Implementation issues

Two components of the project required additional funds that were not budgeted for:

· No satellite mounting kits were ordered.

· The cellular phone modules ordered were of a type that is being deprecated in 2025 and required an upgrade.

These two components combined had an additional cost of $86,000.

3. Risk management

Each siren within the network is designed to have two power sources; solar via batteries, and mains power. The batteries and solar panels connected to the sirens are intended to sustain the sirens for short-medium term mains power outages. They are not designed to be the only power source for the life of the sirens.

Not having mains power introduces a risk that the sirens will not be available at all times of the year, specifically during the winter months when there may be insufficient daylight hours to restore battery capacity in the event that a siren has been activated.

Mains power connections can be implemented in the future if funds are not available.

Remaining on a battery/solar only model for some sites may also reduce the life of the batteries.

The exact number of sirens required that would remain off the mains power grid is not known at this stage. As each siren has a unique cost of connection, a strategic approach to determine/prioritise which sirens remain on solar/battery needs to be made. That decision should consider the cost of those sites’ connections, and the risk for any area, such as:

· the Whangarei CBD that has several sirens within close proximity could have one, or more, sirens that remain on solar/battery only. This would also be the area where most people have good cellular coverage and would be expected to still receive an Emergency Mobile Alert to their cell phones.

· Otamure, Uretiti, and Mimiwhangata campgrounds which are mainly populated in summer, and therefore when there are more daylight hours, could be solar/battery only.

· Sites that have poor cell phone coverage such as Mitimiti and Ta Hapua have increased risk levels as an Emergency Mobile Alert would be ineffective in that area. In sites like these, a more reliable technology like the satellite availability on the sirens, would be advised. As such, those sirens should be prioritised to have mains power as the only warning source.

· Not connecting sites that have low implementation costs may not save sufficient funds to reach a desired outcome.

Once all sirens are constructed, the power connection costs will be able to be established, and a more precise budget overrun should be available.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Additional funding request for tsunami siren replacement project ⇩

Attachment 2: MWA Report to NRC ⇩

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 8.6

3 December 2024

TITLE:	All Staff Capability Development
From:	Jenny Calder, Emergency Management Response Specialist and Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

At the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group meeting 3 September 2024, the Chair asked the Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) to investigate the feasibility of training for all council staff in CIMS and provide recommendations at the next CDEM Joint Committee.

This report outlines the funding requirements to meet this.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

1. That the report ‘All Staff Capability Development’ by Jenny Calder, Emergency Management Response Specialist and Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager and dated 5 November 2024, be received.

2. That the current training programme be maintained utilising the current funding model.

3. That the Coordinating Executive Group continues to oversee the prioritisation of training including attendance, to maximise training opportunities provided for staff.

Background/Tuhinga

Current Situation

Northland CDEM coordinate and host five training weeks annually, using an NZQA accredited provider. Each training week consists of a two-day CIMS4 course, 2 one-day function courses and an exercise. (Function training courses cover the CIMS functions of Operations, Logistics, Welfare, Planning and Intelligence. Public Information Management training is currently manageable to run in-house).

Council staff who volunteer to join the respective council Incident Management Teams (IMT) are asked to complete CIMS (level 3 or 4). Following the CIMS course, staff attend a minimum of one function training, applicable to their designated EOC role, and a minimum of one exercise day per year.

Prior to the 2023 weather events that impacted Northland, training numbers were well below course capacity. Staff were not supported by their respective management to attend any, or all, training offered. In both 2022 and 2023 Some exercise days were cancelled due to lack of council staff numbers registered to attend.

Of the total council staff numbers, the following table indicates the numbers of staff, per council, who have completed the training in in the last 3 calendar years (where training numbers exceed total staff numbers, some staff have completed more than one function training).

Training 2022-2024	FNDC 401 staff[1]	KDC 171 staff	NRC 328 staff	WDC 416 staff
CIMS4	32	40	32	8
CIMS3	11	26	16	37
Function	38	83	69	42
Exercise	16	47	18	57
TOTAL	97	196	135	144

Funding

Funding for the current training calendar run by Northland CDEM is mostly covered by an annual (calendar year) grant from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) through NEMA.

The total funding pool is split in half with each of the 16 CDEM Groups receiving a base allocation (1/16^th of the first half of the funding) and the balance is prorated based on population.

Northland CDEM receive ~$70,000 per annum as the fund currently stands with the fund being fully spent each year. Northland CDEM Group cover training costs over and above the TEC fund allocation.

Notwithstanding price increases, the average current course costs[2] per person are:

CIMS4 $547

Function $302

Exercise $251

Risks and Limitations

The option of having all council staff trained in CIMS and functions has been previously considered, the costs to council is prohibitive. Costs continue to be a restricting factor.

With some councils recently experiencing over 20% staff turnover, we have lost several trained staff, some only having recently completed the training before moving on to other careers.

A minimum of 25% of current costs is required per annum to cover the costs of training new staff due to attrition. This puts a strain on funding when new staff are recruited and need to be provided with training.

As costs of training have increased, the funding received from TEC has not. This has not allowed for extra training to be made available if any underspends were identified.

Where staff have not been supported by their respective management to attend CIMS courses they have registered for, the course place and funding are unable to be reallocated. Being an NZQA accredited course, pre-course work and assessment completion is a requirement, and NZQA requirements mean that we are unable to make course participant changes within 21 working days of course commencement.

Northland CDEM staff coordinate the training as part of their BAU roles, amongst other work streams. Northland CDEM does not have a full-time training team which is common in some of the bigger CDEM Groups across the motu.

Opportunities

Besides the emergency management related skills staff get from the training, the benefits extend into BAU, providing staff with personal development opportunities, strengthening critical thinking, connecting to members from other agencies and developing knowledge of preferred functions they can work in during an emergency response.

To strengthen the resources required to fulfil an emergency response requirement, council management need to ensure the prioritisation of emergency management training attendance against business-as usual work. This will ensure staff are supported to undertake the necessary training to enable them to work productively and safely in an EOC.

This training builds the capability and capacity across Northland to not only support responses withing our region but provide a trained surge staff to support other regions when needed.

The graph below identifies the cost per council, with the TEC pro-rated across the four councils, to bring the existing compliments of personnel up to a minimum standard within one calendar year. It does not account for the administration time required to coordinate the training or increases in facilitator/venue costs.

To maintain training levels and skill sets, and allow for ~20% attrition rates, the following table indicates the costs per council per annum for putting new staff through CIMS4, and having all staff maintain skill levels by attending a minimum of one function training and one exercise within the same calendar year:

Course	FNDC	KDC	NRC	WDC	Total costs
CIMS4	$41,463	$17,681	$33,915	$43,014	$136,073
Function	$121,102	$51,642	$99,056	$125,632	$397,432
Exercise	$100,651	$42,921	$82,328	$104,416	$330,316
Total	263,216.40	112,244.40	215,299.20	273,062.40	$763, 821

Summary

To achieve the goal of having all council staff fully trained is costly, and funding streams would need to be addressed. This is currently not included in LTP funding.

The addition of civil defence response requirements into job descriptions is key, however staff must be willing, able and well supported to meet the training requirements. Through staff attrition existing skill sets, experience and capability is lost, and civil defence training needs to be a part of the onboarding of new staff.

To attain a rate of 100% staff training, a full-time training position would be required, coordinating initial and continuity training of over 1300 council staff per annum. This position, and funding required to achieve the desired training outputs, would need to be included in council annual and long-term plans.

Maintaining status quo, it is essential that emergency management training is prioritised and supported by all four councils as Northland further develops a core of well trained, knowledgeable staff to support communities in coordinates responses.

It should also be noted that the Government response to the Report of the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events, identifies the need to build the capability and capacity of the emergency management workforce. A public roadmap is due early 2025 which will provide clear direction on this piece of work.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

[1] Staff numbers have been provided by Council through the relevant CDEM EMS. Numbers include part time staff as FTE (1), noting that these people would work fulltime in an EOC/ECC.

[2] Per head course costs increase when courses are run at less than maximum capacity. This figure does not consider the cost to home organisations to have staff away from BAU.

Deputy Chairperson, Vincent Cocurullo	FENZ Representative, Wipari Henwood	KDC Councillor, Gordon Lambeth
NRC Councillor, Rick Stolwerk	NEMA Representative, Mike Gillooly	NZ Police Representative, Matthew Srhoj
NRC Alternate, Tui Shortland	WDC Alternate, Nicholas Connop	KDC Alternate, Eryn Wilson-Collins
FNDC Alternate, Mayor Moko Tepania

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 3 September 2024
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 07 November 2024

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

TITLE:	National Emergency Management Agency Update
From:	Mike Gillooly, NEMA representative
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 21 November 2024

TITLE:	Service Level Review
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

TITLE:	Northland CDEM Group Plan Implementation - Objectives Table
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 20 November 2024

TITLE:	Cyclone Gabrielle - Recovery Final Report, Exit Strategy and Review
From:	Mark Trüdinger, Emergency Management Recovery Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 20 November 2024

TITLE:	Tsunami Inundation Mapping Review and Communications Plan
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager and Brendon Gray, Emergency Management Specialist - Tsunami Projects
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024

TITLE:	Tsunami Siren Project - Spares funding
From:	Brendon Gray, Emergency Management Specialist - Tsunami Projects and Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024